Melville dogs Pound

Came here on a whim on Halloween weekend (Saturday 10/29/16) and set my expectations that it may be packed given how close it is to the holiday. The parking attendants were very organized and directed us into the overflow lot next door. I easily found a spot between the Blink Fitness and the Chase Bank. This was around 3:30pm in the afternoon. We walked the grounds and it wasn't too overly crowded like what you would find during rush hour in Manhattan. I believe it's because a lot of families were clearing out by that time. There was no wait for a hayride and it operated very efficiently as a new tractor was waiting at the bay once the one in front of it was completely loaded up. The hayride took us by a fresh pepper patch which looks mostly picked out except for the green peppers and drops us off in front of the corn maze and pumpkins. There isn't a pumpkin patch but it looks like the pumpkins were taken from another farm and placed neatly onto the lawn, organized by size. People were stacking up pumpkins and designing them into heart shapes. Most of the adults were polite to wait for the person in front of them to finish taking a photo with the pumpkins before jumping in, but the children on the other hand just ran wherever they wanted. Everyone was very civilized and it wasn't a madhouse. Corn Maze: 4:30pm was the last entry for the corn maze ($8/adult) as they say it takes an hour to complete and it closes at 5:30pm. That was a very accurate estimate. We were one of the last people to walk in and our goal was to find nine different "stamp" stations within the corn maze before exiting. We wandered aimlessly for the first half hour before we buckled down and got serious about finishing before dusk. Everyone we encountered in the corn maze were helpful and extremely friendly. At this hour they were mainly other adults or more well behaved children with their parents. At 5:30pm the farm sends someone in to find everyone and give them directions on how to get out. The entire staff was extremely friendly. The cashier at the corn maze even gave us a $2 coupon to return the same night since we expressed interest in the haunted house. We left for dinner since the farm had to close and reskin itself for the night and came back around 7:30pm. I found an even closer spot this time in the main lot right in front of the farm and the tickets line was only 10 people deep. Haunted House: To give you a gauge of the wait, when the line is at the gated archway entrance, you're looking at approximately an hour and 15 minutes. The haunted house was very detailed and had some good surprises in there but I wish we had more time to really take in the decorations. Unfortunately if you linger too long, you'll end up bottlenecking the group behind you and the crowds become too large to enjoy the frights. Some of the rooms were themed after shows as there was an American Horror Story white nun themed room. The entire experience took us 15 minutes and the haunted house is $22/pp. Come early to avoid the wait. I got on line to the haunted house at 7:40pm and was let in at 8:30pm. The line only grew as the night went on. Haunted Corn Trail: When the line is at the start of the entrance, you're most likely looking at an hour wait. They let groups in every 2-3 minutes depending on the size and their pace. I enjoyed the corn trail more than the haunted house because it gave us a more intimate experience with the actors and the environment. We never encountered another group in there after the first couple of minutes when the group of teenage girls behind us just ran by us in fear. The actors also weren't "zoned" to a room like in the house so they would follow us for however long they felt like it. This added a a sense of creepiness as no one wants someone to slowly hover next to them and follow them. We could also see the animatronics a lot better here and they did a good job distracting our attention so an actor can sneak up on us from another direction and surprise us. This walk took us probably 15-20 minutes and it was only $12/pp. Buy the combo ticket to save a couple bucks at $32/pp if you plan on doing both and don't forget to show the $2 coupon online to make it $30/pp. I recommend the entire experience from daytime to night, just plan to get to the farm later during the day to avoid the families and arrive early for the night.