Laurel’s House of Horror — Attraction in Laurel

On Friday evening, 5/12, our Squad (York Fright Review Squad) attended Laurel's House Of Horror - Haunted House and Escape Room "Halfway to Halloween" event! We were ecstatic to have the pleasure to do both the "7 Deadly Sins" escape room and the main haunted attraction. First thing first, this haunted attraction is like no other. Located in the back corner of a shopping plaza and housed inside an old movie theater, the setting couldn't be anymore unique!! Throw in a wet and dreary evening and you got yourself a perfect set up for a spooky night (yes, this can still happen in the middle of May). The staff are also beyond pleasant and thoroughly go out of their way to ensure each guest has a pleasant experience. We began our evening with the escape room. We choose the "7 Deadly Sins" room as the description made it very clear that all senses would be utilized in order to escape! We are disappointed to announce that we ran out of time and did not personally escape (let's just say we got off to a slow start and our wheels didn't start turning until about 10 minutes in). In this specific escape room, you were given 45 minutes to work as a team to try and escape. Once we got rolling and started putting theories and clues together, we started to work our way closer to freedom. We ended up one last puzzle to solve and about two minutes shy of defeating this escape room! This room definitely required teamwork, patience, and a whole lot of thinking! The actor in this escape room probably had a few good laughs during her 45 minutes with us. She had a very eerie vibe and progressively taunted us more and more each minute. Big shout-out to this individual for making our escape room experience nothing but the best! We will definitely be back for more of Laurel Haunt Escape Rooms!! We then proceeded on to the walk-through portion of the event. During the 2016 haunt season we felt as if we were never going to make it to the exit while in the haunt. It was room after room after room. Each scene providing more scares and a different look. This feel carried over into this "Halfway to Halloween" event! A good length walk through can be found at Laurel's House of Horror! The haunt featured unique scenes, scares from all directions (high, low, etc.), suspense, just the right amount of darkness, and a whole lot of terrifying actors. You won't hear the classical "get out", "growl", "what are you doing" scare tactics at Laurel's. Their actors provide a frightening experience and a lot of interaction. Be prepared for some in your face action at the haunt!! Good actors and just the right amount of props set this haunt up for success! I think every member of our squad jumped or screamed at least a handful of times during this haunt!! Overall, the thing we like the most about Laurel's House of Horror is their friendly and family oriented environment. They provide a frightening and fun experience for all guests! This haunt is definitely a must see so put this one on your list for the 2017 haunt season!! Great job Laurel's House of Horror, this event definitely receives a 10/10 in our book!!

York Fright...

I came here with some friends the other night. We had originally bought the general admission tickets, but after we arrived and were told that the wait would be THREE HOURS, we upgraded to speed passes. Even then, we ended up waiting in line for almost 2 hrs, which...fine, I get it, it's the Saturday before Halloween. We were a little annoyed, however, by the fact that they were letting in more people from the general admission line, which would seem to defeat the purpose of the fast pass.

On the plus side, a couple of the outdoors actors were fairly entertaining, especially the guy in the Leatherface costume. Just make sure to brace yourself for moving at an incredibly glacial pace and hearing the same 15 or so pop songs over and over again. Also know that any mobile tickets will have to be converted to paper ones at the ticket window or else they'll kick you out of line.

As for the main event, like any haunted house it's mostly reliant on jump scares, so how susceptible you are to that kind of thing will determine how much you get out of it. But even if you're someone who doesn't get easily startled, there's still a lot to appreciate. We were all impressed with the creativity of the sets and the different themes, and the concept of having a haunted house in an abandoned movie theater is pretty inspired.

Unfortunately, the experience was effectively ruined by this guy in one of the early rooms, who yelled at a couple of my friends (who'd stopped for a second to appreciate some of the details) for not moving fast enough. Then, when they tried to move forward, he grabbed their arms and pushed them up against a wall, screaming, "YOU THINK I'M F*ING KIDDING?!?" right in their face. I'm sorry, what??? I have NEVER heard of a haunted allowing its employees to touch the guests without their consenting beforehand, especially in such a forceful and aggressive manner. This is COMPLETELY unacceptable and not only destroyed our enjoyment of the remainder of the house, but the rest of the night as well.

After we exited, we told a couple of employees about what happened, but other than weakly apologizing and saying that some of the actors "take it too far," it was clear they weren't going to do anything. They actually had the nerve to ask if we wanted to go through the house again. Um, no thanks. I think it's safe to say we won't be coming back next year. I'd hope we can all think of better uses for $40+ than waiting in line for 2 hours to get physically assaulted. During that wait, an announcer said they "pride themselves on not being a conga line," but once you get into the theater that's exactly what they are. If you dare to go at your own pace, consider...

Beware-This place does not accept Groupons!

I have been to this place a couple times. My review is a sum of my overall interactions and experiences at this location. I've enjoyed it enough to return and gift my son a pass to enjoy an Escape Room.

I've been to other Escape Rooms with my Family but this so happens to be near our Home. I recently purchased my son's Escape Room pass on Groupon. Our Groupon says Never Expires but again it had an expiration date of 29 Oct. We thought we would go in last night 26 Oct and use our Groupon to avoid any expiration "confusion".

My husband went in and one of the Cashiers offered him a time slot for 730 or 1030. But that to his knowledge they were no longer accepting Groupons for Escape Rooms. That he would verify with the Manager and confirm by 715. He said it shouldn't be a problem, to accept a Groupon.

My Husband returned at 715 and was told by the Manager he was no longer accepting Groupons for the Escape Rooms but we were welcome to Upgrade to a combo pack or a Haunted House. We did not want to have to pay extra. We had already paid $93 for a 4 pack to the Escape Room. The Manager then kept changing his mind saying he wouldn't have anything avail until Sunday those slots offered earlier at 730 and 1030 were not accurate, he couldn't accept Groupons, then to upgrade its $65 not $55 as told by other staff, Escape Rooms are only offered in combination with Haunted Houses not alone.

In the end my Husband was understandably dissapointed and upset, the Manager offered no just resolution and told him to request a refund with Groupon if he's unhappy. Yes, we have. But it is upsetting that no service was offered. There's was no resolution and no desire to offer one. It was not our fault that Groupons were no longer accepted. If they are NOT, it's easy, take them down from Groupon! It is very dishonest to sell a good to someone and not accept it unless they pay extra. If so, put it in a disclaimer! I've contacted Groupon and let them aware. They have refunded me my money.

Again, I have enjoyed the Escape Rooms, they are entertaining. I will not say they're not, because im upset with the Manager's way of handling customer complaints. I just want the public to be aware THIS PLACE DOES NOT ACCEPT GROUPONS. Also, this Manager ciuld use some training on Customer Service, maybe even from his Staff. They seemed to be a lot more helpful,...