| Madelyn's Review of Castle of Chaos (2002) |
| 4650 S. Highland Dr. |
| Official Site |
| Prices: Adults $12; Coupons available via their website; add $2 for "The Royal Treatment" which means the servants bow and scrape and may offer you the clues before anyone else get 'em. |
| Hours: Wednesday / Thursday: 7:00pm -11:00 p.m Friday / Saturday: 7:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. |
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| Completely different from your usual "haunted
house," the Castle of Chaos is exactly what the name implies: a "kingdom"
with a lot of havoc going on. You make your way through various areas
-- the kitchen, the mines, the maze, the workshop, etc. -- and talk to
people, ask questions, and get clues. Trade items for additional clues
or to get people to tell you things you need to know. Solve the mystery,
save the kingdom, and win prizes. The script was written locally, and
seemed pretty original. At first, I was being too cool to enjoy it. Then, the mystery kicked in and I was having a blast -- going back and forth, questioning people, coming up with creative ways to get the answers (although I probably didn't need to be so creative as screaming "Where does a queen go to get some grub around here?" when I needed to find the kitchen. The set itself is well done for what must have been next to no money. A lot of burlap hanging over bare wooden frames, and not much in the way of design, so you need to be imaginative -- but I wasn't bothered by this at all. Most costumes were pretty basic. This is more about your mind and your imagination than a lot of kooky, spooky sets. |
| I think one plague-ridden soul jumped out at me, and that was it. Beautiful. These guys get my props just for not going there! |
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| The actors were decent to good. Some of them -- the obvious high school drama club or gamer geeks -- needed to actually act instead of screaming and running around, but others were quite good in that cheesy Halloween way. I liked Dog Boy; good boy! |
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| Because you make your own path, there was never a major flow problem. We rarely had to wait too long to get into a section, and usually, we got to talk to people relatively alone, which meant we were able to solve a number of riddles. A few times, I felt like I couldn't hear the stuff the actors were saying, because of the number of people in the room, but overall, the flow was good. |
| The more problems you solve, the better the prizes. Paul and I walked out with 2 huge Jamba Juice mugs (we could have had t-shirts, instead, but these mugs look like they'll hold a whole pot of coffee!). Also, it benefits the University of Utah's Burn Unit and the Utah Make a Wish Foundation, which is very cool. |
| Wear shoes and clothes that will allow you to climb through small openings and such; we had to go through a few low passages that almost literally had Paul on his hands and knees (mmmm... oh, excuse me, ahem) and we had to climb through some low openings. A flashlight isn't a bad idea either. |
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| Last Update: 10/20/02 |
| This is all opinion. If it offends you, whatever. To add a info, complete this form. If you want to comment, feel free to drop me a line. Please be civil; we're in this together, remember? Thanks! |
