Review - Horrorland Park - 2021
It may have slipped your attention, but since visiting Horrorland in 2019, we kind of never stopped talking about it. For only a second year event. we were blown away with the attention to detail and storytelling throughout, and the event was quite rightly crowned at ScareCON as the Best Scream Park in Europe.
Jump forward 2 years and after a disappointing close down in 2020 due to Covid rules, and an unfortunate loss of the existing venue, the team at Horrorland have bounced back with something even better. The new site at Illa Fantasia water park is now just 10 minutes outside of the busy metropolitan hub of Barcelona, and with ready made car parking and other facilities, is easily able to cope with the demands of a busy scream park.
The night started from the moment we got in the entry queue with several roaming characters entertaining and chasing guests. This set up a great atmosphere, but was just a taste of what we were due to face inside, as the whole park was filled with a diverse range of roaming characters and firebreathers. So much so that there was always something going on at every turn.
As well as the roaming characters, there was a large centralised performance area which was home to a number of live shows throughout the night. These shows ranged from horror spectacle, through to horror themed games shows etc. Each show took full use of the multi level water park structure, and had a full lighting and sound package which gave them a really professional feel.
Beside the shows, the park also had a number of game stalls, catering facilities and a merchandise area. But of course the thing that makes any scream park is the horror attractions themselves, and once again Horrorland have really raised the bar when it comes to the quality of their mazes and the level of scares therein.
Our first maze was Hell Cell - a chaotically populated prison themed attraction. The attention to detail throughout was maze incredible, from humourous touches such as the men's shower room and the dildo in the ladies toilets through to the "set dressing" in the cells. Attitudes to sex and pornography are different in Europe to over here, so we were genuinely surprised to see the cell walls plastered with pics from porno magazines (both straight and gay!). But the sets were just the tip of the iceberg, as the actors throughout were aggressive and scary, with both the inmates and the prison staff tormenting us at all times.
Next up was McAbro - which really had a simple concept - the evil clowns had taken over a well known burger franchise and were looking for a new source of meat! Before entering this maze we were asked what intensity we wanted and stupidly agreed to a "three glowing necklace" experience! This meant our group was separated, jostled, had our hand dipped in "boiling fat", made to wear a penis balloon hat, and in one case - wrapped up in cling film and left to face the rest of the maze with our arms trussed to our sides. Unlike many "extreme" mazes - this all stayed completely on the right side of what is fun and what is just torture/humifaction, and we had a blast throughout.
As an outdoor maze we really weren't expecting Cannibal Expedition to be up to the standard of the other mazes, but it still provided us with multiple scares from beginning to end. The actors were some of the liveliest of the night and the characters were very dark and twisted. We must shout out to the "ripped out heart" scare which was as impressively performed as it was shockingly scary. As a different style of maze to the others, we had a great time with great scares and impressive actor interaction.
Changing the theme up once again, Urbex Z was a zombie maze which had some very unique scares and lively actors. We loved the use of the old escape rooms from the previous incarnation of Horrorland, and the sets left multiple places for the actors to hide. Our only complaint? The pay extra guns were kind of difficult to raise when the zombie attacks were so close. The scares themselves were brilliant, but a smaller pistol may have been more effective to dispatch a zombie just 2 feet in front of you, rather than a large rifle. It's a small niggle, as we loved the whole show and had many great scares throughout.
One of our favorites of the night was Dia De Muertos. This maze was beautifully themed and took us through so many elements of Mexican "culture" including drug cartels and underground gambling dens. But the scares in this maze were relentless, and we have to praise the designers on having multiple scare actors on some of the impact scares. Literally, a light or sound would highlight an actor appearing, and while our attention was focused on them - a second actor would appear from a different side and ramp up the scare. And these actors weren't afraid to touch, so we ended up grabbed multiples times by the terrifying neon lit skeletons!
And then finally - we entered Survival Maze Arena which remains one of the most crazy and anarchic experiences we have ever done, Built in a genuine old bullring, the atmosphere in the attraction was insanely intense as the 8 "hunters" did everything they could to steal our glow band necklaces and eliminate us from the competition. During the preshow - it was made pretty clear that all rules were off - and the only way to survive was to run for our lives! It's chaotic, it's terrifying, but most of all - it's bloody good fun!
