Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride 1835 Middletown Road Glen Mills, PA    http://thebatesmotel.com/

I was at this haunt about 5 years ago and wanted to experience it again, because I always thought it was the best hayride in the area.  We got in line and it actually moved quick because they kept double loading wagons.  The wagons were open flat wagons filled with hay and you actually sit in the hay.  

You start off coming to a big castle theme with music and a giant dragon, which I thought was pretty cool but not really scary or even logical for the woods area.  You then come across a giant fake billboard that falls toward the wagon in slow motion.  This scare was silly, out of context, and ineffective because it fell too slow.  During this descent down a hill we came across a prison asylum that was allowing the patients to escape and madness ensues.  Next was a giant white church complete with ghouls carrying out a coffin, which is a great classic Bates scene.  All this time the wagon was being attacked by various characters.

Further down the hill we hear the song "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath and we entered a barn surrounded by hillbilly type people as pigs, cows and body parts run by on a meat hook conveyor belt.  We then proceed out of that barn and into an alien style human murder factory complete with a giant metal claw that is in a giant box and crushing at the air.  There was a huge alien animatronic eating a human, a theme I started to notice throughout the haunt.  There were several murderous giant alien animatronics throughout the haunt, interesting even if the continuity was off.  Speaking of continuity, we proceeded into the Jurassic park section of the haunt where giant dinosaurs were moving all around the wagon.  I am not a big fan of dinosaurs at any haunted hayride or haunted house but the person I was with sort of enjoyed the execution and fantasy of the display.  

As we climbed the hill we passed the classic gas station scene where there was a fire by the pump.  This scene used to cause the small gas station town area to explode into flames, but unfortunately, this was not working because it failed to operate.  We pass through some other town buildings and then pass some giant alien animatronics and such before we go into a mine shaft tunnel.  I always thought this went underground, but it is actually a tunnel but gives you the feeling of going through a mine shaft.  This is unique to this hayride and I have not seen it done anywhere else in the area.

After you leave the mine-shaft you soon come to the end of the hayride and can venture into the other haunted attractions.  I choose this year not to do the Bates Motel, because I was never a big fan and it appeared to be in the small building it has always been in.  Until they expand on this attraction and make it longer, I don't see the need to visit it again.