The Haunted River Float at Ruby’s Landing continues to be one of Missouri’s most distinctive and entertaining haunted attractions. From the moment guests arrive, the energetic cast brings the haunt to life with creativity, humor, and commitment, ensuring guests are constantly engaged. It’s clear how much passion the team pours into the experience.
While a few areas could benefit from some improvement, and some aspects of the haunt were missing from previous seasons, this attraction has Halloween spirit and dedication all throughout. The Haunted River Float remains one of our favorite annual traditions and a must-visit for spooky season enthusiasts. This haunted campsite is ready for you! Continue reading to hear about our 2025 experience!
The Haunted River Float provides a fun, interactive, and scary cast of characters that are crawling all over the place. From the moment you arrive on the property, throughout the extra activities, the river float, the maze, and the house itself! You can never let your guard down, not even when you step away to use the restroom, as they may run into you on the way out! We come back every year just to see what the cast has in store.
The actors were very interactive, and there was a diversity in personalities in the physical and verbal acting.
We want to give a specific shoutout to Jason Voorhees, Dexter, and Stitch at the beginning, who playfully antagonize the guests while they wait for the tractor to bring them down to the river. Jason, who was a stand-out character last year, recognized us immediately as we arrived and wasted no time hunting us down. Of course, he also stalked us throughout our entire experience, and it’s crystal clear he loves his job!
Dexter and Stitch were also fantastic. They are bursting with personality and commitment. Stitch, the gas mask-wearing fiend, was having a blast chasing full speed after us, wearing a BOOT all the while!! Dexter, the southern chainsaw-wielding clown, would call you “sugar” and “sweetheart” while terrorizing you. These three are an absolute blast, and pair so well with each other!
This year, we participated in the Zombie Paintball before being brought to the river. We would like to see more zombies spread out in the zombie paintball area and maybe have them wander around their area more to give the guests a moving target to shoot at as opposed to someone standing in one spot. Maybe get some mannequins and dress them up like zombies, too?
Once we got to the river, we had interactions with Cthululu, Jason, and a river clown. They would climb on the side of the raft, spin you around, and also poke at the bottom of your raft with their hands and feet, which made us squirm. We felt that the clown character, while he did provide us with a ton of fun back and forth interaction, may have lingered on just a feeeew minutes longer than necessary. We weren’t sure if he was sticking around to either slow us down or wait for the group behind to catch up, but when he was a non-verbal character to start, we were basically asking outright if we could move on as politely as possible.
We do think that there could have been more actors spread out in a few areas, particularly in the field on the way to the haunted house. In years past, the grass was taller, which made it easier to hide actors and make it more of a maze than the direct path that it was this year. Though we have to say, there was an excellent jump scare done by Dexter in this section. It is easy to let your guard down in this section, and since we were already familiar with Dexter as he terrified us in the queue, we didn’t hesitate when he welcomed us warmly and asked for us to come in for a hug. That is, until two of his other chainsaw-wielding pals come out on either side to attack. He proclaimed, “Welcome to the River! Welcome to Hell!” as we all screamed. It was an amazing reveal, and one of the best scares in the maze section to date!
The trail leading up to The Haunted Float was also greatly improved this year, with the cult doing their cult thing in the graveyard. The suited-up chainsaw jump scare in the tunnel was great!
There was also a good mix of different personalities in physical and verbal acting, as best displayed in the house. The Wonderland scene was excellently done, where the Rabbit was nervous and aggressive, the Mad Hatter was mysterious and creepy, the Red Queen was regal and demanding, and the poor playing cards were screaming their heads off. Art the Clown was a new addition this year, who we got to see at the very beginning and end. He was playful, creepy, AND let us honk his horn! We find that it can be difficult for child actors to be effective in haunts, BUT Art was accompanied by The Pale Girl, who played her role as an eerie little clown girl perfectly! The clowns were lively and aggressive, and the inmates were rambunctious. We also must give a shoutout to the wicked Witch who cuts your wristband before entering the haunted house. She is always a hoot!!
The costumes were great and were appropriate for their areas. From Cthulhu in the river, a werewolf in the field, and the cult in the graveyard, everyone was dressed up and suited for their scenes.
In the haunted house, the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit blended well with the UV-painted set, and the clowns later with their own respective backdrop of bright colors and black lights. Their customs only get better each year we visit. There were a couple of basic clothing items here and there, but overall, the costuming was realistic, detailed, and well-done overall.
Customer service has always been exceptional at Ruby’s Landing. The staff and the actors care about making sure you have a safe and fun experience, and keep you well informed on where to go, and in answering any questions you may have. It was easy to locate the attraction, and everything is laid out online and in person!
