Great America Gets It Right at Night
By Marc Ricketts

Ah, Halloween. When theme parks filter or extinguish the lights, crank up the fog machines and (presumably) process a new injury claim about every 6 1/2 minutes. I’ve missed it all while turning my own home into a haunted house, but we put that to bed last year, and I’ve been checking out the offerings I’ve been missing. After a September swing through SoCal, I went local with the Halloween Haunt at California’s Great America. About 5 hours was spent in the park over two nights, and I liked what I found.

It is quite possible that my last time in Great America at night involved closing out a cash register during the Reagan administration. As I approached the gates, it looked a lot darker in there than in my memory. Flame pots were in the entry plaza fountain & their periodic bursts of flames were visible before I passed through the turnstiles.

While the only “place” it sets is “theme park”, the entrance here across the broad fountain culminating in a double-decker carousel (re-dubbed Scary Go Round) has always been appealing. The vista was only enhanced with the lighting, pumpkins and periodic bursts of flame packing serious candlepower.

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Passing beneath the Gold Striker tracks leads to the Dia de Los Muertos 3D maze. As I entered after a 15 minute wait, the absence of 3D glasses was fully evident & a visual scan showed <10% of us had them. Turns out they cost $1 (a Really punk move!) and are sold from a cart in the queue. Trouble is, an unlit sign on a cart filled with your typical glowy, flashing trinkets doesn’t let one know it is an essential stop for proper maze enjoyment. To be fair, those manning the cart my 2nd time through (of course there was a 2nd time done with glasses, please keep up with the group) were more vocal about their availability. And many of us gave ours away to someone else, especially if, like your humble narrator they were actually found lying on the ground. Beyond that, it was a well done maze; the 3D was arguably utilized better than in This is the End at Universal Hollywood.

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Roadkill Road House was my shortest wait at 5 minutes, but it was almost closing time when I saw it. Rolling solo the 1st night, I was often at the back of a group going through the mazes. If I slowed at all, it was swiftly back to solo. While the best actors I’ve encountered in the feeding frenzy of horror (at this writing I’ve yet to visit Discovery Kingdom) were unquestionably at Universal (being that close to actual filming is certainly motivation) those at Great America were, on a whole, more committed and enthusiastic than their counterparts at Knott’s Scary Farm. With all the tables in this butchery themed maze, many took advantage of their ability to hide and crawl.

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The nearby bayou tinged Massacre Manor was the longest wait experienced at 25 minutes, but it was due to only letting small groups enter with more time between than the other mazes which made it easier to endure for the more intimate experience.

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Continuing around the park, Evacuate is the 1st scare zone entered. Representing the jumbled mess of mass panic or perhaps the disheveled car abandonment of employees late to work, it looked good, but had the weakest characters. Surely it can’t be hard to rig the cars so a random horn blows every 15-20 seconds; that would be effective.

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Cornstalkers seemed the longest maze, covering a good portion of the Barney Oldfield Speedway. The narrow passage was constructed entirely of corn stalks and hay bales; it was inhabited by creatures dressed to blend. It was effective costuming. Even though there weren’t that many for the space used, there was always the possibility. I found it effective if not lacking in visual appeal. Did overhear another guest raving to her friend about it, so viva la difference.

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The manufacturing has gone horribly wrong in the Toy Factory, & I was jauntily bouncing along to music that sounded like an 80s video game. Then I considered having to be in there listening to it for a full shift; That was scary!

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Both nights there were murmurs of a 45 minute wait for Zombie High School, but the reality was 15 (that was the average overall really). Don’t get the CHS shoulder epaulet in the bandroom for Bayside/Zombie HS. I think it was captured from the bitter rivals at crosstown Central High. There. The epaulet now has a back-story; no extra charge. You’re welcome.

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Mirror Mirror takes the traditional midway attraction and adds some ghostly apparitions. You know there’s one in front of you somewhere, but you may see 5 or 6. It’s cool in a being in an episode of The Avengers (Steed, not Thor) kind of way, but ends quickly. Limited capacity means timed ticket returns. I went with the found on ground strategy again, and was admitted despite being a few minutes late. It was a 20 minute wait, but the line was much shorter as I exited.

The nearby Killer Clown Town was the 2nd Scare Zone. It filled the original Planet Snoopy, and was home to the continuous Sideshow, but the Cotton Candy Ghoul was sold out. He may have stolen Lucy’s Psychiatric Booth; I must look into that.

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The Lockdown Scare Zone fronted Insanitarium, the one new maze for 2015. I couldn’t understand why that kid kept jumping across my view until lowering the camera and seeing that it was a crazed woman in a nightgown escaped from the nearby institution. Like the other mazes, the settings were all well done throughout, not much “black tunnel” time. It was particularly convoluted, and at one point I thought I’d somehow circled back to the beginning. They found a lot of good folks to run around like lunatics and all and all it was an impressive result.

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In addition to the Sideshow, there were three other entertainment offerings scheduled throughout the night. In Celebration Plaza, the zombies of Nytewalkers bounced and twirled on lines to an enticing blend of traditional bluegrass, flamenco and free jazz. If that sounds good, then here’s a fright. They actually, obviously, perform to EDM/Dub step, which is clearly the official music genre of theme park haunts. If you don’t know what that is, perhaps bring headphones. Like all the shows it was energetic and did feature hard working performers who did know their stuff. While waiting for the show to begin, I noticed the graveyard of past Great America attractions. Nice touch!

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Great America Theater has Blades of Horror, a seasonal version of the summer show that inhabits that space.

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Fresh off the TV reality show Fake Off, Academy of Villains presented the most interesting offering at the Theater Royale with a discernible story involving mad scientists, aliens invading with obligatory shadow scene, zombies on the hoof and redemption for the World. Yea us! While I merely dropped in on the other shows for a few representative photos, I must admit that despite not really being my scene, I found the show compelling enough to view in its entirety, and always try to appreciate genuine work and effort when it is undertaken for my amusement.

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There has been harsh criticism of this park in this space at times, and frankly I’ve often held back. They’ve done a lot of things wrong over the years, but this time they got it right. They do have to stop running some coasters right at midnight, but can’t really fault the park for a city noise ordinance. It’s been a genuine treat to be able to say “I had a really good time at Great America”!

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Marc Ricketts
Marc Ricketts is a writer/photographer who has not yet outgrown roller coasters, and provides news and information about San Francisco Bay Area destinations. Mark's columns can frequently be found on MiceChat in our Weekend Updates.