Reviewing Halloween Festivities For Kids In Sacramento
- Cassie Ann
- Nov 25, 2018
- 4 min read
Mila turned 1 before Halloween this year, so there was so much more for us to do this time around. Last year, we stayed in, and she was asleep the entire time. I was definitely pretty excited for her to be able to partake in some activities this year.
I was so excited to look into events in Sacramento for Halloween. There were plenty for all ages, but of course, I was only interested in events for smaller children. There were events at local malls, businesses, activity centers, and museums. Also, funny enough, almost all of them were on the same day. There was honestly way too many to choose from, and there was no way to know which events she'd actually enjoy. So this year, we tried two different things to see what she'd actually like.
My Gym (Gymnastics/Fitness Center)
Mila is still obsessed with gymnastics, and it's her favorite activity. She goes to My Gym, and they offered a Halloween Party which was $10 for members. With her love for gymnastics, it seemed like the perfect party for her! This party took place the Saturday before Halloween, which was when almost every other event took place as well.
A gymnastics center actually seemed like the perfect place to attend one of these events, because it also gives children an outlet for their energy. This specific gym often creates themes for each week, and she enjoys them. I knew that they would do an amazing job creating a Halloween atmosphere, and I knew that she would get energy out and have fun playing.
Pros:
Physical Activities
Parent-child bonding
Music and Theming
Goodie Bag (Pretzels, Bubbles, Etc.)
Games
Time Frames for the party split up by age
Cons:
Way too many kids - It was a small space which I actually enjoy, however, there were way too many kids present. Mila could barely move without being knocked over, and older siblings were allowed to be in the younger time frames with their sibling. This led to some...issues. Many babies were knocked over or had things thrown at them.
Overall, I really enjoyed this event. I'll be taking Mila next year, even though we did run into some issues at the event. It was a really fun party, and Mila enjoyed herself. Not only that, but she got a ton of energy out, and got some physical activity for the day. I would love if they put a smaller cap on the parties and kept the older silblings with the older groups, but I'll still be returning next year.
Sacramento Zoo- Boo At The Zoo
The trunk-or-treat at the Sacramento Zoo also seemed like a good event to try because of how much she loves visiting the zoo. However, I already had a feeling I wouldn't like it because I don't find trunk-or-treat events to be fun. Mila enjoys watching the animals for a little while, but she eventually wants to do something else. There's no enthralling shows or lights to watch, and there's no physical activities or games for younger kids. So a trunk-or-treat doesn't exactly fulfill what she likes to do.
This event was $16 for adults. Mila's entrance fee was free due to her age.
Pros:
Lots of Candy
Animals to watch
Carousel (For an additional cost)
Keeper Chats and Animal Shows
Cons:
No physical activities
No games for younger kids
No music
Little theming
The event was just candy
Overall, this event was a bust. I would recommend this for older children who are content with just walking around, getting candy, and looking at animals. That was all this Halloween event had to offer. Younger children aren't usually happy doing only that, and for that reason, I wouldn't recommend this for younger children. I wasn't really expecting much going in, so I wasn't too surprised when we walked out. I won't be trying this event again for a while.
There were many other events that I actually wanted to attend as well, but like I said, almost all of them were on the same day. In fact, we had to rush from the My Gym event to the Zoo's event.
There was a flick-or-treat that the River Cats hosted which let you walk around Raley Field getting candy, and then at the end they let you sprawl out on the field and watch Coco on the big screen. It was $6 for adults, and $4 for children. This is something that I'd love to do with Mila, but won't be fun to do until she's old enough to actually enjoy sitting down to watch a movie. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone with kids who would enjoy it, as it sounds like a fun time.
There's a 2.5 hour Trick-Or-Treat Train which the Sacramento River Train hosts. It seems to be a trick-or-treating event, that also has activities for children to enjoy. I decided not to do this because of how long it is, and how young Mila was. I don't think she'd be able to enjoy this for a couple years, but I think that the train ride would be a fun experience for her when the time comes!
And as a bonus to this list, I want to add that we thoroughly enjoyed Mickey's Halloween Party in Disneyland. They provide trick-or-treating inside the park with a smaller crowd than they usually have. There are also special Halloween parade and fireworks show that only Mickey's Halloween Party guests get to see. Along with those special things, there was also a dance party, themed food, and you're allowed to wear a costume in the park which is never allowed. There were plenty of dates to choose from, and I believe tickets ranged between $100-$130 if you don't have an annual pass to the park. Annual passholders get to apply their discounted rate to the ticket price. The ticket also includes entrance into both parks during the day of the party.
We had an amazing Halloween this year, and we got to celebrate it by visiting many different Halloween events. Mickey's Halloween Party in Disneyland is something we'll be doing every year, and so will the My Gym event, so long as she doesn't have a negative experience because of some of the slight issues we had. I definitely recommend those events to anyone who is interested!
댓글