Valley of Fear 2014
The Haunt Review Crew ventured north to The Valley of Fear (VOF) and Original Haunted Hayride in Feasterville (Bucks County) PA. VOF has 4 attractions and a variety of combo passes to suit all visitors. We did all 4 attraction; Operation Z Zombie Paintball Hunt, Zombie Escape Maze, Scary Tales Haunted Forest Walk, & The Original Haunted Hayride. First we tried our first ever Zombie Paintball experience. We loved the very foggy trail to the paintball stations; it added so much to the entire experience. We could barely see the person in front of us at times. Also beware; zombies are lurking right from the start! There were 4 paintball stations with mounted paintball guns to accommodate all “troopers.” We were debriefed and given weapons training prior to our adventure. It was really nice to have the “troop” led by our troop commander so we wouldn’t get lost. We even got an opportunity to purchase additional ammo at the Unit Ammo Dump prior to our last station; more shots to exterminate those zombies!! This hunt was pretty long and fun-filled for all! And as Cara noted, it was nice to have the paintball guns mounted/stationary to give everyone a fair chance regardless of athletic ability.
Our next adventure was the Zombie Escape Maze, which was a great transition from the Zombie Paintball. We went from shooting those zombies to running from the out of control zombies in the Zombie Research and Control Center. As we made our way through this maze there were zombies coming from all directions. The debriefing was a great start to this scenario too. The actors really get into their characters! There was great use of used medical equipment and other items that made for a unique design.
Scary Tales Haunted Forest Walk was a great take on classic stories/fairytales gone wrong! This was a nice long, eerie walk through your childhood favorites with an evil twist. The props and makeup were very theatrical. Intense characters gave us the creeps at almost every scene. Without giving it away, a few of our standout favorites were the Mad Hatter and the witch from Hansel & Gretel. We all agreed this was truly a standout haunted walk with a great theme.
Lastly, we hopped aboard the Original Haunted Hayride. Let’s just say, this was a unanimous favorite! The name fits so well; “original” says it perfectly! This was the first hayride we have ever ridden where most passengers sit on the side of the hayride with their feet dangling. It made us feel vulnerable and made the showmanship even more “in your face.” The hayride also had a chaperone in character; she made the ride very interactive and fun. The props and scenes were top notch from the very beginning. The best part of this hayride was the interactive nature. We got some “stowaways” on board from scene to scene; however, they were susceptible to being victims as the hayride progressed. VOF took the hayride from just scenes & scares, to actual shows & acts to enjoy along the way. While we didn’t get a lot of “gotchas”, we definitely enjoyed the show. We did notice, however, that it was a little harder to get a full 360 degree view while sitting on the sides; we really didn’t want to miss any of the action on either side.
All-in-all this was a fun-filled haunt with great energetic actors, unique sets & theatrics, and a great sense of humor. We especially loved Breezy and vote for her to be the VOF official mascot! Her makeup and vocals were amazing! Breezy scared tons of people just by stalking around the lines & sitting area. We also want to point out the great food prepared in a full kitchen, as well as snack shack; we enjoyed nice juicy cheeseburgers, hot apple cider, funnel cake, & even fried oreos. They even sold marshmallows and roasting sticks to use at their fire pit!
VOF has been entertaining for 25 years and it shows! We give them a 9 out of 10!
