I will repeat portions of my Van Horn Manor review because it is worth repeating!
The PNE hired Scare
Factory (an American
company based in Ohio) to design a brand new haunted
attraction for the 2009 season and what a fantastic
job they did. The result is a vast improvement over
the amateurish, sensory deprivation labyrinths of previous
years.
Gone are the cheesy chicken wire encased
displays and endless hallways of darkness, instead the
redundancy of the previous haunted attractions have been replaced
with quality and professional attractions worthy, in
my opinion, of international recognition!
From the moment you arrive at the park you pass under a spooky facade, you know you are in for a treat. That is until you get to the security check point...
Now I understand the need for security to eliminate the entering of booze and weapons but I can do without the Gestapo like body searches! Frankly this was a major blemish on what was a fabulous night! Allow me to elaborate further:
I am 53 years old, my hair is gray and I am overweight, the last thing I look like is a 'gang-banger' so I took offence at the extensive search I was subjected to: In addition to having every inch of my body touched and padded down, every pocket on each article of clothing I was wearing was searched and I found this to be very degrading and an extreme invasion of my privacy.
And if you are smoker, your packs of cigarettes will be searched as will any bag, purse, or container you may be carrying.
As far as I am concerned these WANA-BE cops need to further their training in 'profiling' and let those of us 'older folk' in without treating us as if we were some drunken punk attempting to enter a Rave!
And a note for you pot heads... either leave your doobies at home or smoke them before you enter because it will be confiscated if found.
Now the Haunted Attractions presented by Playland were excellent. They are a tremendous improvement over the previous years and well worth the price of admission. However, there is one exception: The Car n Evil Maze.
This maze is nothing but a vapid open air labyrinth of endless tarp covered mod-u-loc fencing punctuated by the occasional clown poster-whoopee! We encountered two scare actors and I think three very weakly decorated vignettes and as the rain poured down on us, our only thoughts were of exiting this 'Maze of Nothing'. At the very least Playland needs to add some rope lighting and other colorful lighting effects along the fencing for some visual impact and perceived value otherwise, the only thing evil about this maze is that it is actually billed as an attraction!
The other Haunted Attractions are quite a different story! And my advise to you is not to rush through them because you
will miss the fabulous display work. All are richly decorated with very spooky and sometimes gory displays with (expensive) animatronics expertly synchronized
to your movements and choreographed to bring the Haunt to life! Scare Factory's
attention to the visual details reveals their passion
for the craft which has elevated these haunted attractions
to "MUST SEE" status.
The scare actors were strategically positioned, seamlessly blending into the environments, and their sudden performances added entertaining realism to the overall presentation of these attractions.
At this time I would like to made a few cautionary statements:
- There is an area punctuated by strobe
lights and could be an issue for individuals with a
particular type of epilepsy known as photosensitive
epileptics where seizures can be triggered by strobe
lights.*
- There is also an area where individuals
suffering from motion sickness may have a problem navigating.
In both cases the solution is simple:
Close your eyes, place your hands on the shoulders of
a friend, and have your friend guide your through the
area.
- There is also an area in one of the attractions where you have to push your way through an air pressured tube. You are squeezed all around you and are in complete darkness. As unique as this feature is, there is no warning by the attendant who is controlling the flow. So should you be even a little claustrophobic, you may have difficulty with this and if you ARE claustrophobic, you definitely want to avoid this because you will freak out!
There is a Beer & Wine garden where adults can calm their frazzled nerves and take refuge from the lines and screaming kids. And of course there are the usual over priced food concessions stands: Avoid the Corn Dogs but do get Gordon to make you an Onion Dog -YUMMY!
The use of cameras and video cameras
of any kind within the attractions is forbidden and strictly enforced
so just leave the cameras in your pockets and purses.
There are interesting and creative Halloween displays scattered throughout enhancing the seasonal ambience and combined with the haunted attractions along with access to several rides, arcade and carnival games, Vancouver finally has a great Halloween Theme Park!
So make it a point to add Fright Nights at Playland to your Halloween Agenda.
Bravo Playland!
* TIP: Go during a week night and wait until around 9pm, at that time most of the school kids have gone home and the line-ups virtually disappear. A rainy night is even better.
- Parking = Plenty
- Handicap Accessibility= Yes
- Waiting Line = YES anywhere from 30 mins +
- Lighting = Excellent
- Sound = Excellent
- Displays = Excellent
- Scare Actors = Very Good
- Safety = Very Good
- Security = Excessive but necessary
- Over All Scare & Fun Factor=
Excellent
