Bayville Scream Park (NY) - Opinions/Reviews?

[hauntfanatic]

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions/reviews of Bayville Scream Park in Long Island, NY. We had been looking for some haunts open this forthcoming weekend in the northeast, and saw that this haunt will be open. The admission prices are the highest I've seen ($42.75 for a 5 attraction combo ticket) and I would be coming from Philadelphia - just wondering if it is worth the trip. I believe that Frightland (Middletown, DE) and Terror Behind the Walls at ESP are also open this weekend, but we already hit those haunts this season.

Thanks!!

Alan

[TerrorNightMare14]

i went to bayville probably 2 years ago and usually on our rainy nights we go to haunts .. i have been to headless horseman 3 times kevin mcCurdys haunted mansion 1 nightmare new england 1 dark manor in ct eastern states 1 and bates motel 1 as for bayville there 3d clown house is pretty cool i was in love with there own custom built animation clown for that haunt and then they do a manor which is really really really really detailed ....see if that helps you things may have changed since 2 years ago but that is my opinions with there houses -danny

[drfrightner]

Bayville must have the coolest mini golf I've ever seen but the cool haunted aspects is the single best haunted facade in America.

You won't deny they have the best facade in the industry once you go there. Go check it out. Larry

[mikeq91]

I may be headed our there this weekend myself, but if you're referring to this weekend, Blood Manor is NYC is open as well, so if you're going to be in the area you might want to swing over there too

[hauntfanatic]

Thanks guys - decided to check it out tonight and stay over. Looks like we're gonna have to check out their miniature golf course too!

Alan

[GraveStalker]

Reviews

Please leave reviews of both attractions -especially Blood Manor. A PM would be fine if you don't want to make public...

Thanks!

[mikeq91]

Went to Blood Manor tonight 11/7, their last night, and overall it was very good. They had some decent line entertainment outside with some interesting characters that interacted with the crowd- there were a lot of different actors so it was good to see different characters periodically. Once inside you walk up to the 5th floor and wait in the indoor que, which was an interesting corridor with black lights, some 3D artwork and various Blood Manor posters. Anyways, on to the house...

Overall there were some great sets in BM which followed their theme very well (some of your typical study/library sets highly detailed, lots of old brick, etc). One thing that really stuck out was how well designed the lighting effects were, whether it was to direct your attention somewhere, or simply to blind you with a strobe so you can't see your surroundings. It seemed like they had really spent time to allow their lighting to help their scares. They had a black maze followed by a strobe maze which was actually very well done and disorienting (this was my 14th haunt of the season and the first one I've seen with a black maze... maybe people think its too low tech but it works nonetheless). I thought that they had a good number of animations so that they were effective and not overused, which leads to their main asset- the actors. They utilized their actors very well throughout the attraction, pretty much all of which had the ability to interact with you in character. To compliment this, there were lots of good scares and startles to go around. The house eventually turned into a 3D section, which I wasn't crazy over. It was decent 3D, but it didn't really fit the theme and they didn't really utilize the 3D to really make it scary and cool/unique. However, since it seems like space is an issue for them (in the middle of NYC), theres really no other way for them to add a 3D element for their attraction, so I don't blame them for giving it a shot. However, at the end of the 3D, we turned our glasses in, then were guided into the final chainsaw room which fit in with the beginning of the house. It was just a weird transition and didn't really fit. One of their coolest effects was the heartbeat room, in which the entire floor of a room vibrated to a heartbeat track that was blasting in the room. Very unique and very cool.

Overall Blood Manor has a very high entertainment value, with great actors, lots of detail and eye-candy, cool animations and some very unique effects. The only thing I was a little disappointed about was that I expected it to be a little bit longer (clocked it at about 15 minutes), but like I said earlier, I'm sure space is an issue for them and thats probably the best they can do. If your in the area, definitely worth checking it out next year.

[beardedbil]

Mike,
I am glad you enjoyed Blood Manor and their lighting setup. I did a lot of wiring and consulting for their lighting last year as well as this year and anticipate being back next year for a new over haul. I will actually be opening up shop later this month as a new vendor with installation and programming of high end automated lighting effects as well as show control.
Best,
Bill Rod.

[GraveStalker]

Thanks

Mike,

Thanks for putting the review together. I have been wanting to head to Blood Manor for a couple years, but (as with most of us) had trouble fitting haunt tours in during the season. It sounds like this trip was definitely worthwhile and I'll try to make it there next year.

Bill, I am curious what equipment your working with as I have done a couple of automated lighting installations myself. I'll send you a PM.

Thanks Again for the review!

Jim Wieloch
Graveside Manor

[hauntfanatic]

Bayville Scream Park

Well, we didn't actually visit Blood Manor but we did drive up and do Bayville Scream Park on Friday night - we loved it! It is very expensive (over $45 per person for all 5 haunts) but driving past the huge homes on the way to the haunt I guess the price fits the area.

One interesting thing we noticed about the price list is that you can do less than 5 attractions, but it is specified which ones you can do. For example, if you wanted to pay for 3 attractions, you could not pick which 3. This is the first time I have seen this, but it didn't matter since we were doing all of them anyway.

All 5 haunts are in a relatively confined area, and the facades of each of them are fantastic. If you are entering the park, the view in front of you is amazing! The only thing is that due to the confined space, this park must be a madhouse when it is crowded. Fortunately for us, the place was absolutely dead - I think we saw about 10 other patrons for the hour or so that we were there. As another bonus, we were the only ones going through each haunt so we were very surprised by all the actors and props.

Bayville Scream Park is apparently a small amusement park during the summer, and I'm not sure if the funhouse and facade is permanent. The BloodWorth Mansion facade is also so incredibly done that I can't help but wonder if it is up year-round as well? Actually, the house was so good that they should keep it open during the summer as part of the amusement park.

So the attractions were Bloodworth Manor, Funhouse of Fear, Temple of Terror, Curse of the Zombie Pirates and Evil in the Woods. The Evil in the Woods was a nice outdoor walk-through with plenty of actors. The Curse of the Zombie Pirates was the weakest of the haunts, which utilized the park's existing miniature golf course. I know one thing - we have to get back there and play that course because it looks fantastic! The Temple of Terror was essentially a 'mummy' themed maze where you had to find your way out, and Funhouse of Fear was a pretty standard clown themed maze. Bloodworth Manor was absolutely amazing and LONG - there were tons of rooms with very elaborate sets, great props, plenty of actors, etc. We were VERY surprised with this haunt and we exited with big smiles on our faces.

Looking forward to our first trip to Netherworld this Saturday!!

Alan