The Carlsbad Strawberry Fields, mainly known for their haunted corn maze and pumpkin patches, introduced a new exhibit this year- The Jurassic Fright. This attraction combines realistic animatronics and interactive elements to create an immersive experience that transports visitors into the Jurassic era.
Owner Anthony Marcotti shares what gave him the idea for Jurassic fright and how it all got brought to life. During the summer at Carlsbad State Beach, there was an exhibit called Jurassic Beach. It became a big hit quickly, and Marcotti wanted to keep the concept and dinosaur theme alive for fall, leading to the idea of a Halloween-themed dinosaur attraction.
“The idea sparked from the Jurassic beach at the Carlsbad state beach,” Marcotti said. “We wanted to do the same thing throughout the fall but switch it up.”
He wanted to keep the exhibit family-friendly, while keeping kids interested with Halloween festivities. This allows parents to be comfortable taking their children to the fields and have peace of mind knowing the experience is engaging without frightening elements.
“It is a fun family friendly option that’s focused on entertaining the littles but all ages seem to enjoy it,” Marcotti said. “It’s not meant to be scary so everyone can enjoy it.”
Marcotti wanted to create an experience that stood out compared to the typical fall activities and offer something new for everyone. Parents are always on the search for new activities they can do with their kids, especially something beyond what they normally do- like going to parks or museums.
“It is something unique that has never been done before,” Marcotti said. “And parents are always looking for new activities to do with their kids that they can be a part of too.”
The Haunted Corn Maze is the Strawberry Field’s main attraction during this season, but it is an activity curated for more older kids and adults. Marcotti states that there was a need for more kid-friendly activities, since the normal or haunted corn mazes aren’t something a kid will find much excitement in.
“Most parents don’t take their younger kids to the corn maze since it is the same thing every time and it doesn’t ever appeal to them,” Marcotti said.
To further improve the exhibit for visitors, Marcotti and his team designed the maze to have different themes while walking throughout. Every section has a different ambience to keep visitors entertained throughout the whole experience and was made to truly capture different halloween elements that spark kids sense of wonder.
“We made sure to include many different themes such as graveyards, camping, aliens, labs,” Marcotti said. “Which really sparks their interests by bringing different things most kids like to life.”
Between designing the giant animatronics,transporting and setting them up, to attempting to get the dinosaurs working- everything had to be done very carefully. Marcotti explains that the setup and building of the attraction happened quickly and the hardest part of the process was turning on the animatronics and making sure they move, make noise, and do everything they are supposed to, since it isn’t a very easy task.
“The process of building the dinosaurs and setting up wasn’t too timely, it took about four months total,” Marcotti said. “But the most time-consuming and difficult part was getting the animatronics on — it is more than just flipping a power switch.”
For the future, Marcotti and his team have already started planning new ways to draw in more visitors and make the attraction a more exciting experience every year. They hope to keep building up and adding new locations in other places during the incoming years, and to make the attraction longer and more interactive for a new experience each time people visit.
“We hope in the future to add little touches to it to make it more interactive and hands-on, and make it a longer experience — maybe even adding more trails,” Marcotti said. “It is a big market, since it is such a fresh idea, and we definitely see more locations opening and a higher demand for this since it is super good for attracting new visitors.”
