Reflections by Rick West

Over the years, TPA Night grew. It never became huge, but it became big enough to require some behind-the-scenes planning and careful coordination with Knott's Berry Farm. Suddenly, it wasn't just a small group of us - it was fans coming from all over the place to participate. One year, we had people from SoCal, San Francisco and London come for this - we were all over the map!

A funny story: that year, toward the beginning of TPA Night, I took the group over and introduced everyone to then Vice President and General Manager, Jack Falfas. After the group gave Jack a big round of applause, he was very kind and jovial. In a moment of charity, he asked aloud, "How would you guys all like VIP wristbands for tonight?" which was met with wild cheers and applause. I asked Jack quietly if he really wanted to do that and he said of course he did, and asked how many were in our group. I remember telling him there were 33 people. He looked dazed for a moment and said, "Oh shit!" quietly to me. He had to excuse himself to his office where he raided his desk and desks in the Marketing office to come up with enough wrist bands for the TPAers that night - which he did, but never offered again in following years! It was really funny and very kind of him; a memory I will always cherish.

As the TPA Night group grew steadily, we began giving prizes away to people during Pre-Scare Dinner and things like free buttons; little things, but fun things that made the event feel special. Early on, we started creating special event T-shirts, which we found fans wearing to the event and having signed by Haunt monsters and other TPAers alike - kind of like a school yearbook; that was a really neat tradition that continued for quite some time.

Also over the years, various staff members have come and gone and their enthusiasm and assistance with the event always made it much better; I am always going to be thankful for having an enthused team and fans alike.

Some of our more memorable TPA Nights at Haunt were spent soaking wet - Mother Nature didn't always cooperate, and several times, we got absolutely dumped on (and so flew the ponderings that perhaps that is the reason we offered white TPA Night shirts)! Even soggy, cold and physically miserable, the TPAers always had a fantastic time.

The attendance for TPA Night has always fluctuated from year to year, with some turn-outs being very nice and others, not so much. However, we have always been thankful for the wonderful friends who have joined us each year for our annual "death march" through the Scary Farm.

Other highlights over the years have included being able to introduce the TPAers to Haunt designers outside of their mazes and performers on stage after shows; little bonuses throughout the night such as those always added so much character and fun to the event.

And so, the inevitable question - why am I speaking of this all in the past, or like a eulogy?

With heavy thought and two years of much consideration, we have decided that 2011 was Theme Park Adventure's final TPA Night at Haunt event. This decision was not made easily, and there are many factors that have gone into it. First and foremost, TPA's Halloween season operations have expanded greatly in the past few years; we have been covering more and more events - and so freeing up an extra night will mean at least one more event we can cover and bring to you as part of our haunting season madness here. And then there are the many other online communities and groups - they have formed huge Haunt gatherings and because of their larger numbers and special tickets/food arranged through Knott's, have been able to offer things such as backstage tours, that TPA never has and couldn't because we opted not to be thrown in to a general "fan night" by Knott's or have to charge our TPAers any extra for event tickets. We never intended or wanted TPA Night to be huge like that - we always preferred to keep it intimate and easy-going, so we opted out of all those other offerings from Knott's.

Everything decided, we went into TPA Night 2011 knowing - and letting others know - that this was it; and in turn, we gave it a great send-off, in my opinion. We had a nice Pre-Scare Dinner, a wonderful time touring Knott's Scary Farm, watched The Hanging from the VIP viewing area, saw Marty Putz (who referenced the TPAers throughout the show) and had a private meet-and-greet with him afterward, and those who made it to the very end of the night took a group ride on Windseeker before we all said our goodbyes.

A perfect ending for a long-standing TPA tradition. It was a bit sad as we walked to our car, but it was also very gratifying; everyone had a brilliant night, the weather was nice and everything went very smoothly. I couldn't have asked for more. It meant a lot to me to have our TPAers say, "This can't be it!"

Everyone is so appreciated - thank you all for your support over the years and the desire to travel from wherever you came from to be a part of our annual night of madness and crude humor. You guys have been amazing - it doesn't matter if this was your first TPA Night or 10th; we feel truly honored and know that you guys will go on to bring your own groups to Haunt from now on. The tradition grows and changes, you know?

One other twisted tradition we always had was our "word of the night" on-going joke. Reverting to mostly potty humor, we've used everything from "rectum" to "priapism", incorporating those words as much as possible into our warped dialogue all night. Between that and finger-throwing at the camera, we look back at all the madness and have one final "word of the night"...

Satisfied.

Thank you all - much, much love. See you in the fog!

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