It's October, which used to mean cooler days, fallen leaves and (oh yes)... trick or treating at the end of the month, which when I was a kid, was kind of an afterthought.
Somewhere along the way, Halloween became one of the country's major holidays, with chains of stores devoted to the event, and elaborate decorations that rival anything families put up at Christmas.
And so, Southern California's many themed attractions also get into the act. Here's a rundown of some of the spooky fun you can have in the area's theme parks:
Knotts Berry Farm - Our oldest major theme park has also been doing the Halloween theme the longest (since 1972). The 37th edition of "Knotts Scary Farm" opened last weekend, and it's not for the faint of heart. The folks at Knotts are serious when they describe their Halloween festivities as "adult scare entertainment": they do not recommend it for children under the age of 13 (or people like me, I'm afraid). But if you're into that, you'll probably love the mazes with titles like ""Doll Factory," "Lockdown: The Asylum," "The Slaughterhouse" and "Club Blood."
Mazes are also big at two other parks that are clearly going after the teen/young adult market.
I love the tagline for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios: "You'll Wish it Were Just a Movie."
They've taken their Hollywood connection and put it to use in their mazes, with traps from "Saw," an appearance by Michael Myer from the "Halloween" horror series (of course!), flesh-eating zombies from "Shaun of the Dead" and the masked miner from "My Bloody Valentine."
Entertainment includes a Bill and Ted Show, and a tribute to "The
Rocky Horror Picture Show" (which is actually something I'd like to see).
And of course, there's still the tour, which takes place this month on a backlot "Terror Tram."
Beginning tonight, you'll be able to thrill to Magic Mountain's Fright Fest: more mazes, roaming zombies, and scary clowns. Unlike Knotts, Magic Mountain is offering a Trick or Treat Trail, Scaryoke and
Costume Contest for younger kids.
Note: Only children ages 12 & under are allowed to wear costumes to Six Flags Magic Mountain. No scary/gory costumes are allowed.
Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort: The mother of all SoCal theme parks jumps on the Halloween bandwagon in a big way. They've spooked up some of their most popular rides, decorated the park with pumpkins and ghosts and come up with spectacular new shows. I actually got a chance to experience this one last weekend - read all about it here.
Sea World Spooktacular: If live near San Diego, you won't want to miss the Halloween festivities at the home of Shamu, where you can commune with Sesame Street stars in costume, Clyde and Seamore's take on MJ's "Thriller" and trick-or-treating around the park. The party kicks off tonight with a special appearance by Jack Hanna.
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