Orlando’s first drive-thru Halloween experience, The Haunted Road, is bringing back its socially distant scares to Central Florida this fall. Admission to the road will be open select evenings from September 30 through November 7, 2021, and tickets will – fittingly – go on sale on Friday, August 13.
The Haunted Road will return to Lake Pickett Road in the same location as Corn Maze Orlando and Painted Oaks Academy. While the 2020 experience featured an original, twisted storyline centered around Rapunzel and other familiar fairytale characters, this year’s experience is far from fictional. By day, the land is seemingly ordinary, but after sunset, eerie occurrences, paranormal phenomena, and ghost sightings are the norm.
Noticing that last year’s cast and crew were constantly discussing bizarre happenings, the team did a deep dive into the area’s history and discovered that the site is truly haunted. People in the area often recount similar, inexplicable experiences such as issues with their radios and the appearance of a glowing green orb on damp and stormy nights. Through trial and error, The Haunted Road’s team has learned how to disrupt these spirits and conjure up on-demand ghost sightings for visitors to witness. In addition to encouraging frequent ghost sightings along the roadside attraction, enhancements have been made for entertainment purposes.
“After a few seriously spooky things happened along The Haunted Road, we decided to harness the natural scary occurrences and allow visitors to navigate into ghost sighting areas to witness it for themselves.” said Jessica Mariko, executive producer for The Haunted Road.
Mariko is leading a team of award-winning creative minds who have worked on globally-renowned attractions to identify and define the ghost-sighting areas on The Haunted Road.
Visitors are invited on a 40-minute drive down The Haunted Road to seek out some of these mysterious occurrences from the “safety” of their car. Admission to the main experience starts at $15.99 per person and takes place primarily from within the vehicle with an optional outdoor add-on excursion in The Barnyard, located at the end of the road. The $79 upgrade to The Barnyard allows all of the vehicle’s passengers to explore a Haunt Market, purchase smoked BBQ and beverages, and attempt to awaken the spirit of The Butcher in a walk-in haunted experience located in an abandoned barn.
The Haunted Road has timed-entry ticketing and tickets must be purchased online in advance. The majority of the 2020 time slots sold out so fear enthusiasts are encouraged to sign up online for access to the pre-sale, an opportunity to reserve tickets at their preferred times before sales open to the general public Friday at noon. Get more information and sign up at www.thehauntedroad.com.
