Haunted Mansion

OVERALL RATING :

Scare Factor

Actors

Set Design

Length

RAW SCORE : 7.84375

RATING

REVIEW

I have been going to the Reinke brother's Haunted Mansion now for several years. I always look forward to seeing what new awesome props they have created since the last time I wandered these haunted halls.

This year the prop department did not disappoint. Their haunt is chalk full of very pretty props that their crew appears to have built in house. In each room I remember thinking, "that prop/effect/scene was really great looking"! They had everything from cool ghost effects, to rooms appearing to try and crush visitors. They also try to play on individual phobias such as spiders, snakes and vertigo, and it all works well. There were even small things that had me chuckle a bit or stand and stare in awe! I recommend looking for a figure on a wall, which reminds me of a demised version of a certain long eared horrible "Star Wars" character. I badly wanted to put a caption near him saying "Meesa Dead!". In another area there were some awesome skeletons that made my feet heavy and I just wanted to stare for hours. The focus of this attraction is and has always been the fantastic sets, great illusions, and wonder props.

The only shortcomings that I see for the props department to work on would be to come up with more coverings for the ceiling. There were a few times where I remember being distracted by a cool looking prop hanging from above. When I looked up at the prop rather than the desired strait ahead, I would see the real ceiling's tiles behind. This unfortunate moment would then bring me back into reality, rather than the magical haunted place it wanted to make me believe I was in.

The Haunted Mansion contained only a handful of actors which they did have an effective time making themselves fill more rooms by appearing to several times to scare us. Unfortunately there were only a few actors that said anything other than "Grrr..." or "Get Out". I would like to see more actors with more dialog than what was displayed. This is especially true for characters who are very recognizable and speak in their source material.

Overall, I very much enjoy this haunt. Besides the great looking Eye Candy, Haunted Mansion also a fun atmosphere. They also have a great shop of Halloween props, costumes, gags and even magic tricks. Every one working outside the haunt it's self is extremely helpful, nice and welcoming. For Haunt aficionados as well as people new to trying to scare themselves, this is a place easy to spend more time exploring than first intended.

PROS

Great sets, fun atmosphere. Great for families as well as new haunt goers with out being too tame. Haunt owners very friendly and try to make sure everyone is having a great time.

CONS

A couple sights that don't keep the illusion. Too few actors the night we were there. Could use to be a bit longer.

RATING

REVIEW

Haunted Mansion is one of those few haunts that you can bring your younger children to and enjoy the haunt as an adult as well. They don't rely on extreme gory violent scares or disturbing imagery like other haunts, but employ a more Disney like creativity to their set design. Don't let that fool you, the haunt still produces some scares as well as plenty of rooms that instill fright. Their cleverness, however, shines through in their illusions and fun atmosphere. You wonder how they fit so many rooms in the space they have allocated. The monsters put on a good enough act, although some just hit us with the typical "What are you doing here!!". The life size chucky doll was probably the creepiest signature monster to me. The Spider room stands out to me as a great improvement, mostly b/c I freaking hate spiders.

PROS

Very immersed and fun set design that is lengthy enough to make price of admission well worth it. Great for younger children.

CONS

The fun detracts from the scare some.

RATING

REVIEW

The Haunted Mansion is a really fun haunt and I absolutely love their Halloween store!!! The store was as much a part of the overall experience to me as the haunt itself, so I am going to go ahead and say something about that first. To kick everything off, they have these great old Halloween theme music videos playing in the store while you are waiting in line that puts you right into the Halloween spirit. If you are as much as a Halloween freak as I am, you will be giddy over all the rubber creepy stuff covering the entire store from the floor to the ceiling and even on the ceiling. I wanted to stay for hours just to look at all the cool costumes and stuff, but we had to move on the next haunt.

As for this haunt, I really hate comparing and rating one haunt from other sometimes because every haunt is so unique and doesn't always fit our score card criteria. So here is the bottom line. As far as scary haunts go, this is more of the Disney version. They really went out of their way to make as much eye candy as possible and make this the most entertaining experience possible. I think the actual performances of the actors could be stronger, but there are so many other things going on, it makes this attraction simply a lot of fun! At one point, I even found myself dancing with the critics in their skeleton room where they have a really cool Disney like effect going on. The Music was fun, the workers and performers were fun, and the whole experience was fun! I think this is a great family haunt.

PROS

Light scares, great family venue, indoors, lots of eye candy, great Halloween store

CONS

Not overly scary, acting was not great, relied on too many prop scares

RATING

REVIEW

Take a trip down memory lane to a time when haunts didn't rely on gore to entertain you and instead use some of the greatest creativity that can be seen. You can take this trip by visiting The Haunted Mansion in Littleton. This haunt has made some changes this year and each one is a great addition to an already great attraction. The creativity here is in abundance and never ceases to amaze me. If you're looking for blood and guts, this is not your haunt. If you are looking for genuine creativity with a sense of humor this is your place!! There is something here for all ages and all tastes. There are some very detailed sets here that provide shivers, amazement and fun. The new rock room is great and the way it comes to life is great fun! Dark corridors, bats in the dark, ice caves, teetering columns, and skeletons with groove are all part of the fun. The spider scene is well done with design and sound.

