RIPLEY'S HAUNTED ADVENTURE - GATLINBURG - This Ain't No Foo-Foo Haunted House!
Written: Apr 28 '04 (Updated Sep 02 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Imaginative high-quality set construction. Truly scary.
Cons: Very expensive. May be TOO disturbing. Kids under 6 are not permitted.
The Bottom Line: Ripley's Haunted Adventure will definitely be a hit with haunted house fans, but it's not for the timid or those who are easily disturbed.
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| radioroger's Full Review: Ripley's Haunted Adventure |
Those who hit the Haunted House circuit each Halloween will not want to miss Ripley's Haunted Adventure. It is truly scary. It's scary because it's dark... It's scary because it's startling and confusing... and it's scary because of the disturbing images confronting visitors.
Appropriately, Ripley's Haunted Adventure is located in a building formerly occupied by a casket manufacturer. The adventure begins with a short trip up a caged escalator to the second floor. Visitors are then greeted by a grim pseudo-vampire "host" who will explain the rules and attempt to instill a sense of terror and uncertainty. Once a group of 10-15 is assembled, they are instructed to hold hands and enter the dark chambered labyrinth.
At times, the passages are completely dark and very narrow. I certainly don't want to give away too many details, but I'll list a couple of examples of the images for the sake of illustration. Early in the adventure, visitors are witness to an exaggerated portrayal of a strait-jacket clad mental patient being administered electric shock treatment... reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." It is clearly a lifelike dummy, but it's frightening and disturbing nonetheless. To a flashing strobe light, the dummy clenches his teeth, bulges his eyes and lurches violently up and down... his head and body pounding loudly upon the table upon which he is constrained.
Example #2 is less disturbing, but still quite vulgar...although I found it very humorous. Visitors proceed through a blacklight-illuminated passageway containing a number of small neon-colored dioramas. This chamber has many active components and could instill nausea for that reason. The one image which still resonates with me is that of a 3-foot tall troll. Every 15 seconds or so, the troll would bend over and projectile vomit what had to be twice his body weight in chunky neon-green puke. The scene was augmented by a delightfully disgusting gurgling/retching sound effect. Some may be repulsed, but I was amused by the unconventional imagination and tolerant technical know-how required to create such a scene.
Although these examples illustrate the level of fright and horror that Ripley's Haunted Adventure attempts to achieve, they definitely don't give away the entire experience. There's some blood, some guts and some whimsy. Visitors will be encountered with a few surprises that may be considered startling, funny, or just plain annoying, but nothing you are carrying will be harmed, nor will you have any ill-effects after you've left (aside from the impact of the disturbing images).
A few actors are involved and they do an adequate job. Except for the "host" we didn't get a clear view of the other actors' faces, but it's likely that most are college students earning some summer scratch. Our young grim-reaper-like "host" successfully thwarted the youngsters' attempts to get him to smile. It's worth noting that we visited Gatlinburg at the end of August, near the end of the tourist season... so the actors who had probably been doing the same gig all summer still maintained a spirited performance.
To fully enjoy Gatlinburg, one must be willing and able to walk. Ripley's Haunted Adventure is located on Gatlinburg's main (and only) drag, The Parkway. Gatlinburg itself is 10 pounds of stuff in a 5-pound bag... so parking is at a premium. There is no free parking for this attraction and very little parking nearby. Even when parking is found, a considerable amount of walking is necessary. We paid 6 bucks to park all day on the western end of Gatlinburg and it's about a 45-minute walk all the way across town.
Ripley's Haunted Adventure is expensive. Admission for kids ages 6-11 is $7.95 (2004). Adults and anyone over 11 are $11.95. That's at least 40 or 50 bucks or more for most families. Kids under 6 are not permitted. Until recently, they didn't admit kids under 8. Although I can't remember exactly... after waiting in line... the entire adventure is only 15-20 minutes... 30 minutes tops... so I can't recommend Ripley's Haunted Adventure on its value alone.
This review is has been written entirely from memory as photography at Ripley's Haunted Adventure is not permitted. It's just as well. The darkness and spontaneity would make photography difficult and a photographer or two in the group would likely slow things down for everyone.
I liked it and my 10 and 12 year old daughters liked it. They occasionally gasped and screamed, but suffered no ill-effects. We also had quite a few laughs. (I was the only one who laughed out loud at the barfing troll.) Ripley's Haunted Adventure will definitely be a hit with haunted house fans, but it's not for the timid or those who are easily disturbed. Although it's not as "over-the-top" or gruesome as it could be... it goes waaaay beyond cartoon ghosts and witches.
Ripley's Haunted Adventure
908 Parkway
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
Ripley's Haunted Adventure Website: http://www.ripleys.com/haunted/gatlinburg.html
TO SEE OUR GATLINBURG FAMILY VACATION PHOTOS, PLEASE VISIT MY TRAVEL WEBSITE:
www.mikebechtol.com
My other Gatlinburg reviews:
A Family Guide To Gatlinburg
Park Vista Hotel - Gatlinburg
Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum - Gatlinburg
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
radioroger
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Location: Rural Ohio
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