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Haunted Hayride
- Thread starter celestia
- Start date
JPVonDrake
Well-Known Member
celestia said:I am having a really hard time finding info about the haunted hayride, can anyone fill me in?
I would love to go one night!
Any links or tips or such would be great.
Sure...
Haunted Wagon Rides at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Take a step back in time and enjoy the Halloween Classic tale of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The journey begins in front of Pioneer Hall and the 15-20 minute ride takes you into the woods along the shores of Bay Lake. An onboard story teller will share the tale as the wagon travels through the dark woods while stopping to view points of interest. On many a moon lit night it is said they have actually seen the Headless Horseman as he still roams the woods.
6 rides each evening
Price: Guests 10 and up -- $15.00; Guests 3-9 -- $10; No charge for guests 3 and under.
Tickets are sold on a same day basis at the Fort Wilderness Kennel from 9am to 5pm each day the ride is scheduled.
Days Offered: October 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31.
Hope this helps! :sohappy:
Pongo
New Member
There's also a recent article written by Jeff Lange at www.jimhillmedia.com that goes into a lot of detail. I'd check it out.
blackerbys17
New Member
Hey Pongo! Thanks for the link, that was a great article! I'll be there on Oct. 31st for sure, I'm staying next door at WL so I am just a boat ride away from Fort Wilderness!
KevinPage
Well-Known Member
First off, the Hayride tickets are not THAT HARD to get as Jim Hill makes it out. Yeah they go sopmewhat fast, but he makes it like there is a line at 9am and they sell out in minutes, which is DOESN'T. When I lived in Celebration, I went to the box office at 12pm, plenty of tickets still available for that day. If you try to buy them later in the day, people who are staying at the campground usually buy them after dinner and you'l be out of luck.
Also, the hayride, while nice, isn't all that great and not worth the effort to bust your rear getting tickets, standing in a long line waiting all night for it.
It's about 10-15 minutes, decent story, but nothing to write home about.
Hence why I haven't done it the past 2 years, no need to spend $$$ for the same above average experience. If I didn't have to wait in line over 30 minutes AFTER I had tickets (waiting to horses), then maybe I'd consider it. But otherwise, don't sweat it if you can't get tickets.
Also, the hayride, while nice, isn't all that great and not worth the effort to bust your rear getting tickets, standing in a long line waiting all night for it.
It's about 10-15 minutes, decent story, but nothing to write home about.
Hence why I haven't done it the past 2 years, no need to spend $$$ for the same above average experience. If I didn't have to wait in line over 30 minutes AFTER I had tickets (waiting to horses), then maybe I'd consider it. But otherwise, don't sweat it if you can't get tickets.
Buick87GNXv6
New Member
Well tickets that are hard to get are my not so scary halloween party tickets for oct.31st ...... now those are hard to get
I rode the Haunted Hayride last night, so I thought I would bump this thread back up to report.
First, when I went to buy the tickets about 9:30 am, there was no line (for hayride tickets... lots of people paying for trail rides and dealing with the kennel itself). The CM initially did not want to take my debit card and demanded either a room key or cash. I explained that I was not a guest and did not have that much cash on me. She grumbled and said that they really don't like "to do it this way" but took it. As I was leaving, the family paying for a trail ride asked about the hayride, and the CM started with "There were people lined up here at 7:00 this morning..." No wonder she was having a rough day.
You arrive for the hayride and line up, then they load you onto the hayride cart. There is no hay anywhere in the cart. There was a large group in the cart of us, freaking out because three of their party weren't even back to the campground yet, and one had wandered off to go get her cellphone, which she had left in the toilet. Someone in the group mentioned having stood in line at 7:00 am for these tickets to be sure they could all be on the same hayride, and they had BETTER get back in time. Tempers and attitudes at evening events at Disney are always prone to the "it's my vacation, too" syndrome, and some of these folks were obviously suffering from it. One woman was on her phone, telling someone, "I don't care if it says 'no carts'! You can squeeze through there, so just DRIVE! Go really fast, then park and run down here as fast as you can!" The next hayride wagon pulled up behind us and they had to move our wagon aside. The CM who was driving the wagon announced that we would wait for the latecomers, but as soon as she started backing up, there was a panic among the people who didn't hear, then one of them yelled "There they are!" So they stopped the horses and let the last four people on. We could finally begin.
