This was our first time going to Demon Acres. To skip the ticket booth, we decided to buy our tickets online. We went with the combination ticket, which included three attractions in total. Once we got to the entrance, an employee told us that there was a 2-hour wait time for each attraction. We immediately regretted buying our tickets ahead of time as there were no refunds and no way to redeem our tickets on a later date. We arrived at the location at 8:30 PM, which meant that we would be waiting for six hours to experience all three attractions and leaving no sooner than 2 AM.
We agreed to stick it out and see how things unfolded, hoping that the two-hour wait time would quickly pass by. To get through all three attractions, you have to begin at the hayride before proceeding to the other queues along the way. At first, we were in high spirits. While waiting for the hayride, we were interacted with by a variety of scare actors. They made the first hour of the wait fun and were incredibly personable. However, by the second half of our wait, our mood and the energy of the others around us began to rapidly deteriorate. We went from semi-regular encounters with scare actors to none. At the end, before finally getting to the front of the line, a scare actor came by, but by that point we were already deflated.
Once on the hayride. we were told that the scare actors could touch us. This really concerned us as we had done our research beforehand and there was no indication that they would be able to do that. Had their website or any signage indicated there would be touching, we would have reconsidered going. We also did not want to receive too much of a scare. According to the sign leading into the hayride, folks who did not want to be as scared could sit in the middle of the cart. However, that was simply not the case. We were interacted with just as often as everyone else.
Throughout the hayride, there were several really impressive set pieces. There was plenty of attention to detail, great lighting, and a diverse array of sets. We were definitely satisfied with the hayride portion of the park.
However, by the time we got to the line for the second attractions, we found out the wait times were just as long. While weighing whether or not we were still willing to wait it out for another two hours, we found out that one of the rooms in the first haunted hour (an abandoned prison) was an unclean restroom that left one guest nauseous from the smell. Candidly, that was the final nail in the coffin for us.
At the end of the day, there needs to be substantial updates in both the signage and structure of the park. The website should mention possible wait times and warnings about the nature of each haunt (e.g., touching included, possible phobias...). Additionally, there needs to be a better system to prevent long lines, such as selling out for the evening to prevent unbearable wait times. The design of the park was great, but not...
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