1033 N. Villa Avenue, Villa Park, IL
years: 2013
Asylum Xperiment is one of those haunts that we have often heard about but never bothered getting out to. Nothing against the haunt itself, but we tend to visit a lot of haunts in a season (usually over 100), so we try to make sure that we get the best bang for our buck. Honestly, sometimes haunts are more hype than anything, and waiting in a long line and spending a lot of money only to have a mediocre experience is not our idea of a fun haunt time. We're not saying Asylum Xperiment falls into the "overhyped" category at all, though. It's more a case of having two dozen potential things to do in one evening and choosing to do 10 of them or choosing a big pay haunt and winding up only doing one due to long lines.
However, this year, Asylum Xperiment was offering two VIP tickets for $20 each, so that was too good of a deal to pass up. Thus, we took a chance and visited, and we're immensely glad we did! In one visit, Asylum Xperiment rocketed to near the very top of our all time favorite pay haunts. It easily maxed out all of our haunt rating criteria, from actor enthusiasm to use of space, to uniqueness of props, to scare factor, to value for the money, Asylum Xperiment ticks all the right boxes, and makes for an excellent haunt experience. The fun begins as soon as visitors walk into the waiting area. The entire line section is filled with props, both animated and static, as well as numerous live actors. |
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In fact, there were so many props and actors in the waiting area that they put some pay haunts to shame (and we're not exaggerating). The design was top notch, from ghouls that popped out of coffins to a life size Frankenstein's monster that rose out of its chair as if coming to life, a lot of effort was put into an area that most haunts don't decorate at all or, at the very least, minimally adorn. The live actors, too, were top notch. There were at least half a dozen of them, all of them in excellent makeup, and every single one of them remained in character throughout. They wandered in and out amongst the visitors, interacting with them while at the same time going about their business, as if we were intruding on their daily lives. Special mention must be given to the very creepy live actress with the sharp, zombie-like teeth and the dead, sightless eyes - a fantastic makeup job and performance!
The haunt consists of three attractions, all combined together sequentially. Asylum Xperiment is held in the Odeum, a conference center in Villa Park, and consequently has a lot of space to work with, which they put to very good use. The first portion of the haunt begins at the doorway to a huge mansion. Visitors are greeted by a live actor who welcomes them into an elaborate dining room and living room set, complete with giant fallen chandelier on the dining room table. After some brief introductions, visitors are led to the living room, where they are read the rules via two talking videos "paintings" on the walls, one refined and the other somewhat...less so. Together they made an effective comedy duo and made the rules entertaining. Following this, visitors descend into various other rooms within the haunt, including a cannibal redneck area featuring an auto repair shop, front yard, and house, complete with full size vintage car! We've seen a lot of things in our haunt visits, but he can honestly say we've never seen a full size auto repair shop, and while we have seen haunts that have full size cars in them, we have never seen as many in one place as we did in Asylum Xperiment. We counted at least eight, from the aforementioned vintage car to sports cars, to police SUV's and even an ambulance.
In short, there was simply too much to see at Asylum Xperiment, and certainly too much to take in in one visit. All of the sets were extremely detailed and populated with numerous actors, from the creepy to the hilarious. One excellent scene included a hospital scene (with the full size ambulance), where a nurse warns visitors away from a set of chained double doors against which some virtual zombies are pressing. Visitors see a video of the zombies in the windows of the door while the doors buckle outwards due to the pressures of the zombies on the other side. While we have seen similar setups, this one went one step further by having some of the zombies get shot and having the discharge blow through the door and onto visitors - a nice touch! Other favorites were a room filled with TVs playing various videos, some forwards, and some backwards, as visitors walked through strands of VHS tape hanging from the ceiling - definitely not something you see every day. Also, the exorcism room was very well done. The person being exorcized was on a bed on top of some type of mechanism which appeared to make her rise of her own accord while the attending priest read his incantation - a bit creepy, to be sure.
