This trip was our (this review group) first visit to Hanna Haunted Acres. First visits are unique since we have no previous impressions to compare against and with being told very little ahead of time we weren’t even sure what kind of haunt(s) to expect. Let’s break it down….
We first went on the staple attraction Hanna Haunted Hayride. We don’t do a lot of hayrides, but I will say it was one of the more impressive ones we have attended. I found it to be a solid mix of large-scale props, pyro (fire is always fun), lighting effects and actor interaction. Initially this was presented to us the more “family friendly” attraction and while it certainly stays at a PG-13 rating, it’s arguable intense for young children. Actors jump on to the sides of the trailer throughout the haunt and judging by some of the young children’s reactions, it’s surely the most intense aspect of the ride for them. Some of the subject matter is a bit grim as well – bodies dropping from nooses as riders pass under them, huge axe blades swinging like pendulums above riders’ heads, numerous large monsters…there’s a lot going on. Overall I was entertained throughout though it seems some of the props could use some TLC. The most common thing I noticed was exposed armatures on several the animatronics. It’s obviously dark along the ride, but there’s a fair bit of lighting (if not fire) so the props do come to focus and personally, I think that kind of mechanical exposure takes away from the experience a little. On the other hand, I recognize anything exposed to the elements adds a whole other level of maintenance. For the showcase attraction, perhaps that TLC is warranted.
Hanna Haunted Acres also offers four indoor attractions, albeit they’re fairly short clocking in around three and a half minutes average walk time each.
Acres Manor was my personal favorite because it was reminiscent of an old-school, traditional haunted house. The props were more basic but contained everything you would expect -chandeliers, portraits, book cases, arched doorways, holes in the plastered walls, Victorian-era wallpaper, a brick-walled cellar – you get the idea. Add some gondolas and it would be a little mini haunted mansion. The lighting was well balanced – dark, while keeping all the right ambient elements in focus.
Cannibal Chaos is perfectly titled as it was surely the most chaotic of the attractions. It’s filled to the brim with everything backwoods-butcher you’d expect – bodies, blades..and more bodies. It’s loud and a bit disorienting. In contrast to Acres Manor which has a calm, deep dread vibe, Cannibal Chaos never gives you a moment’s peace. You’re incessantly surrounded by gore, loud noises, screaming and countless means of inflicting pain on someone.
Freakshow is in my opinion the weakest of the indoor areas. Modeled after a traditional but sinister carnival, it unsurprisingly features clowns. The build is decent enough – it certainly looks like something clowns would throw together but it just felt hollow to me. There were very few actors inside and not a lot of other animated props to serve up the scares. I’m not sure if it’s intended but one room stuck with me – a well-lit narrow room full of animal statues. It was a little out of place and it just felt odd, but compelling, like a scene from a Kubrick movie. Nothing happened in there aside from a cheesy joke by one of the clown actors, but that room had a weird shift in energy.
Lastly for the indoor areas, Undead Underworld offered perhaps the most impressive builds. You walk through a series of caves that are well constructed. A few moments stood out for me: one room had blocks of the ceiling that dropped down as well as a sizable sailing ship’s bow giving the appearance that the caves were utilized as a hideout.
Looking back at all of these indoor haunts collectively, the biggest issue is the actors. Actor count was lacking in some and generally speaking, the actors didn’t demonstrate any experience or coaching. Many came across as if they didn’t really know what to say or do other than meander around their area or yell. At times we literally just heard “Hey!”….and that was it. Many of the actors appeared to be young, which is fine, but they play a crucial part in keeping these short areas effective and it just wasn’t working. With the environments being generally decent, there’s some good potential there with proper actor execution.
The last thing we went through was The Horror Fields, a traditional corn maze (keyword maze). Yes, you have to find your way out. If it weren’t for using the attraction’s lights in the distance to have a general sense of which direction to go, the maze would have been even more disorienting. Many times we passed other groups coming back from where we were headed, just as lost as we were. Actors were peppered throughout serving two purposes – jump scares and to “assist” with directions. Never trust an actor in a maze! I enjoyed it for what it was.
As a whole Hanna Haunted Acres offers enough to fill an entire night of leisure. I found it interesting that you can actually come to the property and enjoy some of the offerings without paying admission. Tickets are only scanned at the haunt entrances, so you can come in for free and still enjoy the food, fires, picture ops (which are quite good by the way), and vendors all without an entry fee. Everything is built around a large central field so there’s plenty of room to walk around without being shoulder to shoulder with other people the whole time.
