Dungeon of Doom Haunted House — Local services in Zion

If you love haunted houses & a really good scare, you absolutely HAVE TO GO HERE!!!

My family had plans to be in Florida this past week/weekend to go to Universal Studios for their Halloween events for the 1st time - we even had a friend in town from the UK for the vacation - but Mother Nature had other ideas! So, we pivoted our plans & did a quick search for some more local attractions (we are just outside of the Milwaukee area in Wisconsin). We decided to splurge a bit more than we might have otherwise by doing the Platinum Admission Package, & I am so glad we did! It was absolutely worth every penny!!!

I'll talk about the behind the scenes part 1st & then about the haunted house itself.

I've been going to haunted houses since I was a kid (so, we'll just leave it at over 30 years), & I've even had an opportunity to do a behind the scenes peak once before. I personally "nerd out" over the little details. If that's your thing, too, the behind the scenes package is a MUST do, & right now, you can even use a discount code!

Upon arrival, our group was whisked up front past the lines & quickly greeted by Tony, one of two brother-in-laws who own & run this attraction. We got to see their escape rooms, which are by far the most inventive and immersive rooms you can imagine (we will definitely be doing these in the near future), as well as much of the back of the house including costuming & makeup areas.

Tony clearly spends a great deal of time not just making sure the customers' experiences are great, but he also works hard to ensure his actors are prepared & have a healthy environment to work in, which shows in their dedicated performances!! He & the rest of his family & crew are incredibly gifted & creative! They pay attention to every detail from authentic looking spaces, great costuming & makeup, & layered, immersive sounds.

Tony's passion for what he does extends into every detail of every hallway. He builds, paints, molds, & creates every surface by hand. We really enjoyed having the time to hear about & see these details you don't normally get! If you're the kind of person who loves the director's commentary, do this package!!

Now for the haunt itself... WOW!!!

The attraction itself is filled with rooms that move & shift to cause disorientation. The scenes & props are so well done that they really transport you into the time & place along with sounds & lights that help create the environment & really engage all of your senses.

The actors are top-notch here! They really understand & utilize the space they have been given to work in, which clearly has many access points & openings to pop in & out of within each room. Their characters are well developed, & they are clearly invested in them, so they're unique from one another & scarier for it. It's not all the same jump scares & snarls over & over again here! They're also PRESENT! If you go to a lot of haunted houses, you know what I mean. I've been to too many haunts where it's obvious that there are staffing holes where a scarer should have been, but instead, you're walking through an empty room or corridor with props that fail to inspire much fear. I know it can be hard to staff during flu season, but Tony & his crew are dedicated to keeping their staff healthy & happy, & it shows!

This haunt is split into two portions while remaining inside. Don't dress for the cold when you come here (the 1st half is actually a bit warm, we were peeling off layers). It's not a quick run-through & yet manages to not be repetitive with surprises & fresh tactics to keep you engaged. You feel like you've gotten your money's worth here!

Be aware: there are lots of tight spaces, & as I mentioned, rooms that shift & move, as well as floors with varying surfaces & obstacles. My daughter has claustrophobia & some vertigo issues that remain from a bad concussion in high school, so she actually tapped out at the halfway point, but the staff were amazing & took great care of her! She still very much enjoyed it!

I highly recommend going here & doing the Platinum...

Bought the platium VIP package for Halloween night for my fiance and I. The whole itinerary was quite different than was documented on their web site, which in itself was a bit hazy about what to expect.

I was a bit disappointed at first when arriving quite early to the site. No signs, roads closed, and getting lost. I had signed up for 8:00pm, which I assumed was the set time to go through the haunt, so actually arrived around 6:30. I had expected to be able to lounge around in a special Platinum VIP suite with snacks and refreshments as was advertised. It wasn't until later I found they didn't even open until 7:00. They advertised special VIP parking, and that also was not the case. But being one of the first to arrive, we still were able to park quite close.

