My husband and I recently had a date night (very rare occurrence) and decided that it would be fun to go to The Bates Motel at Arasapha Farms in Glen Mills ( Delaware County) for some spooky Halloween entertainment. The Bates Motel has been featured on the Travel Channel and voted one of America’s Best Haunted Attractions from hauntworld.com. Randy Bates, owner of The Bates Motel and his crew have been scaring and entertaining families since 1991 and if you ask me they have it perfected! On a typical week the attraction receives 2000-5000 guests. Eeeek! that is a lot of people!
There are 3 attractions at Arasapha Farm for you to visit.
The Bates Motel is a walk though attraction and for those of you that have been to The Bates Motel before, 5 of the rooms have been “redecorated” for the 2009 “Scare Season”. While we were waiting in line we were talking to a group that visited twicealready this season and they told us that the “renovations” to the house have made it the best that it has ever been. They also said you get a new experience every time you go through. After hearing them rave about it, I was really excited.. a little nervous, but really excited to go in. In the house the actors talk to you and some even follow you room to room. Zombies appear from dark corners just when you least expect it. There were a few actors that I thought were actually animatronics. They were that good at waiting for the right time, the exact moment when they knew I didn’t think they were actual people then they went in for the scare. One just said “hello” and I ran for the next room. I would love to go through the house again because I think I missed a lot being so spooked. One thing I did take note of in the house that in addition to random zombies and possessed librarians lurking throughout the house… Each room was very well decorated. You really felt like you were in an old house….a really creepy, haunted one! This was my husbands favorite attraction.
The hayride is about 2o minutes long and is hands down the best haunted hayride I have ever been on. From the minute the tractor pulled away from the loading platform I was in awe of the magnitude of the attraction. While on the hayride you are taken deep into the haunted forest at Arasapha Farms, where you will see detailed sets, computer controlled animations – some even with pyro-technics and dozens of live actors in full make-up and costume. Spooky music is also pumped throughout the haunted forest to add to the ambiance. The production on the hayride is so well done, that there wasn’t a “cheesy” part of it at all. I can only imagine that the crew starts working and rehearsing months in advance to set everything up.
This was my very favorite part! For no other reason than my husband, “Mr. Calm, Collected, I don’t get scared” screamed like a little girl when the first “zombie” jumped out at him. I loved it! The Haunted Corn Maze is more like a follow the trail through rooms and buildings and even a school bus to find your way out-kind of maze. The trail is packed full of ghouls, zombies, goblins, warewolves, graveyards and ghosts galore. There is also a creepy soundtrack playing throughout the corn maze and I don’t know if it is because I was walking, and not on a wagon and for the most part was eye level with the actors that made this attraction super spooky or maybe because I couldn’t see around the corn stalks to see what lies ahead, but I defiantly screamed A LOT! It took us about 30 minutes or so to walk through the corn maze and we loved every spooky, scary minute of it!
There is no fee for parking. Ticket prices vary depending what attraction you want to visit. The Bates Motel offers a military/vet discount, group rates, and special V.I.P Passes. Click here for ticketing information. Family discount night on Wednesday, October 14th. Wawa currently has a discount coupon for $5…and since The Bates Motel is an outdoor activity make sure to check the website www. thebatesmotel.com for hours of operation due to inclimate weather. Oh.. and.. make sure you don’t wear flip flops or sandals. The Crew at The Bates Motel wants you to wear appropriate footwear since you are walking in the corn field and who knows you may get scared and run back to your car. Click here for other safety information.
Additional Info: There are porta potty’s on the property as well as food & beverage stands. Also check out the website. thebatesmotel.com, the website is VERY informative!
Arasapha Farms goes from “Scary to Merry” for the winter holidays (November 28th to December 21st)… Santa Claus, Christmas Trees, live Reindeer, a holiday hayride complete with a live nativity and an animated Santa’s workshop. I can’t wait to see the transformation. Click here or visit holidayhayride.com for more information.
Philaburban Mom 