One of the final things we love about Horrorland is the closing Fire and Blood show. Whereas most events just trickle out at the end of the night, Horrorland gets all of the actors out of their respective mazes, and creates a parade through the site and down onto the stage. The atmosphere during this show is electric as the cast wave smoke flares and tease the audience and as soon as Mortimer, the park's icon, arrives on a motorbike, the sparklers, flames and fireworks were unleashed. It really was an incredibly loud and chaotic finale and as the music ended, everyone just erupted in applause before the actors were let loose into the crowd. Nowhere else has a finale show such as this, and it really is just one of the many things that make Horrorland so unique.
So once again, it's pretty obvious that we loved Horrorland, and everyone we visited with from the UK agreed. It really is incredible that an event in only its third actual year, can feel so professional and polished as this. The team are clearly passionate about what they do, but also have a real creative drive to create something unique and terrifying. We cant wait to see what they do next with this incredible new venue (which we think is even better than the power station) and as soon as flights are available to book - we will be on a plane back to Barcelona next year. It may sound like hype or marketing speak - but if you only go to one scream park in 2022 - then Horrorland is the only one to chose!
Jump forward 2 years and after a disappointing close down in 2020 due to Covid rules, and an unfortunate loss of the existing venue, the team at Horrorland have bounced back with something even better. The new site at Illa Fantasia water park is now just 10 minutes outside of the busy metropolitan hub of Barcelona, and with ready made car parking and other facilities, is easily able to cope with the demands of a busy scream park.
The night started from the moment we got in the entry queue with several roaming characters entertaining and chasing guests. This set up a great atmosphere, but was just a taste of what we were due to face inside, as the whole park was filled with a diverse range of roaming characters and firebreathers. So much so that there was always something going on at every turn.
As well as the roaming characters, there was a large centralised performance area which was home to a number of live shows throughout the night. These shows ranged from horror spectacle, through to horror themed games shows etc. Each show took full use of the multi level water park structure, and had a full lighting and sound package which gave them a really professional feel.
Beside the shows, the park also had a number of game stalls, catering facilities and a merchandise area. But of course the thing that makes any scream park is the horror attractions themselves, and once again Horrorland have really raised the bar when it comes to the quality of their mazes and the level of scares therein.
Our first maze was Hell Cell - a chaotically populated prison themed attraction. The attention to detail throughout was maze incredible, from humourous touches such as the men's shower room and the dildo in the ladies toilets through to the "set dressing" in the cells. Attitudes to sex and pornography are different in Europe to over here, so we were genuinely surprised to see the cell walls plastered with pics from porno magazines (both straight and gay!). But the sets were just the tip of the iceberg, as the actors throughout were aggressive and scary, with both the inmates and the prison staff tormenting us at all times.
Next up was McAbro - which really had a simple concept - the evil clowns had taken over a well known burger franchise and were looking for a new source of meat! Before entering this maze we were asked what intensity we wanted and stupidly agreed to a "three glowing necklace" experience! This meant our group was separated, jostled, had our hand dipped in "boiling fat", made to wear a penis balloon hat, and in one case - wrapped up in cling film and left to face the rest of the maze with our arms trussed to our sides. Unlike many "extreme" mazes - this all stayed completely on the right side of what is fun and what is just torture/humifaction, and we had a blast throughout.
As an outdoor maze we really weren't expecting Cannibal Expedition to be up to the standard of the other mazes, but it still provided us with multiple scares from beginning to end. The actors were some of the liveliest of the night and the characters were very dark and twisted. We must shout out to the "ripped out heart" scare which was as impressively performed as it was shockingly scary. As a different style of maze to the others, we had a great time with great scares and impressive actor interaction.
Changing the theme up once again, Urbex Z was a zombie maze which had some very unique scares and lively actors. We loved the use of the old escape rooms from the previous incarnation of Horrorland, and the sets left multiple places for the actors to hide. Our only complaint? The pay extra guns were kind of difficult to raise when the zombie attacks were so close. The scares themselves were brilliant, but a smaller pistol may have been more effective to dispatch a zombie just 2 feet in front of you, rather than a large rifle. It's a small niggle, as we loved the whole show and had many great scares throughout.
