Hanna Haunted Acres (Indianapolis, IN)
“Farm Fresh Fear”
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
Welcome to Hanna Haunted Acres where fear has invaded the farm. Let’s get this review started with their haunted corn field. Field of Fiends is where you’ll enter a cornfield that’s full of fright and evil doers. You never know what you’ll see hiding behind the corn stalks. The time you’re stuck in the maze depends on how good you are at mazes. It could be a 10 minute excursion or an hour. This is your typical haunted corn maze and we were out in about 15 minutes give or take a few.
Blackout is your standard dark maze where you’ll be walking in the pitch black darkness. Will you escape or be lost forever? There are creepy sounds, a few actors and even elements that will make you feel like you’re walking through a car wash. Yes, you heard me right. We were out in about 3 minutes.
Hanna Haunted Hayride is the most popular attraction and for good reason. It’s quite fun and it’s filled with high tech props and good acting. You’ll explore areas such as the witch’s cabin, the pits of hell, a slaughter house and more. There are some unique effects ranging from an animated headless horseman to an insane combine chase. Hanna’s combine chase is one of the most intense vehicle chases you’ll experience at a hayride. It’s quite nerve wrecking and so is the train crash. Hanna Haunted Hayride is known for its simulated train crash where you’ll be t-boned by an old train. The hay wagon will shift and you’ll hear a loud horn that will make you jump. The baby attached to the front of the train was a nice touch.
Timing was slightly off on some of the special effects. The spider that glides above you didn’t start moving until the hay wagon drove past it. A few animatronics were hard to see since they didn’t have lights on them. The acting has been improved this season and the actors seem to want passengers to have a great time. Total tour time was 18 minutes.
Blood Barn is the newest haunt at Hanna Haunted Acres. Unfortunately it was under 5 minutes long which is typical with Hanna Haunted Acres. The Hayride is pretty lengthy, but the rest is over in a blink of an eye. Blood Barn has decent set design and actually resembles a real barn. It even smells to high heaven. You’ll come face to face with slaughtered animals, tortured victims and some crazy inbred freaks. It’s fun, but there’s nothing that’s too memorable about this attraction.
Carn Evil and Outbreak are the last attractions at Hanna Haunted Acres. Carn Evil isn’t much different from in year’s past. It’s a 3D funhouse of sorts where you’ll see 3D art jump off the walls with help from your 3D glasses. It’s not a bad 3D attraction, but it’s just not too scary unless you have a fear of clowns. Outbreak is a haunted manor full of the undead. Watch your back or you’ll become a human flesh eater. This is a short attraction lasting 4 minutes. You’ll explore areas such as the haunted doll room, a disgusting dinning room, an ambulance and more.
Hanna Haunted Acres is an interesting place. They feature 6 attractions with Hanna Haunted Hayride being the star of the show. The other attractions just pale in comparison in terms of set design, acting and props. So, if you’re low on funds then just purchase a ticket for the hayride. There’s plenty of food and concessions available, but some of the farm isn’t well lit. So, you might miss the concession stand. There’s even palm reading and a large banner you can get your picture taken in front of. Parking is free and we were allowed to park anywhere we wanted to. We luckily found a spot near the entrance. Remember that the grounds can get pretty muddy if it rained the night before. So, wear boots.
Tickets vary in price. General admission on Thursday thru Sunday is $22.95, Friday $26.95, and Saturday it’s $29.95. Fast Pass admission is $34.95 on Thursday thru Sunday, Friday is $37.95, and Saturday it’s $42.95. Hayride only admission is $17.95 Sunday thru Thursday, $18.95 on Friday and it’s $19.95 on Saturday. The hayride is the highlight at Hanna Haunted Acres. It’s very action packed and features special effects you usually don’t see at many hayrides. The other attractions need some work. The acting is sub par. At a certain point we entered a laser fog swamp and the actors were either taking a break or just didn’t care that we were there. They told us that they weren’t being scary at the moment and let us walk by. The acting at the majority of the haunts consists of mostly jump scares instead of dialogue. Hanna Haunted Hayride is a different case though. It’s a fun hayride with good acting.
Hanna Haunted Acres has a variety of attractions that might get your heart racing. They’re short except for the hayride. There’s room for improvement, but it’s a good value if you purchase your tickets for Thurs thru Sunday and the crowds will be much smaller.
Final Stab For Each Haunt
Hanna Haunted Hayride: Length-8 Design-8 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-7 Scare Effect-8 Final Stab: 7.8
Outbreak: Length-4 Design-7 Props/Animatronics-6 Acting-6 Scare Effect-6 Final Stab: 5.8
Carn Evil: Length-4 Design-6 Props/Animatronics-6 Acting-6 Scare Effect-6 Final Stab: 5.2
Blood Barn: Length-4 Design-6 Props/Animatronics-6 Acting-6 Scare Effect-6 Final Stab: 5.6
Field of Fiends: This attraction has not been rated.
Blackout: This attraction has not been rated.
www.hannahauntedacres.com