On Friday, September 10th, Madworld Haunted Attraction opened their doors to their first unsuspecting victims for the 2021 Haunt Season. This would be the attraction’s 11th year in operation, as last year, 2020, they celebrated their historic 10 Years of Fear, a feat not easily obtained by some haunts.
Our Terror Talks crew was able to attend last year’s event, but the results left us…. Underwhelmed. This haunted house boasted that it was the “scariest in Greenville” and “scariest in South Carolina”, but it was anything but that for us. We experienced a haunt that felt a little bit like a back-yard haunt that was being constructed by the crazy person in the neighborhood.
While it did have its moments, it ultimately left us unimpressed.
For the 2021 Season, our Terror Talks team decided to give Madworld a shot at REDEMPTION!!
Would this be the year that they would show us something new?
Would they be able to make up for the less than stellar show?
Would they change up the haunt and make it look less like the backyard haunt?
The short answer to that question….. Not Really.
We in essence came and went with the same experience that we had just 1 year earlier, only this time, we were expecting it.
For this year’s haunt review, we have broken down each haunt that we are visiting into
6 Categories: Sets, Costumes, Makeup/SFX, Scares, Pacing, and Actors.
Each category is rated on a scale of 1-5 Screams and then averaged out to give an Overall Rating. This new system is to ensure that we are not in any way biased and are giving each attraction that we visit the same fair and equal treatment that they each deserve.
With this new system in mind, let’s break down each of our 6 Categories for Madworld Haunt Attraction’s 2021 Haunt!!
Initial Thoughts – Upon arriving at Madworld, we were greeted by a large slew of cars filling the parking lot far and wide. This is not an unusual sight for this Haunted Attraction, nor is this an unusual sight for this haunt critic. I’ve been to many haunts where the cars back up for miles.
Parking lot was a very pleasant experience. It took maybe about 5 minutes total for a spot to be found for me as there was a car leaving and I was to take their spot.
Once I was parked and exited my car, I was greeted by the sound of the large sound system announcing the attraction for which I was about to enter. Surely this monumental announcement would match the caliber of the attraction itself.
When I got inside the main gate, I was greeted by a large crowd waiting in line to enter the haunt, many different carnival-type games, food stands, and of course monsters running galore. I toured the grounds to see all the sights that there were before entering the haunt, as we had the time to do this because of our Speed Passes. The ambience of the Midway was something extravagant. The team did a bang-up job all around to ensure that the experience outside the haunt was stellar.
After looking around at all the offerings, we decided it best to go ahead and venture into the haunt where we would soon find that some things just never change.
Sets – 4/5 Screams – The sets in Madworld are nothing short of amazing…. Some of the time. While in some portions of the haunt you will stand in awe at these towering structures that bear striking originality, other times you will see something that resembles your neighbor’s backyard haunted house. As we went through Madworld we could tell that there seemed to be a hint of laziness all around. Throughout different portions of the attraction, you would find yourself going down a dark path to the next section, but there was nothing out there typically, and what made it worse? The only thing. “hiding” other parts of the haunt were shameless structures built from what appeared to be black trash bags and hardwood. This was something that we had noted from the year prior. It seemed that this was certainly something that would not change.
Now, while this was the biggest let down of the set buildings, there were many parts of the set that were quite impressive. For instance, in the first building you enter, everything is set up to look like this beautiful mansion. Unfortunately, the majority of that building is nothing more than a queue line for the attraction. You only go through about 5 rooms total in the building as part of the actual attraction. This is a terrible waste of space in my opinion. This being said, the staff is very creative and successful of creating immersive spaces for the rest of the INSIDES of the structures, as well as some of the facades. There were some very captivating set pieces, such as the Asylum, but then there were some not so fabulous set pieces, such as The Nun Building. This building was LITERALLY, nothing but black trash bags and wood. While it was still scary, it was a bit of a letdown. Overall, this led to the ultimate rating of 4 out of 5 Screams.
Costumes – 2/5 Screams – Next up on our agenda were the costumes. Now, there is not a whole lot that can be said for the costumes, other than, they weren’t as unique inside the haunt. Personally, there were several moments in the house where the costumes were less than stellar. It typically wasn’t much, but OUTSIDE on the Midway, the costumes were AMAZING. I’m not entirely sure why the detail was lacked for inside the houses as opposed to outside, but some questions can’t be answered.
Makeup/SFX – 2/5 Screams – Any good haunt has great makeup and special effects. In the opinion of this haunt critic, I didn’t really get to experience such niceties. While, like I said, the makeup and such was amazing on the actors outside, this was not the case for those inside the haunt. Many of the actors merely had some blood thrown on their face and some white powder or black lines. There wasn’t as much detail as I would’ve liked to have seen. Now, could this have been intentional due to the lack of visual aide inside the haunt? Could this have just been an oversight on Madworld’s part or just a bad night? Or maybe there just wasn’t much makeup. You decide.
Scares – 4/5 Screams – Now of course if you go to a haunted house, you are going to get scared. That is why you are there. Madworld was no exception to this rule. While last year we did not quite experience scares, this year we were able to proudly say that we jumped more than a couple times. The scares were very well choreographed throughout the house and allowed for several great moments. There were still some moments where I didn’t get scared and the scare was not set up great, but you can’t win them all. Unfortunately, there just happened to be a lot more of those moments than I would’ve liked. Which led them to lose the 5th Scream.
