Review: The Zombie Walk Hunt of the Undead, Lee NH (4.5 stars)
Last year, the team from Events INSIDER went on a 10-day Halloween blitz! In October 2013, I visited 28 attractions to bring you reviews and information on everything Halloween in New England. We went indoors and outdoors as far north as New Hampshire, as far south as Rhode Island, and as far west as Connecticut. Don’t forget to visit http://EventsINSIDER.com, where we list more creative October events than anyplace else!
Let’s try this again! The Zombie Walk Hunt of the Undead was our 4th attempt to see zombies get shot. First, in Abington, Mass., we held fake pistols to shoot zombies in an indoor attraction: pretty great. Second, at Spooky World New Hampshire, a carnival booth where two zombie actors did not seem to be enjoying themselves ambling around, making it not much fun to shoot them. I just felt bad for them. Third, the military march outside Haunted Acres (run by different management) where the ground was far too rocky to have guests running at night. Would the Zombie Walk Hunt of the Undead break the curse? Would this finally be the zombie hunting experience we were craving?
The answer was yes! Visitors in groups of 25 were given masks and paintball guns, and then led through a forest walk to shoot at zombies. The staff made it fun and “got it” from top to bottom that their guests were not seeking an athletic experience and were not paintball enthusiasts. So we got none of the ‘man up, hard core’ attitude that we had found elsewhere. The route and our encounters followed a tale of viral infection that while not intricate bound the trip together into a single story. Somehow they had great timing, where most times they allowed the group to stop (reducing the worry about tripping to zero) before zombies appeared to shoot. Somehow they assembled lots of actors, so that everyone in our group had plenty of targets, all the time!
The zombies came from a distance so that I didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone with the paintballs, but we heard that the gas pressure had been turned down on our guns as well. And the actors were clearly having great fun so it was great fun to assault them as a consequence. The rule was that when a zombie fell to the ground that we should stop firing. They were also careful to give people in the back of the group things to shoot at, not just always having zombies attack from the front.
The experience was fantastically interactive, and there were few negatives. They kept us well supplied with paintballs and did not rush us forward. They managed to keep us grouped together without being condescending but also without expecting so much athleticism from us that the challenge turned from fun into performing a chore. However, the story about viral infections was thin (no names were given, there were no characters), the displays were rudimentary, and there were no lighting, fog, or animatronic effects. I was told by manager Nate Miner that because the location is an active paintball field that is used during the day, that they had to keep the displays simple so that they could be broken down. I don’t know. I’d like to think that paintball enthusiasts could work around a few Halloween displays in the daylight. The campfire was nice and they were also playing a movie to entertain those who were waiting. Instead of having us stand in line they simply had benches. But the hot chocolate ran out and so did the snacks. It would have been nice to have a grill with dinner options.
Really, we could not have had a better time, so I am tempted to give The Zombie Walk Hunt of the Undead a full 5 stars, but I also see a great deal of potential there for more. Let’s say 4.5 stars this year and I don’t doubt that in 2014 they will deserve 5 stars plus!
This review was from Events INSIDER’s 2013 10-day Halloween blitz, where we visited 28 attractions across New England. Visit http://EventsINSIDER.com, where you’ll find more fun Halloween and October events than anywhere else!