We do want to state that while in the haunted house, one member of our crew was hit by two different hidden doors where the actors thought the coast was clear. It’s important to pay attention to the groups you’re scaring, and to make sure not to slam doors open in people’s faces. Our member Clara was also hit in the back towards the end, near the spinning tunnel. We understand that these instances were accidents, but they’re worth noting.
There was also a fence post coming out of the tunnel and into the graveyard that was angled towards the footpath. Coming out of the tunnel where there is uneven terrain, someone could trip and hit that. Our colleague tried to push it away so nobody could fall on it, but didn’t have the proper equipment on hand. These were the only two things to note regarding safety, and because we know how much the staff and the owners of this establishment care, we feel that they would want to be made aware.
We highly encourage customers AND actors reading to always be aware of your surroundings and wear proper footwear in case an accident does occur!
We’re always engrossed in the atmosphere of the Haunted River Float. Every area is a lot of fun and does well in getting everyone prepared for a spooky season. If you are in a large group, we recommend breaking into smaller groups once you get up to the maze/trail or at least at the house itself for the best overall experience.
The pre-haunt area is a great vibe setter, getting everyone excited and amped up for what’s to come. It was a particularly foggy night once we got down to the river, which only elevated the spookiness! It is gorgeous with its natural ambience, though the river felt more barren this year, and the haunt actor holding us in the middle of the river did break the immersion a tad. The field maze could use more action in the beginning, as many of the scenes and other actors are mainly packed towards the end.
The house itself forces visitors to be engaged with its tight and narrow halls and something to see around every corner.
While you are dumped in the parking lot when it’s all said and done, a couple of actors will likely be lingering to chase you away!
The river felt more barren than in years past, without as many special effects being used. There was a decor piece here and there and an animatronic towards the end, but there were no fireworks, cannon blasts, or other sort of special effects happening. The trail leading up to the house was well decorated and lit, with an eerie ambience as we made our way through.
The house is usually where the special effects are on display, with many more animatronics, sound effects, props, and decorations. They changed certain rooms up year to year, so it’s never the same house twice.
Compared to previous years, this season’s house placed a stronger emphasis on sensory stimulation rather than inventive jump scares. The compact layout might contribute to that choice, but at times the experience felt more overstimulating than frightening.
We enjoyed Art’s little macabre corner, the circus, and of course the Wonderland set with the UV-lights the most. They had the best use of special effects in terms of set pieces, animatronics, and decor!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 6.75
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 7.8
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 6.9
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 7.4
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 6.9
The Haunted River Float continues to be a uniquely fun and exciting experience, offering a creative twist on the traditional haunted attraction. While some of the scares could be strengthened in a few areas mentioned above, crafting truly frightening moments (especially in today’s desensitized world) is no easy task, and the team clearly puts in great effort to keep things engaging. The finale could benefit from a slightly stronger ending; spinning tunnels are always a crowd-pleaser, but an additional surprise or final scare as guests exit could elevate the experience even more.
As previously discussed, you are never truly safe, no matter where you are in the attraction, and the engagement is what keeps us coming back. It’s clear that all the actors involved are very dedicated, many of them returning year after year to bring scares to their guests.
Overall, the Haunted River Float remains a beloved tradition for us year after year. Between the haunted experience, the summertime floats, and the beautiful cabins and camping at Ruby’s Landing, it’s a destination that offers something special in every season.
The time of your visit can depend on several factors, including pace of your river journey, queue times, and what extra activities you wish to participate in. Once we got to the main attraction, it took us about 50 minutes overall. The basic ticket ($40) grants access to the river, maze, forest, and haunted house, while the Spookclusive ticket ($75) adds even more thrills with Zombie Paintball, an Escape Room, and Axe Throwing. Both packages include free primitive camping, making it easy to turn your haunt night into a full weekend adventure.
The Haunted River Float delivers a full evening of eerie entertainment and autumn charm. It’s easy to see why this event has become one of our favorite traditions, not just for the scares, but for the atmosphere the cast and crew create every year. Their love for Halloween shines through in every detail. While we found the pricing to be fair with all the factors of running an attraction like this considered, we’d love to see them introduce a combo discount or package deal for guests brave enough to try all the experiences in one night. It would make the adventure even more enticing!
Whether you’re coming for the frights, the float, or the fall festivities with your friends, Ruby’s Landing remains a must-visit destination for spooky season!
22474 Restful Lane, Waynesville, Missouri 65583