Kari (kariniepow)

There is a lighted sign pointing towards the haunt. It is easy to find right off 51

The wait area includes food and beverages (bring cash), paintball shooting and knocker ball. The waiting area to get into the haunt was well done for traffic control and covered for the elements. It was a busy night and took about 30 minutes of waiting. It was no problem because the line entertainment was epic! Pee-Wee the Clown stole the show! He was so dedicated to his role, energetic and even worked an onion into his performance. We had a great time waiting and it went by fast.

The actors were spot on! The one room with the hospital beds had a woman that would not let up! She had this amazing ability to click and snicker while holding eye contact the entire time. We were terrified! The actors love to scare you and it shows.

The props were excellent! Sadly, the spacing in the haunted woods ruined some of the animatronics that were timed. The barn was well done and made you feel as though you were in a mine, rainforest and hospitals to name a few. There was a mixture of mazes, optical illusions, labs, classic fears scenarios and a graveyard.

The zombie paintball was more fun than I had thought! You can shoot targets and knock them over or just blast one target. We did it after the haunt because there is no waiting system to get in the haunt. Knocker Ball was in a field and you got to run into people and knock them over! There was a group of younger guys that were really tearing it up! We were just busting a gut!

The haunt took over 20 minutes to get through, perfect! The paintball and knocker ball were about 5 to 10 minutes.

During the start of the haunted barn, they did a great job but it fell off in the haunted woods. The group ahead of us was very slow so we kept catching up to them and ruining some of the haunt's timed scenes. We were still scared but the element of surprise was lost on some of their scenes.

Watching Pee-Wee the Clown mess with everyone. He even made it into the haunt and scared us. He has an energy that excites you and makes you extremely uneasy. He literally shows up out of nowhere. I am pretty sure there is only one but he seems to be everywhere at once! The pig man almost had me falling down the trail. Bravo!

Pay attention and be on the lookout for a small sign, store front display and a large circus style tent hidden off to the side of Wisconsin Ave. It was windy so the sign had fallen over.

It was surprisingly dead when we got there, ha! We waited about 15 minutes in line but there was an emergency inside the haunt so that is why it was longer. Thankfully that person is ok!
You enter a circus tent complete with the infamous red balloon. The waiting area is covered with line entertainment. The staff selling the tickets were great! A really cool backdrop lets you take a really eerie selfie!

These actors were next level! The skeleton taking tickets was so calm when he told us what was to come and he was right! Each actor kept to their room's theme and never let up.

I tend to rush through haunts but promised myself that I would keep my eyes open and take it all in. The Dark Carnival did not disappoint! Every detail down to the moss was executed perfectly.

It took over 20 minutes to get through. Hold your haunted house buddy tight and remember they don't like odd numbers.

The wonderful Oconomowoc police and EMTs were onsite keeping us safe. The EMTs were needed as someone didn't make it through the whole haunt.

The smoldering body at the morgue was disgusting and stunk! The ventriloquist dummy made an appearance and watch out for the dragon. Don't say I didn't warn you.