2011 Pennhurst Review

OK...so I actually got this review done tonight. Enjoy!


We arrived at about 7:30 PM on Saturday, September 24th and parked in the onsite lot. Although it was really, really muddy the staff did a good job telling us where to walk to avoid getting stuck or soaked. As always we enjoyed the walk through the woods to the ticket booths. The ticketing area has been rearranged this year and quite frankly I hate it. It makes no sense not to have guests enter the complex via the raised walkway like last year. I have a feeling the change is due to Management’s desire to force you through their new concession area but this is unnecessary. Put ticket booths and stanchion in the space around the raised walkway entrance… people will still go down to the concession area to buy tee shirts and hot dogs when they are done. Also new this year is a stupid fence maze called The Rat Race also located in the concession area. This is corny and again unnecessary. Food and souvenir stands are fine but Pennhurst is supposed to be a REAL haunted place… you don’t need to yuk it up to get people to come and spend their money so don’t. The effect is cheap and corny. Anyway, once you have a ticket, make it through security and past the concession area you ascend a staircase and are finally on the raised walkway and on your way to the attractions.

Asylum
This is the attraction that started it all so it was the 1st thing we did. It was pretty much same as last year and still quite good. The scenes are appropriate for the site and storyline. The actors all did a good job with their characters and were both disturbed and aggressive which was good. There was a little bit more medical gore this year but it felt right. I think they put more props in the rooms this year… a change I did not love. You don’t need rubber ghouls at Pennhurst if there are supposedly real ones lurking about. Fake looking, disemboweled corpses hanging from the roof are just plain silly. Overall I think this attraction is still quite good… enough things were changed and enough things stayed the same. I guess my only suggestions would be that overall less would be more. Oh… and keep your eyes open as you exit the attraction. There is a very, very cool special effect right before the door.

Dungeon
We did this attraction 2nd and the 1st thing I noticed is that the line sucks and will be really confusing on busy nights. You basically have to wait in the Asylum line till you’re right at the building and then go in a side door that isn’t marked (I didn't see a sign) and is shabby with has debris on the ground around it. They do have lots of staff members on hand to direct you but when people are in line and chatting I think the directions will be ignored. There may be a different line that they weren’t using due to the small crowds but it will still have to funnel into the same place as the Asylum line since that’s where the door is located. Because the entrance is so ho hum the attraction gets a little lost and lacks punch when entering it. I think it would be better if the Asylum & Dungeon were combined into 1 attraction. You could do the Asylum then exit through the side doors and continue on to the line for the Dungeon finally exiting through the back of the building and onto the raised walkway. Anyway, another issue I have with this attraction is the name of it. I really HATE the name Dungeon. The space is not a dungeon nor is it themed as a one so it why call it that? Why not just call it The Basement? Anyway, aside from the name and confusing entry way this attraction is actually pretty good and kind of scary. There was a small sound issue with TV screen cell doors and a bit of prop overload in some rooms but overall the effect is still good. The thought that less is more totally rings true here too however. Next year Management should work on not distracting from the creepy basement feel of this space… too much stuff, noise, etc. will ruin it.

Tunnels
We did this attraction 3rd and I was extremely disappointed. The Tunnels were just stupid this year. Stupid, stupid, stupid. In case you are confused about how I feel… I thought they were totally F-ing STUPID. Now that that is out of my system… having been in the tunnels before Pennhurst went public I was very, very excited to see what they were going to do with all the new space they made down there. They definitely did stuff but none of it was good. Basically everything eerie and frightening about this space was covered up. Instead of silence there is a ludicrous soundtrack. Instead of darkness there is distracting lighting everywhere. Instead of a desolate, abandoned tunnel system where real ghosts might be lurking there stupid killer bees, a lame crypt and a ridiculous nuclear disaster area. WTF??!! Why would there be bee hives underground? Why is there a crypt in the service tunnels of an abandoned mental hospital? This truly is the most disappointing haunted attraction I’ve ever been to. Please, please, please Management take my advice and take all of the hokey, corny stuff out of the tunnels ASAP. Your catch phrase is “The fear is real.” so why are you covering up everything that makes Pennhurst scary? Enhance not engulf. Ugh! As a side note... this attraction for some reason puts you outsided the security area when you're done. Not sure why and on busier nights you might have to wait in line to get back in so maybe do this one last if you don't want the hassle. Hopefully they change this for next year.

Ghost Hunt/ Mayflower Building Flashlight Tour
We did this attraction last and after the Tunnel debacle I was more than skeptical. Thankfully Management did 100% the right thing here. The building is basically exactly the same as it was when Pennhurst was abandoned in 1987. Of course some asbestos is missing and some graffiti has been added but the artwork kind of adds to the atmosphere… it is very Candyman. From what I remember a bunch of furniture and tons of papers are also gone too but basically it’s as close as you can get to the pre-public Pennhurst experience. The line was nonexistent on the 24th but there is a huge stanchion area off of the raised platform for this attraction (for others too I think). I can see it being full on Saturday nights as people will want to spend some time in this building. When it’s your turn to go in you are given 1 flashlight per group and sent in to explore the whole building as you see fit. There are no actors or effects nor are there any lights except in the stairwells. There are 2 floors with 10 or so rooms per floor. The third floor and basement are not open yet. This building was used as a dorm so most of the spaces are dorm rooms, lounges and bath facilities. The feeling is definitely eerie and if you go on a quiet night and wander away from your group and the flashlight it is very easy to find yourself alone in a pitch black room with a shiver up your spine. Sooo spooky. There are staff members positioned throughout the building for guest safety. They know a lot about the complex and tell a mean ghost story for sure. If you want the goods on what goes on at Pennhurst when the crowds go home definitely talk to these people. Our group had a cell phone ghost tracker app which was really fun. It has radar like screen which shows when ghosts near you. It also spits out words sometimes based on the spirit energy in the area. Very cool addition to this attraction for sure. Of course once people find out I’ve done the Ghost Hunt/ Mayflower Building Tour the 1st question I get asked is “Did you see a ghost?”. I don’t know honestly but what I do know is that a girl that night totally thinks she did because she freaked out to the point that security had to get her out of the building. She was so spooked in fact that she left the site and didn’t use the rest of her multipass. I say “Let this be a lesson” but not in the way you might be thinking. This lesson is for Management not visitors. Honestly why is it that the only building without actors or props is getting the most buzz? Why is this attraction the only local one I’ve ever been to that makes makes me want to spend the money to come back again this season crowds be damned? Hmmmmmm… I wonder?

Overall I enjoyed Pennhurst once again this year. I still wish they would let the “real fear” shine through a little more and let the fake ass fear stay in the prop closet but maybe that’s just me. I also wish they would ditch the bonfire, hang out concession area thing. This isn’t Bates Motel and we don’t want it to be. Here’s to 2012 unless the lure of The Mayflower brings me back in the next month. Ouch… my wallet.

Coming soon....

Tomorrow my Pennhurst 2011 review.  I know you all are holding your collective breath...

Discount tickets abound!

So I got discount ticket e-mails for Bates & Pennhurst and Shocktoberfest too I think.  Only downside is that there is a $4.50 per ticket surcharge.  Ouch!  Think we're going to buy the Pennhurst tickets anyway and do the VIP since we will only be able to go on a Saturday night this year.  Exciting!!  Anyone else buying haunt tickets now?