One of our favorites of the night was Dia De Muertos. This maze was beautifully themed and took us through so many elements of Mexican "culture" including drug cartels and underground gambling dens. But the scares in this maze were relentless, and we have to praise the designers on having multiple scare actors on some of the impact scares. Literally, a light or sound would highlight an actor appearing, and while our attention was focused on them - a second actor would appear from a different side and ramp up the scare. And these actors weren't afraid to touch, so we ended up grabbed multiples times by the terrifying neon lit skeletons!
And then finally - we entered Survival Maze Arena which remains one of the most crazy and anarchic experiences we have ever done, Built in a genuine old bullring, the atmosphere in the attraction was insanely intense as the 8 "hunters" did everything they could to steal our glow band necklaces and eliminate us from the competition. During the preshow - it was made pretty clear that all rules were off - and the only way to survive was to run for our lives! It's chaotic, it's terrifying, but most of all - it's bloody good fun!
One of the final things we love about Horrorland is the closing Fire and Blood show. Whereas most events just trickle out at the end of the night, Horrorland gets all of the actors out of their respective mazes, and creates a parade through the site and down onto the stage. The atmosphere during this show is electric as the cast wave smoke flares and tease the audience and as soon as Mortimer, the park's icon, arrives on a motorbike, the sparklers, flames and fireworks were unleashed. It really was an incredibly loud and chaotic finale and as the music ended, everyone just erupted in applause before the actors were let loose into the crowd. Nowhere else has a finale show such as this, and it really is just one of the many things that make Horrorland so unique.
So once again, it's pretty obvious that we loved Horrorland, and everyone we visited with from the UK agreed. It really is incredible that an event in only its third actual year, can feel so professional and polished as this. The team are clearly passionate about what they do, but also have a real creative drive to create something unique and terrifying. We cant wait to see what they do next with this incredible new venue (which we think is even better than the power station) and as soon as flights are available to book - we will be on a plane back to Barcelona next year. It may sound like hype or marketing speak - but if you only go to one scream park in 2022 - then Horrorland is the only one to chose!
Review - Horrorland Park - 2019
So, when you have visited an event that is nigh on perfect, how do you write a review that gets across just how amazing it actually is? It's a difficult task, but we will try to keep the hyperbole to a reasonable level.
Horrorland Park is located in the mountains a few hours North of the city of Barcelona. As we got closer to the park, we could see more and more snow on the tops of the nearby mountains, and in fact the temperature bottomed out to a mere negative 2 degrees. Ironic that our coldest event this Halloween turned out to be in a hot country such as Spain!
But we were prepared for the cold, and as we rounded the windy roads, the full majesty of the location hit us. Nestled in a valley is an enormous discarded power station which just works as a perfect backdrop to the attraction itself. Although the mazes and shows are all held in more modern buildings in front of the main power station, it still makes for a jaw dropping setting.
Once inside, the layout and infrastructure of the park is like something that most events could only dream of, with a series of hangers and buildings leading off of a central street, and a large indoor section for more entertainment and the food court. The atmosphere throughout this area is loud and aggressive, and it is populated by several roaming characters who interact with the guests up close. But what stood out for us, was the central stage/ hub area that hosted live shows and events throughout the night. These ranged from the butcher characters creating a bidding war for human guests, through to a zombie invasion that had the zombies all coming back to life to dance along with Thriller!
Each show was accompanied by impressive lighting and sound as well as pyrotechnic effects and a whole swathe of actors. Clearly no expense has been spared with populating characters for these shows, and they really added a sense of occasion to the whole event.
Of course, a park can have great atmosphere - but an event like this lives or dies on the strength of its scare mazes, and we have to report that all five mazes were some of the best and imaginative we have seen in years. The sheer diversity in scares, sets, themes and styles across the mazes is outstanding, and its really hard for us to pick out a favourite.
Clown Town was our first maze and could be described as a generic clown maze with 3D glasses. But that would be a complete underestimation of the effects and scares throughout this very long maze. As well as lively and terrifying clowns, the team made great use of very effective animatronics that had us leaping to escape, as well as a number of unique scares that shook the whole group (bungee clown we are looking at you!) We were told afterwards that this was the "starter" maze and that we should expect some more intensity as we progressed onward!
