Niles Scream Park — Attraction in Niles Charter Township

This may be the harshest review I've written.

Niles Scream Park takes mobility devices away from handicapped people, and that's not even why I'm rating it so low.

Niles Scream Park is trash! I can't believe that I drove 7-8 hours for this. It's mostly props and animatronics. Seems like theres more people hired to work the midway trying to sell you stuff than working in the actual haunts themselves. What actors they do have are either poorly trained, or just completely untrained, with very few exceptions. And throwing water on people in 33° weather isn't scary, it's just reckless, annoying, and dumb. Even purchasing the speed pass you still end up in conga lines. Plus, a lot of the staff are rude and seem as if they can't stand being there either.

Now, I actually wanted to give it either a 2 or 3 star rating based on the haunts themselves. However, as mentioned above I had a horrible experience with them taking my cane away from me; my options were that or I could go home and not attend with their convenient "no-refunds" policy. Of course this only happened AFTER going through security with my cane, purchasing my ticket, purchasing a fast pass, and THEN being told that I wasn't allowed my cane, which I rely on for stability, as I'm presenting my ticket to enter the first haunt. Put yourself in my shoes being presented with this decision while 100+ people who also waiting to enter are standing in line behind me. Whoever communicates through the parks Facebook messenger claimed that it's "listed on our website". They stated this while in the same reply telling me that it's due to the nature of the park having uneven terrain, moving floors, etc.. and wanting to mitigate injuries. I let them know that those are precisely the reasons why ADA people use canes! Furthermore, with traveling 8-9 hours, I'm very elaborate with my planning and was more familiar with their website and information than should be expected from most.. Yet nowhere did I recall seeing "canes/walking sticks" under their forbidden items. So afterward, I revisited the website and it took approximately 30 minutes or so of specifically searching for this "no canes" policy. I eventually found it IN the Frequently Asked Questions, under "I'm in a wheelchair-is there anything for me at the scream park?". Why would I, a person who is not in a wheelchair, feel the need to read a section about wheelchairs? Why, after 20+ years of using a cane through haunts all over the country without issue.. would I ever imagine it being a problem? It's unreasonable... and all for an overpriced money grab of a haunt that rushes you through and doesn't deliver.

*I'm including a screenshot from my notes just to add validity to what I was saying about being more...

I purchased tickets online (paid extra for "convenience") and had a time reservation. I thoroughly read all the details on their website to make sure I could plan the best experience possible. On the reservation page, it says, "If you and your group arrive early for your reservation, we ask that you remain in your vehicles until it’s time for your reservation. You will NOT be granted early admission. Please line up in the front area no sooner than 10 minutes before your reservation time." I drove from nearly an hour away and accounted for 15 minutes early. It took quite some time to park, but we were still on time for our "reservation." Once up at the gate, the reservation line was just as long as the non-reservation line. I expressed my concern that I would miss my time to a staff, and their response was "It doesn't matter. We don't pay attention to the reservation times." We waited an hour to get into the park, even with a reservation time.

Once we got in, we waited 30 minutes to get into the haunted house. Then we immediately got in line for "Gruesome Gallery." We waited in line for an HOUR AND A HALF, for a 3 minute experience. By this time, it was after 11 PM. We thought about getting in the line for the "Nuclear Nightmare," which was our final ticket (we prepaid for the "Triple Dog Dare"), but the line was LONGER at this point than our line for Gruesome Gallery, so we would have waited over an hour and a half again. Living an hour away, and it already being after 11, we opted to leave because I was concerned about becoming too tired and falling asleep at the wheel on the way home. So, our remaining tickets were wasted, and money wasted.

I was pleased, initially, to see that they were promoting social distancing with signs everywhere, and recommended the use of masks in the indoor attractions. However, the lines were, IN NO WAY, set up to allow any distancing. It was impossible to comply, and at no point, did an actual staff try to recommend or enforce it.

In addition, there are designated smoking and vaping areas (Wonderful, and thank you!). However, people were smoking and vaping in the lines anyway. Clearly, people were also drinking, as was evident by the liquor bottles we stepped on in the lines.

I do understand that this attraction is a busy place, and a busy time of year. However, it is disappointing that the information on the website (such as waiting in your car until reservation time and social distancing recommendation) do not match what the actual experience at the park is. It is recommended to prepay for reservations (for which you pay an extra convenience fee), but they don't actually honor the time or limit the number of people in the park.

Disappointed to...

If they renamed it to Niles Family Scream Park, that’d be apt.

I honestly wish this place was marketed as what it truly is, a place for families to experience spooky halloween vibes without traumatizing their young ones. If you’re looking for a top notch scare or a place with some edge, this isn’t the place. The staff onsite were scarier than the actors as they all seemed to have an attitude with the attendees.

The main haunted house did have some good ideas going for it with the way they keep the pace up without you bumping into other groups. I really liked that and I hope more haunted houses would adopt this method of spacing groups. Other than that, I can’t really say anything in particular stood out to me. In all of the attractions, there were just long periods of nothing. No animatronics, no actors, nothing. It just dragged on with nothing to really see.

The maze was rather dull, but at least it was different. However, once you’re past the maze, you’re still locked in for a very long trail. This was definitely the low point of my trip here. It seemed very neglected in terms of a lack of actors and looking like it was designed as an afterthought. I could hear the other groups around us complaining about how bored they were. Even kids were asking their parents if they could just leave as they weren’t having fun on the trail. Problem is, you’re pretty much stuck on this trail until it’s done. Since there’s very few actors, you can’t even ask somebody to let you out through an emergency exit as those were out of sight. By the end of the trail I had to fight the urge to yawn. If they’re gonna get rid of anything next year and replace it with something else, I hope it’s the maze/trail.

There’s honestly just not a lot to say about this place. Kudos to those who love it, I’m always happy to see haunted houses be successful, this one just wasn’t for me. Niles would make an excellent haunted house to bring a family to or if you have a kid who likes horror stuff, but isn’t quite ready for one of the more intense haunted houses. That’s the demographic they seem to be going for, and I wish they marketed and highlighted this point.

I don’t see myself ever revisiting Niles, but I wish them the best in their years to come.

Bottom line, if you’re looking for something scary and with some teeth to it, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a family fun albeit spooky haunted house for your whole family to enjoy, give...