Valleyfair Blog

Planet Spooky Coloring Contest

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:56:00 EST

Every fall we have hundreds of entries in our annual Halloween Haunt Coloring Contest and this year was no exception! In fact, thanks in part to the addition of the all-new Planet Spooky Halloween attraction, we saw a sizable increase in the already high number of contest entries. With so many great entries it made picking this year’s winners even more difficult than ever before. After a number of rounds of voting we finally selected the winning picture from each of our four age categories. So, without further ado, there are our 2011 Halloween Haunt Coloring Contest winters: Ages 3 and under winner – Taylor T. Ages 4 or 6 winner – Javier R. Ages 7 to 9 winner – Grace D. Ages 10 to 12 winner – Isabelle H. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulation again to this year’s winners!

HAUNT Destination: Camp Wekilou

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:17:00 EST

Hello Valley Viewers! Intern Justin is here to provide you with several, eerie photos of a camp that is not your typical happy-go-lucky vacation. I have received many requests for photo updates on ValleySCARE’s freshest maze, Camp Wekilou. Since my last blog excerpt on Camp Wekilou, it was still under construction, however, the HAUNT has fallen upon us and the camp is complete, well, destroyed. Take a look at some of the photos I took as I trekked through bloody canoes, detached body limbs and ominous buildings. So on behalf of the brainwashed campers and counselors, I welcome you: What a warm welcoming... This is a personal favorite. A bus is used as the entrance to this insane camp! Going somewhere? Not anymore. I do believe he missed the boat launch. Don’t forget to bring your own pillow, unless you want to borrow one full of blood & guts! Who wants fresh, flesh soup?? Unnatural cooking utensils and body limbs fill up the camp’s kitchen. These photos fill up only a portion of this crazy camp! We have received many great scares from this outdoor maze. Leave a comment if you are one of the lucky campers to have survived! Otherwise, be sure to check it out yourself by visiting the HAUNT at ValleySCARE on October weekends.

Scarecrows & Body Parts - Behind the Scenes Construction of Hellside & Bloodshed

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:40:00 EST

Hello Valley Viewers! Much construction for ValleySCARE has been happening for the past two weeks. The weather is getting brisk and the sun is setting earlier, which calls for our zombies to start rising from their graves, vampires emerging from their coffins and psychopaths escaping from their cells. Intern Justin is here to report the progress of two, popular mazes – Hellside Farm and Mr. Cleavers Bloodshed. Get ready for gory snapshots! I first ventured into the depths of the South Minnesota River Valley Railroad Station and the Amphitheater to find an abundance of hay and corn stalks. Progress on Hellside is coming along swiftly, which is impressive with the large amounts of hay that needs to be set up. Hellside Farm is started completely from scratch and Valleyfair brings in loads of corn stalks from around the area to form a long maze for psycho farmers that do not approve of trespassers. Along my walk through the maze, I stumbled upon an outhouse [that was luckily unused] and a small building that could act as a farmer’s house. It seems like these farmers will have more than just hay to hide behind! As I continued, a pen full of bloody chickens caught my eye. Let me tell you, I did not crave my chicken sandwich that was waiting for me at lunch after witnessing this. Hopefully no one will need to use THIS outhouse. I decided to carry onward to an indoor maze that is located towards the back of the park, Mr. Cleaver’s Bloodshed. Now, being a Valleyfair employee for four seasons has still not given me the strength to encounter these intense mazes. Mr. Cleaver’s Bloodshed has a spooky feeling from the outside already and I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into. I entered through the maze through the emergency exit. I should have known that if a maze consists of an emergency exit that I would be in trouble, even without bloody psychopaths running amuck. What I first stumbled upon entering the maze. A few beady eyes submerged in blood! Blood splattered walls and body limbs scattered throughout definitely gave me the eerie feel our maze masters aim for. Mr. Cleaver’s Bloodshed does its best at scaring its witnesses unexpectedly. I found motion sensor pads on the floor waiting to be connected to a prop. You all better watch your step in Bloodshed! If you don’t watch your step, you may just slam into this hanging corpse! Everything is coming along nicely in Bloodshed, as well. Many of the bloody human and animal limbs are displayed throughout the maze. A few technical aspects, such as the motion sensors, lighting and such still need be configured, but will definitely be ready for HAUNT opening next weekend! Preserved body limbs waiting to be feasted on? I vote YUM. I hope you all enjoyed this special preview to HAUNT mazes! Even thought I checked out these two mazes during daylight, I will still be sleeping with one eye open tonight! Good luck to all who will be visiting once the sun sets! Don’t forget to get your tickets now and we expect to see you all soon! The monsters are all dying to see you.

