Campy, cheesy, cute, funny, and 100% awesome (and less than $5). A Halloween event that kids and the easily scared can enjoy.
GHOSTS THAT SIMPLY WAN'T TO HAVE FUN MATERIALIZE IN A PASSING FIELD
There are so many “haunted” attractions in L.A, yet they all seem to include chainsaws, gore, & a mayhem! There’s nothing wrong with that, in fact that’s what we haunt-goers crave. But lots of us have kids and girlfriends that aren’t too fond of rotting corpses jumping out at you with machetes in the dark – I know right?
A few years back there seemed to be more attractions in L.A. area that were considered family friendly. Two amazing ones were Boney Island (shut down by angry neighbors even though they closed every night at 9pm!) and one of the best home haunts ever, The Halloween Haunting Grounds GROUNDS (made the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland look mediocre).
So thank God Griffith Park- known for it’s day-time kid friendly array of museums, carousels, and pony rides- has acknowledged this lack of wholesome fun! You don’t need to drive all the way to Disneyland or leave the house with more then $5 a person, because this event is right in L.A’s backyard!
Since 2001 Griffith Park has transformed their miniature train rides into a night time Halloween extravaganza. Griffith park operates three separate train rides throughout the year, for Halloween they overtook the miniature train rides located adjacent to Travel Town. Located in between the Forest Lawn Dr. exit and the Victory exit off of the 134 FWY on Zoo Dr. is the Halloween Train. This attraction is perfect for everyone. It’s intention is not to be scary, just fun and creepy. The entire ride takes about 15-20 min. to complete.
Once you have found the entrance you make your way to the ticket booth where a $5 suggested donation is asked of you.
The courtyard is filled with fun things to look at while you wait -from a giant cage filled with laughing zombie babies, to giant haunted mansion-style changing portraits, and even a life size talking skeleton that interacts with guests as you wait-it’s a sensory overload.
The trains you board look like something from Walt Disney’s private train collection- you sit aboard a scale replica with one leg hanging over each side, you can’t help but crack a smile.
So onto the actual ride. You know when you go to the Halloween stores and you see all the fun decorations and you wonder what it would be like to own and put them all to use? No worries, because that’s exactly what Griffith Park has done. It’s as if they took all the Halloween decorations from years back and assembled them into something amazing.
The train ride takes you through cramped fog and light filled tunnels, over bridges, through trees, and along the mountainsides. At points, the ride becomes so dark you wonder if your engineer is still aboard! I have to admit-I was a little weary of hillside stranglers and coyotes , c’mon were in the hills -but alas the scariest thing was the farting skeletons.
You encounter miniature ghost towns, aliens, spiders, skeletons, witches, pumpkins, pirates, clowns, cannibals , and any other Halloween related creature or theme you can think of. The best part is the flock of ghost’s riding their bicycles in the middle of a far away field- something that’s worth seeing by itself!
It’s campy, cheesy, cute, funny, and 100% awesome. This attraction is something of a nostalgic tradition. It’s something you could bring your kids to or your significant other and have a great time- and for the price there’s no excuse to miss this!
2009 GHOST TRAIN DATES: October 16-18, 23-25, 29-31
GHOST TRAIN HOURS: 7:00 to 10:00pm nightly.
$5 suggested donation
PARKING: Free
Website: www.lals.org
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This “Ghost Train” ride is not appropriate for small children – at all. Our 5 year old was crying and begging to get off the train for the entire twenty minute ride. I thought it would never end. There should be an age minimum – like 12!
Deranged insane ‘inmates’ screaming to be let out of the cages they’re smashing their heads against, electrocutions, hangings, babies eating human body parts, two headed psychotic babies, really scary giant clowns… Not fun for a five year old.
It was a nightmare for us and I hope he doesn’t have nightmares for years after this. I expected something a little tamer from Griffith Park – land of Travel Town, Pony Rides, the Carousel, etc.
They should warn parents the ride may be too frightening for children and give them a signal to stop the train if it is. Twenty minutes is an eternity for a terrified child.
