# Going to a pro-haunt - Wow its expensive



## Sblanck (Sep 13, 2007)

So a Pro haunt nearby that the wife and I used to go to a few times has really upped the price. Not sure I am into this whole scare park thing that seems to be going on but that is what this is, multiple haunted houses in one location. Without coupons getting the fast pass it was 40.00 a head. 30.00 a head without the fast pass. Oh parking is 5.00. So without coupns for you and your date 85.00 bucks! Well if you wanted all the bells and whistles. Oh and you are only allowed to go through each attraction once. So the wife and I paid to park and walked to get our tickets and didnt have enough cash. I am glad we didnt to be honest I could really make myself a nice prop for that kind of money. Anyone else's area have these insane ticket prices? 
Actually the price is what terrified me ha ha.

S


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## Rocky666 (Oct 15, 2010)

MOst of the haunts I have seen this year in my area are more in the $10-20 range. The $10 one seems pretty cheesy and probably not scary. But some of the haunts in the $18-20 range seem worthy. I know at least one of them sells VIP passes that allow front of the line privilidges and multiple trips through the haunt for $40.


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## bansheette (Jan 7, 2009)

I've seen haunted screamparks with by far higher ticket prices; sure it may seem high but you typically get between 4-8 attractions for the cost and you end up making a night of the event as opposed to just an hour or two. These large haunts have to charge those types of numbers just to cover basic overhead (payroll alone on actors is insane, plus support staff, police & EMTs, plus the myriad of other expenses).


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## Rocky666 (Oct 15, 2010)

I'm fine paying $20 for a well done haunt but I am near six flags here and it's $30+ dollars just to get into the park and an additional, undisclosed amount of cash to get into each maze and attraction. Probably conservatively somewhere on the order of $50-60 when all said and done, which, is pretty costly IMO.

That said, as you mentioned bansheette, they do employ over 1000 actors for their annual haunt and typically have at least 2 new maze themes each year.


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## FRIGHTGUY (Sep 1, 2010)

Those costs all seem to be the going rate for a pro haunt these days and that's minus the food or an extra goodies you may buy. I can understand having run a charity haunt and selling tickets but I do hate when a scream park boasts three huge attractions and two out of the three are lacking in either actors props o both. I'm headed to Blood Manor in NYC next week and they have just one show and it costs around $20 to get in $40 for a fast pass.


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## Front Yard Fright (Dec 23, 2005)

Prices really depend on your area. Most haunts in my area are around $8-$12. I noticed a few haunts increase their ticket prices... But that's the nature of the beast.


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## sickNtwisted (Sep 29, 2010)

I don't mind paying more if it's a quality haunt with movie grade sets, animatronics, entertained in line and a portion goes to a local charity.


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## Johnny Thunder (Feb 24, 2006)

sickNtwisted said:


> I don't mind paying more if it's a quality haunt with movie grade sets, animatronics, entertained in line and a portion goes to a local charity.


You took the words right out of my mouth! Completely agree.


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## hauntedyardofdoom (Nov 6, 2008)

Front Yard Fright said:


> Prices really depend on your area. Most haunts in my area are around $8-$12. I noticed a few haunts increase their ticket prices... But that's the nature of the beast.


This is definitely true. Even the smallest haunts in this area charge at least $12-15. The bigger ones will run you closer to $30


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

I just spent $50+ for two tickets to a local one. Ouch.


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## RandalB (Jun 8, 2009)

I've seen the local professional prices around here drop from $40+ to the $20-25 range. Don't dismiss the lower priced haunts, the $12 local one was much better than the $22 professional one last weekend. The best haunted house I've ever been in was $5.00 + a can of food and in a church basement. 

As an example, we charge $3.00 for our charity haunt and you can play kids games and eat for an additional $2.00 in tickets. 

RandalB


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## Mobile Mayhem (Jul 4, 2007)

I am doing a walk through of one of the more popular pro haunts tomorrow during the day, then going back at night to go through it in the dark with the wife. I think the price is 12 bucks for this one (Frightmare) Most of the ones here in CO are in the 12-20 dollar range and you can upgrade to VIP passes for an extra fee, which comes in handy on the weekends I am told.