Pacing – 4/5 Screams – Many people will ask what I mean by pacing? Does this mean how fast the scares come? How fast you see everything? How quickly you get through the line? All of these things are parts of pacing. The pacing is how quickly you are getting through the house. Any house that has too quick a pacing or too slow of a pacing can mess things up. Madworld is a good example of what good pacing can do for a house. The actors and team do a very good job continually pushing the crowds through the haunt, and somehow still ensuring that none of the groups run up on each other, ruining the experience for one of the groups. This is a common problem that some haunts can have. You start off being separated, but then you end up walking through a conga-line. This is how scares get lost. Madworld did a great job with ensuring that every group was spaced out and none of the scares overlapped or got messed up. The only reason they are lacking the 5th and Final Scream, is because there are a couple places where things did get bunched up, and I believe that has to do with the final room of the haunt where you cannot see anything. The room is nothing but thick fog and strobe lights, leading to crowds moving very slowly through the scene. This creates a slight backup, but luckily this only occurs at the end of the haunt. Overall, the team does a great job of getting everyone through in a pretty quick fashion, but you probably couldn’t tell it by the line out front.
Actors – 5/5 Screams – A haunted attraction is nothing without its actors. You can have great sets, great costumes, great makeup, and great special effects, but if you don’t have the actors with the talent, you’ve got nothing. Madworld has a great selection of actors working at their attraction. All of the actors were very good about getting the scares from customers and committing to their part. Sometimes you’ll run across haunts where they will break character, but Madworld did not have this issue. All of the actors stayed true to the part they were playing at all times and made sure that they were absolutely committed. There were two actresses, one at the front of the haunt letting people in and one at the front of the Asylum, that were VERY Memorable. They both created these awesome accents to go with their character. They had quirky little mannerisms, and they had their characters homed in 100%. Shout out to both of these actresses!! You both killed it and will go far!!
Overall Rating: 3.5 Scream Rating
At the end of the day, Madworld Haunted Attraction received a 3.5 Scream Rating on our Scream Meter. This is a pretty decent rating for this haunted house. They did a very good job and they had a lot of great things and some not so great things. We did enjoy our time there and enjoyed getting scared. It’s always fun for us to go and experience these haunts for ourselves, and this was our 2nd time visiting Madworld Haunted Attractions. We weren’t nearly as disappointed as we were last year, but we did still have some grievances, but all in all, not a waste of a trip for us.
Madworld Ticket Info:
You can purchase tickets when you arrive at Madworld Haunted Attractions, or you can skip the lines and purchase tickets below. Each ticket is valid for any day we are open for the season (one time use only). However, the season pass is valid for unlimited times. Your tickets will be emailed to you.
· $30 - General Admission General Admission to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail. This is a self-guided tour. ($35 starting Oct 1st.)
· $35 - General Admission "Scaredy Cat" General Admission to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail with "No Scare Medallion". This is a self-guided tour. The "No Scare Medallion" allows scared adults or teenagers to finally be able to brave Madworld with their friends. The medallion signals to the monsters that you personally do not want to be targeted or scared. The rest in your group is fair game! ($40 starting Oct 1st.)
· $25 - Child Admission Children 10 and under only admission to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail This is a self-guided tour. Children must be accompanied by an adult. ($30 starting Oct 1st.)
· $30 - Child Superhero Children 10 and under only Admission to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail with "No Scare Medallion". The No Scare Medallion allows your children to take back control of the night by not only signaling to the monsters to stay away from him/her, but also gives the child special powers to control the monster! This is a self-guided tour. Children must be accompanied by an adult. ($35 starting Oct 1st.)
· $55 - The Big Scary Night Out General Admission to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail + 30 Carnival Game Tickets. ($60 starting Oct 1st.)
· $55 - Fastpass Front of line access (No Waiting) to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail. Still enjoy everything Madworld has to offer without having to wait in any lines! This is a self-guided tour. ($60 starting Oct 1st.)
· $115 - VIP Package Entrance into the park + Front of line access (No Waiting) to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail + 30 Carnival Game Tickets + Behind the Scenes Tour + 3D Photo. This is a self-guided tour. ($125 starting Oct 1st.)
· $175 - Season Pass Unlimited General Admission to Madworld's NEW Haunted House/Trail as many times as you want, all season long!
· $295 - SUPERPASS Unlimited front of line access (no waiting) as many times as you want, all season long!
GHOST TOWN MINI GOLF, CARNIVAL GAMES, AND ESCAPE ROOMS
Whether you're a kid, teenager, or big kid at heart - you will have a BLAST with our many games and activities! With so much to do, you'll never be bored at Madworld - even if you can't muster up the courage to make your way through the Haunted House.
· 3 Tickets For Carnival Activities Zombie Brain Smash, Skeleball, Crypt Toss, Face Painting, etc.
· 15 Tickets For Mini Golf BRAND NEW for 2021 is an 18-hole Ghost Town Mini Golf course. Challenge your friends, and have a blast!
· 15 Tickets For Escape Rooms Our escape rooms (Kracken Casino and 3D Freakshow) are STATE-OF-THE-ART and last 5 minutes each. These challenges will have you and your group laughing, panicking, and working together to try and get out in time.
Madworld Haunted Attractions will be open from September 10th – November 6th on select evenings – check their website calendar for ALL Dates & Times
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