SpeedZone's Haunted Mini Golf: 2021 Review
SpeedZone, City of Industry, CA
Have you ever gone miniature golfing and thought, 'You know what would really liven up this listless game of hitting small spheres past obstacles and into the holes in the ground... monsters?' Have you ever been watching someone intently focused on knocking that ball through the windmill and wondered what would happen if a fearsome ghoul apparated right in front of him and let out a dreadful shriek to distract his concentration? Have you ever felt bored with just the plaid nature of a family fun center and wished for some chills and thrills?
Well, SpeedZone Los Angeles has the answer for you in the form of its 2021 Halloween season offering, Haunted Mini Golf! Yes, exactly as described, on Friday and Saturday nights, from now through Halloween, guests will have the opportunity to play miniature golf under the Halloween ambiance. Prep up for those poltergeist pars and booish birdies and ectoplasm eagles, because you've never gone miniature golfing like this!
Awww, what a nice looking bunny who totally doesn’t look like he’d devour your soul or anything.
For those who aren't aware, SpeedZone Los Angeles is a family fun center located in the City of Industry, near the 60 and 57 freeways. I'm old enough to remember when it first opened some... twenty-odd years ago? At the time, the big attraction was the facility's gamut of racing tracks, which included three go kart circuits, a drag race strip, and an adult speedway that required an actual driver's license to race in. But there was also an arcade and a pair of miniature golf courses to go along.
In its more recent history, SpeedZone has unfortunately followed the trend of family fun centers going in decline. And while it didn't go under during the Coronavirus pandemic, it did temporarily close. It's also been recently purchased by Boomers, placing it under the ownership umbrella of Apex Group, which owns Boomer Parks. The lean operating struggles have resulted in the adult go karts and the drag strip being closed down indefinitely, and presently, only the slick track, the turbo track (and adjacent kiddie track), and the two mini golf courses operate with the indoor arcade.
SpeedZone L.A. has a nice mix of Halloween theming that’s mostly not too elaborate, though this is one of the nicer set pieces.
The Haunted Mini Golf endeavor this year is the first part of an aspiring multi-year plan that aims to bring additional, more traditional haunted attractions to SpeedZone as the fun center hopefully is able to expand its offerings into other amusement park attractions similar to other Boomers in the past. But for this year, the Halloween overlay provides a fun and unique take to a haunted event.
How many fake, prop scarecrows are there, and how many real, scareactor scarecrows are there?
Guests who want to experience Haunted Mini Golf can buy a ticket online and reserve a time in advance for $18.99/person + fees or $22.99 at the door. The Haunted Golf runs from 7:00 - 10:00pm and features two courses:
The Dawn of Daytona course is family-friendly with a silly pumpkin patch and cemetery, followed up by a forest of spirits and witches, all made from inflatable structure similar to what one would find at a department or home improvement store. This course is for those who don't want to be scared by monsters and prefer a more traditional, silly Halloween ambiance.
The Spirits of Sebring course is the more mature of the two, with actual scareactors and scares. It starts in a pumpkin patch, but a toxic spill has caused the pumpkins and scarecrows to mutate and come to life. The result is live scareactors who slink in the fog, pretend to be part of the scenery, and otherwise act as steathily as possible in order to sneak up on unsuspecting guests and give them a good startle as they're trying to focus on their putts. The decorations are typical of what one might find at a home haunt, with minimal custom sets and a reliance on residential-type outdoor Halloween furnishings (they’ve even got a Home Depot 12ft tall skeleton in there).
Home Depot Skellie in da house!!
There's nothing elaborate in the theming or the environment here, but that's okay. Haunted Mini Golf isn't meant to rival the likes of Knott's and Universal. Instead, it provides an interesting hour or two spent in the Halloween atmosphere, with a touch of the scares that a traditional haunt provides, at a price that accommodates those on a budget.
At the VIP preview night, there was also a slider show featuring some members of Decayed Brigade and Scream Team, another slider troupe. But there’s no indication this will be regular, although the venue is reportedly working on a Halloween night slider show return.
SpeedZone also has an indoor arcade and a pair of go-kart tracks.
The remainder of the attractions and SpeedZone operate normally, and SpeedZone offers a VIP ticket with Racing, Golf & Games from 5pm- Close starting at $59.99 per person that includes unlimited go-karting and non-prize-providing video games--plus 2 rounds of Mini Golf at one's chosen reservation slot. I thought it would have been cool to include a couple of monsters at each go-kart track to race with the guests and try to scare them, but I imagine that SpeedZone's lawyers would probably disagree.
Check out SpeedZone’s Haunted Mini Golf today! The monsters won’t bite… too hard.
Haunted Mini Golf offers a taste of what will hopefully be more fully fleshed out haunting activities to come, and it's a unique alternative to most of the haunted attractions out there. SpeedZone L.A. is located at 17871 Castleton St, City of Industry, CA 91748. Although the venue is open daily, Haunted Mini Golf specifically only occurs on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, visit the SpeedZone web site. Then maybe head out and try some spooooooky golf! It's definitely a nice, fun time!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
