UNDEAD IN THE WATER returns for their second year aboard the WWII 1945 American Victory ship in Tampa, FL. They have returned bigger and better for their second year, improving on the great groundwork they established in 2018. This will be a great attraction to watch grow over the years as they learn more about their unique operation aboard a historical ship, operating as a museum by day.
Board the ship in order to survive the zombie outbreak of Tampa Bay. However, it seems it may be too late, as some zombies have been rumored to find their way onboard already.
For their second year, UNDEAD returns with a larger cast, and a healthy mix of experienced and beginner scare actors. Scares range from the creepy to the aggressive, and are well-placed throughout the ship based on scenes. UNDEAD has fine tuned their performer placement in order to build suspense in narrow hallways with performers lurking in the dark rooms, catching Guests off guard as they wander down the narrow dark hallways. This could stand to be amped up even further in future years, with more randomized and scattered performer placements, building the intensity of these locations.
Performers are well scripted and ad lib dialogue within the story parameters, without relying on generic banter too much. As the team learns more about what is most effective in their unique layout, they will continue to improve even more, as has been seen in their improvements just this past year. Actor placement has been fine tuned to create more effective scares, including some great team scares, and can continue to be developed and intensified. The military themed performers were very effective in creating panic and urgency, however, sometimes it was hard to hear specific dialogue over the noisy atmosphere. If desired, the team could slightly amplify voices with a simple belt pack microphone system in order to create a presence over the rest of the cacophony of the attraction, and emphasize the importance of their drill sergeant-esque lines.
UNDEAD has also added more presence on the dock with a variety of different types of characters interacting with Guests waiting in line for tickets and to gain access to the attraction. This is a huge improvement over last year’s minimal atmosphere on the dock, preparing Guests for what to expect onboard the ship, and bringing the story ashore.
UNDEAD has further developed their costuming this year, including more complete costumes, and furthering the distressing and themed details. Including an increased Cast size, the creative team has taken an effort to increase the immersive theming and suspension of disbelief in these elements. Our review team did notice a (barely discernible due to the distressing) Tampa themed shirt on a zombie which fit into the story of the Tampa Bay takeover, and could possibly be explored further with some transitioning victims (perhaps some opportunities for slightly comedic roles?) of local sports fans/tourists stuck on the dock or ship, warning Guests of the danger ahead, but either way this shirt was a fun easter egg or happy accident. Continuing on the same theme, further variety in character and costume types could be explored to give more depth and surprises to the types of characters found aboard the ship.
As always, the operations team at UNDEAD has great Customer Service, with friendly interactions found all around, and the team is very active in retrieving real time feedback from Guests, thanking them for attending and asking what they thought.
The ship itself naturally has some unique paths and obstacles, including steep stairwells and raised thresholds, and equipment and structures of the ship in the path of travel. However, the team does a great job of highlighting the obstructions with UV paint (visible with the UV flashlights each Guest receives for the walk through). There is one moment where Guests must duck under a set of metal stairs in order to continue. The Actors do a great job of ensuring Guests are not under the stairs when scaring in order to not scare Guests into bumping their heads. Similarly, scares around safety elements (Stairs, trip hazards, etc.) are carefully managed to keep Guests safe as well.
There is a thorough Security checkpoint in order to access the dock, allowing peace of mind for Guests visiting this attraction. Parking is available around the area, with some limited street parking, as well as paid garages and lots. Guests should allow extra time to find parking, especially when events are occurring at the local event centers (including the nearby Amalie Arena). Signage is labeled ‘Zombie Escape Ship’ directing Guests to UNDEAD IN THE WATER, behind the Florida Aquarium.
Not many haunted attractions can boast the impressive location as that of UNDEAD IN THE WATER, as a massive historic ship is the location of this haunt, and eerie lighting adds to the ominous and foreboding nature of this large ship. On the night of our visit, one of the main speakers facing the dock was not operational. However, we were told there was more themed music playing for those on the dock to hear, though screams, banging, and other sounds were clearly heard from the ground prior to boarding, enhancing the atmosphere and building anticipation and suspense prior to boarding. We look forward to seeing how UNDEAD will continue to increase their presence prior to boarding, including more themed audio (ship creaking sounds etc. mixed among the music elements).