Our next maze was La Casa del Bosque (The Cabin in the Woods) and could easily be described as the most "standard" haunted house attraction at the park. Saying that - the actors were so forceful throughout, and there were a number of great scares that had members of the team dropping to the floor in fright (thank you tree creature - and the least said about the teddy bear in the attic - the better!) The sets and theming throughout were top notch and we couldn't find anything to fault this incredible maze. Surely this level couldn't continue with the other mazes?
La Termica (The Thermal) is a maze designed round the history of the abandoned power plant, and the mining that used to happen in the region. Kitted out with miners helmets, we were forced into low dark mineshafts filled with grotesque characters and creatures. This maze threw everything at us including an insanely intense strobe maze cage section, with the creatures climbing up and over to try and attack us. The maze was chaotic, loud and SO much fun!
As we entered Matadero we were asked if we wanted to experience a more personal version of the show, and being gluttons for punishment we all said yes, and were given a couple of glow band necklaces. Themed around a meat processing factory/slaughterhouse, this attraction was designed to makes us feel what it must be like to be an innocent animal in an abattoir. Throughout the attraction we were pushed, manhandled and jostled quite forcibly with chainsaws and other instruments of torture shoved in some very private places. But what of the "necklaces"? These were used so the actors knew who to single out of the group and be given special treatment to. In one scene we were branded using a real tattooist gun (just without the needle but we could feel the pressure and the buzzing.) In another room we were "cleaned" with compressed air that was shoved down the back of our jeans and into our underwear. Once released - we had to escape through a confusing maze like section with the actors just chasing and attacking throughout. Totally bonkers, totally terrifying but incredible fun!
The final maze attraction is Survival Maze Battle Royal where once again we were given glowsticks, and as we entered a TV studio with all our fellow competitors, all we needed to do was make it to the end with our glowstick intact. Of course the 8 serial killers throughout this attraction stalked us endlessly and only a few of us actually survived by the end. The maze felt like a cross between Anarchy Live at Fear at Avon Valley and Hide Run at Oakwood, but with the intensity and craziness dialed up to 15!
Included in the entry price is a zombie paintball shooting experience that uses similar technology to Zombie Outlaw at Farmaggedon. There is always a thrill at shooting "live Zombies" and due to the walking nature of this experience, we felt it was a bit more immersive than the trailers at Farma. Of course - the trick is to measure out your balls and make sure you ration them throughout the experience!
The other big attraction is Psycho Extreme, which we were lucky enough to watch a "patient" put through their paces in this solo 18+ experience. The whole thing reminded us a lot of The Clinic at Walibi Holland but played more on "wordly" scares instead of covering Heaven and Hell in the afterlife. Obviously being extreme, there was a lot of manhandling, some partial nudity and a LOT of aggression throughout. Fortunately for us - the event was so popular that it sold out months in advance, but a few of the ScareCON crew managed to do it and they came out wet, smelly, shoe less, and a bit shaken!
In the indoors food court and bar, there was a well stocked shop selling a load of Horrorland merchandise and around the walls were a number of fun twists on classic fairground games (for the hoopla we had to get our hoops over moving skeleton hands, and for the basketball we needed to get brains back into zombie's empty heads!) The games were great fun and with a free 5Euro credit from parking - we all had a chance to win. The smallest prize ironically was a poo emoji badge - truly a "shit prize!
As well as the mazes and the shows, the park is also home to four mini escape room experiences. In fact it is actually home to 16 experiences as each them has 4 identical rooms which are triggered at the same time. So not only are you racing to get out, but you are racing to beat the other teams. Each of these mini escape rooms were perfectly designed with a number of really unique effects. For Subway the whole room was moving like an actually subway train and for Elevator, we could feel the room moving as if we were gong up and down in a lift shaft. Each room is cleverly designed so that it doesn't need to reset for the next group - ie in Torture, a key on a chain passed between two prison cells goes from Cell 1 to 2 in game 1, but then goes from Cell 2 to 1 for the next group. Clearly a lot of time and effort has been put into all their games, and we escaped each one in the nick of time.
