Fun, fearful and fiendish facts

Thursday, 09 September 2004

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio, Sept. 8, 2004 – Turning the world’s largest roller coaster park into the world’s largest Halloween haunt is no easy task … just ask the fiendish folks at Cedar Point as the intensive preparation begins to kick off the eighth annual HalloWeekends event at the famed amusement park/resort.  Plenty of eerie action has been taking place behind-the-scenes by teams of ghastly ghouls for almost a year to ensure maximum scares and screams when the final production comes to life for “victims” on Friday, Sept. 24. (HalloWeekends runs Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31.) 

  • The NEW CarnEvil is a bizarre circus with scores of sinister creatures displaying grotesque talents and lurking in ominous fog … look out for Jo Jo the Dog-Faced Boy, Alligator Skin Girl, Barracuda Ape, Leaping Lizard Man and many more menacing sideshow freaks!
  • A team of 14 makeup artists who have been trained by professionals in Hollywood is responsible for transforming humans into the approximately 75 ghouls who comb the Fright Zone and CarnEvil providing ultimate chills.  This metamorphosis takes about 45 minutes for each “character.” 
  • Decking out Cedar Point for its festive HalloWeekends atmosphere involves nearly 1,000 bales of hay, 5,000 individual cornstalks and 10,000 pounds of pumpkins.
  • A monster manual with specific rules to follow is distributed to each person who is a “Screamster” in Cedar Point’s three haunted houses, on the Fright Zone, Werewolf Canyon and CarnEvil.      
  • A total of 100 foggers, with 1,600 gallons of fluid, will be used in the shocking Fright Zone on Frontier Trail, Werewolf Canyon and in the NEW CarnEvil area to create a cloud of thick and drifting haze.    
  • I want my Mummy!  Monsters with such monikers as Grim Reaper, Cyclops, Big Foot, Headless Horseman and Executioner roam the midway in search of guests to frighten and entertain.  You can even have your picture taken with them … if you dare!
  • Camp Snoopy is transformed into Camp Spooky for HalloWeekends with the popular PEANUTS characters sporting cheery costumes … it’s not every day you see Charlie Brown dressed as a clown!