N'at Man Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Photo TR: Idlewild's Hallowboo! I had a chance to visit Idlewild for their new for 2005 Halloween event, Hallowboo! I was joined by fellow enthusiasts Dave and Janna who rode out with me from Pittsburgh. As you may have guessed, the event is very much aimed at children and families. Luckily things were on par with what you would expect from Idlewild Park as they didn't go overboard to make the event only appeal to very small children. There really was something for everyone unless you were looking for a scary haunted house. That's what Kennywood's event is for. What an unbelievably nice day we had for late October in Western PA. It was sunny, light jacket weather with the fall foliage at about 100%. If you're familiar with Idlewild you know it is a beautifully wooded park with plenty of trees so the scenery was outstanding. We handed over our $4 off coupon at the toll booths so we only had to pay $11.95 each to enter. Upon entering the park we saw the creek along side the picnic pavilions was filled with fog. It was a nice effect. Most of the adult rides were open with the exception of the Wild Mouse, Trinado and the log flume. Some of the rides had new Halloween names. First up we took a ride on the Rollo Ghoster. After that we headed over to ride the Scaredy Cat (Caterpillar). Up in the pavilion area we walked though the dark Crazy Hay Maze. It wasn't a maze where you would get lost but it was a festive attraction with lights, music, props and pumpkins along with the hay bales. Over in the Raccoon Lagoon kiddieland, several kiddie rides were open. We took a ride on the Adult Hand Cars and for some reason they were really slow. It took some effort to make it around the course. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was closed but we did do the little hedge maze. It wasn't very popular as the hedges were only 3-4 ft tall but it did have some decorations. I was amazed by how permanent it looked. If those hedges were always there I never noticed them. Down in Hootin' Holler there were several Halloween attractions. First was something called Creepy Peepers where you looked into a peep hole to see a haunted scene. It would be like a scene from a haunted house but it allowed kids to just take a peek at what the scenes looked like. Next we entered Confusing Hilda's which is a rethemed Confusion Hill tilt house attraction. They had some extra covering and they rethemed all of the illusions for Halloween. It had a witch and a warlock instead of western characters. It was pretty good. The train ride was converted into a round trip only attraction called the Haunted Hollow Train Ride. The train ride goes through the woods as normal (much like Knoebels Pioneer Train) but they added a graveyard, a fisherman, dancing scarecrows and several other smaller scenes along the way. The dancing scarecrows were quite amusing. They were actors and not animatronics. Nearby was The Parlor, a retheme of Dizzy Lizzy's (haunted swing). This was a funeral parlor with a very brief preshow with some extra actors along the way to the swing. Inside the ride they made a few changes but it was mostly the same boring ride you get in the summer. But it was interesting to at least see the retheming. On the way to Story Book Forest we passed some activity booths and the farmers market area. Story Book Forest was hosting trick-or-treating. This was a no brainer for the park and it was extremely popular. While the candy was only for kids 12 and under, we were allowed to walk through and we were even offered a piece of candy here and there. The park had some candy sponsors and they had some good stuff for the kids. Every attraction in the forest was Halloween themed. It was very well done. Idlewild did a great job with their initial Halllowboo! effort and I'm looking forward to see what they do in the future. It was so nice to be able to visit Idlewild a full two months later than normal. With the Steelers not playing, the event was the perfect way to spend a nice fall Sunday afternoon in Western PA. Old King Cole smoking grass. No lie, there is grass in his pipe. Jack in the Box is set with his own trick-or-treat bag. I wanted to get a shot of the decorated garbage can but this is also the only shot I have of the trick-or-treaters in Story Book Forest. This is The Parlor. Beware, it's one of those boring haunted swings! Foggy Hootin' Holler. Here comes the Haunted Hollow Train. Confusion Hill turned Confusing Hilda's. Janna struggles with the slow Adult Hand Cars. No wait for the Hedge Maze. Caterpillar gets my vote for best rethemed name. Tim wonders if RCDB knows about this. Janna correctly points towards the Crazy Hay Maze. Dave is just showing us his own signature move. The Olde Idlewild fountain is glowing yellow for Hallowboo! Welcome to Hallowboo! and Ricky's Pumpkin Patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 ^ Ahh, the adult hand cars. Who was it that was just asking the other day about an adult version of Knott's Huff N' Puff? Nice photo TR! --Robb "I really need to get back to this park!" Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba Z Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Are you sure that fountain wasn't full of Mountain Dew? Sounds like a fun time , Thanks for the TR. If it wasn't so cold and rainy last weekend I was go to stop there on my way to Donegal. OH well, next year I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeezus Juice Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I gotta get back to this park too, I missed the adult hand cars last time I was there. OMG, they renamed Rollo Coaster, NEW CREDIT! Thanks for the pics, this park doesen't really get represented that much, and that Mountain Dew fountain was the BERM! -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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