Valleyfair's World Record Break

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:08:00 EST

Hello Valley Viewers! It is Intern Justin reporting a special announcement! If you have been following the recent Valley View entries, our Facebook page, Twitter and our Special Event page on our website – then you have heard about our attempt for breaking the Guinness World Record for Most Adults Reading to Children. Well, I am proudly writing to announce our success of breaking the current record of 347 adults reading to children by 13 readers, putting Valleyfair into the books as holding the record with 360 adults reading to children! It was a great, sunny day to host a fun event! Readers and listeners of all ages swarmed into the gates starting at 10:00am. The PEANUTS characters were greeting all participants while books were being distributed among readers in Planet Snoopy. Once everyone was accounted for, the countdown began to have everyone read. Everyone’s voices roared throughout the area as the reading went on for roughly seven minutes. Afterwards, stewards took count of how many people successfully completed the reading. Our Guinness Adjudication Manager, Johanna, tallied up all the participants and announced our award on the PEANUTS Showplace stage. Snoopy was able to make an appearance to accept the award with our Valleyfair Marketing team. As participants shuffled out of the area, they were given a certificate of completion to mark them as a Guinness World Record Breaker! Way to go! Snoopy and Valleyfair’s Marketing Team accepting the award from Guinness Adjudication Manager – Johanna It was an amazing record to break, especially during National Literacy Month. We thank everyone who partook to make this happen! -Photos taken by Bob Cole-

So Long Summer

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:24:00 EST

Hello Valley Viewers! Justin here, to conclude our Valleyfair 2011 summer season. Yesterday was our last full-time operating day for the season. We have been fortunate to have a successful, FUN summer, especially with our new members from the PEANUTS Gang. It is strange walking around the park with the midways completely bare, with the exception of a few critters. However, the weekdays are prime time to undergo HAUNT construction! Currently, we are building the Asylum, Mr. Clever's Bloodshed, Hellside Farm and our all-new 2011 maze called Camp Wekilou that will be located in the Picnic Grounds. This new maze, I am personally thrilled about [and I dislike horror movies - so that is saying something!]. This is definitely catching my eye. For those who are unaware the camp's background, here is a little blurb: "After only a couple years of operation, Camp Wekilou closed its doors due to the mysterious disappearances of campers. Search after search, interview after interview, the pictures of those missing slowly disappeared from the milk cartons. The Camp Counselors were successful in hiding those “lost." The campers were trained to take new roles and one day carry out the tradition of Camp Wekilou. Those that failed were disposed of properly. The Camp Counselors are pleased to announce the reopening of the camp. However, it appears a bus has arrived ahead of schedule, and before the final cleaning inspection." Check out the current progress on Camp Wekilou Construction [Taken 09/06/11] The next two weekends [Sept. 10-11 & Sept. 17-18], Valleyfair is open as its original state. Have a weekend of FUN from school & get in your last, few rides for the summer season! I know that I have been promoting our Guinness World Record Attempt like crazy, but we are still in need of many more readers and listeners! Enjoy a day at Valleyfair FOR FREE this Saturday, September 10, 2011, if you are over 18 and discounted admission if you are under 18. It is a simple way to participate! Reserve your spots by emailing at rsvp@valleyfair.com. Check out the video Intern Lauren & Sally shot together for our Guinness World Record Attempt! Come and be a part of something WORLD BREAKING!