UNDEAD has added a good number of special effects for their second season. Because this ship is used as a museum during the day, the team has a very limited time to install ALL of their props and effects each night, as none can be visible during the day to tour Guests. This creates a unique operational challenge for the haunt design, and certainly has limitations on what the team is able to accomplish as far as special effects. The creative team took direct feedback from our 2018 review and has made some improvements to their special effects and creative setup, including an impressive build up towards their finale involving some claustrophobic maze elements using nautical equipment (nets, life jackets, hoses, etc.) to create obstacles and portions of the maze. As a next step, the team should continue to develop the finale moment, as the step into the bright museum room (formerly the queue for the haunt in 2018) was a bit jarring after a dark walk through without a big climactic moment following the intensity of the maze (maybe a military style quarantine with a brief confinement and then air gun/strobe blast prior to being released?).
In 2018, there were more UV paint details to be uncovered with Guests’ UV flashlights, and these were fun to explore as they added more to the story and ‘history’ of the ship’s happenings. Perhaps in the future, there could be a hidden story among the markings, and maybe even some incentive to find a hidden code or symbols (maybe for a free second trip through the haunt, half price return ticket, or takeaway item?). Those Guests distracted by looking for clues and story details are further engaged and easier to scare.
UNDEAD has made some effort to enhance the intensity of the narrow hallways on the ship, and seems to be on the right path to continue through the season and years to come, including adding distractions toward the end of the hallway, distracting Guests from what may pop out of the many windows and doors along the hallways. The addition of low tech special effects (action triggered audio effects, fog, lighting, etc.) could help to disguise scares and further disorient Guests in these areas.
SFX Effective at Scaring, Entertaining (35% of score): 8.25
Could Tell What Theme Was Without Asking (15% of score): 9
Theme Well Executed, Believable (25% of score): 9
Location Authenticates Theme (10% of score): 9.75
How Scary (15% of score): 7.5
UNDEAD IN THE WATER uses the location of the haunt to tell their story and be the center of their theme, allowing the ship to take a central role in the story, according to the Creative Team. They did a great job at follow this although this concept can be further developed in the future to give the ship a more active participation in the story (creaking sounds, water dripping/rushing sounds, more themed lighting additions, etc.)
UNDEAD IN THE WATER strives to bring a scary, yet not too intense experience onboard the ship, according to one member of their creative team. This is what makes this a great family attraction (for those with older, brave kids), or for those not ready for too intense or extreme haunts. This is not to say that UNDEAD doesn’t have some intense and scary moments. The walk through has nice pacing to it, breaking up intense moments with picturesque views and walks between scenes allowing Guests to catch their breath before the next intense passage through this historic ship.
Occasionally, Actors would reveal spoilers of upcoming scenes (example: one Actor said ‘Go see the Captain on the bridge and see what’s going on’, versus ‘Head to the bridge and see if there’s anything we can do’, not alluding to what may be happening to the Captain).
What They Liked Most:
I was expecting a wow factor for $35 per ticket. It was a 12 minute walk through a musky ship with very few scares, most of the actors/actresses were ... Read More
Suggested Improvements:
Don't waste your time or money
What They Liked Most:
It was my first year hearing about this attraction, and I'm so glad I knew someone who worked in it! I'm they type of person to react in a h... Read More
Suggested Improvements:
I loved the part with the captain of the ship, however I think I would like to see a spacer there at the set of steps afterwards. There could be a rea... Read More
What They Liked Most:
Amazing great set up great experience they really do a good job to make you feel part of it. Definitely worth going to. Not only are you part of an in... Read More
Suggested Improvements:
Wish they had Souvenirs like a shirt or hat
MASTER: 100 reviews of 60 unique haunts in 10 years.
EXPERT: 50 reviews of 30 unique haunts in 5 years.
VETERAN: 15 reviews of 10 unique haunts in 3 years.
APPRENTICE: 5 reviews of 5 unique haunts in the past year.
NOVICE: Entry-level team.
705 Channelside Drive, Tampa, Florida 33602