Last weekend I went to Screamtown, located just west of Chaska, MN, with my wife and her sisters. While I did have a previous experience at the haunted attraction, it was during its first year when it was located next to Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee. To say that it was lackluster in its first year would be far too kind.
Screamtown might now have surpassed its nearby competitor, Trail of Terror (located southwest of Shakopee, MN). Screamtown has that "new haunted attraction smell". While the $25 admission price had me doubting the drive west of Chaska, it did get us in to five different attractions -- each of which began from kind of a central courtyard where you could buy food and drinks from a couple of vendors and warm up in one of the tents.
With the rather heavy load of ads on local radio stations, I have to say that the owner of Screamtown is serious about making a top-notch Halloween-themed haunted attraction that draws from beyond just the southwest Minneapolis suburbs.
But with anything, there were pitfalls. As the clock rolled towards 10:30 a few of the attraction's workers seemed to, for lack of a better word, mail it in. I witnessed at least two costumed employees sitting down, doing nothing to even try to scare attendees as they walked by when we walked through the Circus Asylum. The number of actors working in the corn maze was also a bit sparse (maybe a few actors had taken the evening off but it's better to have extras than not enough). With a bit more attention to weed out actors / employees who can't be bothered to scare people for even three hours and an attempt to knock down admission -- possibly to around $20 per person -- Shakopee's Trail of Terror will easily be exposed as the third-rate haunted attraction that it truly is.
While the lines were long, you definitely have to check out the Oak Blood Forest which is the largest haunted attraction at Chaska's Scream Town. At least there is a looping video depicting the lore and history of the haunted woods at Screamtown. I'd say if there was one haunted attraction you plan on checking out, Screamtown is a far better bet than either Trail of Terror or Frightmares at Buck Hill.
To find Screamtown, head west of Chaska, MN on U.S. Highway 212 a few miles after the four lane portion ends. Find out the specifics at Screamtown.com
2 comments:
A coworker went last weekend and said it was terrible, totally not worth the admission price.
For a lower admission, coupled with employees who actually worked their entire shift, Screamtown will be a decent attraction but at the $25/person admission price I know I won't be going back.
Post a Comment