Review: Santa Ana Haunt 2024

Santa Ana Haunt has finally gone pro after being a popular home haunt in the heart of Orange County.  The Haunt Proprietor originally had plans to go professional last season but some unfortunate last-minute mishaps at the venue caused them to wait one more season.  This season, you can find them at the STC GardenWalk in Anaheim partnered up with OC Nightmare from last year which we missed.

Santa Ana Haunt 2024: Walk-Through

Santa Ana Haunt is in the general area where The Empty Grave once was.  Head to the House of Blues on the ground level and you should see it.  With a larger area and larger footprint, the Haunt Proprietor was able to make his vision come to life; a luxury that he and his team did not have the last few years at a residence.  Gone is the blackout maze portion and tight walkways, here now are brighter lit corridors with more room to maneuver around and skip the person(s) in front of you if they happen to be frozen in fear or if they want to waste time to annoy the monsters.  With multi-sensory jump effects like Universal’s famous villain jump scare with lights and sound; it makes the haunt feel official and professional.  Also employed, is the 3-corner drop-down panel trick where the same scare actor can hit the same person or persons 3 times at 3 turns.  Therefore, the maze was structured to run even if they are short staffed.

Santa Ana Haunt 2024: Conclusion

First year pro-haunters but hopefully not the last.   Santa Ana Haunt replenishes the small list of pro-haunts in the O.C., as many are dark this year or have stopped running altogether.  They have also managed to fill the void at GardenWalk left by Richard & Christina’s Haunted House and The Empty Grave.  The entire plaza is also decorated with spooky stuff and has a Halloween activity for everybody if you’re not into mazes: Thriller NightMares is a spooky cocktail experience and Monster Mash is a kid-friendly Halloween festival.