Zombie Patrol Hayride

A fun experience that COULD have been much better.
Worth seeing once but… We probably won’t go back again unless they step up their game and transition from silly to scary.
We heard about the Zombie Patrol Hayride on Channel 9 news (Twin Cities). Three of us went out there tonight. This is a seasonal Halloween business at Vintage Paintball Park. It took us about an hour to drive there from the Anoka area.
The main area where these guys need some desperate improvement is in the the waiting line and the waiting area. We waited for almost 2 hours. It was cold. The concession/​ticket area had basic junk food and cold drinks… very stupid when it’s 38 degrees and there are tons of people trapped in a line. The owners are missing an opportunity to make customers VERY happy and to make some extra income by offering hot chocolate, hot cider, and coffee. Some warm pastries would probably also sell like crazy. When my daughter asked the nice guy at the counter if they had hot chocolate for sale, he said, «No, I wish we did.» Enough said, dude! Enough said!
Also, they should consider a little entertainment to break the severe boredom in line. Couldn’t they spare at least ONE zombie to scare the crap out of everyone in line at least once every half hour? It seems like a no-​brainer to me. One or two hours in the cold is a long time. How about a little adrenaline to keep us warm?
I noticed that nearly half of the people leaving the hayride tried to take an immediate left to the parking lot and they ran into the fence (which could hardly be seen in the dark). They either crawled through it or walked around, like they were supposed to. How about marking boundaries and walkways more clearly? This could certainly be done in a creative way.
Finally, they could do some things to make the zombie shooting itself a little scary and theatrical instead of a bit goofy and silly. It could be first class instead of just simple fun. How about a few things close to the wagon to scare people? All the activity is in the distance. Have some more realistic zombies come close to the wagon, from the rear, where no-​one can shoot them? Also, trash the crappy tape recorded screams from the cheap tape recorder inside the wagon! How about just a LITTLE more effort and put a speaker out in the arena somewhere? By going to a little more effort, with very little expense, the whole experience could be brought to a whole new level.
These guys have obviously stumbled on a great concept. Now it’s time for them to step it up a notch. Time to go from good to great.
–Daddy Maxx Retro