Stopped by Spooky Ranch last night since it's near my house. I purchased tickets for all the attractions except Zombie Paintball for myself and my 7-year old son. With regards to bedtime, I decided to get there right as they opened at 7pm. My son was extremely excited to go in a real real haunted house, as in the past he's only done more kid-friendly ones. Neither of us were disappointed! Both of us are kind of "laughers," rather than "screamers," but I found that I was creeped out or startled to the point of jumping several times!
We went through the saloon first. I was pleased with how long it was, and also glad that I got there early, so we weren't stuck with a huge group of people, as often happens at haunted houses, I've found. Now, I'm more of the type of person who appreciates really "creepy" scenes, rather than those that are loaded with a huge amount of blood and guts. So for me, this was great! I loved walking through various rooms in the saloon, and taking in the decor. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of actors to jump out and scare you, along with features like puffs of air in your face as you walked by certain areas, which I thought was fun. There was also a cool animatronic feature that scared my son so much that he literally took off running out of one of the rooms! There is a section at the end that, if I were claustrophobic, I think might have put me over the edge, so be warned! My son was a champ throughout, though. I'd say it was successful, since at the end, he said, "I never want to go through that again!"
The "Extreme Nightmares" was on par with the first house, just with a different theme. I enjoyed the actor that "welcomes" you into the house with his live rat and snake. I enjoyed petting the rat and the snake, although the snake was a little creepy, since I'm not much of a fan. That is the point, after all, though, right? To be scared or creeped out? Again, I jumped several times, and was again glad I got there early so that I could enjoy the scenes without a bunch of other people breathing down my back. Again, there were lots of actors, and I appreciated that in some cases, rather than just jumping out to scare you, they interacted with you.
The 3D house isn't quite as scary as the other two, in my opinion, unless you aren't a fan of clowns. The 3D glasses and paint really were a neat effect, and more fun to look at (like a fun house) than scary. Still totally worth it, and I think it's good for something different. This was my son's favorite of the three houses, probably because it wasn't as traditionally scary. He was weird about wanting to wear the 3D glasses in the beginning, so he didn't want to grab a pair. A little ways in, though, I gave him mine, and I loved hearing his repeated "Whoas!" and "That's cools!" as he looked at the 3D effects.
Perhaps surprisingly, the hayride did not disappoint either. After walking through the 3 houses, it was a nice break, and it felt good to just sit down and enjoy the ride. My favorite features of the hayride were a fire feature that you encounter during the ride, as well as the barn at the end, with a really creepy animatronic dragon that comes out and kind of "dances" over the hay wagon. There was another little boy about my son's age on the wagon, who was so terrified that he curled up into a ball and actually started clinging to random strangers to protect him. That was fun to watch, especially with my son trying to tell him, "Dude! It;'s not real!" Lol. The kid was okay in the end and stood up all proud and macho, pretending he wasn't scared at all. Oh... I almost forgot about the water feature! Keep your eyes peeled and pay attention, or you might get nailed like I did with a stream of water. I'm glad it was warm last night.
We had a great time, and I'll definitely be heading back next year! I may even go again this year and take my son to the more kid-friendly daytime event so he can do another hayride, paint a pumpkin, and see some farm animals! read more