So, having escaped the escape rooms, been tormented in the mazes, watched the shows, shot the zombies etc, this would generally be the time to call it quits and head back to the car park. But no - not at Horrorland. Once all the mazes are closed, every actor and character from the park join in for an impressive parade down the main street. With such a big cast of over 150 people, it really is such a big show and genuinely wouldn't look out of place in a Disney theme park (well apart from the gore, partial nudity and chainsaws!) With motorbikes and cars all included - the parade leads to one end of the site, where a massive fireworks display ended the night to the thumping beat of the This is Horroland theme song.
Even with the park closed and the fireworks over, the actors spent ages roaming around and tormenting the guests - clearly loving their characters and trying to get as many scares as they could. It was now 12.30 and minus 2 degrees, but the scares kept coming!
So there we have it - we genuinely hope that this review has got across how awesome Horrorland was, and how much fun we had. We visited as part of a ScareCON arranged event, and the other park operators and attraction owners were all amazed at the attention to detail and professionalism on show across the whole event. What is really hard to believe is that this is only its second year! God alone knows what it will be like once it becomes even more established and more is introduced to the event. As it is - we finished our Halloween on a complete high, and we would urge anyone to beg, steal, or borrow to visit the park next year. We now have a new annual "must do" event, and will be back to soak up the incredible atmosphere and scares of this stunning scream park for years to come!
Horrorland Park is located in the mountains a few hours North of the city of Barcelona. As we got closer to the park, we could see more and more snow on the tops of the nearby mountains, and in fact the temperature bottomed out to a mere negative 2 degrees. Ironic that our coldest event this Halloween turned out to be in a hot country such as Spain!
But we were prepared for the cold, and as we rounded the windy roads, the full majesty of the location hit us. Nestled in a valley is an enormous discarded power station which just works as a perfect backdrop to the attraction itself. Although the mazes and shows are all held in more modern buildings in front of the main power station, it still makes for a jaw dropping setting.
Once inside, the layout and infrastructure of the park is like something that most events could only dream of, with a series of hangers and buildings leading off of a central street, and a large indoor section for more entertainment and the food court. The atmosphere throughout this area is loud and aggressive, and it is populated by several roaming characters who interact with the guests up close. But what stood out for us, was the central stage/ hub area that hosted live shows and events throughout the night. These ranged from the butcher characters creating a bidding war for human guests, through to a zombie invasion that had the zombies all coming back to life to dance along with Thriller!
Each show was accompanied by impressive lighting and sound as well as pyrotechnic effects and a whole swathe of actors. Clearly no expense has been spared with populating characters for these shows, and they really added a sense of occasion to the whole event.
Of course, a park can have great atmosphere - but an event like this lives or dies on the strength of its scare mazes, and we have to report that all five mazes were some of the best and imaginative we have seen in years. The sheer diversity in scares, sets, themes and styles across the mazes is outstanding, and its really hard for us to pick out a favourite.
Clown Town was our first maze and could be described as a generic clown maze with 3D glasses. But that would be a complete underestimation of the effects and scares throughout this very long maze. As well as lively and terrifying clowns, the team made great use of very effective animatronics that had us leaping to escape, as well as a number of unique scares that shook the whole group (bungee clown we are looking at you!) We were told afterwards that this was the "starter" maze and that we should expect some more intensity as we progressed onward!
Our next maze was La Casa del Bosque (The Cabin in the Woods) and could easily be described as the most "standard" haunted house attraction at the park. Saying that - the actors were so forceful throughout, and there were a number of great scares that had members of the team dropping to the floor in fright (thank you tree creature - and the least said about the teddy bear in the attic - the better!) The sets and theming throughout were top notch and we couldn't find anything to fault this incredible maze. Surely this level couldn't continue with the other mazes?
La Termica (The Thermal) is a maze designed round the history of the abandoned power plant, and the mining that used to happen in the region. Kitted out with miners helmets, we were forced into low dark mineshafts filled with grotesque characters and creatures. This maze threw everything at us including an insanely intense strobe maze cage section, with the creatures climbing up and over to try and attack us. The maze was chaotic, loud and SO much fun!