All Fun N' Games at Valleyfair!

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EST

Hey everyone! Interns Lauren and Joe are writing to you from Valleyfair! We are wondering if you have ever found yourself walking through the games midway just dying to play some of those alluring games hoping to win yourself fantastic prizes? We sure have! We thought it would be a good idea to try some of these enticing games and let you know exactly what we thought of them. We decided we would rank these games on three very important levels. These levels are: Difficulty, enjoyment, and prize. We played a variety of different games and here is how it went. First we stopped by one of the biggest and the most eye catching of games. Yes, Joe and I thought we would dare to try the 3 point challenge. We decided the game was appropriately named, because challenging it was! 40 seconds to make as many 3 point shots as you can! We were pretty unsuccessful when playing this game and decided the difficulty level was definitely a 10. We agreed that level of enjoyment was a 10. Also, if you sink every single basket you can win a Nintendo Wii! They also have jerseys, flags, and basketballs available for prizes depending on how many baskets you sink. We agreed that the prizes were a 10, as well. Next we stopped by more classic carnival games. Hi Striker and Gunball. Hi Striker costs $2.00 for two tries. The classic game has you swinging a hammer and hitting a pedestal as hard as possible in order to get the light to rise to the top of the game. Clearly, Joe and I need to hit the gym, because we were unsuccessful at this classic game. We had a ton of fun playing, though! Even though this game was difficult, it was a 10 for enjoyment. Maybe with a little practice, we would be winning prizes in no time! We gave the prizes a 7 out of 10. There’s a wide selection of prizes, but nothing as exciting as some of the other prizes available. For the price, we definitely decided this game was worth playing. If you want to impress the significant other, then show off your beastly strength at the Hi Striker. Gunball was $2.00 for one shot and had some amazing prizes! Blankets, guitars and giant stuffed animals make this game worth playing. In this classic game you need to knock all of the cups off the pedestal by shooting a plastic softball at them. I gave the game an 8 for difficulty, but Joe thought it was a 9. We both rated it as an 8 for enjoyment, and could definitely see why the game was addicting. Who wouldn’t keep playing for a shot at winning one of those fun prizes? Joe and I competing for the title of Gunball MASTER Another classic game is Rising Waters! All you do is shoot at the target and the first player to fill their tube with water wins! There are a variety of prizes at this game and someone wins every time. The prizes vary depending on how many players there are in the game. If you’re looking for a prize and some friendly competition, then this is the game for you. We gave this game a 10 on enjoyment level and a 3 for difficulty. The cost is $2.00 per player. After we finished enjoying our time out at the more classic games we went over to Bank-a-Ball to see if we could win ourselves one of the gigantic stuffed robots! We gave this game about a 5 for difficulty. I came very close each time I threw the ball, but not successful, unlike Joe who made it in the basket on his 3rd shot! Joe was very upset that as Valleyfair employees, he was not allowed to take the prize home, but we were excited nonetheless! This game is priced where you can have 3 tries for $5.00 or 1 try for $2.00. We definitely enjoyed ourselves at this game and agreed it was one of our favorites. Don’t act like you’ve never stopped to play one of the Half Court Hoops basketball games. What day of playing games would be complete without this favorite game? This game isn’t the most difficult, but it is enjoyable and addicting! The mini basketball prizes keep many sports fans coming back for more. We agreed the enjoyment level and prizes were a 10; and depending on how good you are at basketball the difficulty is about a 5. Joe trying to make a SWOOSH at Half Court Hoops Make sure you take a look at some of our video to see how we did trying our skill at the Valleyfair Games. If you’re looking for some good competitive action while you’re out and about at Valleyfair the games are for you! The prices range from $1.00 -$10.00, depending on what game you’re interested in playing. Joe and I both agree that the games are great for the whole family! Especially the games where someone wins every time, like the Rising Waters game we played. Take a shot and knock your competition right over at the games midway. Additional rules and pricing of games are posted at each individual game and are subject to change.

