Future Nightmares

future nightmares

SPOOKY ALL YEAR IN DES MOINES. NOW OPEN WEEKENDS!
SHOWS EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR!!
Buy tickets online or in person!
♿️ FULLY Accessible!

Came across Future Nightmares while wandering the Merle Hay Mall, and they were closed at the time but the “push the button” jump scare animatronic and what few set pieces I could see piqued my interest. I searched them up and was under the impression it was a year-long “haunted house” of sorts, and decided to buy tickets for me and a friend. Once I got the tickets, it was then I found out it was a scary show — that got me even more interested!

Went to a 6pm show on a Friday evening, unfortunately it was just me and my friend for that time slot. The showmanship was great, gave us a very “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” meets “Mystery Science Theater 3000” type of vibe and humor. I also want to give massive kudos to the amount of animatronics used, with the majority appearing to be completely original with a few “store-bought” (but clearly altered) ones to create the set and story. You do participate, at least during the show I attended, by pressing buttons and interacting with some set pieces under the direction of the cast.

I feel like it would have been a lot more fun/entertaining with a larger group, though my friend and I still had a good time. It’s definitely on the cheesier side of “horror,” but I did get startled by some of the special effects. The atmosphere was great, though the loud droning sound effect did get repetitive towards the end.

It was a fun experience and I will definitely be back for more, especially around October where I feel it’s more likely more people will attend. Major props to the guys who run this, it’s a really fun and unique idea and it’s obvious a lot of love and effort has been put into creating FUTURE NIGHTMARES! ~Adam

Location: 1251