Every year different horror themed mazes pop up during the Halloween season, most of the time not returning the following year. I'm pretty much determined not to waste my money on a lot of first time attractions because they are usually overpriced, small, unorganized and well, not that scary.
Being in its third seventh year of operation, The Empty Grave returns to The Anaheim GardenWalk in the Disneyland area to offer up some screams. Though the $13 single general admission ticket may seem a little steep for a maze lasting about five minutes, they do offer some different discount packages for those coming in groups such as two tickets for $20 and five tickets for $40, making it a little bit easier on the pocketbook.
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Parking for the maze is fairly easy. My advice, park on the fourth
floor (usually always empty) and then just take the escalator down to
the main quad where the maze is located. You'll avoid the crowd that
goes to HEAT and you wont have to murder any of those slow driving
tourists looking for parking to eat at PF Changs. The con on the
parking is that it's only free for the first hour. You get additional
hours for free from some of the other restaurant and retailers, however,
you can't get your ticket validated at the maze.
A huge pro on this maze is that they let you go through in small
groups so you're not tipped off by upcoming screams giving you time to
prepare yourself for what is about to happen. Inside, the set designs
were good, but I wish there were a few more monsters lurking in the
corners or popping out of someplace unexpected. Though the actors
working put 110% in their performance, you spent a lot of time getting
stressed out on what was coming around the corner, when there really
wasn't anything at all.
The Empty Grave is definitely a family attraction. There are a lot
of things that go bump in the night and it isn't too terrifying for an
adventurous seven year old that might want to partake in fun. If you're
an avid maze goer like myself, you might find this attraction a little
tame, but if you're easily scared and just looking for a good time, then
this will suit you.
After the maze it was fun just sitting around the entrance watching
the monsters scare patrons coming out of the movie theater and adjacent
restaurants completely unaware that this was even going on. The looks
on some of those faces were just priceless and drew a good crowd of
people too cheap to actually go in.
Pros: Short lines, good monsters, easy parking, friendly staff
Cons: Not enough monsters
The Empty Grave
321 W. Katella Ave., Suite #193 (Under the UltraLuxe Theater)
Anaheim, CA 92803 | (949) 25-SCARY
www.themtgrave.com
