Fortunately, we had an entertainment director and a CEO who were very keen, and we supported each other to promote the idea further, to everyone at Ocean Park. The idea of Halloween was revolutionary, out of the box, way out of the box. Ocean Park has always pride itself on entertainment, conservation (especially animals) and education. The idea of ghosts and goblins didn’t fit. I recall the zoological team argued that Halloween had nothing to do with Ocean Park. I said “but it has everything to do with making some money, getting out of the red, and saving the park so we can continue to care for the animals.” The goal was to grow attendance, bring more people to the park and the more people that came, the more people the educational team could educate. How novel an idea! That convinced the zoological team (at least to give this a try).
So, we set out to build this first Halloween event. We would build a “Haunted House” to provide scares and screams. We did not have much money but fortunately, we could do this without great expense. The first Haunted House at Ocean Park in October, 2001 was called “The Underworld.” We took an old storage facility, threw out all its contents, painted some plywood black and built a walk thru maze. There were about 15 different scenes that would produce multiple scares as one walked thru the house. It opened only at night as darkness adds to the fright and atmosphere.
The scares were designed with live characters, props, lighting, colors, and were simple, frightful, and effective. Opening night approached and there was great anticipation by everyone. In a way, it was a gamble. If the idea works, great. If it did not, it could affect business all together. Fortunately, we were able to shift quickly, be nimble on our feet, and adjust if needed. What could go wrong? If we don’t try, we will never know.
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