As we entered Matadero we were asked if we wanted to experience a more personal version of the show, and being gluttons for punishment we all said yes, and were given a couple of glow band necklaces. Themed around a meat processing factory/slaughterhouse, this attraction was designed to makes us feel what it must be like to be an innocent animal in an abattoir. Throughout the attraction we were pushed, manhandled and jostled quite forcibly with chainsaws and other instruments of torture shoved in some very private places. But what of the "necklaces"? These were used so the actors knew who to single out of the group and be given special treatment to. In one scene we were branded using a real tattooist gun (just without the needle but we could feel the pressure and the buzzing.) In another room we were "cleaned" with compressed air that was shoved down the back of our jeans and into our underwear. Once released - we had to escape through a confusing maze like section with the actors just chasing and attacking throughout. Totally bonkers, totally terrifying but incredible fun!
The final maze attraction is Survival Maze Battle Royal where once again we were given glowsticks, and as we entered a TV studio with all our fellow competitors, all we needed to do was make it to the end with our glowstick intact. Of course the 8 serial killers throughout this attraction stalked us endlessly and only a few of us actually survived by the end. The maze felt like a cross between Anarchy Live at Fear at Avon Valley and Hide Run at Oakwood, but with the intensity and craziness dialed up to 15!
Included in the entry price is a zombie paintball shooting experience that uses similar technology to Zombie Outlaw at Farmaggedon. There is always a thrill at shooting "live Zombies" and due to the walking nature of this experience, we felt it was a bit more immersive than the trailers at Farma. Of course - the trick is to measure out your balls and make sure you ration them throughout the experience!
The other big attraction is Psycho Extreme, which we were lucky enough to watch a "patient" put through their paces in this solo 18+ experience. The whole thing reminded us a lot of The Clinic at Walibi Holland but played more on "wordly" scares instead of covering Heaven and Hell in the afterlife. Obviously being extreme, there was a lot of manhandling, some partial nudity and a LOT of aggression throughout. Fortunately for us - the event was so popular that it sold out months in advance, but a few of the ScareCON crew managed to do it and they came out wet, smelly, shoe less, and a bit shaken!
In the indoors food court and bar, there was a well stocked shop selling a load of Horrorland merchandise and around the walls were a number of fun twists on classic fairground games (for the hoopla we had to get our hoops over moving skeleton hands, and for the basketball we needed to get brains back into zombie's empty heads!) The games were great fun and with a free 5Euro credit from parking - we all had a chance to win. The smallest prize ironically was a poo emoji badge - truly a "shit prize!
As well as the mazes and the shows, the park is also home to four mini escape room experiences. In fact it is actually home to 16 experiences as each them has 4 identical rooms which are triggered at the same time. So not only are you racing to get out, but you are racing to beat the other teams. Each of these mini escape rooms were perfectly designed with a number of really unique effects. For Subway the whole room was moving like an actually subway train and for Elevator, we could feel the room moving as if we were gong up and down in a lift shaft. Each room is cleverly designed so that it doesn't need to reset for the next group - ie in Torture, a key on a chain passed between two prison cells goes from Cell 1 to 2 in game 1, but then goes from Cell 2 to 1 for the next group. Clearly a lot of time and effort has been put into all their games, and we escaped each one in the nick of time.
So, having escaped the escape rooms, been tormented in the mazes, watched the shows, shot the zombies etc, this would generally be the time to call it quits and head back to the car park. But no - not at Horrorland. Once all the mazes are closed, every actor and character from the park join in for an impressive parade down the main street. With such a big cast of over 150 people, it really is such a big show and genuinely wouldn't look out of place in a Disney theme park (well apart from the gore, partial nudity and chainsaws!) With motorbikes and cars all included - the parade leads to one end of the site, where a massive fireworks display ended the night to the thumping beat of the This is Horroland theme song.
Even with the park closed and the fireworks over, the actors spent ages roaming around and tormenting the guests - clearly loving their characters and trying to get as many scares as they could. It was now 12.30 and minus 2 degrees, but the scares kept coming!
So there we have it - we genuinely hope that this review has got across how awesome Horrorland was, and how much fun we had. We visited as part of a ScareCON arranged event, and the other park operators and attraction owners were all amazed at the attention to detail and professionalism on show across the whole event. What is really hard to believe is that this is only its second year! God alone knows what it will be like once it becomes even more established and more is introduced to the event. As it is - we finished our Halloween on a complete high, and we would urge anyone to beg, steal, or borrow to visit the park next year. We now have a new annual "must do" event, and will be back to soak up the incredible atmosphere and scares of this stunning scream park for years to come!
Links:
Horrorland website
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