With the free bring-a-friend ticket I got for renewing my season pass, my friend Phil brought his two-year-old daughter Emma to the first day of Tricks and Treats. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the new name as I constantly fall back on calling it Camp Spooky. It was very hot so Emma wouldn’t wear her costume for more than a single photo, and it was exceptionally busy but we still managed to get a lot of activities in during about five hours at the park.
Welcome to Tricks & Treats
There’s not much to distinguish this event from the old name. The new signs are pretty simplistic with simple text on a plain white background. The decorations all seem identical to previous years plus or minus a few details.
Showtime!
The Pumpkin Patches
These groovy gourds are back! I really wish they performed in the main park (maybe at the Expo event stage) so more guests could stumble on this phenomenal show! The choreography is perfect and the voices are excellent! All the performers do a fantastic job and bring such a huge smile to my face!
Monster Bash
An interactive comedy show featuring classic monsters? Yes please! Emma probably didn’t understand most of what was happening, but she did like seeing the characters up on stage. I’m so glad this original show exists and the cast does a fantastic job delivering some great comedic moments that get me chuckling!
Snoopy’s Tricks and Treats Adventure
This show was new for last year but this was my first time checking it out. It’s another great show, and even better than the previous Camp Spooky Snoopy show in my opinion! The host is awesome, changing roles (and costumes) a couple times as the story unfolds between songs. The set looks great as do the costumes, with good choreography to match the music.
Cornered, In a Manor of Treating
Three Haunt experiences have some of their more frightening elements covered up or replaced to make them part of the Tricks and Treats offerings. Spirit Manor removes the new self-rocking chairs, CornStalkers replaces the more gruesome scarecrows replaced by ones with (usually) smiling pumpkins, and Trick or Treat Street has a teddy bear replacing the piñata. Since the park no longer closes between daytime and Haunt, I have to hand it to the crew for so seamlessly replacing all of these every day.
Of course the monsters are also replaced by friendlier characters, which is also true of Wicked Hollow. Emma had a better time in the Corn Maze than Spirit Manor but the cast across all these attractions was doing a great job of setting a happy, kid-friendly environment. Oddly enough, Trick or Treat Street and Wicked Hollow aren’t listed on the map this year but rest assured they’re both well-staffed.
No Tricks, Just Treats!
Although Emma isn’t quite old enough for candy just yet, Phil was happy to give her some experience with trick or treating by collecting candy from all four stations. I’ve often seen long lines for each station and this day was particular busy, but all the lines moved quickly.
I’ve been craving Tiny Tom Donuts for the past month at least so I split a few dozen with Phil and Emma.
We had one dozen each with icing sugar, cinnamon sugar, apple and cinnamon sugar, and the unique AlpenFury flavour described as “raspberry waffle.” All of them were delicious with my favourite continuing to be icing sugar. (Although I love pouring the leftover cinnamon sugar into my mouth from the bag when I’m done.)
The AlpenFury one (pictured above) is sweet (like a waffle I suppose) with slight fruity notes. It’s definitely distinct and I’d gladly get it again!
TL;DR
We didn’t get on any rides and missed a few shows but still had so much fun. Phil complimented the park on just how much they do for this event and I have to agree. At this point I feel like Wonderland does the kid-friendly event better than Halloween Haunt. I’d love to see it keep expanding further outside the bounds of the kids’ park with a broad all-ages approach, but as is it’s well worth a visit for any parent!
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