Facelift for familiar haunt

Robert Ballard, an actor at Branson Haunted Adventure Park in Branson West, crawls out to creep around Saturday night.
Pat Dailey | Branson Tri-Lakes News

By Joshua Clark
Staff Writer
Originally published Oct. 28, 2009

BRANSON WEST — With All Hallows’ Eve a few days away, young and old alike are lining up to take advantage of one of the area’s most visited attractions during the fall season, the Branson Haunted Adventure Park.

Located just off Missouri 13 next to the Predator World Zoo & Aquarium in Branson West, this attraction isn’t just a haunted house.

“This is so much more than just your standard haunted house,” said Director of Branson Haunted Adventure Park Breck Wakefield. “The zoo, aquarium, a free-play arcade, the haunted house and a mirror maze are all included in the price of admission.”

This haunted attraction has been entertaining visitors since 2004 and recently remodeled their haunt for the 2009 season.

“The main haunt had about 50 percent changed on it from last year,” Wakefield said. “We had several new areas put in, and really, there are only one or two areas from last year that remain completely the same from last year. we always try to change significantly from year to year, kind of like our trademark.”

The haunt utilizes a top-of-the-line sound system and special effects scattered throughout nearly 60 rooms. The creatures inside vary from animatronics to live actors, all with the intent of startling their guests.

“We tried to make sure people get a lot with their money,” Wakefield said. “Most haunts take eight to 10 minutes to walk through, and that isn’t a lot of time. We decided to rethink the whole thing and give people more.”

According to one visitor, they succeeded.

“I wasn’t in fear for my life, but they did scare me a few times,” visitor Mark Gilmore, of Omaha, Ark., said. “Plus, that maze at the end was a pain to get through, but we eventually got out.”

The production team works diligently to reinventing the haunt each year and even makes constant changes on a daily basis to keep repeat visitors on their toes.

In addition to the remodeling, one of the other major changes is the free play arcade, which features more than 100 playable video and other games. This deal seems to be a hit with those old and young alike.

“It was cool to go in there and play all those games as many times as we wanted,” Gilmore said. “The kids were playing on the pool tables and arcade games, but we didn’t issue any challenges to them. They were much better than we were.”

With all the new additions, a visit to the haunt has turned into an evening-long event.

“We tell people to allow at least an hour to go through the haunt,” Wakefield said. “The haunted zoo and aquarium takes a good 30 to 45 minutes alone, and that is if they run through.

“In the arcade, we have people staying several hours after because the games are free.”

There are two different types of haunts, with one during the daytime and the other at night. The evening haunt is much scarier, and is intended more for older children and adults, according to Wakefield.

“On a scale from one to 10, the night show is definitely a 10,” Wakefield said. “The day show is definitely more for the kids.”

In addition to being a unique place to go during the Halloween season, the haunted house also serves as a fundraiser for the zoo and aquarium.

The night haunt begins at 7 and lasts until 10:30 on weeknights, midnight on weekends. The daytime haunt opens at 10 a.m. and the last ticket is sold at 5 p.m. For additional information, visit bransonhaunt.com.