Get Ready To Ride
Schaefer Farms Frightfest can be classified as a “family style” haunted attraction. It’s goal, as far as I could see, is not to be the most frightening, but to be a fun experience for the whole family. When I visited it on Oct. 1, 2017, the group I went with on the hayride was filled with teenagers, children, parents, and older people–so a good cross section of people. (and afterward I asked around and they all had a good time)
For my own personal filter, I tend toward liking haunts that have more scary set ups, or extensive visual settings / set pieces–but I have to say that I actually found myself having a good time going through Frightfest. They obviously know that they won’t be the scariest or most ornate (given what looks like a somewhat modest budget), so they tended toward comedy and other elements that were a hit with the crowd. Each stop on the hayride had their actors talking and interacting with the group–and they actually threw candy and other treats into the cart–something I can’t remember any other location doing–but is a great idea!
Time To Ride To Your Doom
The idea at Frightfest is you go on the hayride for quite a distance, with an actor on the ride who adlibs and provides context for the set pieces. I’d suggest they consider setting up a microphone system for the actor since it wasn’t always easy to hear them from the other side of the cart–but he did move around and include most people over the course of the evening. After riding for awhile you’re let off to walk through some areas, then return to the same cart for a bit more, then walk through a final area that’s more of a defined haunted house set up (the other areas are in the woods or a corn maze. They call this multiple attractions–but in reality they can’t be visited separately, so they are really just sub sections of one overall thing.
Like many other farm based attractions, please note that the walking paths can be quite challenging for anyone with walking issues–and even without issues, you’ll need to be careful not to trip or stumble in some parts–but this is the nature of being out in a real setting.
Get Your Treats, Then Get Chased/>
As this is a working farm, they also have a store on property–with many delicious looking items and things to buy–and not just Halloween related. Also, a “bonus” (at least to me) was the fact that they have a range of animals near the end of the attraction that are usually wandering around and would love to have you feed them:
The Deadly Emu and His Friends
Again, I normally shoot for more intense attractions–but I found myself having fun at Frightfest. If you want to dip your toes into going to a haunted attraction, or are unsure of how much intensity you can handle, these guys will be a good training wheels location to get you going.
