Hanna Haunted Acres 2007 Review

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Hanna Haunted Acres Hayride-“Snakes, Spiders, Dragons, Oh My”
A peaceful ride on a hayride sounds like a fun time on a cool fall night. But don’t expect that at Hanna Haunted Acres. You’re in for a deadly ride to Hell and you may never return.

Length-8: It will take you nearly 20 minutes to escape the madness of this unique haunted hayride. While there aren’t many dead spots, there is a lack of scenes throughout the haunted hayride.

Design-6: Hanna Haunted Acres is different from other hayrides due to the fact that it relies more on impressive props then it does themed rooms or scenes. There are a couple of scenes here and there such as the mad clown house, ghoul prison and the combine chase, but overall there isn’t something major missing in this haunted hayride.

Props/Animatronics-9: You will have a hard time finding another hayride with the amount of expensive high tech props that Hanna Haunted Acres has. There must have been a sale at Scare Factory because it looks like they have bought up many of their high profile props. Hanna has some expensive props such as the 13 foot Impaler and massive Flying Dragon, but due to poor lighting they don’t have as big of an impact as they should. Other props include flying ghouls, a dropping tarantula, an evil raptor creature and much more.

Acting-4: There’s not really much to say as far as acting goes. Hanna Haunted Acres is mostly timed props and expensive animatronics. There are only a few actors here and there and while they try, they aren’t effective and would be better off somewhere else.

Scare Effect-7: This is a hayride that is different from what you usually expect. You won’t find many actors since the majority of the scares come from animated props. The props are timed well and some are downright jaw dropping. While you may not be frightened by a large falling spider or massive flying dragon, many are and for the most part it can be a frightening experience for some. The most effective part of the hayride is the combine chase out of the exit. It’s fast, furious and downright intense.

Fright Value: $10 is a little high for a hayride of this caliber. While a lot of money was obviously spent on expensive props and eye candy, I would like to see some of that money be spent on acting. When more actors are incorporated into the hayride, it will be well worth the price of admission.

Final Stab-6.8: This is one of the most unique hayrides around, but without actors and scenes it falls way short of being anything close to frightening. You can have the most expensive props around, but without actors you’re haunt isn’t going to be effective. Hanna Haunted Acres Hayride has a lot of potential and I would like to see some changes in the next couple of years.

Entanglement Corn Maze-“Escape The Acres of Corn”
An empty cornfield awaits your arrival off in the distance of the cool fall night. Do you dare enter and try to escape Entanglement Corn Maze?

Length-8: This is a downright massive and confusing maze. While there are many dead spots throughout the cornfield, it may take you around 15-30 minutes to find your way out of Entanglement.

Design-5: There’s not much I can say as far as design goes. There is a lack of scenes or rooms and it’s mostly just a long lasting corn maze that looks the same anywhere you turn. There is no excuse for not incorporating scenes or rooms into a corn maze just because it may be a little difficult coming up with ideas. Be creative and people who pay good money to enter the corn maze will truly appreciate it.

Props/Animatronics-1: If you consider heads of corn props then there are thousands of them. But unlike the other haunts at Hanna Haunted Acres, Entanglement has nothing in the way of eye candy.

Acting-1: Every actor I came across was either out of character or talking with another actor about something that had nothing to with the corn field. You will come across chainsaw wielding maniacs and many actors who wear Michael Myers masks. There is absolutely no one who stands out in Entanglement.

Scare Effect-5: As I said before, this is a very confusing corn maze. It can be intimidating because of its shear size and complexity, but it’s not scary the least bit.

Fright Value: $10 is way too high for an ordinary corn field that just about every haunted farm offers. It should be included with the price of any select haunt.

Final Stab-4.0: Some reviewers will be lenient on the scores they give corn mazes, but that’s not how I review places. I’m honest, to the point and try to give constructive criticism when possible. With all the money Hanna Haunted Acres has invested into high end animatronics you would think they could put a little time and effort in renovating Entanglement Corn Maze. But sadly it’s just like every corn maze you’ve been to before.

Acres Manor-“Trailer Park Terror”
Acres Manor returns for another year of family fun fright. Even though its exterior looks like your typical trailer home, you’ll be a bit surprised of what you see inside.

Length-4: Your journey through Acres Manor will take around 3 minutes to complete. There are many dead spots along the way.

Design-6: Acres Manor resembles a decrepit haunted house taken over by ghouls. Rooms include a bubbling laundry room, a creepy dinning area, piano room and much more. Some of the scenes are well layed out, but poorly executed.

Props/Animatronics-5: Most of the props at Acres Manor are obviously homemade, but pop up when you least expect them to. Many of the haunts you’ll enter at Hanna Haunted Acres have expensive store bought animatronics and unfortunately Acres Manor got the wrong end of the stick.

Acting-4: There’s not much to say about the acting to be honest with you. Most of the characters you encounter either pop out of crates or windows saying boo or just stare at you.

