Dream Reapers Haunted House - Rated #1 Haunted House in Illinois by HauntedIllinois.com HauntedIllinois.com – Haunted Illinois is your online source for everything Halloween in Illinois: Directory of Haunted Houses, Haunted House Reviews, Haunted House Industry News, Halloween Website Links and more ! Reapers Realm Haunted Attractions - Hammond Indiana

HauntedIllinois.com's
2004 Dungeon of Doom Haunted House 
& Internal Nightmare Review

Dungeon of Doom Haunted House
& Internal Nightmare
Lake County Fairgrounds
70 South US Highway 45
Grayslake, Illinois 60030

Reviewed: 10/08/04

 
Visibility/Location: If you are coming from the East, you can’t miss this event. Their huge 7,000 square foot inflatable attraction, Internal Nightmare, was well lit and easy to see from the road. But if you are coming from the West, the entrance is a little hard to see. Although there was a sign at the main entrance of the fairgrounds, it wasn’t very well lit and you might miss it if you aren't looking for it.
Wait Entertainment: Dungeon of Doom: The Dungeon of Doom had several costumed actors scaring and entertaining the crowd, both inside and outside their waiting room. There was plenty of eye-candy (Halloween props, animatronics, etc.) in the waiting area to keep your interest.  There was also a big screen television playing horror movies, as well as some great spooky music playing. 
Internal Nightmare: While there really wasn’t much for wait entertainment for this inflatable attraction, the line was much shorter, so there wasn’t much of a wait. They did, however, have the sounds of tribal drums pounding, to help set the mood while you waited. 
Admission Price: Dungeon of Doom:  $11.00 
Internal Nightmare: $7.00 
or both attractions for $16.00
Length:

Dungeon of Doom: 18 Minutes * 
Internal Nightmare: 7 Minutes *  
* = Since people move through haunted attractions at different rates, your time will vary.
Scare Factor: Dungeon of Doom: Medium-High.  
Internal Nightmare: Medium-Low.
Atmosphere: Dungeon of Doom: The wide array of props and actors in the waiting room really set the mood for the entire attraction before you even entered. The Dungeon of Doom maintained a spooky atmosphere throughout the house, with the use of detailed scenes, several custom music soundtracks, energetic actors, as well as various pop-out animatronic props. 
Internal Nightmare: Outside of the large inflatable, there was the sound of tribal drums pounding, as well as various jungle-related props outside the attraction to look at.
Crowd Control: Dungeon of Doom: They regulated the groups very well.  The only time I saw another group was at the end where they were staging customers to enter the finale, 'Buried Alive'.  
Internal Nightmare: Crowd control was excellent.  I never ran into any other groups.

Dungeon of Doom Summary:

For those of you who have enjoyed the opening scene of the Dungeon of Doom for the past few years, you are in for a real treat.  It is somewhat similar this year, but it has been enhanced with a great surprise ending!  I don’t want to give away the secret, but everyone in my group jumped.  Essentially, the Dungeon of Doom consists of various scenes, which are transitioned by several very dark, scary hallways. Most of the scenes were well decorated and adequately detailed.   While the attraction still had some of the crowd favorites like the spinning vortex and the 3D glow artwork, they also added some great new props and animated scares this year, as well.  The body that pumped blood from its chest was great and what happened in the dining room scene really took everyone by surprise.  The Dungeon of Doom also has a strong acting troupe.  While the ghouls in the first scene seemed to break character to crack a joke or two, most of the other actors stuck to their roles and performed very well.  Their enthusiastic and on-target strikes were one of the Dungeon of Doom's key strengths.   

Of course I can’t forget to mention the finale ‘Buried Alive’, which is a room that simulates the feeling of being buried alive in an avalanche. It is very effective, especially if you are the claustrophobic type. It is also a pretty intense experience, so be sure to duck and cover when you enter that room.  Of all the areas in the Dungeon of Doom, 'Buried Alive' seemed to be the main crowd favorite.

Overall, they put on a really good show this year.  With their inflatable Internal Nightmare within walking distance of the main attraction, they have even more added value.

Internal Nightmare Summary:

As you follow the signs to this attraction, you can hear tribal drums pounding in the background.  From a distance, the first thing you see is what appears to be a giant laying flat on his back, tied down by ropes.  

It’s quite creepy entering this attraction through a large gash in the skull of the 'giant'. This inflatable is huge, measuring150 ft long x 60 ft wide x 30 ft tall. As you weave your way through the “guts” of this creature, you experience all sorts of colored lighting and sound effects, which are supposed to represent the internal processes of the 'giant'.  After all the twists and turns, I wasn’t sure which direction I was headed, after a while. 

Throughout the attraction, you are confronted by cannibals, who sniff at you and grunt, after they jump out from behind an entrance or a curtain.  The only downside is that most of all the cannibal attacks are identical and after a while, they become somewhat predictable. In fact, when you are first presented with the rules, you are told not to go through any of the red curtains, which you soon figure out is where a number of the 'cannibals' are hiding.

This is a very unique attraction, to say the least.  Overall, it didn’t have quite the scare factor of the Dungeon of Doom, but it was still a lot of fun to go through. 

Click here to find out more about this event.

 

 

 

"The Internet's Only Exclusive Directory Of Illinois Haunted Attractions"
Copyright © 1999-2008 HauntedIllinois.com
Questions/Comments? Contact the Webmaster

Like this site? Tell A Friend and Join Our Mailing List.