Over the years it’s become a can’t-miss Halloween attraction. Its frightening reputation only gets stronger each spooky season, which inevitably means the lines and wait times get longer, too.
Cameron Berry and about 10 of her friends attended the haunted house last weekend, she said they waited for about 3.5 hours.
“Multiple people, including myself, took turns running to the corner store to grab beverages and snacks,” she said. “The concession line at Dent is consistently long so I’ve always just gotten food elsewhere.”
Berry said that another group of visitors in line actually ordered a pizza for delivery while they waited. She tells CityBeat that the attraction is worth the wait. Among the three ticket options, which can offer a shorter wait or no wait at all, Berry’s group opted for general admission on account of pricing.
General admission is between $23 and $33 depending on the day. A “Fast Pass” is the base price plus $20. And “Front of the Line tickets are the base price plus $30.
Co-owner of the Dent Schoolhouse Bud Stross said prices didn’t go up this year, even though they could have, to accommodate guests the best they could.
“We were worried that anymore, people are on a budget,” he said.
But the closer it gets to Halloween, the busier the schoolhouse, which could tempt visitors to purchase a ticket other than general admission.
“The last two weekends of October – and this is for any haunted house – are like Black Friday weekends for us," Stross said. "So I think haunted house goers have to go in realizing that these are the busiest weeks for any haunted house pumpkin patch. We're coming up to our Christmas, which is Halloween. So you have to be ready for waits. But you know there are ways around that. And there's ways to take on waits.”
Stross has a few tips for haunt-goers who want to optimize their time:
- Try going on a slower night, like a weeknight or a Sunday. The Schoolhouse is open through Halloween.
- Arrive early. 8:30-9:30 is peak time.
- Arrive at the time your general admission ticket allows you to enter the line. (Know that the ticket time slot is not an entry time, but the time you are allowed to get in the queue.)
- Buy a Fast Pass. Visitors who pay the extra $20 for a Fast Pass wait about a third of the time that general admission guests wait.
- Buy a Front of the Line Pass. This golden ticket gets you to the front of the line immediately. It is $30 additional.
- Lastly, give in to the wait. It can be part of the experience and there are concessions and scary characters walking around for your entertainment.
“I think the art of waiting in lines at haunted houses is lost,” Stross said. “That used to be a thing you know, you go to a haunt so you could sit there and chat with your friends and experience the pump-up stages of getting ready to go in.”
Stross said there are a few “stages” of getting ready to enter the haunted house. The first is an area to the side of the Schoolhouse, where music and trivia play. Closer to the front of the line, there are videos about the history of the haunt and tons of pre-scares by roaming monsters. The final stage before entrance is the Fall Festival area. It’s a “fully immersive area” with 500-plus, forever jack-o-lanterns. After an attendant takes your ticket, you enter the Fall Fest room, where you can admire the art and take photos (who knows if there’s a scare in there or not).
Stross said that an “urban legend” circulates about haunted houses not fully staffing on less-busy days, but that’s not true for Dent.
“I want everyone to have the same show, no matter when they are coming,” he said.
Berry added that the Schoolhouse is a tradition and waiting is part of the experience.
“Even though the wait can be a pain, it’s worth it to me,” Berry said. “The line is long every year but it’s still an annual tradition that I look forward to. I would not consider buying a fast pass no matter the price just because the general admission ticket is already pricey.”
Reddit user NicoleDanger said that buying a ticket at Costco saved a lot of money and wait time.
“Costco in Florence has admission + fast pass for like 22.50 & it was so worth it. We went Friday the 13th & the line looked about 2-3 hours when we got there. Even if I hadn't bought them at Costco I would have paid the 20$ to not wait that long,” the Reddit user said.
However you choose to visit, the Dent Schoolhouse is a Halloween, Cincinnati staple. Stross said his favorite scene in this years’ haunt is a padded room with an actor in a straight jacket who can freakishly scale the room effortlessly, even on the ceiling – creepy.
For more information about the Dent Schoolhouse and where to buy tickets visit dentschoolhouse.com.
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