We tend to focus more on more intricate, indoor haunts so mutli-attraction outdoor venues are not our most visited. I’d love to see this group expand the indoor haunts and as mentioned before, strengthen their actors, however, I fully recognize there are likely spatial limitations and logistical challenges that make these asks hard to achieve. Overall, I found Hanna Haunted Acres to have a nice solid base for its attractions but it’s certainly not without room for improvements.
We first went on the staple attraction Hanna Haunted Hayride. We don’t do a lot of hayrides, but I will say it was one of the more impressive ones we have attended. I found it to be a solid mix of large-scale props, pyro (fire is always fun), lighting effects and actor interaction. Initially this was presented to us the more “family friendly” attraction and while it certainly stays at a PG-13 rating, it’s arguable intense for young children. Actors jump on to the sides of the trailer throughout the haunt and judging by some of the young children’s reactions, it’s surely the most intense aspect of the ride for them. Some of the subject matter is a bit grim as well – bodies dropping from nooses as riders pass under them, huge axe blades swinging like pendulums above riders’ heads, numerous large monsters…there’s a lot going on. Overall I was entertained throughout though it seems some of the props could use some TLC. The most common thing I noticed was exposed armatures on several the animatronics. It’s obviously dark along the ride, but there’s a fair bit of lighting (if not fire) so the props do come to focus and personally, I think that kind of mechanical exposure takes away from the experience a little. On the other hand, I recognize anything exposed to the elements adds a whole other level of maintenance. For the showcase attraction, perhaps that TLC is warranted.
Hanna Haunted Acres also offers four indoor attractions, albeit they’re fairly short clocking in around three and a half minutes average walk time each.
Acres Manor was my personal favorite because it was reminiscent of an old-school, traditional haunted house. The props were more basic but contained everything you would expect -chandeliers, portraits, book cases, arched doorways, holes in the plastered walls, Victorian-era wallpaper, a brick-walled cellar – you get the idea. Add some gondolas and it would be a little mini haunted mansion. The lighting was well balanced – dark, while keeping all the right ambient elements in focus.
Cannibal Chaos is perfectly titled as it was surely the most chaotic of the attractions. It’s filled to the brim with everything backwoods-butcher you’d expect – bodies, blades..and more bodies. It’s loud and a bit disorienting. In contrast to Acres Manor which has a calm, deep dread vibe, Cannibal Chaos never gives you a moment’s peace. You’re incessantly surrounded by gore, loud noises, screaming and countless means of inflicting pain on someone.
Freakshow is in my opinion the weakest of the indoor areas. Modeled after a traditional but sinister carnival, it unsurprisingly features clowns. The build is decent enough – it certainly looks like something clowns would throw together but it just felt hollow to me. There were very few actors inside and not a lot of other animated props to serve up the scares. I’m not sure if it’s intended but one room stuck with me – a well-lit narrow room full of animal statues. It was a little out of place and it just felt odd, but compelling, like a scene from a Kubrick movie. Nothing happened in there aside from a cheesy joke by one of the clown actors, but that room had a weird shift in energy.
Lastly for the indoor areas, Undead Underworld offered perhaps the most impressive builds. You walk through a series of caves that are well constructed. A few moments stood out for me: one room had blocks of the ceiling that dropped down as well as a sizable sailing ship’s bow giving the appearance that the caves were utilized as a hideout.
Looking back at all of these indoor haunts collectively, the biggest issue is the actors. Actor count was lacking in some and generally speaking, the actors didn’t demonstrate any experience or coaching. Many came across as if they didn’t really know what to say or do other than meander around their area or yell. At times we literally just heard “Hey!”….and that was it. Many of the actors appeared to be young, which is fine, but they play a crucial part in keeping these short areas effective and it just wasn’t working. With the environments being generally decent, there’s some good potential there with proper actor execution.
The last thing we went through was The Horror Fields, a traditional corn maze (keyword maze). Yes, you have to find your way out. If it weren’t for using the attraction’s lights in the distance to have a general sense of which direction to go, the maze would have been even more disorienting. Many times we passed other groups coming back from where we were headed, just as lost as we were. Actors were peppered throughout serving two purposes – jump scares and to “assist” with directions. Never trust an actor in a maze! I enjoyed it for what it was.