The scene with the strobes with monks was disorienting and effective! Stopping by to see the characters from The Wizard of Oz is always a treat! Space is well used here, and there is plenty to see. Keep your eyes peeled for Political figures for a great laugh.

Once you have left the haunt, take the time to look around the store and catch a show from one of the magicians, they are very entertaining! This is a great value for families and they offer lights on tour during the day on Saturday's for the younger set.

PROS

Great layout, added length, great new scenes

CONS

Train horn gone, could use more actors

RATING

REVIEW

This haunt was great! The props alone will thrill you. I think that's what makes this haunt really notable. As I went into the first room, my heart was pounding hard because it was dark and I didn't know what to expect. It's obvious the owners spent a lot of time and effort decorating the place, lighting the rooms and setting the mood for the scare. The mansion is filled with different types of rooms, each bringing you to another world, so take your time to absorb each room as it comes alive. One of my favorite rooms was the one featuring a floating ghost; its red eyes kept floating even as the ghost appeared and disappeared. In each room I kept trying to figure out how they put it together—where did they get so many awesome props to make this look so unreal? Very cool! It takes talent to pull off so many rooms with equally great props.

The actors did a good job coming after people and making those in our group feel "welcome." I liked that some were silent and snuck up on us . Beware! You might gain a new friend who follows you around. My new friend who came after me was Chucky! I think this was a great character to have, but I wished he had acted more like the Chucky we know from the movies—having a knife and talking to you in that voice. I admit I got scared and jumped at some points, but I think they could improve on their scare tactics—a couple of the actors came out of character. (Overall, they could probably use some more actors.) It was hard to figure out what was coming next, and it was very enjoyable to discover other rooms with other evil characters. I liked going through the house, and I came out of it feeling like I wanted to see it again. The haunt is good and totally worth seeing. But fair warning: DON'T EAT BEFORE YOU GO IN … you might vomit in one of the rooms.

PROS

Amazing props, great length for the haunt

CONS

Not enough actors, not so scary

RATING

REVIEW

The smaller but uniquely great Haunted Mansion is a wonderful experience to welcome you to into the Halloween season. The unique props and different themed rooms are quite amazing and are constantly changing throughout the haunt. Snakes, spiders, and assorted creepy crawlies, seem to attack you from many different angles. The amazing props from room to room will leave you wondering if that was real or fake. There is a lot to look at in the Haunted Mansion, each of the rooms seems theatrically detailed, and keeps you anxious to see what the next set will be. The Haunted Mansion did lack in the number of actor, and they could have used their actors better to coordinate with their great sets. The Haunted Mansion would be great for the family, not to scary, but still gives you a few jumps.

PROS

The props were amazing incorporated well into their sets.

CONS

Needed more actors

RATING

REVIEW

The Haunted Mansion seems to be one of the smaller haunted houses in my opinion but what it is lacking in size it makes up for in its unique props and interesting sets. Every room has a different and exciting theme, which always keeps you on your toes. This haunt seems to cover a wide variety of classic monster themes, and tries to elicit every fear that a person could have. A snake that pops out at you and other classic scares abound inside the Haunted Mansion. In each and every room you are met with a new surprise keeping you constantly wondering what awaits you around the next corner. The scare factor at the haunted mansion could improve by adding more actors, and more diversity in their roles. All in all, the Haunted Mansion is well worth checking out so that you can see their beautifully detailed sets. The Haunted Mansion is a great place for the family to experience the magic of Halloween.

PROS

Exciting sets, fun for the family

CONS

Could have more actors

RATING

REVIEW

If you like special effects mixed with some fun scares, this haunt is for you. There are just so many things to look at in this haunt, you could probably walk through it 3 times and still spot something new every time.

I loved the changes this haunt made this year. If you have arachnophobia, there is a room in this haunt that will probably freak out in. I thought the spider room was great though, especially with the loud spider noises! The rock room with the shifting columns was really unique as well. The rocks had faces, which reminded me of the talking trees in the Wizard of Oz. It made me feels like I was Dorothy, only I was waiting for them to throw pebbles at me or something. I guess you could say it rocked! It was a great, fun idea and they pulled it off well. One other thing I must comment on is that they put strobe lights right after the vortex tunnel. Talk about disorientating! Excellent design!

The part of this haunt that needs the most work is the acting. I feel like adding a few better-trained actors would really add a lot to this haunt. The actors that are already in this haunt are not bad, but there is definitely room for improvement. I liked the my size chucky though…he was great, and he didn't even have to say a word! He definitely made me chuckle.

Overall, I really liked this haunt. It was fun to go through, and they have a lot of great ideas. The acting could use a little work and it could have been a little longer, but the props and special effects were right on target!

PROS

Fun, unique, great props/set

CONS

Acting has room for improvement