We're haunted house junkies and have been to around 20 in NC & SC. We drove 2 hrs for this one just…read morebecause of their "rated R" experience. This place was hands-down the most fun we've EVER had at a haunted house, period.
For those wondering just "how" scary is this place and just "how much" do they touch you, I'll give you my impressions.
This place deserves major props/respect for how unbelievably professional everyone is! I never felt like I was grabbed in a 'mean' or 'hurtful' way. This isn't a "Saw" movie, drag-you-off-and-lock-you-in-a-freezer type place. Think more like a big brother messing around with a little brother. Yes, they'll grab you, pull you, push you, etc. but it's honestly done completely professionally. There's a fine line between grabbing someone to hurt them and just wanting to scare them, and every single actor/character here was absolutely well on the professional side of that line.
Is it scary? Oh yeah! But it's not meant to be a hardcore, "mean" experience. There are other haunts out there that do act kinda "mean" as part of the fun, and Sweet Dreams does have mean-looking clowns, and chainsaws, and clowns with chainsaws, etc. ... but no one ever acted "mean". While still not really appropriate for ages 12 and under (13-14 is probably pushing it for many people), it's completely fine for any adult (and even for +15). There is a "PG-13" rated option where they don't touch you and even for those who get the "R" rated version (which comes with a glow-in-the-dark necklace to help them identify who they can grab and who they can't) you can still take your necklace off at any time if you feel it's too much for you. (my advise, try the "R" experience, it's likely the best Halloween decision you've made since you were 8).
This place, with the added excitement of being grabbed, was honestly the absolute most fun we've ever had. And we weren't the only ones who thought this. While standing in the entrance line, two different groups of people came up to the ticket lady and said nearly the same thing as what I've written here. In fact, they may in fact be starting a new standard in haunted attractions and in a couple of years, an "R" rated experience may be the norm.
What's EVEN better, in our opinion, is the very personal nature of the self-guided walk. The night we were there, they were letting groups as small as 2 go through - that means you don't have to be bunched together with 6-8 other people (like most attractions) and this adds 1000% more to the experience. you simply don't miss anything! It's all for you. The drawback is the wait can be kinda long, so try to get here before 9pm for a 30min wait, or come after 10pm and you might be faced with an hour wait (totally worth it though so bring a sweater and enjoy their awesome live DJ). Snacks, beverages, bathrooms all provided.
The total time to go through is about 30min and we never saw one other customer inside the attraction the entire time - it was the 3 of us and the actors - that's it! We came out horse, out of breath, and sweating. Awesome, awesome fun! Totally worth the drive. Great job Sweet Dreams - you may have changed local standards forever!
