2009 The Haunted Mansion (PERMANENTLY CLOSED) Event Reviews

My second haunt of the year was a trip to Brussels for The Haunted Mansion at Quietwoods South Camp Resort.  A short half hour drive into Door County from Green Bay, you know your going the right way soon as a bill board tells you that The Haunted Mansion is ahead. As you get closer to the haunt itself, signs off of Highway 57 point you the correct way, as  do signs at the rest of the turns you need to take. Be careful though, as the last sign, for Lover's Lane, is right where you need to turn, so there is no warning. The car ahead of us missed it, as did we and we had to turn around. The thing you notice most while driving towards the haunt is it's location. It is quite a ways from the higway, out in the middle of nowhere so it really sets the mood as your driving deeper and deeper into nothingness. We arrived about a half hour after opening, and parking was sketchy. We parked out on the road like a few others, but weren't certain if thats where we were supposed to be. They could use a few more signs or even a parking attendant to show the way to maximize the space.

 If it's busy, you can tell from the road where you're supposed to go as the line starts stretching down the driveway. This line is for the first attraction, the haunted trail. You can either wait in line and by your tickets when you make it to the window, or you can grab a spot in line and send someone up to purchase your tickets so your ready to go when you get to the front. The line features a few ghouls walking around, one being one of the coolest costumes I have ever seen. There are also movie clips and things playing on a big screen for your entertainment. Lastly,  be sure to use the bathroom before you start, they have a nice facility at the start, and even if the waits are short  you'll spend a bit of time in the haunts.

The complex is set up in four parts, which have a certain order that needs to be followed. The first attraction, The haunted trail, is a short walk with a few surprises. My fiancee and I  had the displeasure of taking this walk with a group of obnoxious teenagers, which of course is no fault of the haunt staff., I think it would have been better with a different group. They walked fast so it only took about 5 minutes to get through the trail. Overall I would say the quality was about a 3 and the scare factor could have been a 3 if it weren't for the rest of the group.

The second attraction is the corn maze. This isn't your typical corn maze, which you'll know what I mean when you get there, but it is a neat effect. Here you will definitely catch up to other groups, but that's the point of their set up. Again, I would say this is about a 3.5 in quality and a 3 in scare. Definitely more confusion than surprise, but it's a really neat effect.

Thirdly, you reach the line for the Haunted Bus. I found this to be a very cool, original idea. The bus ride take approximately 10 minutes or so, which by the time you get to the end your happy to be getting off. The bus is decorated like a gruesome murder inside, and the music playing sets the mood right as well. I liked the ride for the fact that it's right in the middle, gives you a chance to sit down and warm up, and gives you a nice tour of the decorated campsites in the resort. One of the coolest effect I have seen happens on the busride, I don't want to spoil it, but I'll tell you it doesn't happen inside the bus. Inside the bus, in my opinion it gets old when the gouhls come out. In my opinion it was more annoying than scary. A person can only take so much random, unrelenting screaming before you've had enough. Ear plugs are definitely not a bad idea here.  Overall I would say 3.5 on quality and and 2.5 on scare. It's a nice way to break it up, but the gouhls are a bit obnoxious.

Lastly, we arrived at the feature event, The Haunted Manison. Wow, is the first thing that comes to mind. When you arrive here, you realize why the set up is as it is. As you progress through the attractions, they are steadily getting better, and they totally save the best for last. The line here features a screen with movie clips, as well as people walking around selling hot chocolate. The group spacing is great, so you do have to wait in line a little longer, but once you enter you don't see anybody else til the other side. The outside of the building looks cool too, like an old rundown mansion should. Before you even enter the haunt, you can tell how the acting is going to be. The person in charge of letting you into the haunted house really plays her part well, as she makes conversation with you. Then, when you enter, the butler plays an awesome role as well. After that you enter through the fireplace and the scares begin. The pathways are kind of tight, so a bigger person like myself had to do a little turning to get thorugh, but it made for more room to scare by having tight spaces. Overall the scenes were great, some of my favorites include the mechanic, the electric chair and the bedroom. All the actors stayed in character the whole time, and no one was scrambling to get back to their spots for the next scare. The only real problem I had in here was some rooms had multiple doorways, some of which led backstage (whoops!) Every room in this haunt led to a new surprise, most of which was original from any other haunt I've been too. I give the haunted mansion portion a 5 for quality and 4 for scare factor.

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The Haunted Mansion is a great local Haunt. There are four parts to this Haunt. The first is a walk through the haunted graveyard/woods. The walk was brief but plenty of actors from every angle. If you have to go to the bathroom I highly recommend holding it, don't trust the ghouls. The cornfield was more fun than scary. There was a great roadside kill cafe with "skunk burgers". We even found ourselves undecided as to which way to go. When we finally made our way through we jumped on the haunted bus. You are only allowed to sit one person per seat, this allows for easy victimization. Lopsided Lilly was clearly irritated by the group of teens at the back of the bus, and I don't blame her ... I was about to start screaming with her!

When the bus ride finally came to a hault we were at the entrance of The Haunted Mansion. There was a nice warm bonfire and a woman walking around with plenty of hot cocoa. There was also a projection screen playing music videos and scenes from Scary movies. Actors were roaming the lines trying to steal screams. Once inside you will find many unique scenes. The Mansion was by far superior to the cornfield, bus ride, and woods. There were many points in the Haunt that would make you jump, and others that were just plain creepy! I found myself alone a lot in this haunt (which was the ghouls intentions) and I loved it! The Haunted Mansion had the most actors of any haunt I have been to. There is NO "dark/dead time". If you live in the area, this is a haunt I would not miss.

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