Once the ticket office opened, we went to check in. Once I handed over my tickets, the gentlemen asked us to wait on the side, and made a call on the radio announcing our arrival. We were told the manager was on his way to escort us personally, and we were given out Platinum VIP all access lanyards. While waiting, we got a LOT of attention from the character actors (monsters) which was really fun!

After a while a gentleman appeared and we were told he was going to be our guide for the night, and he introduced himself as the owner of the facility. (WOW) We first got our souvenir photos taken like everyone else (included in our package, everyone else has the option to buy), and then we were escorted behind the scenes. It turned out that we were the only 2 people to have bought this package for that night, and also informed that including ourselves, only maybe 15 people outside the employees ever got to see the inner workings.

The owner volunteered to take photos on my phone in a few noteworthy places along the tour, while telling us the history behind the haunt. We met a few of the staff including the head makeup artist and the lead costume maker. We got to see the collection of masks (not currently in use), educated on the making of prop weapons, masks, etc. We even saw the mechanical areas which were not even part of this tour once the owner learned about my profession and asked for some advice (and I was more than happy to oblige).

Eventually the back area tour was over and we were led to the front to start our actual walk through the haunt. It turned out to be a lot different from a previous visit pre lockdown, but most was new and some areas were just amazing in how the actors performed or how the special effects were pulled off. The most notable to us was a large area that looked and felt like a night-time stroll through a haunted swamp (or maybe a Vietnam era Cambodian swamp littered with the dead?). The section had chest high fog with greenish underglow that made it look opaque and full of algae, and it moved like water as you passed through it. This was quite mind blowing to me!

Finally, after the very LONG jaunt through the haunt (over an hour), we finally made it to the exit room which of course is where the final formalities are done-pick up photos, fill out the survey, and of course buy T-shirts.

Final assessment: If you are into seeing the back of house inner workings, and if the tickets are in your budget, this tour is a must! If you're just looking for a good scare, this should be your...

Without question, this is one of the BEST haunted productions I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing! It has everything for the casual fan to the more seasoned haunted house goer! 6/5 stars! I am giving it an extra star because of the behind the scenes tour we got with the owners Peter and Tony! Definitely get the Platinum Pass if you want to experience a more in depth side of Dungeon of Doom. By gaining access to how their custom costumes/masks are made and designed (Tristin you are a beast), make-up and staging area, the ins and outs of sets, the science behind scares, and the inner operations of how a world-class haunt is run gave us a much deeper appreciation of the Dungeon. Tony thoroughly answered any questions we had and treated us as if we had known each other for years. The customer service at Dungeon is second to none!

More reasons to GO SEE this haunt…

The Duration. This is a massive haunted attraction and takes every bit of an hour to walk-through. You absolutely get your money’s worth from the rollercoaster ride of emotions this haunt takes you on. 60 minutes of disturbed, terror, laughter, disgust, anxiety, thrill, despair, enchantment, vulnerability, and panic. Attention to detail! The precision, from the actors to the sets, at Dungeon was something to marvel! The actors stayed on point and stayed committed to their persona. All of them captured the spirit that was intended by their unique characters, while the detailed sets transported you to the specific destinations. The physical aspects! Many moments in this haunt felt like an obstacle course or that we were literally trying to get away from the paranormal elements around us. For those that have younger children or physical limitations, be aware that there are extremely dark areas, tight spaces, uneven walking surfaces, zigs and zags, and climbing/crouching that is required. These aspects made the experience feel more authentic and put you even more on edge. Spacing! We were extremely impressed by how well groups were spaced even though it was incredibly busy. Definitely purchase Fast Pass or VIP tickets on weekend shows!

All in all this haunt is one of the BEST, and I highly recommend seeing them before the haunted house season comes to an end! I also want to mention the “Buried Alive” experience. This is an experience that tries to simulate being buried alive. No other haunt I have been to offers something like this. I would not recommend this for individuals that get claustrophobic. It is definitely a unique sensation for those that do want to try it though.

Again, a shout out to Tony, Peter, and Jonathan for providing exceptional...