Location: 3866 Linden Ave, Dayton, OH 45432
Website: https://www.survivehellsdungeon.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hellsurvive
Overall Score: 8/10
Our second Haunt of our Season Opening brought us to Dayton, Ohio where we paid a visit to Rufus and his demented "Rejects" as he calls them, inside Hell's Dungeon. This was our first time visiting this Haunt and we were really impressed! The Haunt is tucked away around the backside of the Eastown Shopping Center off Linden Ave in Dayton. The Haunt has plenty of free parking around the entrance to the Haunt as well.
Heading into the Haunt we ventured down a flight of stairs where we were greeted by some very creepy creatures, one in particular that one of our crew members had second thoughts about (See Photos Below) :) We loved the aspect of having to walk down into what seemed to be the basement area of the shopping center, where Hell's Dungeon is located. This really made us feel like we were walking down into a actual Dungeon!
As we ventured in we were greeted by many different very friendly Staff members as well as a few "Rejects" that Rufus had let run loose for the moment. All were very excited to see us and a few loved tormenting and taunting us as we were talking with the Ticket Booth staff.
Ticket prices to enter the Haunt are very reasonable. General Admission is $24 per Guest, and Tickets can be purchased Online or at the Haunt as well. Guests can also get a Fast Pass for $10 more if needed. If visiting on a Friday Night, Hell's Dungeon does offer a $2 discount off admission when you bring in a toy for Touching Moments!
Once we were handed our tickets we were then escorted into the Queue line where we were greeted by the Doll Babies (Hay & Kristine) who at first wanted to chew on our bones and flesh for dinner, but was quickly reminded, No No No You can't eat the Review Guests! Once inside the queue area the Doll Babies went over the Rules of the Haunt with our group. Be sure to pay close attention or you may end up in the Time Out Corner like I did. Once given the rules we were then escorted to the Entrance of Hell's Dungeon to get our group photo taken, just in case we didn't make it out alive! Just kidding, each group has their photos taken that you can purchase at the Gift Shop before you leave for a small fee. After the photos are taken we were then greeted by our Tour Guide Christian, who led us into the Haunt to Meet Rufus himself!
As we pulled back the curtain to enter the Dungeon we could see Rufus sitting on his throne lined with low flickering candles, where he slowly arose to get a closer look at who was intruding in his Chambers. Rufus made sure to inspect each and every one of us letting us know what he thought about us, and boy oh boy he did not hold anything back!
Once Rufus had allowed us to enter his Dungeon we were then briefed that we would be experiencing 3 different parts of Hell's Dungeon. The Bayou, The Asylum, and the Creepy 3D Carnival, and yes they do have Clowns! Lots and Lots of Clowns!!!!
Below we give more details from our visit, as well as our ranking for each aspect of the Haunt:
Cast/Actors: 8
During our journey through Hell's Dungeon we encountered many different characters who as mentioned above are know as Rufus's "Rejects" who were excited to see us! Each Character we encountered did an amazing job at scaring us or making sure we were entertained, and some even didn't want us to leave! During our journey through the Bayou we did encounter many different creepy Creatures but The VooDoo Queen Mamba Marie (Megan) really stood out to us. Mamba Marie was casting a spell on a poor lost soul that we believe Rufus may have taken during their visit inside Hell's Dungeon. The adventure continued as we were then brought to the Firewood's house, where some very strange things had been going on! We were greeted by many different Firewood family members that Welcomed us into their home where we encountered some very creepy scenes. One filled with dolls as well as a very gory Kitchen where we have no clue what had happened in, as it was covered in blood! Maybe the blood was from the last group of guests that had visited before us? Once we made it through the Bayou we then headed into the Asylum where we encountered some very odd characters. One person that really stood out to us was Ella. Ella really wanted us to play patty cake with her, as you could tell she had not had many visitors and it was really driving her crazy! We also visited a very odd Doctor named Dr. Mandrill (AJ Classen) who was trying to "Cure" many different creatures who he had locked up inside many different cages and some that he had already performed surgery on! We got the heck out of there as fast as we could because there was no way we were gonna become his next victims! The last area we entered was the Carnival/3D Clown portion of the Haunt. This was by far the best portion of the Haunt hands down! We were greeted by so many different Clowns that for sure gave us one heck of a show! We have to give a huge shout out to the following: Carnival Barker JB Rotten (Raz), Blades the Clown (Caitlynn), Swipe (Austin), Bonkers (Aden), Propez (Matt), OG (Taylor), Polly Flipz (Renae), and Blink (Mike). Every single Clown really interacted with us and did an awesome job entertaining us during our journey that we never thought was going to end! :)
Customer Service: 10
The Customer Service was AMAZING! Once inside we were Welcomed with open arms and was directed where to go for our tickets. During our visit we were introduced to the Owner of the Haunt and got the chance to chat with Him for a bit and felt as if we had been Haunt Friends for many years. Everyone was so friendly and very down to Earth!
Scare Rating: 7
The scares inside the Haunt came as startle scares mainly. There weren't too many scares however. We would love to see more types of scares added to the Haunt itself, but we were for sure entertained during our entire visit!
Atmosphere: 8
Being our first visit we can't really compare to past Seasons, but we really did enjoy the detail each room had to offer. Details inside each room were very unique as well. We loved the old school type Haunt feel each scene gave off. Hell's Dungeon is only in its 3rd Season, so we see great things happening in the future and we can't wait to return to see what happens!
Special Effects: 7
During our visit we did experience a few different types of effects. Some effects were created by the Build Crew that were very unique to the scenes we walked though. As mentioned above we loved the very old school Haunt approach some of the Special Effects and Props we encountered gave off. There are also many amazing animatronics throughout the Haunt that we were blown away by as well. We really loved the Giant Pumpkin Head surprise!
New Scenes: N/A (This was Our first Visit)
Time Inside Haunt: 8
Our time inside the Haunt was Perfect in our opinion! The Actors inside the Haunt did not rush us through their scenes, as most interacted with us in some form or fashion, which we loved! Our favorite part as mentioned above has to be the 3D Carnival Clown portion of the Haunt. We thought that portion of the Haunt was never going to end!