We’ll never take children here again – and we love horror films. Just not for little kids. Unacceptable.
The Live Steamers have been doing this for 11 years. No one has ever complained about the displays. I guess one five-year-old in eleven years is not too bad.
The Ghost Train at LALS transports thousands of passengers each Halloween, most of whom are young children. Countless repeat customers (7000 last year) return year after year to see what’s new and spooky. It is one of the few child-friendly haunted attractions around, and it’s popularity and ridership increases each year are a testament to the fact it is wildly popular with young and old alike.
If you’ve been in nearly any Halloween store in town, you would have already seen many of the decorations and props mentioned above, including this season’s hugely popular ZomBabies, Rocking Granny and Psycho Sam. As a Halloween store owner in a local mall, I’ve witnessed hundreds of children coming into my shop daily – half of whom are dragging their parents inside, and the other who won’t get past the first 10 feet if they are frightened. Most parents already know whether their child can handle a spooky environment. In my shop, if they get scared upon entering, (and many do) the parents immediately recognize it and act accordingly by simply escorting them outside. Sadly, I’ve witnessed a lot of insensitive parents forcing their distraught child to stay in order to toughen them up, or promising them they will like it. Worse still, one young mother even delighted in deliberately scaring her toddler by carrying her and thrusting her face into several of the animated toy props until the baby was crying and sobbing. (at which time, I told her what I thought about it). In short, I’ve observed a lot of poor judgment by parents regarding assessment of their children’s fear.
While it is very unfortunate her child was so terrified on the train, it is hard to understand why it took her so long to recognize it was a spooky event. The entry courtyard and ticket line has plenty of animations and displays surrounding it, accompanied by spooky lighting and sounds, and the grounds are filled with fog. All of this sensory assault and spooky atmosphere is just in the line to board the trains. Surely this frightened child must have exhibited fear before they even boarded a train.
It is ultimately up to parents to determine what venue is best for their child, and to choose appropriately. The decision whether to take them to ride the haunted Ghost Train at night in the dark, versus visiting the local Pumpkin Patch rests squarely on the shoulders of the parents. If this lady misjudged her child’s fear level, it doesn’t seem very fair to blame the event for being what it is…a spooky Halloween Ghost Train ride.
To set the record straight, LALS has very strict rules involving the trains and their operation, and during the Halloween run they hold safety meetings nightly and are prepared at all times to stop any train immediately, particularly for any crying or terrified child. The conductor can stop on a dime if he sees someone in distress, or a passenger raises a hand as instructed before boarding. With two way radios, or a simple whistle, the conductor can alert the engineer to stop the train immediately. Upon entering the park as passengers wait to board the trains, Mortimer’s Mortuary does a sketch with an animated skeleton explaining the rules of riding the trains, including instructions on how to stop the train in an emergency. Additionally, instructions are broadcast during the wait in line every five minutes with clear instructions for passengers to follow, including how to stop the train. Safety personnel walk the rails throughout the night with two-way radios to alert anyone to any unusual situation which could arise such as this. The implication that anyone at LALS would knowingly or deliberately force them to endure the entire 20 minute ride with a wailing, terrified five year old child is not only wrong, it is absurd.
These volunteer club members take great pains to ensure a safe and fun ride for their passengers, and are especially sensitive to children – their biggest fans – with a successful track record of eleven years for this popular Halloween event.
Jeanni Schipper
Spooky Chic Halloween
To bad that some adults can’t read or hear. There are signs posted that tell you what to do and talking bones that tell you what to do. This must have been the person that in line in front of me that with the other adults keep draging this poor kid along that realy did not want to ride the train, or see the ghost. It realy sounds like they need to go to school and learn that no I don’t want to ride means no I don’t want to ride. You must be the new standard parent that it is not my job to teach my kid what is real and not real. My only hope is you kid does not grow up to be like you.
This was a fun and safe ride no matter what a bimbo says I can’t wait till next year. The best part was watching all of the kids having a good time.