As a whole Hanna Haunted Acres offers enough to fill an entire night of leisure. I found it interesting that you can actually come to the property and enjoy some of the offerings without paying admission. Tickets are only scanned at the haunt entrances, so you can come in for free and still enjoy the food, fires, picture ops (which are quite good by the way), and vendors all without an entry fee. Everything is built around a large central field so there’s plenty of room to walk around without being shoulder to shoulder with other people the whole time.
We tend to focus more on more intricate, indoor haunts so mutli-attraction outdoor venues are not our most visited. I’d love to see this group expand the indoor haunts and as mentioned before, strengthen their actors, however, I fully recognize there are likely spatial limitations and logistical challenges that make these asks hard to achieve. Overall, I found Hanna Haunted Acres to have a nice solid base for its attractions but it’s certainly not without room for improvements.
This was my first time through Hanna Haunted Acres in Indianapolis, and despite what our scores may show, it was a really unique and enjoyable experience.
Hanna is a bit of a theme-park-like haunt, where you enter into a big central area and pick what attractions you want to experience in whatever order you choose. There are a few haunts like this in the region, but the big difference here is that you don't need a ticket to just show up and enjoy the place! The parking is free, and there's no gate where someone takes your ticket- you just walk right in. You can enjoy some fire pits, photo ops, roaming actors, and then buy some souvenirs or concessions without any type of ticket. The only parts that require an admission are the actual haunt attractions themselves.
There are 6 separate paid attractions to visit once inside. You can buy admissions to each one a-la-carte or just pay a bundled price to see all of them. It's pretty easy to recommend just buying the all-inclusive wristband so you can visit everything though. That gives you access to the Hanna Haunted Hayride, the Horror Fields corn maze, and their 4 indoor attractions: Cannibal chaos, Acres Manor, Freakshow, and Undead Underworld.
The hayride is the star of the show. You load up into a hay wagon, and they use a tractor to pull you around some trails where you're constantly going past some rather well-made props and animatronics. Then actors will come out of nowhere and constantly try to surprise you, sometimes even jumping up onto the wagon. This is a really fun attraction and there were some scares in there I've never seen in any other haunt I've been through.
The 4 indoor haunts were all very nicely themed and built. Beautifully made sets with high quality props and animatronics, and with some actors popping out here and there for some extra surprise. All 4 had very distinct themes and builds, and all of them were fun to check out.
The corn maze was just a corn maze. I really haven't been to one of them that was super unique, and this one was the same. It did take a while to find our way out, and I'm still not sure if the way we went was the way we were supposed to go. It was a little confusing.
Our scoring is definitely biased toward the scariest and craziest haunts, so don't let the lower scoring make you think this is a bad haunt. It's actually a good haunt, it's just not as scary or intense as most that we visit.
So how would I describe Hanna overall? A great haunt option for families- especially if there are younger kids. It's a great place to go and hang out for an evening, have some cider slushies, a bite to eat, and then get some scares in the different attractions. While not the scariest haunt I've been through, it would probably be high on my recommendation list for people who want a bit of a milder experience.
Hanna is a bit of a theme-park-like haunt, where you enter into a big central area and pick what attractions you want to experience in whatever order you choose. There are a few haunts like this in the region, but the big difference here is that you don't need a ticket to just show up and enjoy the place! The parking is free, and there's no gate where someone takes your ticket- you just walk right in. You can enjoy some fire pits, photo ops, roaming actors, and then buy some souvenirs or concessions without any type of ticket. The only parts that require an admission are the actual haunt attractions themselves.
There are 6 separate paid attractions to visit once inside. You can buy admissions to each one a-la-carte or just pay a bundled price to see all of them. It's pretty easy to recommend just buying the all-inclusive wristband so you can visit everything though. That gives you access to the Hanna Haunted Hayride, the Horror Fields corn maze, and their 4 indoor attractions: Cannibal chaos, Acres Manor, Freakshow, and Undead Underworld.
The hayride is the star of the show. You load up into a hay wagon, and they use a tractor to pull you around some trails where you're constantly going past some rather well-made props and animatronics. Then actors will come out of nowhere and constantly try to surprise you, sometimes even jumping up onto the wagon. This is a really fun attraction and there were some scares in there I've never seen in any other haunt I've been through.
The 4 indoor haunts were all very nicely themed and built. Beautifully made sets with high quality props and animatronics, and with some actors popping out here and there for some extra surprise. All 4 had very distinct themes and builds, and all of them were fun to check out.
