We are told that 13 is an unlucky number. The date Friday the 13th is taboo because the Knights Templar were arrested and condemned by the seneschals ofPhilippe IV, King of France, in a “pre-dan raid” on Friday, October 13th, 1307. Since this time, the number 13 has been shunned for centuries. Even today, some architects omit the 13th floor from buildings; that is, except at the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
During October, in addition to the Fright Dome, brave guests at Circus Circus can take an elevator up to its 13th floor and take a tour through 13 rooms of mayhem and horrors. After our Fright Dome experience the night before, we didn’t have high expectations for this “experience.” And while it wasn’t very scary, it turned out to be an entertaining haunt experience. What’s on the 13the floor? Well, we’re not going to be the ones to give it all away, but we will share some vague details of what you can expect inside.
The journey to the 13th floor begins at the casino level, where guests are ushered into a special dimly lit elevator with a ghostly bellhop. While 13 floors isn’t very high up, it seems to take longer than usual to arrive at the destiantion. During the ride up, the peculiarly acting bellhop warns guests about strange happenings on the floor and wishes us luck as we disembark.
Upon arrival, a macabre looking host welcomes us to the 13th floor and asks all the guests to give him their names (little do you know, the host will remember everyone’s names and by the time you “check out,” nearly everyone or everything residing on the 13th floor will be yelling out your names). From this point, we are quickly ushered from the hallway through the rooms. We felt the actors did a great job interacting with us, and for this particular setup, the tour guide worked well. We did feel as if some of the scenes were rushed, and more time could have been spent building up the suspense of the scares inside the respective rooms.
At $20 per person, we found the 13th Floor experience to be pricey for what it actually is. It would be better if they kept the price at $13, which it was last year, and they really should give discounts for those who also purchased a Fright Dome ticket (they did give us a discount coupon to Fright Dome, but we had already been to that). However, if you’re short on time and need a quick haunt fix, we recommend that you check out the 13th Floor Experience. Maybe beforehand, go to the casino and try to win your admission at the roultette table. Place a bet on 13; who knows, it may be your lucky number.
Ratings:
- Haunt Design: 4 Skulls
- Scare Factor: 2.5 Skulls
