Pirates of Emerson – Full Review
Pirates of Emerson is a Haunted Attraction located in Pleasanton, CA.
4501 Pleasanton Avenue, Alameda County, Pleasanton, CA 94566View All Details
Features:
Paid Parking, Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site, Handicap Accessible, Food/Concessions, Gift Shop/Souvenirs, “Hi-Tech” Attraction, You will NOT be touched, Original Characters, Uncovered Outdoor Waiting Line, Indoor/Outdoor Attraction
How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
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: 9
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.81
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 9.1
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 9.56
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 9.36
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.93
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 9.13
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.53
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.95
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Summary:
The year 2021 marks the return of Pirates of Emerson Haunted Themed Park as a walk-through attraction, and it’s an experience we truly missed. To their credit, Pirates of Emerson were one of the few haunted attractions that was able to open in the pandemic shutdown of 2020, be it as a drive-through haunt where guests remained in their cars and drove through a haunted village. This year, we got to take photo ops with our favorite line actors, explore the haunted compound, enjoy the d������cor more closely, and receive more startling jump scares. The community missed the walk-through experience, and to see it come back means life is returning back to normal. Pirates of Emerson Haunted Themed Park features four main walk-through haunts, Hillbilly Holler, Holiday Horror, Clown Chaos, and the signature haunt Pirates of Emerson. But there is also a Bonus Haunt that did not require the full general admission price to enter. Pirates of Emerson Haunted Themed Park is celebrating their 30th Anniversary, which is a fantastic milestone in the haunted attraction industry, and we wish them a heartfelt congratulations. Karl and Patty Fields, with their son Brian, started Pirates of Emerson as a home haunt, and throughout the years, grew to be one of the largest haunts in California. Their longevity is a testament to the Fields family’s dedication, passion, and hard work. We were absolutely in awe of the d������cor, special effects, and received multiple jump scares, which culminated to be a thrilling experience.
Cast: 8.81
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8.75
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 9.25
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 8.5
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 8.5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8.75
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The four main haunts did have enough actors to sustain scares and entertainment consistently. We found all of the actors to be enthusiastic, intense, and engaged as needed in their respective scenes. No one appeared to be apathetic. The actors who were the most interactive were the ticket takers at the beginning of each haunt. Each one would converse with guests before admission, which gave guests a little insight in what to expect. Upon entry, the actors concentrated more on jump scares. Each of the ticket takers had interesting dialogue, but the most memorable was the girl at the Bonus Haunt, because she played off schizophrenia and humor quite well. When it comes to variety of characters, Holiday Horror and Pirates of Emerson had the most variety, but Hillbilly Holler and Clown Chaos had more similar types.
Costuming: 9.1
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?: 9.25
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 9.25
(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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Pirates of Emerson Haunted Themed Park is well known for their elaborate costumes. The line actors each have original costumes adorned with personal and creative touches. One pirate’s lady had a miniature sailing ship on her tricorne hat with sand, seashells, and string lights. The ticket taker at Holiday Horror wore a cool female Krampus costume, and the ticket taker at Hillbilly Holler had an elaborate skinned-face makeup job. Every actor’s costume was finished, and none looked incomplete. Makeup was applied skillfully well, and the masks used did make the actors appear scarier. The costumes were very appropriate for their respective scenes and themes, and nobody appeared to be out of place.
Customer Service: 9.56
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?: 9.5
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 9.5
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 9.75
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 9.5
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Pirates of Emerson Haunted Themed Park is easy to find because they are located at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. As long as you know they are at the Fairgrounds, there are plenty of street signs in the city limits and along the major freeway of Interstate 680 to guide you. There are County Fair Staff who charge $10 for parking (money goes to the County Fair, not the Haunt), and they will guide you to a parking space. From the parking lot, the Haunted Themed Park is easy to spot, as well as the queue line and ticket booth. The majority of the Themed Park is handicap accessible. There are no trip hazards or safety hazards to be found. Each haunt had emergency signs posted, and there is security on site. All guests are required to walk through a metal detector before entering the Themed Park. We found the staff members to be professional, easy to locate, helpful and friendly. Finding information is easy, because they have an up-to-date website and a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Atmosphere: 9.36
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?: 9.4
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 9.3
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Outside of the Themed Park compound, it was very obvious we arrived at a haunted attraction. The entrance has a large castle fa������ade, and a very large ‘Pirates of Emerson’ banner is visible from a distance. The sounds of scary music, and the sights of fog machine smoke and pyrotechnic flames rising are obvious giveaways, too. We arrived 10 minutes before opening, and the audience outside was very energetic. There was excitement in the air. Upon entry into the Themed Park, we could see the pirate’s theme, and various haunted props and set pieces. The atmosphere did build anticipation for the main haunts. After all, if the Themed Park looks this cool outside of the main attractions, it makes you want to see what’s inside.
