Dark Nights at Hersheypark 2023
A new addition to the world of haunted attractions, Hersheypark decided to add haunted houses in 2022. Despite being a recent addition to the world of theme park haunted events, Hersheypark has already put together a strong family friendly event that shows great promise for what the future can bring.
The attractions at Dark Nights are thick with atmosphere, to the point of being detrimental in some situations. The sets that make up the houses are gorgeous, with the designers of the event paying attention to even the tiniest details. Sound design is exquisite, combining with lighting that sucks guests deep into the story unfolding around them. The quality of immersion is impressive for a theme park event, especially one that is only in its sophomore season. Especially nice was the use of simple techniques that go a long way towards creating a sense of fear and confusion. For example, the house Twisted Carnevil opens with a fortune teller's tent, beckoning guests deeper into the demented circus. The last room of the house is a return to this same tent, with the event replicating the first room so well that it convinces guests that they have circled around, creating a sense of dread. Special mention must be given to the Haunted Coal Mine, which is the reigning king of the event for set design. From the opening elevator scene, to the special effect-laden cave system, it is easy to quickly be sucked into the story.
There are instances that this attention to detail hurts the house. The Descent: Catacombs of Decay uses a lot of pitch black sets, or minimal amounts of darker lighting for the entirety of the house. While this does fit into the story that is being presented, the lack of light made it hard to make out the house details, and most importantly, made it hard to see where any of the actors were. There were multiple times when actors would jump out and make noise for a scare, but it was just impossible to see where it was coming from. It was frustrating because the basis for the house was solid, and the other houses of the event showed that Hersheypark is quite capable at creating entertaining attractions.
The scare zones continued the trend of strong atmosphere, for better or worse. The true standout of the scare zone was the newly added Fallout Zone. An admittedly overused concept, especially for scare zones, this is another nuclear disaster that has irradiated the midway. What makes this one a standout is the chaos around the zone, highlighted by flames shooting out just off to the side of the path, heating the area all around. Sometimes the pyro would build to a large display, leaving a huge cloud of smoke to darken the sky above. On the other side of the coin is Midway of Mayhem. A cacophony of metal music, blasting pyro, screaming guests, and maniacal laughter combine to create a disorienting zone. Unfortunately it makes it hard for the actors to stand out, especially when it seems that this zone does not have the amount of monsters to properly fill the zone. This was also an issue in Darkstone's Hollow. It seems that the desire is to have sizable zones, but it might be a better idea to restrict the size of these zones a bit to match the actors available.
Speaking of the actors, they are the true highlight of this event. This is a more family friendly event then some of the more intense theme park offerings across the country. Knowing this, the actors have perfected the ability to customize the guest experience. For example, in Fallout Zone the actors would go full force for scares if guests walking by that were adults, or would scale it back to more of a whimsical or humorous approach when it came to the little ones. Watching from the sidelines, it was impressive to see how quickly the actors could switch their mood to fit the with the surrounding guests.
The actors in the houses were also highly skilled in being able to switch between being witty or intimidating. The issue going through the houses was actor's being a bit late on their cue. It was an issue that happened in every house, and it leads to those at the front of the group missing scares. If the actors would go for their scare just a beat sooner, the issue would easily be solved, which would go a long way to making the houses scarier.
Overall, Dark Nights is a highly entertaining event, especially for being such a recent event. The focus on being a bit more family friendly than many of its competitors, helps to set it out from the others. There are some issues that the event needs to work on, but the foundation is there for a truly standout event if these issues are addressed. An event well worth checking out.
8 / 10
