Fright Ride Las Vegas Haunted House Golf Carts Ride Through Las Vegas NV Saw Escape Room Fright Dome

Fright Ride Las Vegas – A Somewhat Socially Distanced Ride Through A Traditional Haunt

We hear the rev of a chainsaw long before we see the clown running towards us. We cower as we go past, but this clown isn’t going to let us off easy. She jumps onto our golf cart, sweeping at our feet as we scramble and cling to each other. She finally hops off but a second later we see her board the front of the cart, sadistic smile flashing at us as she raises her chainsaw high. After a couple of sweeping near misses and some shouting from our driver, she jumps back off. Our heart rates don’t even have time to lower before two more clowns run back up from behind us, startling us and banging metal jugs against the sides of our cart in time to the post-apocalyptic soundtrack. After a final set of screams and some hoarse laughter, we’re finally given a second to regain composure. But the bloodstained plastic curtain up ahead suggests that our reprieve won’t last for long. This is Fright Ride Las Vegas.

 

Fright Ride Las Vegas Haunted House Golf Carts Ride Through Las Vegas NV Saw Escape Room Fright Dome

 

Fear in the Time of Covid

Fright Ride Las Vegas is a somewhat socially distanced ride through a haunted house from the creator of Las Vegas’ Fright Dome and The Official Saw Escape Room. Over an approximately 30 minute period, participants will experience a theatrical orientation, a drive through various themed sets, and even a walk through a short maze to round out the experience. The sets are incredibly well orchestrated and provide ample opportunity for small narrative moments by the scare actors. The overarching theme is meant to be an “experiment gone wrong” where you have volunteered for an experimental body modification test. This is a truly frightening and dynamic traditional haunt, with the drive-through element added to facilitate social distancing. Fright Ride Las Vegas will definitely get your heart racing in the best way.

 

After your orientation by the monotone and disinterested Dr. Craven, expect to move through various theatrical spaces populated by strange scenes and expert scare actors. You will not be touched, but the vehicle you’re riding in may be, and the actors do get up close and personal with their scares. You can upgrade to VIP at the door which helps a lot with the wait time. You and your party will go through privately in your own cart, although you will wait in line with others–which is one of the main social-distancing issues here, but we’ll get into that later. Expect variety in the sets and mood. Overall, Fright Ride Las Vegas delivers all of the scares and atmosphere you can dream of in a haunted house. It’s industrial, aesthetic, chaotic, and truly frightening.

 

Fright Ride Las Vegas Haunted House Golf Carts Ride Through Las Vegas NV Saw Escape Room Fright Dome

 

Covering the Thematic Bases

While this is ostensibly a narrative experience, it doesn’t feel thematically cohesive and rather plays out as a survey course in “best ofs” for walkthrough haunts. Initially, the premise is that participants are volunteers for an experiment taking place in a biological research facility. While past experiments have resulted in catastrophic failures, the administrative assistants who greeted us on our arrival were optimistic that eventually, someone would survive. Multiple bodies? Heads? Wings? Anything your heart desires from a body modification standpoint is available to you through the procedure. However, short of a few early zombification and mutilation scenes, this theme doesn’t really come through in the subsequent rooms. It quickly switches from The Purge to human cannibalism to clowns.

 

Similar to Fright Dome’s past formula, almost every classic haunt trope will be represented. While the experience isn’t cohesive, it does make it a lot of fun, with each room almost completely novel in tone and content. The biggest and baddest sets, characters and content from the Fright Dome library are delivered in rapid succession. While some of the sets (Christmas? Purge dubstep?) will feel random or wacky, it’s a lot of fun to see so much variety over the course of a single haunt. It’s a long haunt, a high production one, and one that is truly frightening. It appears to be use all the best props that Fright Dome has used in their arsenal; and while the narrative is abandoned, the themes are strong and impressive.

 

Fright Ride Las Vegas Haunted House Golf Carts Ride Through Las Vegas NV Saw Escape Room Fright Dome

 

The Ride

After walking through a hospital hallway with doors labelled “male and female specimen room,” “holiday fears,” “cold body storage,” and other such fear inducing and suggestive titles, participants will find themselves boarding golf carts. The first room will immediately swarm with zombies feeding on themselves, each other, and bystanders. After that, the survey course in fear will include everything from killer clowns to The Purge. Fright Ride Las Vegas quickly abandons its narrative in favor of individual and thematic sets and moments. Moving through cemeteries and corn fields, participants will be subjected to scare actors of all kinds who are engaged in the scenery around them and ready to come after you at the first sign of fear. The actors’ costumes delightfully reflect the set around them – the butcher shop is populated with frenzied cannibals, and masked scarecrows will come for you in the corn maze.