2011 September Happenings!

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:50:00 EST

Hello Valley View Readers! We hope you are all enjoying the wrap up to your summer! The intern team is reporting to say Valleyfair is still open every day until September 5, then weekends beginning September 10 until October 30. We have a lot of great September events and then Valleyfair turns in to ValleySCARE! There is still time to visit and take advantage of some great offers and participate in our community tie-ins. Valleyfair is currently teaming up with Second Harvest Heartland to raise food donations to help families in need of a full, healthy diet. Second Harvest Heartland has been established since 2001 and has been lowering the number of meals missed by families who are not able to afford a good meal plan. From now until September 18 get a $10 off Valleyfair coupon when you donate a non-perishable food item or make a monetary donation, at the Second Harvest tent located at Valleyfair’s front gate. It is Valleyfair’s way to say “Thank you for donating!” You may not want to forget to bring your toothpick September 3rd, 4th, and 5th when you venture to the park! Our 35th Annual Corn Feast with Green Giant™ at Valleyfair is this weekend! Once you are in the park, the melt-in-your-mouth sweet corn is FREE, while supplies last, from 11am to 4pm. You have your option to include butter, salt, pepper, or lemon pepper to season your cob just the way you like it. This event is for all ages while at the park to stop by the Green Giant food stand by the Gazebo Stage to indulge in some mouth watering corn-on-the-cob. Great corn, toppings, all with a day at Valleyfair! You can’t beat it! The fun keeps going as we attempt to break the Guinness World Record for, “Most Adults Reading to Children at One Time!” That’s right; you can be a part of the world record right here at Valleyfair and get in FREE to Valleyfair. We need 347 readers and listeners too, on September 10. Readers get FREE admission to the park for that day and listeners receive $10 off regular admission! Visit our events page for more information or you can reserve a space by simply emailing RSVP@valleyfair.com. Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in a record setting event! Be sure to visit in September to be a part of our exciting and delicious events!

What You Fear Will Soon Be Here

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:10:00 EST

The HAUNT is creeping up… If you haven’t already heard the eerie whispers or felt the cool breezes, let me warn you that our Halloween HAUNT is on its way! As our 2011 summer season sadly comes to a close, our ValleySCARE vampires are awakening, pirates are setting sail and our zombies are emerging for the 2011 Halloween HAUNT. Every year Valleyfair transforms into a Halloween themed park filled with frightening monsters, chilling mazes, spooky shows and with some of our favorite rides! This year our Valleyfair team is planning a few new attractions for all scare levels. Our all-new Planet Spooky will be designed for a low fright level that little ones and families will be able to enjoy the Halloween holiday. For more of a shock after the sun sets our new maze, Camp Wekilou, will terrify you scare seekers to a new level, especially if you ever had a summer camp experience. More information will be blogged about soon when the complete details are configured. Our large variety of HAUNT attractions are in need of spookers, scarers, frighteners, or whichever title you prefer. [We wouldlike to hear from you!] If you are interested in exercising your fearsome side then we would like to hear from you! Submit your application to ValleySCARE by visiting www.valleyscare.com. Check back soon with more details on our new 2011 HAUNT attractions! Better watch out, we’re dying to see you this fall!

A Taste of Summertime

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:35:00 EST

Valleyfair guests love many things about our park: the thrilling rides, friendly PEANUTS™ characters and tasty treats are all perennial favorites. Now, we have a new offering at the park that is sure to quickly become a favorite food—especially with cooler fall temperatures just around the corner! Guests are now enjoying s’mores with a fun Valleyfair twist. Our special s’mores, introduced a week ago, tempt hungry guests with a bar of warm, gooey chocolate and fluffy marshmallow, all wrapped in a sweet graham cracker crust. Then, they’re topped with chocolate powder and drizzled with even more chocolate! These fun new park treats are available at the Cinnabon® stand at the front of the park in sets of two for only $4.99. Guests can add whipped cream for no additional cost if they have a hankering for even more sweets! Make sure to stop by the Cinnabon® stand next time you visit the park to try out our newest park treat. It’s the perfect way to mix two summertime favorites—s’mores and Valleyfair!

