Worlds of Fun Halloween Haunt Review (2024)

Halloween Haunt offers a large cast of different talent through the entire event, lurking within the haunts, the scare zones, and performing on stage during live shows. While there is an undoubtedly large cast, certain haunts could use more scares within their halls.

The cast worked well within their environment, each actor playing their role while limited by interactions with guests. Dialogue was appropriate for most attractions, with Ripper Alley’s clever quips and charming allure, BloodShed with the MacDonald family of maniacs, and Zombie High with undead groans and intimidating silence. We noticed Lore of the Vampire had a wide variety of different vampires throughout the ages. Each actor capturing their era with physical acting, though a few actors used the line “Just one bite” repeatedly.

The most interactive and creative cast of the night came from Cornstalkers and Blood on the Bayou. The cast of Cornstalkers are scarecrows with varying personality types and different scare methods. Some are playful and others are silent, but deadly. Blood on the Bayou has one of the smallest casts consisting of the manor’s residents who harness dark powers that warn of danger, victims, and voodoo dolls.

While interaction with the scare zone actors were also limited, we did experience the most banter there. We spent time talking to The Conductor, who explained that the Ghost Ride was not a ride for guests. His personality is unique, and it was a joy chatting with him at the opening ceremony. We had interactions with actors in the Abyss scare zone, who were up in our faces and intimidating us with growls and snarls as we crossed their paths.

The best demonstration of the character’s different personalities and acting skills was in the opening ceremony, where a large majority of the cast came flooding out the gates, interacting with guests as they either made their way on stage or to their assigned haunt. The actors were on their A-game even while waiting for their larger-than-life Overlord to kick off the festivities. Jack the Ripper threatened us while he stood on stage, and we cheered for the clowns who danced directly in front of us.

Overall, energy was high, and the cast enjoyed their time while bringing fun entertainment and scares to their guests!

We were impressed by the costumes! They were elaborate and specific across the event.

We enjoyed the clowns at the Ringmaster’s Last Laff live show. They have creative details we have not seen before. We love that Worlds of Fun has generated houses and the characters from scratch. We felt they executed classic character designs wonderfully while bringing a unique take on character types.

We saw beautiful, airbrushed makeup, impressively lit gore, and realistic masks. We saw a stray set of Vans on a ghoul decayed and rotted and some confusing costuming choices within Pumpkin Eaters, with clothing that seemed misplaced as the scene was from the late 1600s.

The Dead Harvest caught our attention as we saw residents of this wicked town slowly turn into pumpkin monstrosities. Our favorite costuming of the night includes the dancing Vampire Queen at the end of Lore of the Vampire, the Voodoo Doll in Blood on the Bayou, and the gas can-sniffing hillbilly in BloodShed.

The sets within the haunts and outside of the haunts are great. Most houses were on theme, creative, and detailed, while others were distracting from the sets and props.

Lore of the Vampire and Blood on the Bayou were darkly beautiful. The art on the walls and the library were impressive in Lore, as well as the sheer size and winding nature.

Blood on the Bayou was full of hand-painted portions and a giant beating heart. We were particularly grateful that we waited until dark to go to Lore of the Vampire, as it offered the best immersion of the night. We found ourselves underground, unexpecting in the surrounding darkness.

Cornstalkers and Pumpkin Eater: Dead Harvest are two haunts we recommend waiting until dark to go through as they are primarily outdoor haunts.

Special effects were in and outside haunts, like the clock tolling as we entered Ripper Alley, preparing us for the atmosphere.

Sound effects were appropriate in each attraction, and the volume was perfect. BloodShed used mechanical sounds, screaming, and metal music, but it was not over stimulating. It started with elegant and haunting melodies that soon dissolved into rock as we explored modern eras of vampires.

Fog and lighting covered the haunts. There was a strobe effect on the dancing Vampire Queen which was great! We saw a swinging spooker in Cornstalkers that came down on a rope, and a ghoul standing atop a giant floating planchette over a Ouija board in Blood on the Bayou!

We were actively scared by moving set pieces that were placed cleverly and timed well throughout the haunt. The scare zones had sliders and characters wore clicker gloves.

There are indeed scares at Halloween Haunt. The actors have the bait and switch method down, and utilize one another as distractions, offering unexpected frights.

Lore of the Vampire and Blood on the Bayou provided scares to our entire group, while our members in the back were underwhelmed by other attractions.

Cornstalkers had creative scares, including a bungee jump that nearly knocked us to the floor, and a scarecrow who popped out of the stalks while we were figuring out where to go. The character put pressure on us as he counted down from 5, making us panic before he emerged and screamed at us.

BloodShed and Zombie High were gory with their set design and costuming. Ripper Alley and Pumpkin Eaters were atmospheric and offered creepy elements throughout such as jump scares and fake outs.