This place is fantastic. It really is. It's in the Middle of Nowhere, Texas, they have so much space for several houses, an abandoned trail with sporadic trees, a hill, mud, etc.
What they don't have are the actors! Thus, it isn't scary.
I went last night (Saturday) with a big group of people because it had been pouring the entire day, there was a tornado watch (until 7pm), there were lightning strikes, etc. Since there were more than 10 people, we got the online group discount -- VIP tix were $24 + $2 service charge (WTF??) per person. Fine, better than paying $40 once you actually get there. Basically, no matter what you do, buy your tickets online. They're so much cheaper. They also charge $5 for parking, which is ridiculous, but once you drive all the way out there, you're probably not going to throw a fit and come back bc of that charge.
Otherwise, this place has the potential to be one of the best haunted houses in the US, but it falls short. The 3-D house is great, but not necessarily much better than the one in Dallas Scaregrounds. The one in Dallas had more actors on a SUNDAY! Thrillvania did, however, have some effects that I've never seen before, such as a shaky bridge that "might break at any second." There was also this amazing ray of green light calling you to it. We went through that potion twice. The first time, a scary chainsaw guy perfectly ended our gaze into the light. The second time (circa 23:30), nothing. What? Did you let the few actors you did have go home early?? This house really was beautiful, I must admit. The second time there was a chainsaw guy chasing my friend out. Hehehehe...
Then we saw the seance show. The line was so long, and the show so lame. The end is the only good part. I guess this attraction is good for small kids? Well, it is a family place...
Disgruntled, we went to the main attraction, the Vernon Mansion.
I should note here that we got the VIP passes because that was the cheapest option for a group. if you're only a few people, really consider if you want to pay the extra money for the VIP pass. Look at how many cars there are in the parking lot or something. Last night, the lines for general admission were shorter than the VIP lines, which is okay, but really, if some people paid extra ($5 online, or $10 in person) for the fast pass, you should let them go in at a higher rate. There were 12 of us, so the rope person would ask how many are in our group, and then let 2 smaller groups from the general admission go. We didn't care much because we were entertaining each other, but if I were there with only a few people, I would get pissed. VIP does not mean let one group from general go, and then one group from VIP. It should actually be 3-4 groups from VIP and one group from general admission. Last night my bf kept saying that we should just go wait in the general admission lines because they were half the size. Again, this is up to you. We came on a Saturday with not too many people because of the rain, so we managed to see everything in 3-3.5 hours.
But I digress.. The path to the Mansion is so great. They even had a huge dragon who was smoking a cigarette and blew fire. Wow! BUT I think only one person jumped out and scared us. The house itself is not too long, but it so incredibly well done. There are even two sets of stairs, which I appreciated, and the sets are the so realistic looking and the best I have seen (I've thus far been to Dallas Scaregrounds and the Forth Worth Cutting Edge). Whoever designed the house is an artistic genius. I screamed when there were actors coming out, and these two opposite each other put our their hands at one point, almost touching me. I freaked out. Yes!! They also get in your face if you show any fear, which I sadly always do. Unfortunately, there were maybe 10 actors for the whole house, whereas they should have at least 25. I don't necessarily need at actor at every corner, but going for a minute without an actor is kind of sad. I mean, the set is nice, but the set itself doesn't scare me.
Then we went through the trail, which had this nifty little house with inflated walls, and you didn't know what was in front of you, and when it'll end. =) My friend was too scared to go through it. Mission accomplished. And then a trail with random ominous trees, and morose pieces of cars, etc. I kept waiting, waiting, creeping, listening. One guy jumped out a van (dude! props for the dedication). Another guy was machine gunning. And there was a guy showing you the way at one point (because you could easily go the wrong way). Nobody else. Summary: 3 people. Some kid from the group in front of us hid behind some billboard with 2 of his friends, and jumped out when we came. I screamed like no other. The boys laughed, I yelled, "kid, that was immoral," my bf laughed, and the kids ran off.
Lastly, we did some house on top of a hill. I'm out of characters, so I must stop writing now.. Alas.
Overall, it's not a bad place... read more