During our October episode of The Jurassic Wire, Aaron Beyer and I posed the question - “What attractions do you think we be available during Halloween at Jurassic World?”. We reached out to all our listeners and now YOU, the readers, to let us know your best ideas for Halloween attractions inside a real life version of Jurassic World. It’s an interesting question to pose, because seeing what Jurassic World did during Christmastime (nothing), it’s possible that they may not have done anything at all. Jurassic World - the film - took place in December of 2015, yet no Christmas decorations were present anywhere throughout the park. Jurassic World as a theme park refrains from presenting any seasonal decorations, and instead presents a wondrous tropical escape from the every day life. But, what if that wasn’t the case…
Jurassic World Is First & Foremost, A Family Park
Family parks all over the world celebrate the lighter side of Halloween to include guests of all ages. While Jurassic World was certainly a park that begged to thrill their guests, they were still a family park at heart. Kids are the number one demographic when it comes to dinosaurs, so I’d expect Jurassic World to cater to the younger audience. For example, Disney parks throughout the globe celebrate Halloween with “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party”, an event that dulls down the scares and creates a fun, spooky atmosphere that parents and children can both enjoy. With an up-charged event ticket, Disney offers guests Halloween themed fireworks shows, parades, meet & greets and more throughout the night to entertain their target audience. This would seem the most likely choice for Jurassic World.
Universal Studios Japan - Spectacle Night Parade
Within this family friendly banner, Jurassic World would most likely decorate with the typical Halloween flair, play spooky music throughout the park, throw a costume party and offer special trick-or-treating spots for kids to find their sweet-tooth fix. I think they would bypass a fireworks show, as that would scare the animals, but a seasonal parade would be a blast. Imagine Halloween themed floats with the inflatable dinosaur costumes dancing along the route - it could certainly entertain the guests. I think this costume would be a hit:
What About A Scarier Approach?
As I mentioned earlier, Jurassic World is a theme park that prides itself on the thrill and potential scare of encountering a dinosaur. What if Jurassic World took their thrills a step further? Would haunted house like attractions, where the scares are high, actually work in a theme park like Jurassic World? It’s hard to say. Personally, I would think Jurassic World and the operators would set a goal to ensure the safety and comfort-level of park-goers in a park where they could “potentially” get eaten.
Universal Studios is a different story, as it doesn’t have to specifically worry about it’s guests being eaten by dinosaurs, but in 2002, they held the event Islands of Fear at Islands of Adventure. They featured human hybrid clones and dinosaur props and scar actors throughout their scare zone and walk-through house. It was a gruesome sight with a beheaded Triceratops, human Dilophosaurus hybrids and more in and around the Jurassic Park area. Would something like this work at a real life dinosaur park? If they stuck with the human-hybrid aspect, it just may - but if they attempted decapitated dinosaurs and horrific human by dinosaur deaths, it may have worn some of the guests nerves thin. I think any portrayal of human deaths by dinosaur may have been a bit insensitive, especially after hearing Claire Dearing’s thoughts on a Jurassic Park t-shirt.
It’s possible that Jurassic World could take the route most theme parks do around the United States and scare their guests with zombies, vampires, ghosts, witches and other deadly creatures. Instead of scaring guests with dinosaurs, we could see typical haunted house attractions themed or even sponsored by third parties. Jurassic World certainly prided itself on corporate sponsors, so I’d expect Halloween to be no different. Ideas a re a plenty when it comes to haunted house attractions in the park - The Reeces Pieces Labratory Lockdown with mad scientists or Imax Infested, where hordes of zombies have taken over the Pterosauria theater. I think this is the most likely route for Jurassic World.
So what would YOU like to see in a Halloween attraction at Jurassic World? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll try to include them in our follow-up portion of the next Jurassic Wire! We can’t wait to hear your spooky ideas!
Written by:
Brad Jost