We also enjoyed a room filled with various Universal movie characters, including a giant E.T., making this the 2nd haunt that we have seen (and the only pay haunt so far) to feature E.T. as one of its props! Not scary, but cool nonetheless. And then there was a room where visitors got "judged" by an actor sitting behind a large judge's bench. Of course, everyone was judged harshly and had to face their punishment, which came in the form of a cool surprise that emerged from the wall. The final area is also a fun one, or perhaps a terrifying one, depending on your own personal scare tolerance. We won;t spoil it here - go see for yourself!
Again, there was simply way too much to see here. In total, all three of the haunt sections lasted about 30 minutes, which is about double the average pay haunt time. The length certainly helped justify the $25 admission price, but the length was just a bonus as it gave us more time to enjoy and experience all that Asylum Xperiment had to offer. From the high quality wait entertainment, to the sheer scope and volume of some oft he sets, to the quantity of live actors in good makeup, to the excellent performances, Asylum Xperiment is worth the trip. If you're picky about what haunts you visit, and concerned that you won't get your money's worth, or maybe if you have limited time and can only visit a couple each year, we'd recommened checking out Asylum Xperiment. We were glad we went, and you will be, too.
The haunt consists of three attractions, all combined together sequentially. Asylum Xperiment is held in the Odeum, a conference center in Villa Park, and consequently has a lot of space to work with, which they put to very good use. The first portion of the haunt begins at the doorway to a huge mansion. Visitors are greeted by a live actor who welcomes them into an elaborate dining room and living room set, complete with giant fallen chandelier on the dining room table. After some brief introductions, visitors are led to the living room, where they are read the rules via two talking videos "paintings" on the walls, one refined and the other somewhat...less so. Together they made an effective comedy duo and made the rules entertaining. Following this, visitors descend into various other rooms within the haunt, including a cannibal redneck area featuring an auto repair shop, front yard, and house, complete with full size vintage car! We've seen a lot of things in our haunt visits, but he can honestly say we've never seen a full size auto repair shop, and while we have seen haunts that have full size cars in them, we have never seen as many in one place as we did in Asylum Xperiment. We counted at least eight, from the aforementioned vintage car to sports cars, to police SUV's and even an ambulance.
In short, there was simply too much to see at Asylum Xperiment, and certainly too much to take in in one visit. All of the sets were extremely detailed and populated with numerous actors, from the creepy to the hilarious. One excellent scene included a hospital scene (with the full size ambulance), where a nurse warns visitors away from a set of chained double doors against which some virtual zombies are pressing. Visitors see a video of the zombies in the windows of the door while the doors buckle outwards due to the pressures of the zombies on the other side. While we have seen similar setups, this one went one step further by having some of the zombies get shot and having the discharge blow through the door and onto visitors - a nice touch! Other favorites were a room filled with TVs playing various videos, some forwards, and some backwards, as visitors walked through strands of VHS tape hanging from the ceiling - definitely not something you see every day. Also, the exorcism room was very well done. The person being exorcized was on a bed on top of some type of mechanism which appeared to make her rise of her own accord while the attending priest read his incantation - a bit creepy, to be sure.
We also enjoyed a room filled with various Universal movie characters, including a giant E.T., making this the 2nd haunt that we have seen (and the only pay haunt so far) to feature E.T. as one of its props! Not scary, but cool nonetheless. And then there was a room where visitors got "judged" by an actor sitting behind a large judge's bench. Of course, everyone was judged harshly and had to face their punishment, which came in the form of a cool surprise that emerged from the wall. The final area is also a fun one, or perhaps a terrifying one, depending on your own personal scare tolerance. We won;t spoil it here - go see for yourself!
Again, there was simply way too much to see here. In total, all three of the haunt sections lasted about 30 minutes, which is about double the average pay haunt time. The length certainly helped justify the $25 admission price, but the length was just a bonus as it gave us more time to enjoy and experience all that Asylum Xperiment had to offer. From the high quality wait entertainment, to the sheer scope and volume of some oft he sets, to the quantity of live actors in good makeup, to the excellent performances, Asylum Xperiment is worth the trip. If you're picky about what haunts you visit, and concerned that you won't get your money's worth, or maybe if you have limited time and can only visit a couple each year, we'd recommened checking out Asylum Xperiment. We were glad we went, and you will be, too.
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