525 S. Randall Road, St. Charles, IL
years: 2013
Kane County Scaregrounds is a 3D pay haunt held at the Kane County fairgrounds. While we have seen a number of 3D haunts (in particular in 2013), this one has a claim to fame of being designed by R.J. Ogren, a Disney artist who designed, amongst other things, the Haunted Mansion. Thus, we were very curious to see what the design of this haunt was like. Since we were in the St. Charles area we decided to check it out.
The haunt itself is located in one of the various buildings on the fairgrounds property, and consists of 6,000 square feet of various scenes, twisty passageways, and corridors. From the very beginning, visitors can see that this is quality work. The initial area is a large open room painted on all sides with trees and other designs. Two pillars with lights on top stand in the center, and visitors have to walk through to get to the first scene in the haunt. We have to say that, even in this initial room, the 3D effects are outstanding. In fact, we found ourselves taking a little while to get to the next room, simply to absorb some of the great images we were seeing. From here, visitors wind their way through various rooms, each with some type of theme. Some of the rooms included a junkyard with a live actor who collected lots of "treasures," rooms with various victims who warned us to get out before someone came to get us, and who asked us to look for their missing friend, a butcher shop, a room with a zombified Abraham Lincoln type character in period dress, an execution area, and even a slightly Egyptian themed room with a sinister figure on the wall. All had excellent 3D effects, including both painted 2D scenes, and 3D figures on the walls that came out at visitors from all sides. One of our absolute favorite rooms was an open area with a wooden "bridge" that visitors had to cross. As visitors entered the room, a ghostly figured beckoned to them from the end of the bridge, seemingly floating on air as she walked into the distance. It was a brilliant effect, and one we have never seen in a haunt before, 3D or not. As an aside, the ghostly figure served as a good distraction from another very cool surprise in the same room! |
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Other favorites included a post-apocalyptic street scene with one area where hands seemed to reach directly out of the wall at us, a Victorian themed room with some creepy living dolls in it, and a fantastic scene with a young girl in front of an altar, praying in Spanish towards the images of two young girls. This room was creepy in and of itself, but it also led to a very cool surprise, and one that we can honestly say we have never seen done before in any of the dozens of haunts we have visited. It was clever, creepy, cool, and brilliant at the same time. It also definitely showed the influence of Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction in its design. No, we won't spoil it for you - go see it for yourself - you'll love it!
As mentioned, the 3D effects and set designs were good enough that if there were no live actors this haunt would still be enjoyable just for the things visitors get to experience in 3D. However, there were live actors inside, and they were all very good as well. Their costumes were clever and inventive, as were some of their hiding places. Each of us got surprised at least once and I (Bryan) actually was taken totally by surprise by a female clown who completely startled me - it was a clever combination of distraction and a good hiding place that did it. Congratulations!
Overall, there is a lot to recommend in the Kane County Scaregrounds. While the haunt is only about 10 minutes long, it really does seem much longer. There is almost no area inside where there are no sets or designs on the walls, and the designs are interesting and varied enough that they kept us wondering was was going to show up around the corner. The scares are more of the "jump out and startle" variety, and there's nothing intense or unnerving inside, so it's good for younger kids as well.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Kane County Scaregrounds. It provided a different type of haunt experience - one that was more like an attraction than a haunted house. Perhaps the term "funhouse" would be appropriate - it certainly had that atmosphere and it was a lot of "fun" as well! We'd recommend it to anyone - just try to get there early to avoid the lines, as they can be long.
As mentioned, the 3D effects and set designs were good enough that if there were no live actors this haunt would still be enjoyable just for the things visitors get to experience in 3D. However, there were live actors inside, and they were all very good as well. Their costumes were clever and inventive, as were some of their hiding places. Each of us got surprised at least once and I (Bryan) actually was taken totally by surprise by a female clown who completely startled me - it was a clever combination of distraction and a good hiding place that did it. Congratulations!
Overall, there is a lot to recommend in the Kane County Scaregrounds. While the haunt is only about 10 minutes long, it really does seem much longer. There is almost no area inside where there are no sets or designs on the walls, and the designs are interesting and varied enough that they kept us wondering was was going to show up around the corner. The scares are more of the "jump out and startle" variety, and there's nothing intense or unnerving inside, so it's good for younger kids as well.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Kane County Scaregrounds. It provided a different type of haunt experience - one that was more like an attraction than a haunted house. Perhaps the term "funhouse" would be appropriate - it certainly had that atmosphere and it was a lot of "fun" as well! We'd recommend it to anyone - just try to get there early to avoid the lines, as they can be long.