The episode was watched by about 2.1 million people when it was first broadcast. Nancy Basile from About.com said that "The raspberries and SpongeBob's increasing frustration make this a hilarious episode." She says that the episode is "relatable" for having "SpongeBob running up against Murphy's law" (which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong). Emily Estep from WeGotThisCovered.com said that the episode is "mostly a goofy episode" but "also one of the scarier episodes". She thought that the balance of cuteness and horror makes the episode known well. The roller coaster SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge was made similar to the episode.