January has concluded, and February continues at full force, but I’ve still had time to make it out to a park or two. As we continue 2020, let’s take a look back on some of the trips relating to haunts and parks within the last two months.
My first official theme park trip of 2020 was actually to Six Flags Magic Mountain. While I’m a general fan of the park, poor upkeep and inconsistent theming keeps it from being one of my favorites. That being said, I felt it was time to revisit the park using my season pass (which was included within the ticket price), and I was pleasantly surprised. The new underground area, originally a dated boardwalk, brings cohesion to the lower area, and the refurbishment of Apocalypse and new Premier Rides powerhouse West Coast Racers finally adds reason to visit the area of the park. The rides were running more than one train, the crowds were low, and cast members were incredibly helpful. Six Flags surprised me with a really damn good time.
My next trip to a theme park would actually not be until February. After visiting Los Angeles for a Mr. Bungle concert on the seventh, we decided to take a half day trip to Universal Studios Hollywood on the eighth. As Chinese Lunar New Year reaches it end, progress on the Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash attraction has ramped up, now with no green tarps or scaffolding. The new pets place area’s colors are beautiful, and the show building’s facade is one of the best in the park’s history, but there was once casualty. The Walking Dead Attraction has now moved to individual experience hours, an unofficial death sentence for the attraction, similar to the seasonal status of Disney parks. While closure is predicted to be March third, many predict we will see a maze within the building for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. What will be made of the space after the event? Well, we don’t know. Many suspect it will be a “flex space”, or a building used to house temporary attractions and pop ups for both park guests and employees. A smaller group has speculated the attraction will become another year round haunt, this time based off the classic Universal monsters. We’ll see what will happen when (and more importantly, if) we see the official closure of the attraction.
The Attraction Compaction 