Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride 2018
On September 22nd we went to Bates Motel to check out their 28th season’s show. The first thing we did was get some food. The vendors at Bates are among our favorites so dinner had to happen. We recommend checking them out while you’re there!
Bates has 3 separate attractions. Their main attraction is of course the Bates Motel. We hit that up first. The motel has seen some changes and upgrades since last year. They have added scenes and definitely perfected the balance of comedy, theatrics and scare. We felt like the action in there was nonstop. One of our members said “The irony of the motel is the desire to take in the details and realism of the sets while the amazing actors have you running for your life.” It is so hard to write a review and not give away their details. There was a scene where we were staring so intently at this “statue” that we all about died when he moved. It was incredible. There was a wacky coat rack and scary stuffed animals… see what I mean? This place takes risks in their costumes and make up and execute the scares flawlessly. The motel set the bar so high for the night. Once we caught our breath from that we went over to the Hayride. This Hayride, it is absolutely incredible! First the soundtrack is THE BEST soundtrack we have heard on a hayride. The sounds go with the scenes perfectly. There are subtle references in there and amusing songs galore. The sound quality on the wagon is great too. As we rolled along the 20 min or so long hayride we really felt like Bates does a great job of not rushing it. We were able to take in each scene and set. The sets in here are no joke. You can clearly tell they build a lot of them there. They don’t just “plop props” this place creates full scenes where you’re submersed into the show. It is so hard to get scared on a hayride as the wagon sometimes makes you feel protected. The scenes, actors and props in there are just creepy. We also noticed as the wagon pulls away the actors remain in character. That is so important for maintaining the show. Even if haunts aren’t your thing, anyone would appreciate the attention to detail in this hayride. We had a lot of fun watching scenes change, going down into the mines and even taking a trip back into prehistoric times. The ending is the best, I will not give that away but a classic Bates character is back. Bates is easily our favorite hayride currently. Lastly we did the Revenge of the Scarecrow’s haunted trail. The trail has been lengthened, the sets clearly upgraded. It also felt like more actors have joined the corn, as there were fewer gaps in scenes than previous seasons. We loved the lady telling jokes and ribbing guests. The “swamp thing” got us more than once. We loved that we could hear a giggle, breathing or corn moving but the sound never gave up the scare. The foreshadowing in here is legit. We felt like the trail really did a great job with timing out scares as well. We had a group of 5 and it seemed like we all evenly got surprised and scared. The snakes are the best ones we have seen, that is all we will say about that.
Overall we highly recommend a trip to Bates. Please finish your trip by checking out Gram’s donut shop. They make fresh hot donuts on the spot! Amazing! Way to go Bates!