Special Effects: 8.93
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8.75
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 9
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 9
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 8.9
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 9
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Pirates of Emerson Haunted Themed Park is a feast for the eyes. The two most memorable haunted attractions are Holiday Horror and the Pirates of Emerson signature haunt. Pirates of Emerson had a swamp scene, caves and ruins that were astonishing. Also, a treasure chest room that paid homage to Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, and the inside of a ship’s hull. One memorable special effect was a forced perspective of a long cave shaft. Holiday Horror featured scenes in a Victorian home which were extremely detailed. Clown Chaos was composed of red and white stripped walls that were reminiscent of a circus tent, filed with oddity props, and Hillbilly Holler created the illusion of being in a wooden shack with outdoor trails. The scenes and props were almost 100% made in house, and there’s so much detail that it takes more than one visit to catch it all. We even enjoyed the forced perspective mining cave. It’s also worth noting that the building crew are absolute masters of scenery lighting. The use of shafts of light, shades of light and dark, and various laser effects enhance the guests’ experience. Several animatronics are found in each haunt, as well as the always fun vortex tunnel. Video images were incorporated through a projected image of crawling spiders, and LED monitors that were used as windows of a pirate ship. There are various sound effects in all of the haunts, but the most memorable was the demented circus music in Clown Chaos. Overall, the special effects did achieve and maintain the suspension of disbelief, and worked together very well to provide a scary and entertaining experience.
Theme: 9.13
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 9.5
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 9.25
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 8.25
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The Haunted Themed Park compound’s overall theme is pirates, as well as the Pirates of Emerson signature haunt. Clown Chaos’ theme was obviously scary clowns in a circus, and Hillbilly Holler’s theme was hillbilly cannibals. Holiday Horror’s theme began as a Victorian home decorated for Christmas, but progressively turns darker and more demented. The Bonus Haunt was also a hillbilly cannibal theme, which could have easily tied in with Hillbilly Holler. Each haunt’s theme was easy to tell, and carried well throughout. The location itself does not authenticate the themes, but the scenery was engaging enough to suspend the thought that we were at a County Fairgrounds.
Scare Factor: 8.53
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8.5
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 8.75
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 8.25
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Pirates of Emerson Haunted Themed Park has many jump scares. The most notable ones were in Hillbilly Holler and the Pirates of Emerson signature haunt, but Holliday Horror had a few good ones as well. In Clown Chaos, their actors honked at us with those hand squeeze bicycle horns, so the scares weren’t as effective. There was an actor who bounced towards us on a bungee cord, which did make a good impression. Overall, the actors timing was very good, and they targeted everyone in our group. The scares were predominantly jump scares, but there were a few intimidating stares as well. None of the haunts had a really scary finale, but the Bonus Haunt had a well-timed air compressor blast.
Entertainment & Value: 8.95
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 9.25
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 8.5
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 8.75
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9.5
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We were very satisfied with the entertainment received during the main attractions, and felt like we got our money’s worth. We were also satisfied with the entertainment available outside of the main attractions, which consisted of the Bonus Haunt, a movie screen playing Pirates of Emerson Promotional Videos, the interplay with the line actors, and the various photo op scenery pieces. Sadly, because of COVID-19 restrictions, the carnival games were not available this year’popularly known as the ‘CARN-EVIL.’ General Admission is $36.50, and the time spent walking through the haunts took approximately 20 minutes. But with the ambiance of the Themed Park compound, we felt the ticket price was appropriate. All of their available space was used effectively, and there were no ‘dead zones.’
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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Promo Images:
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Guest ReviewsGuest Average: 9.5 out of 10
Sybil – 10/10 – October 28, 2017A yearly tradition and the BEST in the Bay Area! Don’t go too late in the evening because you dont …show more want to miss a thing and there is so much to see and do! Games, food, live entertainment PLUS multiple haunts!
Sharon schutjet – 10/10 – May 18, 2016Best time you can have in October. Very professional and surprisingly scary. Great props and other …show more side games and attractions.
Judy – 8.5/10 – October 23, 2020We waited about 40 minutes on a Friday night to enter the attraction. The entry was very well …show more organized and ran smoothly considering the large number of vehicles. Each scene was a separate vignette. We especially loved the pirate ship and the prison scenes, though all were fun. There were four of us in the car (ages mid-20’s to mid 60s’s) and throughout we enjoyed a fun, celebratory mood. The actors came up to the car on both sides. Since I was the driver I missed seeing some of that action, but the delight of my passengers made it all worthwhile. I appreciated that the cars were spaced well apart so we had a mostly individual experience like driving through a haunted town by ourselves. Added to the suspense! We all agreed that it was really fun and we would do it again, and it was worth the $95 admission for the car. The drive through was about 30 minutes.
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Past Awards
2018 Awards
Best Atmosphere (Given by: Team In-Corpse-A-Rated)
Best Fantasy Scenery (Given by: Team In-Corpse-A-Rated)
Best Use of Lasers (Given by: Team In-Corpse-A-Rated)
