Midnight Falls, the town that’s always Halloween 24/7, continues to call and we can’t seem to ignore it. Appearing once again in Griffith Park, the L.A. Haunted Hayride is one of two multi-haunt attraction events in Los Angeles; the other being the return of Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor.
L.A. HAUNTED HAYRIDE TOWN SQUARE
The Town Square folks don’t miss a beat. When there isn’t a loud concert overbearing the area, it is perfectly safe to interact with the townsfolk and they will surely hit you with a jump scare or conversation whether you want it or not.
L.A. HAUNTED HAYRIDE MAZES
Monae Manor saw a remixed Midnight Mortuary with added creative direction from Janelle Monae herself. If you’ve visited LAHH recently the past few years; you may recognize the majority of the sets from Midnight Mortuary, which was arguably their best maze every year. With this being Monae’s manor, you get to see what twists and turns arise from Janelle’s mind. You may even get to meet her inside her studio.
Trick Or Treat: Ding-Dong Dead! this year was a bit darker and felt shorter than previous years. Gone are the days that you could ring the doorbell at each “house” and you either get a treat or get tricked, then it became where you would ring the doorbell and the monster living at each house would do a jump scare or entertain. Now, it seems that they aren’t even behind the doors and ringing the doorbell does absolutely nothing. We can understand if the focus was to get people through rather than having a log jam at random intervals.
Hellbilly Halloween felt like it had the same large footprint as their debut last year. The brick walls that we liked so much had made their return but just in a darker setting. As a matter of fact, the entire maze felt like the lights were turned down darker and a lot of strobe was employed. Strobe was present seemingly throughout the entire maze. This was a long maze that featured what felt like a never ending labyrinth paired with darkness and strobe. At some points, it was reminiscent of the blackout maze years ago.
The Haunted Hayride is now advertising “hay wagons”. These wagons now have actual bench seating, which makes it more comfortable to sit down on and to get up from. There was still some hay on the wagon but it was primarily benches; which we did not mind at all. With more comfortable seating, it made the hayride a much more enjoyable attraction where guests can now easily turn their heads to see something they missed. We noticed new sets and facades which added to the whole Midnight Falls small town theme. With the new sets as well as well-placed scared actors and scares; the hayride was probably one of the most enjoyable features of this multi-haunt.
L.A. HAUNTED HAYRIDE EXPERIENCES
Now, there are more add-on or bonus experiences than ever before. On top of the 3 mazes and hayride, guests can now experience: Zombie Splat Gellyball Experience,
Midnight Falls Axe Throwing, Madame Aurora’s Seance Theatre, The Scary-Go-Round and Mini Escape Games. Some of these may have a surcharge. However, interaction with the residents of Midnight Falls in the town square is always free.
LA HAUNTED HAYRIDE CONCLUSION
Our favorites this year were The Haunted Hayride and Monae Manor. Both with refreshed elements and talent; it gave off the feeling that they are completely new attractions. The other two mazes felt a bit underwhelmed compared to how they performed before. However, for the price of admission; you do get 3 mazes and the renown hayride for not a lot of money. For the strategy-forward people, you can get through 4 of the main attractions if you plan your night wisely.
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For more info, visit: https://losangeleshauntedhayride.com/