But we made plans to go back just for the scary stuff the following weekend. I use the term "scary stuff" kind of loosely. Let me explain:
Six Flags had a posted warning that children under 12 should not stay after dark because the park would become too scary for them. I saw the warning the first weekend we went and had some trepidation about taking my daughter who scares relatively easily and is less than 12.
The Fright Fest attractions were divided into free attractions and additional fee attractions. So, yeah, first, you have to pay to get in the gates (unless you have a season pass), which isn't cheap, and, then, you have to pay by "ride" for more than a half-dozen different attractions. I'm assuming the paid attractions weren't cheap, because they didn't have the prices listed on any of the literature, and we chose to only do the free attractions. The paid attractions were almost exclusively listed as "very scary," but there were a couple of the free ones that were also listed as "very scary."
I have to say that if the free haunted places were a good representation of what scary is, then nothing was more scary than having some people dressed up as zombies. I don't know; maybe, I'm just jaded, but nothing struck me as scary and, other than the zombie clowns (whom my daughter thought were freaky (because clowns already start out creepy, according to her)), my daughter was barely fazed.
They did have some good shows in there, though. We saw Jim Mackenzie, a juggler and comedian. He had some sinus issues (note the nail in his nose),
So the kids had fun, and the costumes the employees wore were pretty incredible. Here are some other pictures:
I love this kind of Halloween kooky stuff! We have a six flags up here, but unfortunately we haven't been able to make it the last few years.
ReplyDeleteDid you feel like the extra fee part has gotten bigger? I remember one year we went and it seemed like everything was free... and then the next year there were 3-4 additional fee attractions. Or I am getting grumpy in my old age, hmph.
Fun pictures. I wish Halloween came twice of year so we could enjoy the silliness during a warmer month.
Looks like a fun time! We were going to head to our local Six Flags for the Halloween events, until we saw that ridiculous one fee per ride/event thing and said to hell with that. I didn't feel like being nickel and dimed for every single thing (Plus I don't have kids, so... no huge loss). What happened to one ticket lets you see and ride everything?
ReplyDeleteThat looks spooktacular! I love those kind of events.
ReplyDeleteI would've have to leave the park because I scare too easily. Plus I think I get queasy now if I just get foot in an amusement park.
ReplyDeleteI saw a fire eater/torture guy (hooks in his eyes, nails in his nose, that kind of thing) at the Ren Faire this past fall. My 10 year old niece loved it. I spent a lot of that show looking at the ground.
None of those rides or attractions are ever really scary. The one at Busch Gardens is fun. And nothing costs extra either. I think that is really odd.
ReplyDeleteI hate amusement parks, and I'm not into Halloween, so this is NOT my thing. I'm glad your family was able to have a nice time though. I agree though that charging extra is just plain rude - you've already paid to get in, not to mention you have passes. At the very least season pass holders should get the extra price stuff for free as a perk of being a pass holder.
ReplyDeleteTina @ Life is Good
Those kind of things never look scary to me because you know they aren't real. I'd get more creeped out walking in the woods at night or something.
ReplyDeletelove the twins!
ReplyDeleteWe have a Six Flags not far from here that does this, too, and I'm with you and most of the others here -- I don't want to pay per ride. I like much better paying a higher fee and getting all the rides free, even though probably that's more expensive than pay-per-ride. But that's the way I am.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a pretty cool time anyway -- although you're right: zombies were the order of the day.
LOL! We hit Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios this year, and they had 9 haunted houses and zombie scare zones. I don't know that there was anything especially freaky about the zombies, but their makeup was amazing. The thing that got me was the acting. They were all amazing actors. --As in, they'd come right up to you, limping, lurching and all, and start snapping at your ear until you jumped or ran away. It was awesome.
ReplyDeleteJean: I don't know if it's bigger; this is the first time we've been to one of these. I just find it a bit, I don't know, offensive? that they have attractions within the park that cost above and beyond what you already paid to get in.
ReplyDeleteABftS: I think it's an adoption of the micro-fee system that MMOs are moving to.
JKIR,F!: It was mostly good, and I would go again.
M.J.: Oh! That was you at the show that Mackenzie was heckling!
Alex: Maybe I don't understand scary? I've never been one prone to being scared.
Tina: I think it's worse to charge the non-pass holders extra. I mean, they just paid $60 to get in the gate.
GP: I can agree with that.
ADSL: They were cool.
Briane: Considering the costs of food within the park, I think they charge plenty without raising any prices or charging extra fees.
Crystal: The zombie actors did lunge and grab at people, but I think they must have some kind of no contact rule because they didn't actually touch anyone. That I saw, anyway.
Love the twins. They really look the part.
ReplyDeleteWow, those are some amazing costumes. That looks like a lot of fun even before dark.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you didn't get too scared. I went to a halloween party over the weekend. Got to see a zombie batman. Pretty awesome.
ReplyDeleteJoylene: They did. But it was the staring that was freaky.
ReplyDeleteJeanne: Well, none of those costumed people were around before dark.
Rusty: Batman's a zombie, too? When did that spread to DC?
Haha, reminds me of when I was a kid and I went on the ghost train at the Royal Adelaide Show. (The RAS is basically an annual fun fair but on a much larger scale.) I'd been told over and over again how scary the ride was. All I saw was a few glow in the dark skeletons, some cobwebs and a guy who called out "Boo!" Afterward, my friend and I nearly cracked up laughing when we overheard some guy complain that he had never been so scared in his life! We think he was bluffing ...
ReplyDeleteThose are great costumes!!
ReplyDeleteYa you know I just dont see the fascination with zombies. I dont find them scary or freaky at all. Just kinda gross. lol
But i know I'm in the minority there since the world is in love with them.
That was part of the 'Blackest Night' storyline. I read the comics, and was thoroughly confused, but there was a zombie batman. I was impressed because they kept it in continuity, Marvel's just does the alt universe thing, which makes for better stories sometimes, but in the end, feels like a a bit of a cop-out, because it doesn't count.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a ton of fun! We were supposed to go to a local theme park but it rained, then I was sick, then it was too cold. Pfft. Maybe next year. It looks like you guys had a total blast!
ReplyDeleteBeing a wimp these days, I avoid all these scary things however mild they might be. Glad you all enjoyed it though.
ReplyDeleteKathryn: heh
ReplyDeleteWe had a guy called Dr. Blood that used to come to our classroom when I was a kid. He did a big haunted house thing that was supposed to be scary, but I never went.
Pk: I'm not a zombie fan, either. I don't like how they've been subverted from their origins.
Rusty: DC does a lot more alternate universe stuff than Marvel does. Or, at least, they used to.
Elsie: Some of us did, at any rate.
Jo: There were people that, effectively, jumped out and said "boo!"
Halloween barely existed for me this year.
ReplyDeleteKeep the jugglers coming!
Lee
Special report today on the "Story Sprouts" book launch in L.A.
Lot's of pictures in this one!
Tossing It Out
Lee: I know at this point to post all pictures I get of jugglers.
ReplyDeleteheh heh