Scare Effect-5: There is a lot of potential when it comes to this family oriented haunt. The actors are well timed, but don’t have any lines or dialogue to yell out at you. If trained actors were used and the haunt was extended Acres manor could be one of the better haunts at Hanna Haunted Acres.

Fright Value: $8 is a very steep admission price for this trailer park haunt. Just like Entanglement Corn Maze, this haunt should be included with the admission price of any haunt at Hanna Haunted Acres.

Final Stab-4.8: Here is another haunt that has so much potential, but has the wrong people behind it. While I understand that Acres Manor is more of a family oriented haunt, there is no excuse for the $8 ticket price. Maybe one day this haunt will be taken to the next level and renovated, but right now it’s just mediocre at best.

Hell’s  1/2 Acre-“Meet Satan’s Minions”
The Devil’s 1/2 Acre is back for another year at Hanna Haunted Acres. Will you be tempted by Satan’s minions or walk away free of sin?

Length-7: It will take around 7-10 minutes to tour the pits of Hell at Devil’s 1/2 Acre. The majority of the time is taken up by the impressive Satan skit at the end of the haunt.

Design-7: Devil’s 1/2 Acre resembles a cave inhabited by demons from Hell. There aren’t many stand out scenes, but the Devil’s lair room more than makes up for that. It’s like you’re stepping into the Devil’s territory with intense lighting and great audio. It’s something you have to experience for yourself and one of the highlights at Hanna Haunted Acres.

Props/Animatronics-7: Devil’s 1/2 Acre is using basically the same exact props from last year’s haunt. While some are impressive, they can be loud at times. Every animatronic found at Devil’s 1/2 Acre uses air compressors and a silencer would surely help the animated scares to be more effective. A pile of corpses, rotting corpses and much more can be seen at this returning haunt.

Acting-7: The actors at Devil’s 1/2 Acre are enthusiastic, but fall short of being scary. The highlight of your haunt has the only talented actor you’ll find at Hanna Haunted Acres. At one point you’ll enter into a dark room with a Pentagram in the middle and Satan’s minions watching your every move. As Satan sits on his thrown he taunts you and tricks you into walking into the middle of the pentagram. It’s a pretty intense scene and will most likely be the highlight of your Hanna Haunted Acres Experience.

Scare Effect-7: At certain points you’ll be caught off guard, but the intensity is taken to another level once you enter Satan’s lair. This unique and sinfully scary scene may be too intense for young children, but is sure to strike some fear into adults alike.

Fright Value: Devil’s 1/2 Acre is one of the better haunts at Hanna Haunted Acres. $10 is a bit high for a haunt around 10 minutes, but as part of a combo for $27 it’s worth the price of admission.

Final Stab-7.0: Devil’s 1/2 Acre returns for another year of sinfully fun fright. Yes, it’s pretty much identical to last year’s haunt, but one of the better attractions you’ll find at Hanna Haunted Acres.

 
Phantazmagoria-“Phantoms Beware”
One of Hanna Haunted Acres main attractions returns for another year of animatronic scares and little to no actors. Lets see is this years version has improved from last years haunt.
 
Length-7: It will take 7-10 minutes to exit Phantazmagoria. While there aren’t many dead spots, there are scenes that are dying to have actors incorporated into them.
 
Design-7: In Phantazmagoria you will enter a couple of buildings to view various haunting scenes. Some scenes include a Ring Girl TV room, detailed graveyard, insane asylum and much more. The highlight of Phantazmagoria is the impressive graveyard which is full of eye candy galore.
 
Props/Animatronics-7: Phantazmagoria is full of animatronics, but many aren’t as impressive as they should be. Because of the air compressors many of these props use, they are very loud and that ultimately takes away the effect the company is trying to achieve. An easy solution to that problem would be buying a Silencer from Scare Parts to reduce the sound of the air compressor when the animatronic is activated. Sights you’ll come across are a charging car, flying zombies and even a speaking Gargoyle. Even though this animatronic is impressive it wasn’t working properly the night we visited. Additional to speaking, he is also supposed to blow fog out from his nose.
 
Acting-6: A big problem at Hanna Haunted Acres is its actors. They either wear cheap rubber masks or are completely out of costume. This is the case with Phantazmagoria. None of the characters stand out and the animatronics become the driving force of this haunt.
 
Scare Effect-6: While Phantazmagoria has impressive animatronics, the actors are terrible in trying to scare patrons who come through the haunt. The purpose of animatronics is to distract the customer while an actor jumps out from a dark corner to scare the person. This isn’t the case with the majority of the haunts at Hanna Haunted Acres.
 
Fright Value: $10 is a high price for a haunt of this caliber, but for only $27 you can tour every haunt at Hanna Haunted Acres and really get your moneys worth.
 
Final Stab-6.6: Phantazmagoria returns another year, but is pretty identical to last year’s version. Nothing truly stands out in this haunt with the exception of a few animatronics here and there. When actors are the highlight instead of fancy props, this could be a quality haunt worth the price of admission.