The corn maze was just a corn maze. I really haven't been to one of them that was super unique, and this one was the same. It did take a while to find our way out, and I'm still not sure if the way we went was the way we were supposed to go. It was a little confusing.
Our scoring is definitely biased toward the scariest and craziest haunts, so don't let the lower scoring make you think this is a bad haunt. It's actually a good haunt, it's just not as scary or intense as most that we visit.
So how would I describe Hanna overall? A great haunt option for families- especially if there are younger kids. It's a great place to go and hang out for an evening, have some cider slushies, a bite to eat, and then get some scares in the different attractions. While not the scariest haunt I've been through, it would probably be high on my recommendation list for people who want a bit of a milder experience.
As I first timer at Haunted Hanna I was impressed by how simple it was to navigate parking and entry. The grounds are open and free to explore. I think there could be a little more lighting on signs, so you can see more clearly where things are, like the restrooms. This is definitely a family friendly haunt and a good place for older children, not only because of the attractions, but because they only require tickets to enter the attractions. Parents can just buy their kids tickets and then hang out in the park by the fire, with a drink.
As far as the attractions go, the actors could use some training on timing and interactions, but I still enjoyed the haunts. I liked the shorter, in and out style flow. It kept the adrenaline up since there was less time to adjust to your surroundings than the traditional haunt before heading to the next.
The hay ride was a nice change also. It was simple, but well done. Although, I wasn’t prepared for the seating situation. I expected to actually sit on hay bales or something, not straight onto the trailer bed. However, it was fine once we got adjusted. The maze wasn’t as big as I expected and think I only noticed one or two actors. I wish they had a few more strategically placed throughout the corn, or even just some animatronics. The entry timing was also strange. You could still see the last group in front of you when you were released to enter the corn.
Even though the haunt had some weak points in acting, I still had a lot of fun exploring the place. Overall, I think the best part of Haunted Hanna is the accessibility for the public and the haunted hay ride. A notable mention for the thirteen chainsaws and the caramel apple cider slushies!
As far as the attractions go, the actors could use some training on timing and interactions, but I still enjoyed the haunts. I liked the shorter, in and out style flow. It kept the adrenaline up since there was less time to adjust to your surroundings than the traditional haunt before heading to the next.
The hay ride was a nice change also. It was simple, but well done. Although, I wasn’t prepared for the seating situation. I expected to actually sit on hay bales or something, not straight onto the trailer bed. However, it was fine once we got adjusted. The maze wasn’t as big as I expected and think I only noticed one or two actors. I wish they had a few more strategically placed throughout the corn, or even just some animatronics. The entry timing was also strange. You could still see the last group in front of you when you were released to enter the corn.
Even though the haunt had some weak points in acting, I still had a lot of fun exploring the place. Overall, I think the best part of Haunted Hanna is the accessibility for the public and the haunted hay ride. A notable mention for the thirteen chainsaws and the caramel apple cider slushies!
Hanna haunted acres offers multiple attractions for one price. Set up in a giant field, there are 6 haunted attractions (4 inside and 2 outside) to attend. If you’re not up for the price, the park in general is free with plenty of photo ops and food and drink booths. The two outside attractions, the hayride and the cornfield, were my favorite. There’s just something about being lost in a cornfield that sends one’s anxiety and fear through the roof. On the hayride, you’re trapped and can’t run from any monsters or chainsaws that are coming at you. The 4 inside haunted houses fall a little short in the scare factor. They each have their own theme but in general, each house fails to deliver a truly scary experience.
Hanna Haunted Acres in Indianapolis provides a diverse and family-friendly haunt experience, featuring both indoor and outdoor attractions. The haunt's layout resembles a theme park, with visitors able to choose from six distinct attractions, including a haunted hayride, corn maze, and four indoor haunted houses. While the indoor haunts impress with their well-themed sets and detailed designs, some areas suffer from a lack of impactful actor interactions, dampening the overall scare factor. The hayride, a standout feature of the haunt, effectively blends large-scale props, pyrotechnics, and actor engagement, offering a thrilling experience for all.
Despite its shortcomings, the haunt's open and accessible layout provides ample space for visitors to enjoy the park's amenities, including food stalls, photo opportunities, and cozy fire pits, contributing to a welcoming and enjoyable atmosphere for all. |
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