The hayride begins around the Settlement area, where you pick up the storyteller in a particularly dark area. There seemed to be two of them last night, alternating every other wagon. They tell the scary story as you eventually head offroad into the trees. Ichabod Crane comes alongside, talks to you, then follows a while before taking a different fork in the road. Then you go along the waterfront. That was really beautiful, and had fantastic views across the water of MK. People taking the hayride a bit later would get a glimpse of Hallowishes, which would be beautiful at that angle but would probably distract from the story. As you go along, you eventually see signs that Ichabod is gone (his hat, the bridle of his horse), and then you see the horseman across the water. He rushes at the cart, but stops at a safe distance due to being unable to cross a bridge. (The small kids on the wagon who had been barely holding it together pretty much lost it at this point.) The wagon stops, so the storyteller "can make sure you are all right", and then the headless horseman comes rushing at you from behind. I think the people in the back of the wagon could probably have touched the horse. It seemed like the horse's head was actually over the rear of the wagon. (The kids were screaming now.) I felt bad for the horse and horseman, because they were getting camera flashes from only a few feet directly in front of them. they took a couple rushes at the wagon, then fell behind as the wagon "outran" them. The storyteller wrapped the story and was dropped off just before re-entering the settlement. The wagon returned to where it began, and we were off about 20-25 minutes after we started.
I really expected not to enjoy the haunted hayride and was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't necessarily do it over and over again, but it's a fun experience. We timed our hayride so we could walk over to the beach afterward and see the 9:30 Hallowishes across the water as well as the Electrical Water Pageant right afterward at 9:45. For some reason, the water pageant had the audio shut off. We had heard it when it was near the Contemporary earlier, but I'm guessing they shut it off so it doesn't interfere with the Hallowishes music, and it was not turned back on for the show at Fort Wilderness. It made for a great night, and I would highly recommend doing something similar as long as you don't have small children (it really IS scary for them) and you aren't with a group of 14 people who can't get everyone to events on time.
First, when I went to buy the tickets about 9:30 am, there was no line (for hayride tickets... lots of people paying for trail rides and dealing with the kennel itself). The CM initially did not want to take my debit card and demanded either a room key or cash. I explained that I was not a guest and did not have that much cash on me. She grumbled and said that they really don't like "to do it this way" but took it. As I was leaving, the family paying for a trail ride asked about the hayride, and the CM started with "There were people lined up here at 7:00 this morning..." No wonder she was having a rough day.
You arrive for the hayride and line up, then they load you onto the hayride cart. There is no hay anywhere in the cart. There was a large group in the cart of us, freaking out because three of their party weren't even back to the campground yet, and one had wandered off to go get her cellphone, which she had left in the toilet. Someone in the group mentioned having stood in line at 7:00 am for these tickets to be sure they could all be on the same hayride, and they had BETTER get back in time. Tempers and attitudes at evening events at Disney are always prone to the "it's my vacation, too" syndrome, and some of these folks were obviously suffering from it. One woman was on her phone, telling someone, "I don't care if it says 'no carts'! You can squeeze through there, so just DRIVE! Go really fast, then park and run down here as fast as you can!" The next hayride wagon pulled up behind us and they had to move our wagon aside. The CM who was driving the wagon announced that we would wait for the latecomers, but as soon as she started backing up, there was a panic among the people who didn't hear, then one of them yelled "There they are!" So they stopped the horses and let the last four people on. We could finally begin.
The hayride begins around the Settlement area, where you pick up the storyteller in a particularly dark area. There seemed to be two of them last night, alternating every other wagon. They tell the scary story as you eventually head offroad into the trees. Ichabod Crane comes alongside, talks to you, then follows a while before taking a different fork in the road. Then you go along the waterfront. That was really beautiful, and had fantastic views across the water of MK. People taking the hayride a bit later would get a glimpse of Hallowishes, which would be beautiful at that angle but would probably distract from the story. As you go along, you eventually see signs that Ichabod is gone (his hat, the bridle of his horse), and then you see the horseman across the water. He rushes at the cart, but stops at a safe distance due to being unable to cross a bridge. (The small kids on the wagon who had been barely holding it together pretty much lost it at this point.) The wagon stops, so the storyteller "can make sure you are all right", and then the headless horseman comes rushing at you from behind. I think the people in the back of the wagon could probably have touched the horse. It seemed like the horse's head was actually over the rear of the wagon. (The kids were screaming now.) I felt bad for the horse and horseman, because they were getting camera flashes from only a few feet directly in front of them. they took a couple rushes at the wagon, then fell behind as the wagon "outran" them. The storyteller wrapped the story and was dropped off just before re-entering the settlement. The wagon returned to where it began, and we were off about 20-25 minutes after we started.
I really expected not to enjoy the haunted hayride and was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't necessarily do it over and over again, but it's a fun experience. We timed our hayride so we could walk over to the beach afterward and see the 9:30 Hallowishes across the water as well as the Electrical Water Pageant right afterward at 9:45. For some reason, the water pageant had the audio shut off. We had heard it when it was near the Contemporary earlier, but I'm guessing they shut it off so it doesn't interfere with the Hallowishes music, and it was not turned back on for the show at Fort Wilderness. It made for a great night, and I would highly recommend doing something similar as long as you don't have small children (it really IS scary for them) and you aren't with a group of 14 people who can't get everyone to events on time.
darthjohnny
Active Member
I would really love to do the hayride!
Does anyone know how many people are usually put into the cart?
Does anyone know how many people are usually put into the cart?