Yesterday, after a trip to Disney during which we visited The Columbia in Celebration for lunch, the Grand Floridian for a drink, and the Magic Kingdom for fun, we decided to try out Terror in Orlando.

I first heard about the attraction from several posts on HHN Vault and, from there, explored the limited website the attraction has online. The Vaulters gave mixed reviews of the haunt but I was anxious to try it anyway. After first attending Howl-O-Scream in 2004, looking for a break from canvassing for John Kerry, it now seems that we're addicted to the scares of late September and the month of October that come to us by way of Busch Gardens and Universal. Terror in Orlando seemed like an option for us to experience a little "Halloween in February".

I couldn't recall the exact address for the attraction but a quick reference of the white pages at a Contemporary pay phone led the way. We headed off Disney property and toward International Drive.

About ten miles and what seemed like a hundred stop lights later we discovered the haunt tucked inside a small strip mall. A small sign above the thrown-open doors indicated we had indeed found Terror in Orlando.

The decor inside the building was limited: A counter to the right with some merchandise lining the walls behind it, a blank wall beyond that with testimonials written in markers scrawled along it, and the entrances to the two houses to the front-left.

We purchased our "Combo" tickets (pictured above) that would grant us entrance to each of the mazes and then were instructed to queue up when we were ready. Being the only customers in the building we had no reason to wait and went to the entrance to the first maze: Mayhem Manor.

You can find the full backstory here but, in short, Mayhem Manor details the life of a doctor (Dr. Morpheus Mayhem) who studied the emotion of fear by drawing unknowing subjects into a research facility set up to look like a typical Halloween haunted house. Soon, the doctor went mad, people began to go missing, and, well, you decide to enter Mayhem Manor to find out what happened.

After a brief introduction to the backstory in a small, dimly lit chamber with a large fireplace and portrait of Dr. Morpheus Mayhem, we were set on our way through the maze.

Overall, the run was certainly reminiscent of the houses put together for Howl-O-Scream and Halloween Horror Nights. Lots of twisting turns, dark corners, and hidden trap doors that would swing open to reveal the scare actor that was following you behind the scenes as you made your way through the house. Yes, you read that correctly, from what we could determine, there was actually only one actor per house. But, through cleaver use of air guns and other mechanical scares, in conjunction with the actor, there didn't seem to be any dead zones throughout the house.

The gore-factor was limited and the sets, while detailed, were not at the level of either HOS or HHN. The mazes were also brighter than either of the two leaders generally have theirs. Perhaps this was out of safety concerns that the owners/operators have in mind.

Next up was 3D Funhouse. The maze was much shorter than the first and the theme not nearly as horrific as a mad physician. Instead, the house leads you through a rather barren off-screen remake of Killer Clowns from Outer Space."

Evidently these clowns want to kill you but you can't be too sure as the backstory is never provided. Still, it was fun with a foam machine thrown into the mix in one hallway and an air-driven compression machine in another.

The cost for the Combo Ticket was $17.00 per person. If you wanted to traverse just one house the cost was $12.00. You also had the option of re-walking both mazes for 50% of the cost ($8.50 for two houses or $6.00 for one) as long as you don't leave the premises.

The verdict: The houses were very short which, in light of the cost of the ticket, was a bit of a disappointment. Of course, I've spent $57 on a ticket to HHN and their houses were of much the same length: Too short. The scares were there on several occasions and the detail was good. Not great but good.

Overall, I'm happy I went as it provided for a fun 20 minute or so distraction.