Griffith Park's 'Haunted Hayride' Plans 'Drive-Up' Scare For 2020

LOS ANGELES, CA — Fear not, fear-seekers, fretting that coronavirus-related cancellations would put the kibosh on Halloween 2020! The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride is making sure you still can get the wits scared out of you this year.

The Halloween-holiday hayride, a Griffith Park terror tradition, is changing up this season's annual attraction, due to COVID-19 restrictions, but producers promise the creep factor is first and foremost in the revamped format.

“With all of the other heritage Halloween events cancelling in Southern California, it drove us to find a way to bring a safe and unique experience to Halloween fans,” said Chris Stafford, CEO of the event's production company, Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group. “I’m so excited to show our fans what we’ve created for them, and that this reimagined hayride experience will be entertaining people this season.”

Held in years past at the Old Zoo area of L.A.'s Griffith Park, the haunt typically was a popular draw with spooky characters, walk-thrus, hayrides, mazes and escape rooms.

This year, the experience will be transformed into an interactive "drive-up" at a new locale, better suited for space: Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, at 120 East Via Verde Drive in San Dimas, next to Raging Waters Los Angeles.

“There was just no way to bring cars into the hayride location at Griffith Park," said the haunt's creative director, Jon Cooke. "We had to find the right spot, one where we could implement the new drive-up experience and an outdoor environment that gives you the right fall feeling. When I saw the space we’re using at Bonelli, I knew that it would be perfect,”

But don't call it a drive-thru, and don't call it a drive-in, producers said, adding, "It's a combination of the best parts of both, with a unique spin."

The “Drive Up” experience will take guests down a dark stretch of “All Hallows Lane,” with horrifying scenes, sets, sounds and special-effects, coupled with a haunted, multimedia story displayed on a 40-foot screen and accompanied by live characters from the town of Midnight Falls, operators said.

The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride: Live Drive Up Experience takes place on select nights Sept. 25 through Nov. 1. Tickets sales are underway, and organizers remind those interested that capacity is "very limited" this year with nightly sell-outs expected. Follow this link for more info.

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