I have divided the October 16, 2022 Hersheypark trip report into two parts. In Part 1, you will find the standard recap of the rides we experienced with my stand out attractions. Here in Part 2, you will find mini-reviews for all four haunted houses featured in this year’s Dark Knights event.
I want to be up front and honest. Until Sunday, October 16, 2022, I’ve never paid extra for any amusement park’s haunt event. For years I’ve visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) for Howl-O-Scream and both Kings Dominion and Dorney Park during Halloween Haunt. All three parks’ haunted mazes/houses are included with admission or season pass/membership. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of their events for decades.
When it comes to Six Flags America (SFA) and Great Adventure (SFGAdv), I have visited both countless times during Fright Fest, but not once have I paid extra for their haunts. I’d use the visits to ride the coasters at night with a lot of the park’s guests in line for houses.
Ever since Hersheypark made their announcement about this year’s inaugural Dark Knights event, I have been excited to give it a try. Since the early 1980’s I’ve loved pretty much every experience I’ve had visiting the park. So you can imagine my dismay when I learned that the event was an upcharge like Six Flags’ Fright Fest.
Buying In For the 1st Time
Not having done any of the haunt events these last two years I was stoked to give them a go here in 2022. I’ve already visited Dorney Park for Halloween Haunt a few weeks ago. And just one day before this visit to Hersheypark, I was at Field of Screams with James, his girlfriend, Kelly, and their kids. I also have season passes to Kings Dominion and BGW. Did I really need to pay for Dark Knights?
Obviously, you know I did.
Visiting on a Sunday, the Dark Nights upgrade cost $24.95 per person. Friday nights run $29.95 and Saturdays, $39.95. Mike, from Canobie Coaster, mentioned in his review that pass holders get a $5 discount, but that was something we did not know when purchasing the wristbands at the kiosks. If you’re a pass holder, look into purchasing yours online first.
Now, onto my mini-review on each of the park’s four haunted houses. After those reviews I will also talk about a few feelings I have of the park and event overall during this inaugural event.
Creature Chaos
Join Professor Darkstone as he pits you against Pennsylvania’s most fearful and deadly creatures. Don’t worry, they’re in their cages…for now.
Description & Photo Courtesy: Hersheypark 2022 Dark Knights Event Page
Pros: The scene on the Amphitheater stage was easily the highlight of this attraction. It was massive, with lots of theming. The ring master was full of energy too.
Cons: The pacing of this haunt is not good at all. it features long walks with nothing taking place and with little to no theming. Fog machines, disorientating lighting, or some props along the pathways would have been something.
With all the scenes are clumped into a short portion of this long pathway, this means you need to enter in front of Skyrush and exit all the way over by Trailblazer. I get it that it’s a lot of space to fill, but that is the place the park ultimately decided to use. I say fill it with more scenes, or find somewhere else to do it next year.
This haunt also passes through the busiest part of the park, The Hallow. With coasters going by, it drowns out the scare actors and sound effects. I’m looking at you Great Bear. Sooperdooperlooper was not running Sunday, but I’m sure if that had been up, it would have been even worse. This was by far my least favorite attraction. Sad too because that stage scene is really strong.
The Descent
Who prowls the dark underground tunnels beneath Hersheypark? Follow her into the depths of decay where the only way out is down…
Description & Photo Courtesy: Hersheypark 2022 Dark Knights Event Page
Pros: While the Haunted Coal Mine has some of the most consistent room-to-room scenes and theming, my overall favorite ones were found in The Descent. There are a lot of details to be seen passing from one area to the next, even under your feet.
I also loved the use of lighting inside this house. They use it strategically to play tricks on your mind. Small hallways seem endless and it’s easy to lose your sense of space and direction. A few scare actors even had the green lighting incorporated into their costumes.
After doing both The Decent and Twisted Darkness to start the evening, I wasn’t sure which one I liked better. While I liked the theme of Twisted Darkness more, I found the scares and set up of the rooms inside The Descent better. Now that I’ve had some time to think, I am going with The Descent as my second favorite house.
Cons: Located in a tent with just a small themed entrance portal, this haunt doesn’t fit the area in any way. While I did love the scenes, props, and costumes used in The Descent, many of them feel to “clean” or “neat” to be scary in any way. This is a reoccurring theme for Dark Knights, so I’ll touch on this in my overall view of Dark Knights later in this review.
Haunted Coal Mine
For too long, unsettling cries of miners lost in these coal shafts have tormented the living. Take a daring trek through the abandoned mines which suddenly becomes an explosive encounter.
Description & Photo Courtesy: Hersheypark 2022 Dark Knights Event Page
Pros: More than any other attraction, this one fits in with its surroundings. The park did a good job of making you feel the theme of the region. With all the other haunts, the queues are next to rides and park structures. You’re then shuttled into generic white tents, or along a pathway smack dab in the middle of the park. There is no immersion leading into those haunts. Haunted Coal Mine feels like a structure in the Old West. Having the theming of the scare zone and Trailblazer nearby, it works so much better than the rest.
The prop work found throughout the scenes are also among the best. The other haunts each had a few places that were really good, but this one felt consistent throughout. It also features a nice little “trick” when begin your journey that I won’t ruin. This was my favorite attraction of the night.
Cons: None, other than a security guard who talked to us like children for ducking under the last few ropes of a totally empty queue line at the end of the night.
Twisted Darkness
Dare to have your tarot read by our twisted fortune teller and be forced into a never-ending carnival of nightmares. Was it real or was it all in your mind?
