Review of Mile of Terror Haunted Attraction
Review of Mile of Terror Haunted Attraction
Review of Mile of Terror Haunted Attraction
Mile of Terror
Mile of Terror is a Haunted Attraction located in Rio Rancho, NM.
3001 Civic Center Circle NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144View All Details
Features:
Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site, Food/Concessions, You will NOT be touched, Movie Characters, Original Characters, All-Outdoor Attraction
Team Brewhaha reviewed this Haunted Attraction on September 12, 2020.
How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Final Score: 8.33
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.75
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 8.6
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 10
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 7.95
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 8
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.6
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.6
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Summary:
Dragons House of Horrors has been operating in New Mexico for many years, even recieving a Guinness World Record for longest haunted house in 2015. Adapting to COVID-19 guidelines this year, Dragons House of Horrors created a unique drive through haunted attraction.
Utilizing a massive parking lot for the layout, Mile of Terror uses a maze like layout that victims must navigate throughout scenes inspired from their indoor haunt. I talked with one of the owners who said that they had a challenge with how to create a haunt that is still terrifying while easing the concerns of patrons due to the pandemic. Patrons must wear a mask if they have the windows down or, if the guest wants to experience the haunt without wearing a mask, they must have the windows rolled up. The owner said that they have a FM radio station with a custom soundtrack and that they only operate on Fridays and Saturdays. Cars are separated so all can enjoy the experience and there are concessions set up to enjoy while you wait.
Cast: 8.75
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 9
(30% of Cast Score) How believable / convincing were the actors?: 8
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors?: 10
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 9
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8
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Mile of Terror has a good size cast of characters that are ready to pounce on guests. Full of energy, these creatures come right up to the vehicle; but not to worry, they will not lean in the car windows.
Each section has unique characters that interact with you. From the demented clowns to an extremely creepy grandma that I think is related to Leatherface, each one has their own persona and character. Perfectly using their environment as well as creeping around your vehicle, I never knew when the next nightmarish creature would appear. I especially loved the purger that followed next to my car while I was driving around.
Also, I greatly appreciated that Mile of Terror has a strict 2 to 3 mile per hour speed limit, or the idle speed of an automatic car, to make sure that the actors remain safe. From creepy stares to otherworldly noises each actor provided excellent scares.
Costuming: 8.6
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 8
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 9
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 9
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 9
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While navigating through this unique drive through experience, the attention to detail in the costuming is outstanding. Each actor has a unique costume, ranging from creepy clown attire, to bloody lab clothes; each costume has unique details that pop out in the headlights. I loved that the clothing was dirty and torn and, in some cases, quite disgusting. Even the face masks were custom designed for each character!
The makeup was also very detailed, with realistic looking blood and wounds and clown makeup that is like something straight out of a nightmare. For characters that were wearing masks, the masks were very detailed and custom; no Halloween store masks here. I also liked that the safety crew (that were there to make sure cars were not speeding and that actors were safe) also had complete costumes and makeup.
Customer Service: 10
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 10
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 10
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 10
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before you arrived?: 10
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Mile of Terror is fairly easy to find if you use a navigation app and, when approaching the haunt, there are signs that point the way. When driving up the hill, you will see a large casino and event center; the haunted house is located around the buildings.
Once you enter the parking lot that the haunted house is located in, you will be guided to one of 5 lines of cars. Employees walk through the lines of cars offering free ice cold bottled water (which was greatly appreciated) while, in the center of the parking lot, there are some food trucks and port potties for guests to use. The line of cars moved quicker than I expected, but I highly recommend you have at least a half of a tank of gas to make sure you make it through the line and attraction.
Once you get to the front of the line, an employee will direct you to the ticket booth while also directing cars that are leaving the haunt. The website is easy to navigate with their hours of operation and a link to purchase tickets. All of the employees I encountered were very friendly and polite.
Atmosphere: 8
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 8
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 8
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Although Mile of Terror resides on a parking lot, immediately you know you are at a haunted attraction. There is a massive skull with eyes lighting up and fog billowing out of its mouth. The path for you to drive through uses led candles, and I did not have any issue of not knowing where to drive. When you are given the rules of the haunted attraction, you are told the FM radio station to tune to that has a custom soundtrack, which changes and matches each area you drive through. Throughout the drive, custom lighting and fog also added to the experience.
Special Effects: 7.95
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 9
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 8
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 8
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 7
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 8
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Throughout my drive through Mile of Terror, there were some very unique special effects. Given you are driving in a car, there were no curtains to drive through or strobe lights to distort your vision, but the effects used were very effective.
