Martin does Halloween Haunt at ValleyScare!

[milst1]

I made a weekend trip to the Twin Cities for a fraternity anniversary event (I spent 3 years doing graduate economics at the University of Minnesota 1989-1991) and I just couldn't go another day without a theme park, so I headed to Shakopee for ValleyScare's Halloween Haunt! And I had a lot of fun! It's a fairly brief report, but I hope you enjoy!

Welcome to Halloween Haunt at ValleyScare! It's really cold here! It was in the low 40s, but felt like the 30s with the wind chill. Plus there was some light freezing rain!

It wasn't too busy, probably because of the weather. I had a Fast Lane and a Fright Lane, but I barely used them.

Remember, no readmission after 7pm! Does this mean that if I left my camera in my car, I can't go back and get it? I think it does.

Here was my Fright Lane pass. It had "skeleton keys", which unlocked special rooms in some of the mazes.

Here was my map of the frights.

But first, I'm freaking starving!!! I stopped for deep-fried cheese curds on the way to Coasters Restaurant. Man, these are so good, but I've only seen them at the Minnesota parks and at fairs.

Dinner is served at Coasters. I got the veggie burger thing, which I think had more calories than a regular burger. The fries were good, but I'm sorry, Red Gold will never be as good as Heinz.

My first stop was at Mr. Cleaver's Bloodshed, a really good maze with a slaughterhouse theme. Well done!

Here's the exterior.

I'm sorry that I'm not a good night photographer, so apologies in advance for this crap. There were some nice set scenes to set the mood.

Of course my photos don't do it justice.

The park was relatively empty, so it was really pretty spooky.

A funeral.

This guy was at the corn maze.

A graveyard for former rides.

Even Snoopy wants to get in on the act! And his satanist tendencies are finally exposed.

I love these kinds of little touches.

Here is my one decent picture of the Hellside Farm sign. I love the guys dressed in corn husks who jump off the walls to scare you. I don't have good pictures, but I also really liked Chateuau du Damne, a kind of Vampire L'Estat house. Great scare-acting.

There were also some "scare zones", which were just haunted areas you had to pass through to get around. There were creepy soundtracks too.

Here's the back side of my Fright Lane pass. I only used it twice, and I only used one Skeleton Key, which was disturbing enough that I didn't want to use another. Go ahead, call me a wuss. I can take it.

Of course I got a few rides in. High Roller and Renegade were running really really well. Maybe it was the cold and rain? I need to bump Renegade up in my rankings. It was crazy in the dark with the freezing rain.

One of my favorite things was this show, Ritual of Fire. It's hard to describe. It was a Stomp-like drumming show, then a fire/dance show, and then a little human sacrifice was mixed in. I watched part of a show and then watched the entire next show.

This is the best still photo I have; I did shoot a bunch of decent video, but I'm not sure how to share it here. There was also a very good and very funny improv show after this in the indoor theater nearby.

Wait, is the light on?

Rockin Cherry dippin' dots!!!! I don't care how cold it is!

Thanks for visiting ValleyScare with me!

[VF15]

Nice trip report. I always like reading TRs about my home park. Looks like you had a lot of fun.

[milst1]

^^^

Thanks. It was great to be back in Minnesota. I couldn't believe how much things had changed since 1991.

[VFVSGirl16]

Nice trip report, surprised you didn't use the Skeleton Key more than once... I did it, you missed out on some more disturbing stuff. Which is really funny that I did it, because I'm a huge wuss. What was your favorite maze out of all of them? And I agree, Ritual of Fire and Hacks (the improv show) are both really good shows. I love reading about my homepark, so I'm glad to see you enjoyed it.

[milst1]

^^^

Yeah, good question. I guess it was that the first Skeleton Key that I used in the Asylum (in the bathroom) was so fucked up that I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. I had just flown in and I was tired, and I was by myself. I tried to make friends with a park-goer or two, but it was all kids and they just looked at me like the creepy middle-aged man that I am. But I still had a good time, even without the Skeleton Keys. My favorites were Mr. Cleaver's, Chateau, and Zombie High.

[VFVSGirl16]

^^^ That makes a lot of sense then. I did Skeleton Key with my younger cousin but I don't think I could've done it alone, even though I ended up solving everything. And If you ever wanna know what you missed in the other rooms, feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to tell you! And I would have to say those are my favorites too. And I get what you mean about trying to make friends with guests. Heck, I can't even really do it and I am a teen.

[RCjunkie]

Glad you enjoyed yourself at my home park, always interesting to hear someone else's take on the place. You should move Renegade up in your rankings! This is an 'out of the way' park and not as many people ride it compared to other GCI's so it does not get all the love it deserves, it's a very solid ride. Renegade does seem to run better at night but VF did do a lot of retracking work on both High Roller and Renegade this last off season and it really payed off in ride quality. If your a credit whore too bad Excalibur was not open for you, you did not miss much as far as ride experience but it is a unique coaster and should be rode at least once by every enthusiast. Plus since you got to experience a little cold you will appreciate it more then when the local VF fans ride during the final weekend on November 1st and 2nd this year. Who knows how cold it will be then. And I agree with you, I do not know why deep fried cheese curds can only be found in MN and WI because they are just damn good. How can you go wrong with deep fried cheese?

[VFVSGirl16]

If you could post videos you have of Ritual of Fire, that would be awesome. I loved that show, but can't find any videos anywhere.

[milst1]

If you could post videos you have of Ritual of Fire, that would be awesome. I loved that show, but can't find any videos anywhere.

 

My clips aren't particularly good, but I threw them up on YouTube:

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[coasterchitchat]

FYI- Cedar Fair made the switch back to Heinz! Yay!

[GCI Wooden]

If your a credit whore too bad Excalibur was not open for you

I don't think that riding Excalibur is credit-whore-like activity. Isn't credit whoring usually referencing to riding kiddie coasters?

 

FYI- Cedar Fair made the switch back to Heinz! Yay!

That's great news!

[VF15]

If your a credit whore too bad Excalibur was not open for you

I don't think that riding Excalibur is credit-whore-like activity. Isn't credit whoring usually referencing to riding kiddie coasters?

I think he's calling it a "credit whore" coaster because most enthusiasts don't really like Excalibur. I think it can be a decent ride if you sit in the front car and brace yourself for the transitions. Besides, he says he was in MN from 1989-1991, and he might already have his Excalibur credit if he went to Valleyfair then, but I wouldn't know.

[VFVSGirl16]

Thanks for uploading the clips, it may not be much but it's more than I had. Man, I miss that show. It was SO good.