 

The set design of Fright Ride Las Vegas is impressive both in content and scale. A massive winged demon monster might leer at you from above the graveyard set, or you might spot a giant troll holding chained children. Not a single inch of the set is bare, with props setting the scene quickly and consistently. The set is well lit – ominous, theatrical and exciting with everything from soft outdoor lighting to industrial strobe lights. There’s ample use of fog to disorient participants and give them that classic haunted house ambiance. The creative use of props and lighting helps the scare actors perform, giving them inspiration for zany narrative actions and ample opportunity to hide in the shadows for quality jump scares.

 

In addition to sparing no expense in set design, Fright Ride Las Vegas also goes all out with actors. With seemingly upwards of 60 actors all armed with chainsaws, horns, or other weaponry, the interaction was nearly constant. Expect quite a few jump scares here, and the mechanics to pull off some really good ones. Actors will often follow you through the set, re-engaging for follow up scares or giving you the sensation of being stalked or trapped, often for minutes at a time. Beyond just jump scares, you can expect actors to interact with you, tell you stories, threaten you with weapons, or even jump into your cart. The costumes and masks are also strong, mostly grotesque and unsettling, and themed to each room. You can tell that these scare actors love what they do and are on a mission to find out and execute whatever frightens you most.

 

Fright Ride Las Vegas Haunted House Golf Carts Ride Through Las Vegas NV Saw Escape Room Fright Dome

 

Golf Cart Mechanics

The majority of Fright Ride Las Vegas takes place from a golf cart, which adds a fun twist to the classic walkthrough haunt while keeping audience member groups separated. Those on the back of the cart will be treated to the best views of the sets and action, while those in the front will experience more scares. Be sure to choose your spots based on your preference and what you’re hoping to get out of the ride. The experience will end with a short walkthrough portion that is a lot of fun, if thematically random.

 

Recommendations

Haunting feels strongly that Covid safety is a priority this season and while Fright Ride Las Vegas clearly tried to implement safety procedures, they fell a bit short. Social distancing is not enforced while in the outdoor line, and many participants were not wearing masks and the signs saying masks were needed was not enforced. With this being a more mainstream event, numerous guests were drinking in line, using this as an excuse to not put their masks on and while drinking, they did not have as much concern for the 6-foot circle as others may have.

 

Inside the venue there are marks for optimal social distancing, but you are reliant on the cooperation of other parties. The staff has more control here and does a good job instructing guests where to stand. This feels much safer than the outside lines. If you’re concerned about close contact or being indoors with others, exercise caution before buying a ticket to this one. Also be aware that lines are fairly long, as the individual carts result in higher wait times. We highly recommend purchasing VIP tickets in advance, although you can also do so at the venue if you’re unhappy with your wait time.

 

Finally, as previously mentioned, choose your seating based on your desired experience. If you’re more interested in set and narrative, take a back-facing seat. If your goal is to get the most scares, opt for the front. It’s important to note that front facing seats are partially blocked by the driver and the cart itself. While front facing participants will see more of the setup for various scenes, they will also have their views partially obstructed and may miss out on a full appreciation of things like set and lighting. Overall, the logistics are orchestrated to give the best possible haunted house experience in a reasonably safe setting. With a bit of planning and intentionality, you can maximize your experience.

 

Fright Ride Las Vegas Haunted House Golf Carts Ride Through Las Vegas NV Saw Escape Room Fright Dome

 

Final Thoughts

Fright Ride Las Vegas is an exciting and terrifying adventure through all things Halloween. Your tour will include all of the scenes you know and love played out with the highest production value and attention to detail. Don’t expect heavy narrative content, but come for the scenes, scenery and scares. All of the haunted house all-star tropes are represented in overblown and frightening ways. Expect tons of actor interactions and jaw dropping sets and effects. This high energy performance is sure to be a highlight of your haunted house experiences this season. From veterans to new haunters, this is an experience that is sure to make you jump, scream, and laugh in delight.

 

Make sure to opt for VIP if possible, to avoid wait times. Also be aware of your own boundaries around Covid safety – there are some things that the staff simply can’t control–or choose not to. Finally, choose your position in the cart wisely to optimize your experience. After that, enjoy a rolling tour through a theatrical nightmare. A “best of” tour of Fright Dome’s content, this overblown haunt is tons of fun. If you want to see Halloween turned to 11 and party with post-apocalyptic mutants, this is the place to do it (there’s even a bar at the exit). This is definitely high production Halloween at its finest. So, grab a group of fright fanatic friends and prepare for a trip through your nightmares. You won’t regret it.

 

For more information about Fright Ride Las Vegas, check out their Website, Facebook, and Instagram. Check out our Event Guide for more Halloween and horror events throughout the year.

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Fright Ride Las Vegas is the best fright ride ive been on. although Fright Ride Las Vegas could do better with covid safety.

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