Fear The Walking Dead Survival Review: New Thrill Attraction Opens in Las Vegas

Scary, fun, and immersive, Fear The Walking Dead Survival is the new must-see attraction in Las Vegas.

Fear The Walking Dead Survival, a multi-sensory experience attraction inspired by hit AMC series Fear The Walking Dead, held its star-studded grand opening celebration at Downtown Las Vegas' Fremont Street Experience, Tuesday, August 29.

Fear The Walking Dead cast members Kim Dickens, Colman Domingo, and Michael Greyeyes attended the festivities, along with Fear The Walking Dead showrunner and executive producer Dave Erickson and Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick. The stars stepped onto a bloody red carpet and posed for pictures alongside the cannibalistic undead before being among the first to experience the attraction, the newest to hit the historic entertainment district.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, with an official proclamation declaring August 29, 2017 as "Fear The Walking Dead Survival Day" in the city of Las Vegas.

A collaboration between AMC, Fremont Street Experience, and Canadian company Triotech, a leader in creating high-profile, technologically advanced interactive media-based award-winning attractions, the walk-through zombie attraction features live actors, elaborate, intricately detailed sets, high-tech motion simulator technology, and high-tech audio and video that transport thrill-seekers to the overrun apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead.

"Over the last 17 months together with our partners Triotech and AMC, we've created Fear The Walking Dead Survival, the newest attraction at Downtown Las Vegas," said Fremont Street Experience CEO and President Patrick Hughes. "Once you finish the Fear The Walking Dead attraction, you'll be prepared for anything that Fremont Street throws at you."

"Fremont Street Experience is a tourist destination known for its unmatched variety of entertainment, making it the perfect home for this futuristic, immersive, interactive attraction," said Ernest Yale, President and CEO of Triotech.

Part thrill ride, part maze, part haunted house, part escape room, and part interactive game, Fear The Walking Dead Survival is an immersive 18-minute experience that convincingly brings you into the world of The Walking Dead and all the horrors that come with it.

Set during the earliest stages of the virus that decimated humanity by reanimating the dead into bloodthirsty monsters lusting to feast on the living, Fear The Walking Dead Survival finds you faced with the same predicament facing Madison Clark (Dickens) and children Nick (Frank Dillane) and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) in Fear The Walking Dead Season One: confusion and hysteria are overwhelming Southern California as its citizens tear the city — and each other — apart (literally).

"RIOTS BREAK OUT IN LA STREETS: CONCERNS MOUNT AS EPIDEMIC SPREADS," reads a news report preceding ride entry. Survivors are hurried into Raynard Community College, now re-purposed by the military as a Special Operations Command Center, a location familiar to fans of the series: the makeshift military hospital comes straight out of Fear The Walking Dead Season One.

Immediately upon entering, survivors are scanned, sterilized, and your threat level evaluated. From there, survivors encounter multiple zones and challenges: a room with a puzzle you'll have to solve if you want to progress, a scare-filled maze with dangers around every corner, and a pack of advancing walkers who come at you with such ferocity that a last-minute save makes you feel like you really dodged a bullet.

Walkers aren't the only threat you face in the mysterious facility: Operation Cobalt is in full effect with the military on their way to bomb the compound, meaning everything inside — dead or alive — will be annihilated. You'll have to navigate dark halls filled with biters as you make your way towards the roof, where a helicopter waits to take you to safety.

The attraction climaxes in an interactive rail shooter light gun game — think Sega's classic The House of the Dead arcade shoot-em-up — allowing you to show off your best Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon impression as you take aim at a horde of seemingly endless walkers. After being on the run, it's extremely satisfying to give a little hell back, and you'll want to reserve another spot to do it all again.

If Fear The Walking Dead Survival has one snag, and it only has one, it's the scarcity of live walkers — many are dummies, decorations, props, or projections. This is a criticism only because the highlight of the attraction is an encounter with a pack of live walkers that gives way to an adrenaline-raising chase.

The attraction more than makes up for its lack of live zombies with impeccable set design: this is Disney-quality theming. With an emphasis on atmosphere and an environment straight out of AMC's hit pair of TV shows, Fear The Walking Dead Survival will make you believe you're in the world of The Walking Dead.

Newcomers need not worry: it's a thrilling rush for The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead diehards and non-fans alike.

Tickets are just $30 with processing fees, and they can be purchased online, through the call center at 1-844-947-8342, or by visiting the ticketing office located near the SlotZilla Zip Line. Fear The Walking Dead Survival is now open at Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas, and Fear The Walking Dead returns to AMC Sunday, September 10.