The final stop on my tour of haunts this year was Haunted High presents Dark Carnival. Now in its second season of their new location, Haunted High has completely shed the school gimmick and has chosen to go for more of the straightforward haunted house angle. I hold Haunted High near and dear to my heart. As an educator I absolutely love that this haunt is put on as a fundraiser for the Oconomowoc School District, and as far as I could tell, the volunteers were young, probably students as well. Of the haunts I went to this year, Dark Carnival was the most reasonably priced. Tickets are $15 for regular admission, or you can bypass the line like we did for $23 with a fast pass. If you opt for the regular admission, expect to wait around an hour to enter the haunt, with the fast pass we were in within five minutes. Dark Carnival relies on darkness and misdirection to confuse you, to a fault at times as we went the wrong way a few times and had to circle around once and had to go though a backstage area that completely ruined the illusion. We weren’t the only ones that this happened to, it happened to the people in front of us also. Dark Carnival has some of the most interactive actors in the area! These kids engaged us, from “forcing” us into areas, to squirting me in the face with a water gun, to many other fun frights, these ghouls are a blast! Dark Carnival also has a few terrain effects that make walking more difficult; which is always fun in a haunt! Anything that messes with my equilibrium I’m all for! Dark Carnival also uses a lot of motion activated sensors, so be prepared to be startled! Unfortunately there is one down side to Dark Carnival, and it is that there does seem to be a lack of space. Of the haunts I went to this season, this was the shortest one. With that being said, I still love Haunted High because of the fund raising aspect. I really like the hard work and dedication that the staff and kids put into this haunt, you can tell that they give it their all, and they are all so very nice when you chat with them. Haunted High presents Dark Carnival is a reasonably priced haunt that will deliver giant screams!
Signage / Visibility / Location
Dark Carnival is on a main street, in what I believe is downtown Oconomowoc. There is a giant banner and a tent that announce that you are at Dark Carnival!
Wait Area / Line Entertainment
The line area in covered by a giant tent, there were no ghosts or ghouls roaming when we were there, but I recall some in the past, so we may have come at a bad time.
Actors' Performance
The actors are the best here! Engaging and fun! They deserve an award!
Sets Scenes / Props / FX
Dark Carnival is dark, just like the name suggests, but when it's not the sets are awesome! I don't know if the students have a hand in decorating, but if they do, bravo! Lots of motion sensors in here.
Length
We were in there about 20 minutes. We wished it could have been longer.
Crowd Control
The lines outside were well controlled. If you have read any of my other reviews you know I hate when we catch up to other groups. They had an actor inside asking if we were part of the group that we caught up too! it was great! She held us up so we were our own group again! That's crowd control!
Most Memorable Moment
Zombie Yard!
Dark Carnival is truly a terrifying haunt that turns out the lights, and startles your senses! For the price, it's one of the best haunt around!
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