2010 New Haunt Reviews: Cedar Point & California's Great America

Photo from PointBuzz.com

Cedar Point premiered a revamped house after their longstanding Undertaker U was removed. The picture above says it all. Dr. D Mented's Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Placed in the old carousel building, the Asylum took the common mental hospital theme and gave it a new twist, even sparking some controversy with the residents of Sandusky (and in other parts of the country).

Back to the Haunt, it seemed that the Asylum was pretty well received, but not anything outstanding. Cedar Point's Halloweekends has been known for putting on fantastic houses in terms of a visual appeal, but not so much in regard to scaring. Here's a review we found on ThemeParkReview.com:

"This is definitely a step up from last year's Undertaker U. I personally
loved this one, it had a great atmosphere, awesome actors, well-done
animatronics, and great scares! Even the queue was fun. The actors loved to roam
around in character and pop out from the doors and windows of the building! The
floorplans pretty much the same as Undertaker, but they really filled in the
spaces well, so it's not just hallway after hallway. Loved the drop-down
portrait, and the guy got me good!"

Sounds like Cedar Point has a pretty good Haunt on their hands! We'll have to see what the #1 Amusement Park in America brings to the table for the 2011 season!

Photo from ThemeParkReview.com

Adopting the Black Widows Cavern idea that Knott's is known for, California's Great America ditched Camp Gonnagetcha after only 2 seasons, going to the newly themed Black Widows Cavern log ride. Located on the actual Log Flume ride (Similar to the Sleepy Hallow concept Knott's executes to perfection), the ride takes guests through caves and narrow paths filled with spiders, ending in a climatic . . . splash. Here's a review we found online:

"We found one ride themed into Black Widow’s Caverns with creatures
pouncing, fog, spiders and disturbing sounds. Take heed though, you will get
wet. Several of the other rides are operating, but not themed."

We didn't capture a clear consensus of whether or not a lot of people enjoyed the ride, but based on the video we saw, it was definitely a step up from Camp Gonnagetcha. We can't wait to see what CGA throws at guests this year with their annual Halloween Haunt!

Up Next: COMING SOON!