Halloween a big success for theme parks

Knott's Berry Farm began its Halloween celebration in 1973 with just some scary decorations and a few dozen "monsters" lurking in the fog to jump out at unsuspecting guests. This year, the celebration will have 12 mazes, five "scare zones," six live shows and encounter over 1,000 "monsters" roaming the property. The Halloween celebration accounts for about 15 percent of the park's annual business, attracting 500,000 people from as far away as Germany.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia started its Howl-O-Scream celebration in 1999 with two attractions and three shows that operated over three weekends in October. This year, the Halloween celebration started in mid-September with five haunted houses, four "scare zones," five attractions and eight shows and also accounts for 15 percent of the park's annual attendance.

The parks vary in scare intensity from the child-friendly mellowness of trick-or-treating with Disney characters at Walt Disney World to the more R-rated anxieties generated by the "Slash" show at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, which is geared toward teenagers and young adults.

"'Slash' is kind of edgier, a magic show with a lot of gore and blood, people cut in half," said Nick Guevel, a spokesmen for Worlds of Fun, which started developing a scary Halloween celebration three years ago.

Creatively, theme and amusement parks are well-positioned to handle the wild special effects that celebrants have come to expect from Halloween. Some park officials such as Universal's Timon, spend 11 months planning for the Halloween celebrations.

"For theme parks to become involved in Halloween, it's kind of a natural fit because it's something that is so easily translated into a live experience," said Timon. "We're able to take what you expect the Halloween experience to be and blow it up a thousand times."

This year, the nation's theme and amusement parks are counting on successful Halloween celebrations more than ever as a season of great promise in the spring gave way to what is expected to be flat attendance for the year because of the hurricanes and high gas prices.

"Everybody is really gearing up for it," said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services Inc., a consulting firm. "The parks are putting a heavy emphasis on it, so they can help generate the numbers that will help pick up some of the drop they've seen in late August and early September."

MORE FROM U.S. & CANADA

U.S. & Canada Section Front

A slice of heaven: America’s best pizza Ten uniquely American meals How do you do? America’s friendliest people New York City’s hottest hot chocolate Atlanta’s Olympic Park a growing tourist draw A tourist’s Christmas in Manhattan Capture the Christmas spirit in Bethlehem, Pa. Jersey Shore for winter visitors: Not like MTV Head to New York for your holiday break America’s best city parks U.S. & Canada Section Front   Add U.S. & Canada headlines to your news reader: