Pr Invite | On Sunday, we were invited to the very popular Halloween Farm's Halloween After Dark event in Leicestershire. It was our first time, and we were very excited, given that most weekend dates are now sold out online.
The price of admission varies depending on the day you want to visit, but on average, it is between ยฃ17.50-ยฃ22.50 per adult and ยฃ15.50-ยฃ20 per child (aged 11 and under).
๐๐จ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐?
๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฅ
The light trail among the corn was by far our favourite part of the night. Weโve never seen a Halloween light trail before, so we really enjoyed this. There were plenty of photo opportunities to be had! The best part for us was the hay bale pumpkins and the huge skeleton at the end!
The social media pages did advertise that they'd be interactive actors in the light trail, but there weren't any when we went. Although there were two people in light-up costumes trying to keep the children in the queue for the trail entertained. We waited 20 minutes for entry.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ
An approx 50-minute long circus show, with performances like motorbike stunts, The Wheel of Death, sword swallowing, and more. I have to admit some parts I was watching through my fingers! We thought the Wheel of Death act and the bike stunts were really good, and the clown act was fab for the children. But although three circus times were advertised on the website, they only performed one show at 7.45pm.
๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐
The food village consists of about six food/drink vans, including a licensed bar. They sell food like burgers, hotdogs, chicken, donuts, etc. Burgers are ยฃ8 each, ยฃ4 for a portion of chips, donuts ยฃ4 for ten mini ones, ยฃ2.50 for a bottle of pop. There are lots of tables outside and under an enclosed marquee to eat at. The food we ate was nice, but we did think it was overpriced (but I suppose average for an event like this). We were also a bit disappointed that the donut van closed when we exited the light trail at 9.15 - we had been craving them all evening haha! Live music in the food village was also advertised, but there wasnโt any on the night we visited.
๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐๐ค ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค
Admission includes access to the pumpkin patches after dark. The pumpkin patch looked stunning during sunset (perfect for photos or even a proposal!) and then turned eerie as it went pitch black! We've actually never been anywhere before where you can see and pick pumpkins after dark, so It was a unique experience for us. Pumpkins are an additional cost (charged by weight), and you pay for them as you leave. We did think that an approximate pumpkin price guide would have been helpful, though.
๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฌ:
๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ
There is a variety of rides and games, like the waltzers, twister, ghost train, dodgems, and a few rides for younger children, as well as games like hook-a-duck and hook-a-bag. Most of the rides are ยฃ3pp, which is about average for typical fairground rides. Instead of tokens, though, you pay for the ride (by cash or card) while youโre seated on the ride, which can be quite time-consuming, especially when the card machines/phones are being temperamental. Iโd love to see some ride tokens included in the admission price or offers on tokens or even wristbands to make the admission cost better value for money. After all, you can go to the funfair and pumpkin patch in the daytime when the entry price is a lot less.
The daytime attractions like Trick or Treat Street, The Lost Fantasy World inflatable experience, and The Magical Family Maze Trail are all fenced off in the evening and not part of Halloween After Dark. There was quite a lot of confusion with other families on what parts were actually included in the evening.
I would definitely visit during their daytime offering next year, where admission prices start from as little as ยฃ2 each, and you pay for the additional attractions that you want to do. Trick or Treat Street looks great!
I personally couldnโt justify spending approx ยฃ20 each for admission (which pays for access to the pumpkin patch during the dark, access to the food village, the illuminated light trail, and the circus). I feel like if the admission price included a pumpkin each and a few ride tokens, etc., the event would be better value for money.
If you would like to find out more about the Halloween After Dark event, head to their website here. If you would like to view their daytime event, head here. The event is located at Cattows Farm, Normanton Lane, Leicestershire LE67 2TD.