Great America’s Halloween Haunt: Haunted House/Amusement Park
October 23, 2021
Overall: Amusement park and Halloween decoration enthusiasts are bound to have a blast at Great America’s Halloween Haunt. The park offers the same rides and attractions Great America is best known for, as well as frightening costumed staff members interspersed throughout the park, haunted mazes and a special Haunt-themed performance. However, massive crowds, stuffiness and unreasonably long wait times, which can extend beyond 45 minutes, prevent visitors from total enjoyment.
Spook/Fun: Madame Marie’s Midnight Masquerade and Tooth Fairy are family friendly mazes with carefully planned themes, elaborate sets and props and frights. However, due to the large number of visitors in the mazes, one can anticipate the jump scares by the screams of the people in front. The amusement park offers more than just frights and haunted houses, though. A few hours into the Haunt, visitors can enjoy a grand show, which includes a dance performance and a group of bikers and skaters doing exciting jumps and tricks.
COVID-19 Precautions: Due to the park’s large number of attendees, it becomes difficult to maintain six feet distance during lines and rides, and the rides involve a lot of direct contact. Additionally, many park visitors do not wear their masks properly while strolling through the park and waiting in line, though park staff ensure everyone wears masks before entering the rides and mazes.
Price: Though the cost of the ticket, parking and food is on the pricier side, the price is somewhat reasonable considering that it is the same price as a typical Great America ticket, but includes additional sites, decorations and performances exclusive to the Haunt. Selecting a single day to visit the park where one can commit to the full five hours is the best way to maximize the cost of the visit. The lines for the mazes move pretty quickly, but the lines for the rides, especially the more popular ones, are very time consuming.
Those planning to attend Great America’s Halloween Haunt should bring friends and prepare for a chilly and thrilling night.