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## psyko99 (Jan 11, 2008)

RandalB said:


> Don't dismiss the lower priced haunts, the $12 local one was much better than the $22 professional one last weekend. The best haunted house I've ever been in was $5.00 + a can of food and in a church basement.
> 
> As an example, we charge $3.00 for our charity haunt and you can play kids games and eat for an additional $2.00 in tickets.
> 
> RandalB


I've had people tell me that my haunt was much better than the pro haunts they've been too. I don't charge admission, I only collect canned food for a local charity. IMHO most of the pro haunts are in it to make a buck and require somewhat of a large investment. Some of the pro haunt's I've been to seem to have thrown $$ at buying animatronics and other props, but the quality of the haunt experience was lacking. They've since gone out of business.

It seems that, as a home haunter, you get out what you put in. I do this for my neighborhood and a charity, not to make a profit. In the end I have a great time and everything goes to a good cause. I think if I went pro and was in it to make a profit, haunting would quickly lose it's charm for me.


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## Johnmonster (Sep 4, 2009)

Our haunt charges $10.00 for tickets. In a town with a population of about 10,000 people, it seems expensive to some. However, we routinely have patrons tell us that we're far scarier than the $20-$40 range haunts they have visited. All of our actors are volunteers, so that helps keep costs down.

I guess a lot of the higher priced haunts charge what they do in order to pay off the extensive animatronics. Not a fan of those, at least not the prepackaged ones. I know if I paid big bucks for a ticket and all the place had to offer was a bunch of jerky, glow-headed chunks of plastic, I'd feel ripped off.

Nothing enriches a haunt as much as enthusiasm, though. If you can feel that every step of the way, knowing that the owner and actors are there because they love it and thrive on it, it's hard to not feel you got your money's worth.


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## dflowers2 (Mar 5, 2007)

Just got back from a local Pro-haunt called "Panic Attack" and it was well designed and in my opinion worth the $20.00 ticket price. Spoke to one of the owners and he stated they know they will not break even this year or even next year when they increase the size of the haunt from 11,000 square feet over 20,000 square feet. They have a lot of actors an several big animatronics, but the design is laid out well and provides for many scares.


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## hauntedyardofdoom (Nov 6, 2008)

I went to a local charity haunt yesterday. It wasn't too big, square foot-wise, but they made the most of it. I think they did a good job with it overall. The ticket price was $15, but I was able to save $3 with an internet coupon. I didn't mind the price because it was for a charity, but it probably would have been too expensive otherwise.


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## TerrorThreads (Aug 18, 2010)

Wow, i remember being able to go to some of the BEST Haunts at your local Catholic School for only $5 when I was a kid. Now you can spend upwards of $20. - $30. and If I am spending that much it better be good!


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## Rocky666 (Oct 15, 2010)

I don't rule out the cheaper haunts as a rule, but just looking at video of their haunt (the $10 one near me) I just know I'd feel let down: It looks more like a ramshackle conglomeration of "spooky" than a good haunt...kinda like walking through the Halloween store in the dark, LOL.


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## Lynn (Jan 10, 2008)

We have a charity haunt and charge $6. We worked all year on the rooms and props. almost all of them are home made. I have gotten to where I don't care as much for too much animatronic props... seems to be a little of a let down when something pops out and thats it. I usually can spot those before they pop out. Anyway, we some animatronic props but we don't over do it. We have MANY live actors who volunteer for this. I think our haunt is awesome so I agree that you cant discount the cheaper haunts... If the preople putting it on are really dedicated and into the haunt/scare thing, they can be even better than the larger, pro haunts.


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## dominic81 (Nov 3, 2010)

$15 ticket price is about avg around me. I'm like you Lynn I can spot the Animatronic scare before it gets out and just spoil it for the crowd. I try not to but I end up pointing stuff out instead of the Oh $#!^ normal response. Live actors is the way to go!!!


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