Backstage of Rockin' the Galaxy

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:52:00 EST

Something hyperactive and flashy is going on at our Galaxy Theater this year! If you miss the 70’s and the 80’s, then make sure you stop by to watch Rockin’ the Galaxy! This excellent show is jam packed with great musical performances, dancing, special effects and cheery performers. I was lucky enough to get a peak at the backstage area before the first show started one afternoon. I wanted to see how the performers got hyped before they go on stage and what it is like to prepare for a lively performance. Walking backstage in complete darkness requires talent. I felt myself walking very slow with my hands reached out to block anything potentially in my way. For a person who does not enjoy scary movies with unexpected “boos” and jumps, the walk backstage made my nerves rise. Eventually, I reached the two, lit dressing rooms. I entered the first dressing room to say “hello” to the lady performers, and as I opened the door I was engulfed in a fog of hairspray. The ladies were in the finishing stage of touchups, applying their lipstick and vocalizing their voices. The girls were surprisingly quick when getting ready and were very talkative with me. I noticed a large, nearly empty, iced coffee was placed among the variety types of makeup; confirming my suspicions that some form of caffeine was necessary to provide the performers with such liveliness on stage! The Galaxy Ladies Primping in their Dressing Room Next door was the men’s dressing room. I chuckled a bit, because I found none of the performers in costume, unlike the ladies. The guys were shaving, grabbing a bite of food and running around getting their costumes in place. I was amazed by the stark difference in preparation routines between the female and male performers as they got ready for the show. The Galaxy Fellows Getting Prepared in their Dressing Room On my backstage tour, I also met Amanda; who assists with backstage costume changes between songs. When performers have just ten seconds to change in between two sets of songs, getting changed and back on stage takes a lot of talent. Amanda stands at the ready behind stage with the next costume for the performer to change in and out of his or her costume. It is incredibly fast paced! Readers, if you take an hour to get ready in the morning, then good luck as a Galaxy Theater star! Amanda Assisting with AJ's Costume Change Between Songs I was curious to know about the audition process the performers had to experience to become a Galaxy show star. I spoke with Brian about his Valleyfair Entertainment audition that took place at the Wisconsin Theater. If you have ever watched an American Idol audition episode, it is something like that. The room is filled with hot competition and eager performers waiting to try out. In addition to a singing tryout, Brian was asked to perform a monologue to highlight his acting ability to producers. This was the beginning of a lengthy process. After the audition, Brian was asked for a call back that included memorizing a thirty-minute dance to exemplify his performance skills and to measure his vocalization. Finally, Brian underwent a phone interview for our managers to understand Brian’s general work ethic. With Brian’s lengthy, intimidating audition process, he states that it is completely worth it! It is great to see a Valleyfair family form. The best example of a Valleyfair family would be the Rockin’ the Galaxy cast. Everyone is comfortable with one another by making jokes and helping another out upon opening. AJ V., another Galaxy performer, stated that performing five shows a day, six days a week sounds exhausting; however, having a close-knit cast makes it a joy to come to work because it does not feel like work. Every cast member plays off each other to get another motivated to perform an excellent show. Ladies & Gentlemen: The Cast of Rockin' The Galaxy! There you have it! A brief Valley View behind the scenes of our new show, Rockin’ the Galaxy. If you have not seen this lively show, then make sure to check out performance times on our website or on our park guides when you visit. I bid you Valley Viewers a farewell and remind you “Don’t Stop, Believing.”