ESCAPE ROOMS – YouEscape – Online

YOUESCAPE ONLINE LIVE ESCAPE ROOM

I took on the challenge of YouEscape solo today. I’ve played a few online escape rooms, but this is the first interactive online escape room I have played with a live game master through video chat. Nick the creator of this unique escape room experience has a passion for escape games and you can tell. It’s a creative game that has both story and clever puzzles. It felt like a combination of the online games and live games done through video chat. The puzzles connect with the story. Some of them you physically complete through your computer, while others you instruct the game master on camera to complete on your behalf. You can play as a group, solo or with strangers if you wish. The homemade props are effective for symbolizing the different aspects of the story and supplying the necessary information, however they are not realistic like you would find in a big budget live escape room. Overall it was fun. Thank you Nick for inviting me to play.

If you’d like more information or to book your game click this PATREON LINK.

HAUNTS – Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest – CA

SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN FRIGHT FEST 2018

Magic Mountain Fright Fest is always one of the most fun theme park haunts of the season. The cast of actors at Fright Fest are more than just monsters, they are a real family of monsters. They are the heart of Fright Fest. The mazes are well done and the entertainment is entertaining, but the energy is unlike any other event.

The videos below are walk throughs of the mazes….SPOILER ALERT.

BONUS VIDEO…WATCH ME TAKE A PUPPET THROUGH WILLOUGHBY’S ON MY VENTRILOQUIST CHANNEL:

HAUNTS – Indy ScreamPark – Indiana

INDY SCREAMPARK 2018

Indy ScreamPark boasts big scares, but is it true?

I was pleasantly surprised to find such a large Halloween event while traveling through Indiana so early in the haunt season. I had seen billboards promoting the haunted attraction and everyone I asked locally seemed to have heard of them. I decided to make the drive to Anderson to find out for myself.

I could tell it was a large event as I pulled up into the large parking area. I didn’t have a lot of time due to my busy schedule and had gotten there very late in the evening. The box office was kind enough to send me through VIP so I would have the opportunity to see all of the haunts. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this seemingly pop-up Halloween fair.

There were 5 different mazes and a nice midway area. Most of the haunts were enclosed and at times even quite claustrophobic depending on whether or not you allowed the actors to make the experience interactive. The Backwoods haunt was much more open and a very different type of walk through than the others. It honestly was my least favorite style of haunt, but allows for the guests to have that dark alone time to get themselves in the mindset to be scared. It’s just not really the type of scare that works on me personally, I imagine many others find it terrifying. I enjoyed the interactive moments in the other attractions. I liked being pulled from the group and inserted into the storytelling and scenes. I loved the personalized moments the most. The actors did a wonderful job throughout the event. I found many of the scenes in the attractions to have impressive set design and props. I especially liked the use of electricity in one of the scenes that stood out the most to me.

Overall I found this to be a very well done event with great actors. Was I scared? A few times they really got me with the jump scares. Do I think the average person (that doesn’t travel the country going to haunted houses) would be scared? Yes. I recommend Indy Scream Park. I think you’ll have a great time.

HAUNTS – The Scream Zone – CA

THE SCREAM ZONE 2018

The Scream Zone in Del Mar California is a fun fairground haunted attraction with two walk through mazes and a hayride. There are also food trucks, merchandise and a mini escape room. You can purchase each maze individually or as a combo.

My husband & I ended up here after attending two other events in the area on a Saturday night. Unfortunately due to heavy rains the hayride was closed. We had done the hayride here years ago and were looking forward to seeing if it had changed, but safety is always most important.

House of Horror is the larger of the two walk through mazes. Both are a fun time. There are a few really impressive moments with set decor and ideas, but overall the set, props, costumes and actors are just good. Neither really tell a story, but are rather a bunch of scenes thrown together. At least KarnEvil has strong theming throughout. They do a pretty good job of purging the lines. They put us through in a group of about 10 at a time in House of Horror and a bit smaller group for KarnEvil.

Overall it was fun. It is the perfect type of event for the location and crowds. It’s a professional fairground haunt worth checking out if you’re in the area.

HAUNTS – The Haunted Lodge (Scareventures) – CA

The Haunted Lodge (Scareventures) 2018

We were warned not to go in the woods for fear of a half man half elk creature…but we continued anyway and luckily lived to tell the tale.

My husband and I went to The Haunted Lodge last night while down in the San Diego area attending haunted attractions. This was our second stop of the evening. I wasn’t sure what to expect since it appeared to be a plywood maze built in the front yard of an Elk’s Lodge. However, I was quite impressed with the set design and attention to detail. The actors worked very hard. The costumes and make up looked good. It told a story and even had a couple of moments that were very in line with immersive theatre in the way they have you sit in the scene and become a character in the story. Overall we had a fun time.

I especially enjoyed the opening two scenes because they set up the story and tone for the adventure to come. Both actors in the beginning did a splendid job of communicating the story in a fun and creepy way. I also enjoyed the photo op (on my own phone) at the beginning because it fit in the scenario well and left us with a memory to post online.

After sitting around the campfire listening to the tale of the monster to come, we were given a red flashlight and sent on our way into the maze. We encountered many ghouls along our path.

We caught a scare from the anticipated ElkMan a little early on while in one of my favorite scenes. The set up was great and had us skeptical that we were really entering a safe homey cabin no matter how much the actors tried to convince us we were safe. It was wonderfully done.

I also really enjoyed the tent area. I’m sorry we couldn’t save you young man, we had to save ourselves!

However the maze kept going and seemed to go a little off track from the tale at times. It was fun, but lost that beautiful storytelling from the beginning as we progressed through the attraction. I did enjoy that the haunt staple “monster with chainsaw” fit into the scene in this attraction. So many times it’s random, but they made it work well. Great job to all of the designers and actors.

Overall it was a lot of fun and I’m glad we got to experience this attraction. I recommend checking them out if you are in the El Cajon (San Diego) area.