Ron (spirit44)

It was very easy to notice when you arrive at the Dark Carnival, there is plenty of signage and a big circus tent next to the building.

The waiting area is a large circus tent, it really puts you into the mood as you enter to buy your tickets. There are plenty of actors walking around the lot outside of the tent and walking through the tent interacting with the guests as they wait in the queue. The staff was extremely friendly and really seemed to enjoy interacting with everyone.

The actors performance was a little intense. There were some that really captured the essence of their character, but there also were some that seemed a little over the top. Although, since the theme is a deranged carnival, maybe they were actually dialed in at the right level.

The sets were fairly basic, however were pretty interesting in concept and design. There were a couple of rooms that really drew you in though. And for a few moments of your journey through the carnival, you wanted to pinch yourself to see if you could wake from this nightmare.

The trip through the attraction took us 17 minutes.

There was armed security on the premises. We felt safe and secure all evening, well that was until we entered the carnival, then we did not know if we would make it out.

There were a couple of characters through the haunt that I thought were just creepy and outstanding. But there was one room that we entered that really stood out to me. While the actors were becoming more and more menacing, the big scare of the room came from an unexpected source A mutilated body that looked like there was no way possible for it to do anything, sprung to life with a very cleverly placed actor.

There were many signs on the roads leading to the attraction, including a lit up marquee at the entrance to the parking lot. The haunted house does share a parking lot with another building so the attraction does not stand out on it's own. The night we went there was an event going on at the other building which made parking pretty hard to come by. However they did have security walking in the lot that were using flashlights to guide people to open spots when they became available.

The waiting area wasn't your standard waiting queue. It was a large open area with benches and concessions. We actually wished we had a little more time to enjoy the waiting area, but since it was early in the evening and in the season the wait was minimal before our ticket numbers were called to enter the attraction.

The actors were very engaging, and interacted with the guests very well. All were very convincing in their characters without over acting.

The sets were very well done. The rooms were nicely detailed and lit perfectly, with just enough light so that you could appreciate the intricacy of the scene.

It took us 17 minutes to walk through the haunt.

The night we went there was almost no crowd for the attraction. However they did have marked security personnel walking the parking lot.

Our entire family agreed that the most memorable moment of the haunt was the dining room scene. When you walk in to the highly detailed room, you enter into the middle of a discussion. It was so well done that it gives you almost a feeling of a ghostly encounter and is concluded with a very cool surprise exit to the room.