What a nice surprise from the friendly skies!
Here's a closer look, from US Airways magazine's October issue:
Making merry
Monthly Archives: October 2012
Carving up a Happy Halloween!
Although our Happy Halloween Weekends are over for the year, we wanted to send you this little video greeting card:
Would you like to share your thoughts about our event? Please take a few minutes to complete this online survey by Friday, November 9.
Please be safe trick-or-treating tonight, under this beautiful harvest moon:
The theme is “cool” for 2013!
As you may have noticed, the summer of 2012 was one of the hottest on record.
We sure noticed.
So, from looking around the parks to see where the longest lines were, where the bottlenecks occured, plus listening to your many comments and suggestions, here's a countdown list of how we're spending $6.5 million for next season:
10. Happy Halloween Weekends expand to six weekends, starting in mid-September
9. New entry plaza for Splashin' Safari plus 16 more cabanas
8. New after-dark light show for summer nights
7. Misters and fans, plus more shade and seating throughout both parks
6. Kitty's Tea Party – a classic tea-cup family ride in Holidog's FunTown
5. Pilgrims Plunge "moving" to Splashin' Safari with a new name: Giraffica
4. See below
3. See below
2. See below
1. Hyena Falls! Four new in-the-dark water slides, ranging from 300- to 350-feet long and with drops up to 50 feet! One of the slides includes a really cool half-pipe feature near the base of the drop. Have a blast on these fast, dark, double-inner tube slides!
We've set up a ConstructionCam on the side of Pilgrims Plunge … er, Giraffica … so you can watch construction of Hyena Falls. This northeast portion of the park, by the way, will be the future site of expansion for both parks. Stay tuned as we add incredible new rides to both parks in years to come!
Mother Nature’s decorations
Is this Mother Nature's apology for the drought and extreme temperatures this past summer?
The fall colors are stunning this week!
Are you planning to ride a coaster this weekend?
There are two more Happy Halloween Weekends left – hope you can join us for the the rides, themed shows and attractions, and the lovely leaves and other decorations.
Have you already visited? We've appreciate your feedback, if you'd like to take a few minutes to complete this survey.
Makeup tips from the ghouls of Graveyard Smash
As Halloween approaches, you might like to borrow some of these tastefully understated looks from the female cast members of Graveyard Smash.
Leah the Ghostly Wraith advises: "If your eyeliner slips a bit during application – just go with it!"
Jazzy, our pink Mummy, says not to worry about covering up the occasional blemish, "I've earned every scar!"
Amanda the Witch explains, "When you're feeling blue, your hair should match your mood."
Lauren the Witch advises, "You don't want to blend in with all the other ghouls and go unnoticed. Use glitter – lots of glitter!"
And finally, Kylee the Vampire hints if you stay up all night chasing goblins, don't worry if your eyes look a little bloodshot. "Red is the new black, baby."
Graveyard Smash is performed several times each day during Happy Halloween Weekends. And as you've come to expect from our shows, these ghouls (and their handsome counterparts) always sing in tomb … er, tune.
A purrfect birthday for Archie
Couldn't have asked for a prettier fall day for Kitty Claws to visit the University of Southern Indiana and her friend Archie.
Archie? Archibald T. Eagle to be exact.
Kitty made lots of new friends today. Do you recognize any of them?
I think EVIE from Keep Evansville Beautiful is Kitty's favorite new friend.
Lots of human pals, too …
Happy birthday, Archie!
It’s ‘Sing Like A Pirate Day’ …
… every day of Happy Halloween Weekends.
Sort of humorous that our pirate in Graveyard Smash is played by a fellow named Sharky.
Dude can dance, too.
Sharky and his cadre of fellow performers will continue to delight audiences for another two weekends during Happy Halloween Weekends.
Come to think of it, a pirate fits right in here in the town of Santa Claus. After all, pirates have also adopted the catchphrase, "Ho-ho-ho!" right?
Other themed shows during Happy Halloween Weekends are Pumpkin Up, a Halloween Magic Show with Don Baggett, Saturday's Halloween Lasor Light Show, and the Kitty Claws Dance Party. Please check here for the full schedule; once you've seen a show here, you'll be … wait for it … hooked!
HoliSmiles
Did anyone else grow up watching the Lawrence Welk Show?
My strongest recollection of that show is how the musicians all smiled — even while playing their instruments.
My dad would marvel (okay, he made fun) at the delirious grins on every last one of the musicians as they played. (How in the world do you smile while playing trumpet, clarinet, or flute? Somehow, they did it.) We laughed at the thought of Mr. Welk hollering at them in his thick accent to, "Smile! Smile!"
This photo that Lori sent me of Craig cleaning up a … um … HoliMess made me think back to that show.
This next week we have special Hospitality Training for all of our Hosts and Hostesses.
I wonder if we're planning to show any clips of the Lawrence Welk Show … or maybe if just threatening to do it would do the trick.
Originally posted 5/31/08
Counting pumpkins and funny, funny bones
Thanks to the hundreds and hundreds who took a moment to enter our contests these past few weeks.
Our "Counting Pumpkins" contest called for, admittedly, sheer guessery.
How many pumpkins were we planning to bring in for Happy Halloween Weekends?
The correct number is rather a staggering one: 10, 875.
All locally grown, by the way. Many are to be given away to children 12 and younger as part of the pumpkin decorating activity in Goblin Grove.
Congrats to Shari from Bloomington, Indiana. She wins two one-day tickets to Happy Halloween Weekends for guessing mighty close to the exact number.
This week we posted a silly photo from our park's Halloween theming and asked for clever captions.
We received many, many witty entries – our funny bones have been well tickled, and we have chosen five winners (in no particular order):
Dameon (how's that for a great Halloween name?!) from Marengo, Indiana:
Pumpkin: "Hey! You wanna ride some wild coasters with me?!"
Skeleton: "I'd love to, but you've got more guts than me!"
Connie from Hartford, Kentucky:
If Holidog sees me I won't have a leg to stand on!
Carolyn from Avon, Indiana:
I sweep the trash! (to the tune of Monster Mash)
I sweep the goblin's trash!
The goblin's trash!
It's a ghoulish task!
I sweep the trash!
It's like a pumpkin smash!
I sweep the trash,
I sweep the goblin's trash! Wahoo!
Vicki:
With most of our summer help back at college, we're down to our skeleton crew!
And Wynette from Mooresville, Indiana:
The graveyard shift is the best. No Bones about it!
Again, congrats to the winners, who each receive two one-day tickets to Happy Halloween Weekends.
When darkness falls …
When I was a little kid, getting to use a flashlight was a real treat.
I got a tiny one in my Christmas stocking one year and played with it endlessly. Before long, though, the battery did that nasty oozing thing and Mom made me throw it away.
I remember one year we had a special flashlight for trick-or-treating – it had a plastic jack-o-lantern bubble on the lighted end. This, of course, rendered the flashlight all but useless. But it was still cool and my brothers and I had to be reminded constantly to share. Constantly.
Nowadays, kiddos have glow sticks, glow necklaces and glow bracelets. It's another world.
The big kids have another world, too. Laser lights, for example. We've talked for years about how fun it would be to have a laser light show here at the park. The time has arrived: during Happy Halloween Weekends, on Saturday evenings at 8pm CT, we have a Halloween-themed laser light show.
The hands in the Applause Fountain look like they've been slimed, don't they? Yet they clap on …
Here's a video snippet of the show:
Hope you can join us for our Happy Halloween Weekends, Saturdays and Sundays in October. Looking for discounted tickets? They're $25.95 (General Admission) and $17.95 (Guests-under-54" and Seniors 60+) when you purchase them through our website.