One major special effect was the custom soundtrack that played through my car’s sound system: startling noises and even audio from the actors could be heard, making the experience that much more spooky. From debris you drive over to animatronics and effects that are triggered while you drive by, you get the same feeling as when walking through a haunted attraction.
Each themed section has at least one effect, whether they’re moving objects, a car horn or electric chair, each is timed so that you can experience them while creeping along in your car.
I also liked that this haunt used lighting as a way to distract your attention to one side of your car while the actor can creep up on the other side.
Theme: 8
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 8
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 8
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 8
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Although using multiple themes, each section of Mile of Terror uses sets that prep you for what you are about to experience. Once you enter the section, the theme is consistent, even when you look towards other vehicles that are navigating throughout the haunt.
While driving through the experience, you come across a backwoods village, terrifying clown town, purge night and many other themes ripped from one’s nightmares. Both sides and even the sets above the vehicle immerse you in the experience and, at times, drivers have tight quarters to navigate.
Make sure your foot is floating above the brake and not the gas. The finale also was very unique, and has a special surprise in store for victims!
Scare Factor: 8.6
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 9
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 9
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 8
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 9
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Being a drive through haunted attraction, Mile of Terror is more intense than expected, and the added factor that you are driving through also seemed to add to the intensity. At several times, I had a good scare that I hit the brakes in reaction! Luckily the cars are spaced apart and you are going such a slow speed that it won’t cause whiplash.
From the moment you enter to the second you leave, the scares are plentiful. I have been visiting haunted attractions since I was a teenager, but I let out a few yelps.
Actors also do a great job of walking around the vehicle making sure to scare everyone. Being I was by myself they would walk next to my car having extremely disturbing discussions.
Some parts of the drive were also very tight, allowing the actors to hide in the dark corners. I also loved that you were driving in small sets and buildings that had amazing details to soak in. Ranging from actor scares to scares from props, Mile of Terror makes sure that everyone has a great startle.
The finale was also awe inspiring, featuring a creature from a Halloween movie that has become a tradition of mine to watch every season.
Entertainment & Value: 8.6
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied are you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 9
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied are you with the entertainment that’s available with the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 8
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 8
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 10
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Admission for Mile of Terror is $40.00 general admission per car, which I feel is a great deal… especially if you have four people in your car. There is no VIP or fast pass admission for the haunt.
From the moment I entered to the moment I left, I spent 20 minutes driving through… granted there were areas that I was stopped waiting for the car in front of me to move. While waiting in line before the drive-thru, there were no actors roaming the line of cars, but there were concessions and people with free bottled water.
Considering the pandemic that has been with us for most of the year, I feel that Mile of Terror is a safe haunted attraction to visit during the Halloween season.
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Guest ReviewsGuest Average: 4.33 out of 10
Antonio – 8/10 – October 15, 2020I enjoyed the experience in family and was fun and scared at the same time. My wife, mother in law …show more and daughter didn’t stop to scream in fear and my son and I laughing watching them. I recommend the event.
To improve experience I think they could include more actors because some parts of the way are alone and encourage visitors to follow rules of keep enough distance between cards and use light off to make experience more interesting.
We went early at week day and didn’t wait in a line.
Mia – 4/10 – October 3, 2020I realize we all want to get out of the house and do something however this can’t be it. We were at …show more the front of the line but had gotten to the venue an hour before opening but the line behind us was incredibly long. I feel very sorry for the people who waited multiple hours for that. As you drive in listen to recorded instructions and told to tune to a certain radio station that is nothing more than static white noise….we changed to scary sounds on Pandora which helped set the ambiance.They suggest lights off and really light on did kill the vibe but lights off, big truck, narrow lanes might have been scarier than anything that whole evening. I realize these people are volunteers however they should at least audition and there should be 3 times as many performers as there were. Many were lacking passion, very lackluster like they didn’t even want to be there, no enthusiasm….like seriously, have fun!!! When your preteen says “more like mile of fun” you know its not scary and shes scared of her own shadow!!!! Two other carloads of our family went that same evening and also felt ripped off. I mean $40 is a bit steep for that, we expected more, it was very disappointing. We wouldn’t go again. My advice…skip it.
Megan – 1/10 – October 18, 2020My family and I were looking forward to this and we arrived at 9pm and it is now 2am and we haven’t …show more even got into the Starr of the drive through haunted house. Horrible experience, waste of money!
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