2013 Abandoned Haunted House Complex Event Reviews

Abandoned Haunted House Complex was everything I had been anticipating and more when I visited last Saturday night.  Abandoned is a huge two haunt attraction that reeled me in the moment I saw it.  We arrived at about 9:15 p.m.  There were bright inviting lights with a large parking area, with many signs and people guiding you onto the grounds.  The minute we stepped out of the car, I could not wait to get into the haunt.  As you walk up from the parking lot you see a clearly labeled ticketing area.  There are also a few areas that are decorated and a really great little store front that has sweatshirts, T-shirts and other cool Abandoned gear.  Also featured prominently are some amazing masks that are for sale as well. We walked right up and purchased our tickets.  As we made our way around the grounds we quickly realized we were not alone when we decided it was a great night to visit Abandoned. 

Once you walk around the side and to the back of the ticketing area, there is a huge waiting area and on Saturday it was packed with people chatting, laughing, eating concessions they had just purchased at a vendor on the grounds, and many were watching a myriad of macabre and other entertaining video clips playing on the complex’s huge movie screen which has an explosive secret. The lines seemed organized and controlled
and there were plenty of employees and security around if you needed to ask a question.   

We walked around to the area where the FastPass ticket line began, and we were extremely grateful to have our FastPasses when we heard that there was a significant line wait of two or more hours without the FastPass.  I must state that if it is a chilly night or you don’t feel like waiting, I believe this is the way to go.  We walked into a covered
waiting area where a few other groups of people were waiting in the Fast Pass line.  We waited in the Fast Pass line for approximately fifteen minutes where we were kept company by either an extremely funny grounds crew worker, or an actor in a janitor-type outfit, who was conversing with a group behind us in line.  Either way, kudos to you sir, you were funny and helped keep my mind off of the cold!  We made our way into another smaller enclosed winding area where we walked through and found our way to the entrance of the first haunt, Hysteria.

Hysteria

This was the first of the two haunts I experienced at Abandoned.  It greets you with
haunting cackles and eerie laughter, creating an ambiance true to the haunts name.  As we made our way through the amazing and mind-bending haunt I was surprised, terrified, and thrilled. In this haunt I was delighted to find many different areas with a variety of themes and marvelous sets.  While I walked through the haunt I realized that the walls of the haunt had turned from dark creepy passage ways to walls with vegetation growing and cave walls that appeared moist and textured.  Other walls in this haunt seemed to shake along with the floors under your feet.  The sets and props are professional, realistic and unique. I have been attending haunts for many years now and I saw
set ideas I had never seen done before in any of the haunts I have visited.  The variety of different areas is excellent.  Hysteria offers so many things tricking and treating your senses I feel it has something for everyone. The actors were highly interactive and really worked on getting you to jump by creeping up on you when you least expect it.  I really enjoyed the tactile and visual effects of this haunt.  This haunt also seemed to last a long time but every moment of that time I was filled with a great sense of wonder.  I remember thinking, “What could be coming up next?” I was elated by how much fun I had in this haunt. However, I didn’t have much time to contemplate this thought because we walked out of Hysteria and through a short passage way and we were entering Ambush.

Ambush

Ambush was the second haunt that we visited.  This haunt begins with a lot of
dark foggy passages with loud disturbing noises coming from everywhere around you.  I really got the feeling that my senses were being assaulted, thus proving Ambush to be a fitting title for the second half of my journey at Abandoned Haunted House Complex.  Ambush gave me the feeling that I was under attack and I was slowly loosing myself in the haunt.  The actors are coming out of nowhere from every direction.  This provides an atmosphere of chaos.  I heard some pretty chilling
screams during my time in Ambush.  I jumped numerous times and became pretty nervous when I realized I actually might be under attack.  I found this haunt worked on my nerves and made my heart race.  If surprises around every dark corner and a chilling sense that something isn’t quite right, gets you rattled like me, than this haunt will frighten and thrill you.       

As I exited Ambush, I was quickly greeted by the chilly autumn air again.  Around the area where you exit the second haunt is an area with items for sale and one of my favorite characters of the entire evening to greet you at the end of your journey.  I even had my picture taken with this actor. Overall my journey at Abandoned Haunted
Complex was one of my most favorite trips so far this haunt season. I had an amazing time and you should too, shouldn’t you?

Length

And the winner is...  Abandoned Haunted House Complex!  Yeah, that's right, who's got the best haunt in southeastern Wisconsin? They do!  When asked about Abandoned last year, I always said that it was cool, and had potential.  I knew this year would be special for them, but I didn't know how special!  I don't know if words will do it justice, Abandoned nailed it.  No sophomore jinx here, just pure awesomeness!  We arrived at Abandoned and were told the wait was almost two and a half hours!  Needless to say, we went with fast passes!  After a short wait, less than fifteen minutes, we were ushered into the haunt.

Abandoned Hits you hard from the very start with its first attraction, Ambush.  If you have been to their sister haunt Burial Chamber, you already know that Abandoned relies heavily on disorientation.  Darkness is key here, and they use it so well.  But it's not just darkness; a new fad in haunts is the blinding LED's and smoke.  Ambush is a theme heavy haunt, with a fantastic mixture of live actors and gruesome scenes that rival the very best in haunted houses.  Ambush is a nonstop barrage of startling effects and scares.  The actors here are some of the best you could hope for.  Every last actor in there is most definitely a fan of haunts and horror, if they weren't, this haunt wouldn't be the amazing attraction it is.  Ambush is about fifteen minutes of awesome, covered with awesome sauce, sprinkled with shredded awesome, and topped with a heaping helping of awesome.  To some it up, I think Ambush is a great haunt, could you tell‽

The next section was Hysteria.  On it's own Hysteria is worth the price of admission, and is a fantastic haunt, but when coupled with Ambush, Hysteria is just the icing on an already perfect cake.  Hysteria is slightly shorter than Ambush, but what it lacks in length, it makes up in, well, hysteria!  The haunt focuses less on themes, and more on pure fright.  Lights out, loud noises, which way is up, bright light, thick smoke, tight spaces, pure insanity! 

