Tunnel of Terror: The Haunted Car Wash
Have you ever wished for your errands to turn spooky? Do you already have a fear of automatic car washes and people trying to get into your car? Great! Tunnel of Terror is back with TWO locations in Southern California for 2023 (Anaheim and Lakewood). This is truly a haunted car wash, and your ticket covers everyone in the car. From start to finish, this was around a 20 minute experience. Since this is just 1 attraction, there won’t be a TLDR because it is, in fact, not too long. See you in the fog, or perhaps in this case, the suds!
We really didn’t have a point of reference on what to expect, other than we did do a couple of the car haunts born out of the pandemic and social distancing guidelines. I would recommend arriving 15 minutes earlier than your start time if you feel strongly about the time you chose. We got there around 8:45 and our time slot was 9:00 but there was a queue of about 20 cars ahead of us. If you want to have the full haunt experience, leave your car doors unlocked and your windows down. There is a small area you drive through before the wash itself where actors are situated to interact and scare you. Dreadful Danny kept his window down/unlocked and I did the opposite. There was a sign at the beginning indicating it was a Carnival and most (but not all) of the actors in the non-water portion were clowns. They did put up a few small props and a fog machine to try for some immersion but largely it just felt like a car wash parking lot at night. They did have an FM radio station you could tune into as there as no music playing in the queue, but even that station was competing with a stronger signal so was largely getting interference. We watched as the scare actors opened the doors to the vehicle in front of us and got in (it is a no for me!) and they all tried to get my door open, but never tried for Danny’s (safety!) It was kind of giving The Purge with people in masks and various weapons, and the actors were genuinely funny and creepy. There was even a scary white van that actors came out of!
Now, maybe it’s just me, but automatic car washes have always scared me. I don’t like loud noises as a general rule and all of the water and fans and brushes coming from every direction always felt a bit sus. This whole concept they have built out really plays at a lot of my actual fears and I thought it was spooky and effective. Once it was time to go through the actual wash, you see there are actors situated throughout the inside of the tunnel. It is an actual working car wash, so while your car is getting washed down, actors are running at your windows. One got a genuine loud shriek out of me (videos on social).
There could have been a stronger story and more immersion, but because this is such a unique and specific event, I don’t know that you necessarily need it. There is also the challenge of them not having the same space year after year, and I would imagine this car wash is non-spooky during the day. All in all this is a really unique experience. I don’t think it’s something I would need to do more than once per year, but easily can see this being a part of the yearly rotation of spooky events. Pile your friends in, unlock the doors, get a car wash, and scream your head off while doing so.
Boo’s Review:
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 2.5
Atmosphere Rating: 1
Vegan Food Rating: N/A
Costume & Makeup Rating: 2
Scare Actor/Cast Rating: 3.5
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 1.5
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 1
Value for Money Rating: 4.5 (it’s only slightly more expensive than just a regular car wash!)
Killer K8’s Review:
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 3
Atmosphere Rating: 1
Vegan Food Rating: NA
Costume & Makeup Rating: 2.5
Scare Actor/Cast Rating: 3
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 1.5
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 2.5
Value for Money Rating: 4
