Miramar, Florida – Even from the car, the fear sits on them as a pillow over one’s mouth. Enough air gets by it, allowing their body to keep functioning, but it’s crippling all at the same time.
From 7 to 11 p.m., the drive-thru haunted house gives each rider and passenger a better look at the eerie, uncanny, and puzzling street filled with skeletons, clowns, and carnage.
One car is playing the iconic Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and another car behind them is playing a more upbeat version of the “Monster Mash”. Even in the darkness, one could see the color drain from a passenger’s face, as white as a slice of bread, white as a ghost.
Who could imagine 2020 being any scarier? Miramar’s Horrorland, which is a drive-thru haunted house attraction that’s the size of a small theme park.
Trick or Treating and Halloween look a bit different this year. Instead of children moving in candy-crazy herds dressed as ghouls and superheroes and lawns becoming graveyards for plastic corpses and cobwebs dangling from trees and doors, drive-thru haunted attractions are the craze.
The Coronavirus happened and forced restrictions. Masks (not Halloween ones) and social distancing have forced attractions to rethink in-person frights. Therefore, from Thursday, Oct. 1 to Saturday, Oct. 31 at Miramar Regional Park, 16801 Miramar Parkway, passengers can emerge themselves in a fun yet frightful 35-minute experience.
The press release claims that their drive-thru haunted house experience is one of the first of its kind in the state and promises a “fully immersive” experience. Vehicles only go to three miles per hour and doors must be kept shut and windows must remain up. That way, the experience is intended to be “completely contactless” and safe for all.
The ghouls, ghosts, witches, and devils, who usually stalk narrow corridors of a spooky mansion will instead have to lurk at outdoor drive-through experiences, delivering “I gotcha” scares at windshields and in rearview mirrors.
Many people who are fans of the spooky season would say Halloween was their favorite time of year - until this year hit hard. It seemed like traditional loving hardcore Halloween fanatics would miss out this year on thrilling walk-throughs wandering through dimly-lit spaces with ghoulish-décor and scary costumed actors.
Even this year, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights are canceled because those scary spaces aren’t safe from the threat of COVID-19. After a rough few months, families are craving for any signs of normalcy and annual traditions even during the COVID-19 era. That way, they still find safe and adventurous activities with their family, keep annual traditions alive, and fear in their headlights can help because the cancellation of events is bringing out the creativity with a new holiday activity.
This year, people can scream from the safety of their own vehicles, without having to worry about virus exposure and its also good news for people with disabilities, who may have faced rejection from traditional haunted houses.
Halloween scares from behind the wheel include,
· A Zombie Apocalypse
· A Creepy Carnival
· Alice in Horrorland
· Asylum of Darkness
· Christmas Nightmare
· Farm of Horror
· And Screams Cemetery
According to CEO and director of Live305 Entertainment, Francisco Santos, “The beauty of this immersive experience is that participants are protagonists in a horror movie that’s happening around them in real-time and it’s all done from the safety of their cars. This is the first-ever drive-thru haunted attraction in South Florida where people are still worried about corona concerns. We’re taking precautions for South Florida while still having fun.”
Celebrating Halloween from your car may be out of the ordinary traditions. But the settings and actors fully commit. From the blackness come voices, ghost voices that sound like iron nails dragged over rock. Tombstones seem to be crumbling and weathering from the centuries, spooky and covered with some sort of slime.
“In this era of COVID-19 we believe people need some relief from the anxiety of the real world,” said Santos. “We put people into a fantasy world where they leave their troubles behind and can focus on having a good time.”
Tickets are priced at $48.99 per car and group rates are available. Tickets must be purchased online before entering Horrorland. Each car is required to have a Drive-Thru ticket to enter.
It’s a family-friendly attraction. However, kids under13 might want to stay home so parents won’t have sleepless nights because of their kids having nightmares.
You may visit www.thehorrorland.com/faq for more information.
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