Description & Photo Courtesy: Hersheypark 2022 Dark Knights Event Page
Pros: The sideshow/carnival theme was well done. Even though this took place in a large tent, I felt like I was outside in certain portions of the walk through due to the use of fog and lighting. I couldn’t see the tent above me. I also enjoyed the way the house starts and ends the attraction. It makes you feel like you’ve been running around in circles.
After thinking about it overnight, I am placing Twisted Darkness as my third favorite haunt of the night. I put it just below The Descent, but is still leaps and bounds better than Creature Chaos.
Cons: Like The Descent, this takes place in a large tent structure. It would make sense if it looked like a carnival tent, but alas, that is not the case. It doesn’t fit the area at all. Inside there were large portions with no actors, leaving the scenery to be what you focus upon. That might work if it also didn’t suffer from the whole “clean” look I’ll be discussing in a bit.
Scare Zones: Darkstone's Hallow, Midway of Misery, & Valley of Fear
Pros: The fire effects and lighting at Midway of Misery were abundant and the area was bathed in color.
Cons: Calling these three areas “scare zones” is a stretch. Most park’s scare zones feature multiple actors, lots of theming, fog machines, and music. Hershey’s scare zones had maybe two actors and some minimal action taking place. The Midway was the most abundant, but it’s literally just an arch. You’re in and out of it in seconds. The Valley was a larger area, but very empty. It just felt like a pathway. The one scare actor on the pathway blended in easily with guests and the monster behind the tree was in such a dark space, it could also be easy to miss. We didn’t even both checking out Darkstone’s Hallow after seeing how minimal these two were.
I’m not sure if these were last minute additions to make Dark Knights feel like has more to offer, but they feel that way! I wasn’t even going to mention these, but I’m hoping Hershey takes note as I’m not the only person who feels this way about them.
Final Haunt Counts
Creature Chaos (1)
The Descent (1)
Haunted Coal Mine (1)
Twisted Darkness (1)
Extra Observations
Haunted Houses
I found the houses to be well-run with manageable group sizes. Not once did we run into the group that proceeded ours. That happens at every haunt I’ve been to.
I will warn you, if you expect to be scared, or see gory effects, you’re going to be disappointed. These haunts were on the tamer side. Jump scares are to be had, but you’re not going to see someone drowning in blood or see something like you might at a Field of Screams. It’s not that kind of haunt and that’s okay.
While I did enjoy my time exploring the four haunted houses, I do have a couple of nitpicks I’d like to mention. These aren’t complaints. These are things I believe could make the event better moving forward. Again, this was their first “stab,” pun intended at doing haunts.
- Too Clean – While a lot of these sets look amazing, they’re all way too clean. Take the tents inside Twisted Darkness, for example. They look like a brand new carnival set up yesterday with all new tents. Rip some holes in the fabric, burn them, knock some poles over, etc. Make it look lived in. Or would that be died in? My point is, they look great but don’t feel gritty or grimy like a haunt should.
- Abundance of Security – I feel weird bringing this up because I understand why it’s the case and I respect the park for protecting their actors and guests. However, it feels you spot two or three security team members for every one scare actor inside the houses. They do try to blend them in by wearing black outfits, but they still stick out enough. This does kill the immersion, but it might be a necessary distraction in today’s society.
Park Atmosphere
This is my biggest complaint of Dark Knights. It doesn’t feel like a Halloween event is taking place through over 90 percent of the park. I know Hersheypark is massive, but so are some other parks. I’m not suggesting to turn the park into nothing but scare zones because those other parks running Halloween events don’t do that either. What I think the park could benefit from is some odds and ends. Maybe place some orange lighting along the pathways. Maybe black lights off to the side? Pumpkins, hay bales, cornstalks, or a scarecrow in the bushes here and there would just bring it all together.
Right now Hersheypark feels like regular old Hersheypark with several Halloween “spots” plopped randomly throughout. And to be honest, those spots aren’t too engaging. When I walk through all the parks I named above, even the Six Flags parks, it feels like Halloween. It doesn’t at Hershey. This is actually the reason why you only see one photo that I took in this entire review. Midway Mayhem was visually appealing. The rest of the park, not so much.
My Final Verdict
I had high hopes since Hersheypark doesn’t usually skimp out or half-ass things. This is why I ultimately decided to give Hersheypark my money and pay for a Halloween upcharge event for the first time. I, along with Renee and Brady, had a great time and are glad we were able to experience this during its first season. We hope the park continues with Dark Knights moving forward and felt that the $25 we spent gave us adequate entertainment value. Renee and I did say, however, that if we had to pay that $40 price on Saturdays, that might not have been the case. That’s in the price range of the Six Flags parks I’ve avoided all these years.
I’m excited to see what the park will offer next year. I’d think that the four houses are here to stay, at least for a few years. That seems to be the case at most parks. I wouldn’t blame Hersheypark either. They’ve poured a lot of money into the scenes, props, and costumes. I’d image they’d like to maximize their usage. There is also an abundance of merch featuring the houses names. I don’t think they’ll be selling it all over these next few weeks and I seriously doubt they want to put it all out on clearance.
What I see myself doing with Dark Knights moving forward, as long as the upcharge price is kept reasonable, is giving it a go every few years. I don’t expect to do it annually and most likely will probably wait until it’s expanded or new houses are cycled into the mix. They’re off to a good start, but have some things to fine tune. I expected as much, but I’m glad I decided to give it a go.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Renee
Commander
New Credit(s): n/a
