California’s Great America Halloween Haunt opened for the 2016 Season and for the first time in history, the park has added four separate Skeleton Key Room experiences that are absolutely crazy! Since these are unique and exclusive to Skeleton Key holders only, we’ll keep it a surprise as much as possible. Join us for a spoiler-free (no more details than the Halloween Haunt site has released) review of each and our opinions of which are the best! There may be a very tiny spoiler here and there that is available across the web, if you wish to not read that information, please check out our other Knott’s Scary Farm and Halloween Haunt articles on our Halloween page!
Bone Crusher:
The first of five Skeleton Key Rooms is located next to the Gold Striker queue and gift store and takes guests into the tombs. The experience imitates a mummification ceremony and is definitely not for the claustrophobic people among us. Be ready to feel crush from all sides and do not fear the dark, or you’ll have an absolutely terrifying experience. Though it was a cool experience, it wasn’t our favorite by any means, as this is a type of experience you’ll find in a lot of places. The experience is a bit simple and fails to impress compared to the three better ones. 
Dominated:
One of our favorites must have been Dominated. This is a Skeleton Key Room that steps away from the Halloween gore for a bit and keeps guests entertained on the kinky and hilarious side of things. The mysterious eastern European lady ties you and your guests together and forces you through an obstacle course, which is surprisingly difficult, awkward and fun. Definitely don’t miss out on this one! 
Hoarder House:
Hoarder House was in the theme of all last year’s Skeleton Key Rooms, disgusting situations. This Skeleton Key Room is nothing frightening, rather a gross experience with a very interesting story line. The theme includes cats, lots of dead cats, and immediately upon entry you’ll realize you’ll have to find the key to get out. Good luck! Overall this was our least favorite Skeleton Key Room, as it was in no way frightening, make sure to make this the least of your priorities when it comes the the Skeleton Key Rooms! 
Sorority Slaughter:
Next up: Sorority Slaughter! What an incredibly fun and well-acted experience. If you’re a college student, the character in this Skeleton Key Room is so realistic, you can’t help but smile. The theme is set up to Rush Week and you of course have to Rush. The hazing takes an unexpected turn by combining another theme everyone is familiar with. Overall it combines comedy with a terrifying experience and can not be missed. We loved it! 
Vanity:
Last but definitely not least is Vanity. This was one, if not THE, strongest Skeleton Key Room in this year’s line-up. It had an acting edge as well as a total mind-blow disorienting part of the attraction that left one of our friends lost and in a mild panic attack. You’re entering California’s Great America’s Got Talent (Clever), and things go terribly wrong as one of the participants shows what happened to her and you have to flee the scene. Perhaps to not find your way out (no joke). Overall, amazing Skeleton Key Room that we thoroughly enjoyed! 
BEST ONE?
Let’s show the five ranked from best to worst, in my opinion.
- Vanity
- Dominated
- Sorority Slaughter
- Bone Crusher
- Hoarder House
As you may have understood from the above reviews, the first three in this list are absolutely awesome. They all offer something different and unique. Vanity offers a very disorienting, and thus terrifying, experience you won’t want to miss. Dominated offers that fun edge that will entertain you all the way through while still creating an entirely unique experience. I’d say Sorority Slaughter is just as good as Dominated, yet isn’t AS unique. Nonetheless, the acting is amazing, the theme offers a comedic edge with a terrifying scene and is a well-developed experience overall, can’t miss out! Bone crusher isn’t very terrifying nor scary, just simple and therefore fell short in my opinion, and Hoarder House was simply not really that entertaining or frightening. If you have to prioritize during your visit, the order written above is your best bet for a great experience!
Thanks for checking out these California’s Great America Halloween Haunt 2016 Skeleton Key Rooms Reviews! Make sure to read the Maze Ratings and Reviews, as well as the Scare Zone Reviews. All other Halloween reviews including everything related to the amazing Knott’s Scary Farm can be found on our Halloween Page!
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