Phobia at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park Trip Review

[live2tell75]

On Saturday, October 8th my partner and I decided to check out Phobia at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. I had heard some pretty bad reviews so I didn't expect much. Phobia is included with your daytime admission ticket & annual passes. We both have annual passes and figured we should check it out.

 

We arrived around 4:00pm. When we first arrived it was kind of drizzling rain but soon let up. The first thing you notice when entering the park is they have put cobwebs on everything. In the center of Jubilee Junction (the main shopping entrance plaza) there was a huge line for people waiting to have their photos taken with and get autographs from the actor who played the original Jason from the Friday The 13th movies. We wanted to check out some of the daytime attractions and exhibits. We went through the Nature's Way and saw some animals, The Wings of Wonder Butterfly exhibit, Train, Plains, & Automobiles exhibit, and Kringle's Santa Claus Museum. We took a ride on The revolving Sunshine Sky Adventure. Walked through the many different gardens: Plantation, Topiary and the world famous Botanical Gardens. I could tell that Phobia was being held tonight because there were a lot of teenagers walking through the gardens which you don't usually see.

 

After the gardens and some ice cream we decided to head over to Adventure Grove to check out some of the rides. I have been to Cypress Gardens about 3 times since the new owners added rides and every time I have gone it has been pretty empty. But today it was really crowded, I was really surprised. There was about a 20 minute wait for Galaxy Spin! We took in a few of the rides and then headed back to Nature's Way to see if the first haunted house was open. It was about 6:30pm so we decided to join the line for our first haunted house, Adam's Family Crypt. We waited about 15 minutes until they opened up the house. The line looked big but moved rather quickly- about a ten minute wait once opened. The house is located next the animal theater in what will be the reptile house in the future. The house, like most of the others at Phobia reminded me of a haunted house you might find at your local mall. There were not that many actors in the house. But they did try to give good scares. This house was mostly walking through long winding coridors that were not dark enough. A mirror effect was kind of cool and towards the end of the house there were shaking doors in the floor that had chains attached to them that actually caught us off guard when we stepped on them. Adam's Family Crypt was a lot longer then I expected but again it did not have that many actors.

 

Next we headed to the 2 haunted houses in the back of the park. We first got in line for Pirates of the Dead 3D haunted house. This was located next to the first aid station accross from the Power Surge ride. We waited about 20 minutes for this to open up. By this time the park was very crowded. Lines were everywhere. At about 7:45 they opened up. The lined moved pretty fast about 10 minutes. When I got to the entrance, they gave us our 3D glasses. I was so glad we got one of the brand new glasses because we were one of the first people to go through the house. At the end of the house they collected them back. I totally agree with another reviewer about how that is disgusting that the park re-uses the paper 3D glasses. The house featured the trippy glow in the dark paint. Reminded me of a bad carnival's dark ride. Again the halls were pretty empty.

 

Next it was time to experience the Black Forest. The Black Forest's entrance is located between the Pirates of the Dead house and the entrance of Splash Island water park. This house was probably our favorite. It is really not a house but a haunted trail that features the best atmosphere including fog! Reminded me of some of the scare zones at Halloween Horror Nights and Howl-O-Scream. This also was the longest line about 20 minutes. They opened this up around 8:00pm

 

We went on the Triple Hurricane and rode it twice which was fun. Walked by the Boo House haunted house, located next to The Okeechobee Rampage coaster. There were about 3 large signs all around the Boo House saying it is intended for children 7 and under. I was glad to see they had a house that geared just for kids like a beginner house. Speaking of kids they had a bunch of activities for kids including arts and crafts, face painting, jewelry making throughout the park.

 

There were not any scare zones but a few guys wearing masks that seemed to scare the crap out of pre-teen girls throughout the park. They looked funny wearing masks and shorts, not complete costumes.

 

Next it was time to do the last house of the night, Misery Mansion located on the seating grounds of the Star Haven Amphitheatre. We waited about 10 minutes and we were in. Like the others, lots of long winding halls with few actors. This house had the most props and theming. After this it was about 9:30 so we decided to start our hour and a half drive home back to Tampa Bay.

 

My honest opinion of Phobia: Make the houses darker and add more actors. The employees that I encountered seemed pretty nice and older except for one. Because Phobia is included in the park admission, if you go, head over early in the afternoon experience the rest of the park's attractions, shows, rides, and the Splash Island water park then let Phobia be an added bonus. I probably would not suggest driving all the way over to spend the admission price just for Phobia. Something that I did notice that there were a lot of families and pre-teen/ teens there. Reminded me of being at the county fair at night when I would go with my friends in middle and high school. If you have not been to Halloween Horror Nights or Howl-O-Scream and are with people that are scared easily then Phobia might be a good beginner spook event. I am a verteran of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal and have gone every year since 1994 with the exception of 2001 and also have gone to Howl-O-Sceam for the past 4 years. My suggestion is if you want good scares and have to decide, spend the extra money and go to HHN or HOS. If you have kids then check out Phobia. Our trip was a good way to get our feet wet for all the different Halloween events. It made us really look forward to going to HHN on the 20th and HOS on the 27th so we could get the really good scares. I probably would not go back for Phobia for a few years, then only to see how it has grown from it's first year. I hope this review is helpful and happy haunting this month!

 

-Eric

Edited October 10, 2005 by live2tell75

[BarryH]

Thanks for the trip report!

 

I've read several TRs on Phobia and the commonailty is that it needs improvement.

[socalMAN123]

Sounds like what happend at the Irvine Spectrum a couple of years ago ! I agree, even by reading what you said about it, Phobia will probably need some revamping.

---Brent 8)

[Slacking]

I've read several TRs on Phobia and the commonailty is that it needs improvement.

 

Thats the understatement of the century.

[freestylenut]

Gravy review, Phobia sounds like less entertainment than Lowry Park Zoo's Zoo Boo. The difference there is all the scare actors at Zoo Boo are actually volunteers. Those guys at Phobia wearing a mask purchased at Spirit with overalls are getting PAID!

 

I'll pass on Phobia this year.

[Damien666]

I'm just glad the Six Flags Fright Fest I go to is soooo much better! As for the Spirit masks, I really don't mind that thoses masks can be bought at Spirit! Many Haunts use those masks! But you gotta be good in that mask or you ain't going far!