Bayville Scream Park and the Shipwreck Tavern

Time for some Halloween fun!!!

We like haunted houses. You walk through scary/gory scenes out of a horror movie, while costumed performers tease and taunt you. It's all fantasy, and it's fun.

This year our search for spooky fun took us back to the Bayville Scream Park. http://www.bayvillescreampark.com/foodbeverage.htm

In the warm summer months, the Bayville Adventure Park offers bumper boats, miniature golf, rock climbing and similar fun activities for children.

But on cool October nights, the park is transformed. Five haunted attractions, each with its own theme and backstory. You can buy tickets for all five, or for as many of the attractions as you like. There's also an option for "speed pass", which gives you the ability to skip waiting in line.

The park opens at 7:00 PM, but the time each attraction opens are staggered. The night we were there, the "Evil Woods" attraction didn't open until 8:30, which was very frustrating.

My favorite attraction, by far, was the "Zombie Pirates". Set up on what normally serves as the miniature golf course, the walk features spooky lighting and Chainsaw-wielding Zombies. The "Evil Woods", well worth the wait, features a fog-obscured haunted bus. The "Temple of Terror" features an interesting maze, but could have been managed better -- too many of us wound up in the same part of the maze at the same time. I like the mirrors in "Uncle Needles' Fun House", but thought that there should have been more to the attraction. Didn't like "Bloodsworth Manor", it relies to heavily on strobe lighting effects.

Afterwards, we headed down the street to the Shipwreck Tavern. We've always liked the theming here -- 19th century sailing ship, tiki idols, mermaids, etc. There a huge tank in the center of the room, home to a genuine moray eel.

The service here, however, is lacking. There's no host or hostess, nor is there any indication that you are supposed to seat yourselves, so you are seated when one of the waitstaff notices that you are waiting for a table. Once you are seated, the service is adequate but not astounding.

We shared an appetizer, coconut shrimp with a sweet chili dipping sauce. We liked the dish, but at $15, we felt it was overpriced. Our Shipwreck burgers were well prepared, with melted mozzarella and sautéed onions and mushrooms, but were accompanied by limp and bland French fries. Adequate but not exciting.

While we did enjoy the scream park, I doubt we will return to the Shipwreck Tavern any time soon.