Gags Nightmare A Haunting Experience Review by hex_on_you (Review Crew)

Please note: this review is for the 2017 season rather than the current season.

Gags Nightmare A Haunting Experience

by hex_on_you (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Friday, October 20, 2017 at about 7:30 p.m.

Submitted: Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Fun Factor: Low Fear Factor: Low

Review

Living in Green Bay and having heard of Gags nearly a year ago when he first made his appearance on the dark streets of the Green Bay area, I was thrilled when I heard that they would not only be releasing a film, but also having a haunt this season! I was very excited to see that their location was directly downtown Green Bay, was easy to find, and was in close proximity to a parking structure, making it a breeze to get to. Unfortunately, that's where most of the perks to this haunt ended for me, as myself and the group I was with left not scared, or having had a great time, but confused as to the direction they were trying to take with the Gags Nightmare haunt.

The actors were great--excellent makeup and very dedicated to their roles. Without giving too much away, this haunt is set up in more of an interactive way. In the beginning you are set up with a pen and notepad to take notes throughout the haunt and told that there is a test of sorts at the end. This excited our group, as we felt it would be more of an escape room/game show type experience as opposed to just a walk through haunt. The idea behind the attraction was great, but I feel it really lacked follow through. We were led through the haunt with a 'tour guide' of sorts. As we were doing each task, we weren't set up well as to what exactly we were to be looking for in each room, and at the end not a single one of us knew the answers to the test, or even felt like we got to take a trip through Gag's mind. We were set up in the beginning so wonderfully by a "drunken" carny stating we were to take a trip through Gag's mind and what made him the man he was today, and we felt as though the attraction didn't touch on this subject at all.

When we got to the end, there was a physical written test, which didn't include some of the tasks we did, and no one in our group of 5 knew most of the answers. There wasn't closure as to what the answers were either, as we weren't told what the correct answers were. Our group of 5 left confused as to what we had just completed, and didn't feel like we had been through a haunt or an escape room and didn't feel like we had "accomplished" or "failed" as we weren't properly set up to complete the tasks.

All in all, if you're looking to get a first hand look at the celebrity clown who has been haunting the streets of Green Bay, going to Gags Nightmare would give you the glimpse at him you're craving, however, for the price and length of the haunt, and with it not either being a traditional haunt or an escape room, I'll leave it up to you if you want to venture to this downtown Green Bay attraction.

This haunt is open multiple days during the week and weekend, so I recommend checking social media or their website for more information. They sell tickets until 11pm, which I wasn't able to find anywhere but was able to call and find. It was also on the main sign to the haunt.

Signage / Visibility / Location

Gags Nightmare is located downtown Green Bay, and was easy to find, and there was ample parking available in the Pine Street. Multiple signs, and a staff member were present at the entrance to direct you where to go. This is the first haunt that I know of directly downtown Green Bay, which was a fun environment.

Wait Area / Line Entertainment

Gags Nightmare had an indoor heated waiting area, with the ticket takers in makeup and a concession stand. There is a waiver to sign (but don't worry--no extreme effects or monsters touching you during our experience). There was no wait when we went; we were able to purchase our tickets and go directly into the haunt. There was concessions available for purchase as well. (We weren't able to really check this out as we were ushered directly into the attraction).

Actors' Performance

The actors in the haunt were great. We were greeted by a "drunken" carny, who set us up for a great experience inside the haunt. He was animated and very dedicated to his role. He set it up that this haunt would be a look inside of Gag's mind, and what made him the man he is today. We were disappointed by the lack of follow through on this wonderful greeting in the first room of the haunt, but more on that later.

The rest of the characters in the house had great makeup and were dedicated to their roles. I was singled out throughout the haunt, which started off as a fun and memorable addition to our experience, but it got old being picked on by every monster by the end of the haunt. I feel it detracted from the experience.

Watch out--you'll be followed by a certain "celebrity" throughout!

Sets Scenes / Props / FX

The "scenes" were set up well and the decor was on point. A few of the rooms you were put in for 60 seconds and told to look for things or complete a 'task' for a test at the end. I wish these rooms would have set you up more for success, since at the end we didn't feel like we were pointed in the direction of what exactly we were doing or looking for. I loved the feeling of being in a circus tent, and I loved the change in room types and hallways we were in. Great job with set up.

Length

All in all it took us about 15-20 minutes to get through the attraction. We were led through by a 'tour guide', so running into other groups wasn't an issue at this attraction.

Crowd Control

There wasn't anyone besides my group of three and another group of two when we arrived. If there was large crowds, they had waivers out on tables for extras to fill out, but they weren't set up to deal with large crowds in terms of their ticket line.

Most Memorable Moment

Being followed around by a certain clown 'celebrity' was the highlight of this haunt. After seeing him in both the local media and on social media, it was cool to steal an up close look at the clown himself.

Summary

All in all, I feel like this haunt had excellent intentions, but lacked execution and follow through. The actors had great make up and were dedicated to their roles, the rooms had wonderful decorations, but I feel that the 'tasks' needed more thought. Either there needed to be more set up for the attendees, or a more solidified task with a definite answer, or 'pass or fail' feeling. When I invite my friends out for a haunt or an attraction, we want to feel like our money was well spent on either something we had fun on or something we accomplished, and we didn't have this feeling at the end. While the actors makeup was well done and the scenes looked great, this attraction also lacked a fear factor that would have maybe made up for the other downfalls. I would recommend re working the tasks and the idea behind this haunt could be a great one! And incorporate Gags a little bit more--I want to know more about the namesake of the haunt!

View all Gags Nightmare A Haunting Experience reviews

Comments: (0)

Was this review helpful? Yes (1) | No (0) |

Spooky Entertainment Guide