When I heard rumors that the people who ran Burial Chamber were opening up a haunt in southeastern Wisconsin, I was psyched.  Burial Chamber was always one of my favorites, and I couldn't wait to see if they could make it work down here.  Well, in my opinion, they made it work, and in just their second year, the Abandoned Haunted House Complex is the best haunt in southeastern Wisconsin.  I'll go ahead and say it, they are probably the best haunt in the entire state, at least of the haunts I have been too.  Do yourself a favor, get to Racine, get to the Abandoned Haunted House Complex, buy a ticket, preferably a fast pass, and experience what this reviewer is all fired up about.  You will not be disappointed!

Signage / Visibility / Location

Wait Area / Line Entertainment

Actors' Performance

Sets Scenes / Props / FX

Length

Crowd Control

Most Memorable Moment

My second time to the Abandoned Haunted House Complex and wouldn't you know it was even better than the first. Abandoned has continued to impress me. My first year there I was impressed with the amount of detail, professionalism of the actors, and amount of technology used by the attraction. This year certainly did not disappoint, with a new layout and new technology this year was just another awesome year.

Abandoned has the benefit of being very close (about a 30-40min drive) to Milwaukee AND Chicago. Even better it is not that difficult to
find. Abandoned is perfectly positioned just off of I-94, near Mount Pleasant, on the frontage road. You barely need instructions. Just drive towards Mount Pleasant and look for the big lit up letters that say Abandoned on the left or right of the freeway (depending on where you are coming from). There is plenty of parking and the ticket booth is easy to find. The attraction also offers “Abandoned” merchandise and concessions. It is definitely a nice stop.

Abandoned this year has grown. You will never be bored in the line as there is now an outdoor movie theater screen that shows music videos
and various other Halloween related media. Actors prowl the grounds and keep you entertained in line. They are not afraid to get in your face but they will also hold a conversation with you in character. My fiancée and I particularly enjoyed a friendly exchange between two reptile overlords and the property’s security guard. Again you will NOT be bored in line. Even as you get closer to the main entrance you will be able to talk with people around you as there are 5 lines that line up side-by-side. So even while waiting you will have a good time.

Due to this attraction’s popularity, even if you get there early, be prepared to wait. My fiancée and I got there near the tail end of the
night and we still had a 30min wait, but it is worth it. For those who are impatient the attraction offers a Fast Pass ticket that will take you to the
front of the line…for an additional fee of course. No matter how you get to the main entrance once you are inside be prepared for an adventure. Abandoned generally puts groups of 4 -6 people through at a time although you may be able to request to be by yourself. Don’t let the fact that you may be with a few more people deter you. It will still be loads of fun.

Like last year you start off in their “main room”. Here you get to watch a borderline disturbing video that will put you in the mood to
either take the house head on or cower behind someone. Either way, this room is going to get you excited. Now, this haunt being so expansive, I could break down the type of scenes you are going to see and things you are going to experience but that wouldn’t be right. So I am just going to focus on the main components that will give you a great experience. Those components are: the actors, the technology, and the scenery.

First let us start off with the actors. ALL the actors are highly dedicated and committed, professional actors. Each actor is “done-up”
(i.e. make-up and costumes) professionally. The actors bring an awesome “lifeforce” to this attraction. They will keep you going, keep you guessing, and keep you entertained from start to finish. Each actor is committed to their role and is tasked with different ways to scare you. It appears that the experience of these actors is so vast you will never feel like one actor just copied another. These guys and gals know what they are doing and they will give you a great experience. Major thumbs up to those actors.

Abandoned offers top-of-the-line haunted house technology for your enjoyment. Tiny LED lights are placed strategically in some areas to
give the impression that you are underground. In other areas they are placed just so to mimic sunlight. And in still other areas they are placed to the give the illusion lightening. That is just part of it. There is so much technology in this complex you feel like you really are in a bad situation. You will see real sparks (that rain down on you), lighting that perfectly sets the stage, and animatronics and other moving parts that make you believe everything you are seeing and doing is real. With the aid of technology you will even experience a zombie attack (and that is all I will mention with that). All the technology is there to disorient you or make the experience as real as possible. Everything this house has to offer is a site to behold.

Finally you have the scenery. Abandoned held nothing back when they created this house. All the scenes are professional, Hollywood-grade
scenes. You will see real coffins, realistic animal corpses, and props that make you wonder if you really are still in a haunted house. This is a full
immersion haunted house. You will smell things, you will feel things that are wet or gummy, and you will see things that are straight out of major horror movie blockbusters. You can tell a lot of work was put into this haunt and you will appreciate the amount of detail that you will experience. It is this type of dedication that makes you want to go through a house again and again.

This haunted house is so expansive you will feel like you are in there for over an hour. The whole attraction, however, is a little more
than 30mins. Abandoned has pacing down to a science. You will likely never run into another group and if you do that group will be separated from you so you can continue on in your group. This further adds to the enjoyment. The pacing will give you enough time to soak in each environment and get treatment from each actor in a given area. There is a reason that this haunted house's popularity has grown. Come and see why first hand.