The Nightmare Realm — Attraction in Dublin

My partner and I have been going to the Nightmare Realm every year since 2012. We always thoroughly enjoy it and love bringing our friends with us—especially people that haven’t gone before!

We went last night, booked the 9pm slot with fast pass tickets. And, tbh, we were quite disappointed.

The disappoint did not come from the actors or the effort put into it—it’s obvious people spent a lot of time and effort into making it a great attraction. However, the problems we faced were down to the logistics of it.

First, it was hard to find the fast pass queues. The first one we went into, we waited a while in the line until I had to ask someone if this was the fast pass queue. Then we were directed to where it was.

Many of the people putting lines on the bands at the start of queues weren’t even checking if we had fast pass tickets, and wouldn’t direct us on where to go. We had to ask a couple times where to go.

Second, the pacing was really rushed, and made for a pretty dull experience. Because they were rushing people in, you were seeing what was coming every time, which took the scares away from us. Not once was there an unexpected moment.

Third, we weren’t able to do everything! We paid a lot of money for the tickets. We went from one attraction to the next, with our fast pass tickets, and we’re still turned around at the end of the night because of closing. We didn’t dawdle. We didn’t stop to get food or anything. Yet we were denied the Banshee attraction. We booked in for our time. Arrived five minutes early. Used our fast pass tickets. And yet we still didn’t have enough time to do everything.

All-in-all, we were all pretty letdown. We felt the obligation to show our friends (nightmare realm virgins) a good time because even they thought it was a bit predictable—and one of them scares really easily.

To be honest, given everything above, we all felt like the evening wasn’t worth the €150 we paid for it. Whilst we totally appreciate the actors’ efforts, the pacing and organisation of the event really took everything away from the experience.

I even contacted the Nightmare Realm about this, both on Facebook Messenger (they saw it, but didn’t respond) and an email. They didn’t even acknowledge the issues I raised. I’m really disappointed as this has become a tradition for us each year and they aren’t even arsed...

It was my 1st time to join the hoards of horror fans into this scream park. I know someone who was working here so I wanted to support them. The ques were not too bad, there were a lot of people there and you have to wait for groups to go in one at a time. I saw age groups from young to older. I am in my mid 40's and my sister in her 50's but we saw some much younger kids there approx 13 and older.

I was not sure what to expect but I have not screamed and laughed that much in a long time. This place is a super fun experience because you will be almost crying laughing from the amount of scares you get. They do not let up and I have no doubt they can see every move you make in there,I am sure it is for safety purposes too. You can tell they know where you are in all the mazes and they know just the right moment to scare you.

The 1st maze is mandatory, you have to get through it to get into the main attractions open area. It was probably the best for me, the performers were very chatty to me and I honestly didn't know what they were going to do. I got my printout picture they took and realised that is what the flashes were.

We grabbed some food after doing another house "possession" which was quit nerve wrecking but also super fun if you just run with it. Make no mistake these experiences will not spare you for a second. You will get a scare multiple times through each house

They make sure you get your money's worth and give you the best scares they can muster. I have to admire all the staff involved for going all night with such high energy to make sure customers get a good night.

There are also wanderer's who will go after you if you show any fear. One of the girls I was with got picked on by a clown who got in her face and would not leave her alone. She was fine but didnt expect to get chased around the main arena lol.

Would I go back? I wont lie I was tired even after just 2 of the walkthrough's but I feel like I now have a better understanding of how it works. This place is really good for a group of 6 or so friends. Be ready to lose your voice from screaming but mostly laughing at yourself and your mates.

10/10 from me - ps thank Molly for the...

I have been a huge fan of The Nightmare Realm for over 5 years now, often having visited it multiple times throughout its run each year. But I have to say, between this year and last year, the quality has dropped significantly. Every one of the houses were drastically understaffed, which ruined immersion, most had very poor lighting or no lighting for long stretches, which made it extremely difficult to see what was in front of us, and to avoid bumping into actors. The haunts were terribly short, which was a real shame as I believe they would’ve been a lot more enjoyable if they went on for longer. It seems like The Nightmare Realm has now opted for quantity over quality. It feels more family oriented instead of trying to truly terrorise guests. Though there were only three houses when it was being ran in the RDS, the quality of them was definitely very much up there and they were far more enjoyable as they went on for much longer. This year it feels like the passion for it has just dissipated. My group did everything there was to do, all the houses and the bonus attractions too, and couldn’t find a single redeeming quality this year. And don’t even get me started on the Banshee Experience, what an utterly dreadful waste of time. Sitting in a dark storage container while a broken speaker plays and an actor merely walks up and down, providing no entertainment. Should’ve been scrapped to extend an already existing haunt. This is in no means to undermine the actors themselves, despite the poor quality of the haunts, the actors really gave it their all and it was evident in their performance. It’s a shame how much The Nightmare Realm has changed, and not for the better. I’m sorry to say I won’t be back next year if it’s like this again. Which really disappoints me, as it has always been my favourite event during October each year. Just wondering how it is gone down in...