The Fright Dome experience returns to Las Vegas with a new immersive ride-through experience: Fright Ride. For those unfamiliar with the Fright Dome, it was one of the largest Halloween traditions in Las Vegas for nearly 15 years. Every October from 2003 until 2017, the Adventuredome theme park at Circus Circus got a scary facelift with a Halloween-theme. Now, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a new incarnation of the Fright Dome returns to a new venue as the Fright Ride.
The Fright Ride is the largest immersive socially distanced haunted attraction in Las Vegas. It takes place in a 75,000 square foot facility just off the Las Vegas Strip just around the corner from Circus Circus (the former home to the Fright Dome). For the rest of October, the 75,000 “scare” foot facility will be home to Dr. Craven’s not so top-secret research lab.
The immersive experience starts in line as your group waits in the socially distanced line to enter the research facility. Costumed nurses in front of the line hand out the “death” waivers that must be signed by participants. The nurses keep the line moving as they shout, “who’s our next organ donor?”
Once you enter the research facility, you turn in your waiver at a window in a small waiting room. As you enter the building, the intoxicating smell of sanitizer and cleaner reminds you, you are in a medical research facility. A nurse will then lead participants out of the waiting area and into the hallway of the facility. The hallway has all the charm of a haunted hospital with flickering lights and all. The nurse gives a tour of the hallway where participants have one last chance to use the restroom AKA the “female/male specimen room.” The nurse makes creepy and deranged comments as she slowly takes participants through the hallway and into Dr. Craven’s office.
In Dr. Craven’s office, participants view a short video to review the ride’s rules and recap the story of the “experiments in fear” taking place in the building. After the video, participants board a cart driven by a driver in full medical gear and face shield. The cart sits one person in the front by the driver, two in the middle, and two in the back. The two participants in the back face the rearview, while the others face the front. The experience can vary depending on where you sit. If you sit in the front, you have the best view of the haunt during the ride. There is plenty of surprise jump scares for those sitting in the back, including the added experience of being followed by zombies.
The Fright Ride takes you through scenes, including a hospital, graveyard, and parking lot haunted by zombies. Fright Ride pays homage to its beloved predecessor, the Fright Dome, with a room full of killer clowns.
On opening weekend, the Fright Ride ended by leading guests into a warehouse where they enjoyed a short, Halloween-themed rave complete with masked dancers and strobing lights. As of Monday October 5, the rave is no longer a part of the Fright Ride. After the short rave experience, participants are led out of the building through a decorated hallway that can only be described as the most ambitious Halloween-Christmas crossover since A Nightmare Before Christmas.
Overall, Fright Ride offers the best experience possible in the middle of a global pandemic. Jason Egan, the creator of Fright Dome and the Official Saw Escape Room, said his goal behind Fright Ride was to get “people out of the house” and “make sure Halloween was not canceled.” Egan and his team went above and beyond to follow the COVID-19 safety guidelines set forth by the state of Nevada. Actors incorporated protective masks into their costumes, and sanitizer has provided throughout the experience. A majority of the Fright Ride experience takes place in the outdoor area of the facility. The medical aspects of the research facility theme blended well with their COVID-19 precautions from the masked nurses to the sanitize-scented waiting room.
The best part of the Fright Ride is the production value. The actors take their roles seriously, and the zombie nurses should be commended for their creepy quips and banter with guests as they wait to board the Fright Ride. The use of lights and sounds do not go unnoticed as they set the mood as you ride through each room.
The Fright Ride is not without its weaknesses. The team had approximately a month to have the ride-through experience operational, and at times the flaws of the operations are evident. The limited capacity of the carts and the 15-minute length of the ride limit slow down the process. The lines on opening night, while socially distanced, were long and slow to move. The patience and commitment of the actors to stay in character and interact with guests help deal with the wait. The Fright Ride website warns visitors, “Due To COVID-19 Restrictions And For Your Safety, Please Expect Wait Times To Enter The Event. Please do not show up more than 5 minutes before your scheduled time.” However, the opening weekend lines to get in quickly were long and congested.
At times the transitions between rooms seem a bit random. Under any other circumstances, from a storyline perspective, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for there to be clowns in a research facility. The fact that the Fright Ride is a study on fear helps the story’s progression when the participants find themselves in a hospital one second and a graveyard the next second. And then there’s the clowns. The nod to the killer clowns from the Fright Dome is a nostalgic throwback for former fans of the defunct attraction, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense for there to be clowns in a research facility. Even with the context that everything in the facility is supposed to induce fear because it’s a “fear diagnosis,” some guests may leave confused at the inconsistency.
Fright Ride is a Halloween experience for everyone who wants to get out of their home and feel some sense of the Halloween spirit. Like everything else in our lives at the moment, Fright Ride is limited by the health and safety restriction required to keep COVID-19 at bay, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable experience. Fright Ride made the best out of a bad situation to make sure Halloween is not canceled in Las Vegas. Instead of taking the virtual route like many Halloween attractions across the country, Fright Ride provides an immersive in-person experience while adhering to call COVID-19 safety guidelines.
The Fright Ride is open in Las Vegas from October 1st-31st. Tickets (from $34.99-$44.99) are available at FrightRide.com.
