Vegas Halloween Fright Dome

By: Kellie Archuletta

A rite of passage for a Las Vegas teenager is a annual trip to the Fright Dome located in Circus Circus, this is a dressed up and scary version of the Adventure Dome. My 13 year old son begged to have this adventure and as overprotective parents we went on the pilgrimage with him much to the dismay of our now shattered eardrums.

My husband and I volunteered to take a group of 13 year old boys to the Fright Dome because as my friend Toni said, she was told it was a “mixed crowd”. As we entered the Dome after paying $30.00 per person we immediately noticed something about the crowd, it was 80% 13 year old girls. Las Vegas is home to the 5th largest school district in the nation and I am convinced that every 13 year old female in the city goes to the fright dome on Friday nights in October. This is a great thing if you are a 13 year old male, unfortunately for these 43 year old eardrums teenage girls like to shriek and shriek and shriek. Add to the mix an enclosed, indoor, echoing amusement park with 4 haunted houses and several thrill rides and you can only imagine the ear shattering decibel level of this adventure.

The amusement park turns off all the overhead lights on fright dome nights and it is downright dark and eerie in many places. This is where you will run into many masked and costumed workers trying to scare anyone they can, it is effective; I added several shrieks to the mix, not that they could be heard over the din. My son and his friends were chased out of the bathroom by a demon with a chainsaw. I choose not to ask about specifics. My husband and I went to Cell Block 13 which was one of 4 haunted houses in the park. It was very scary with several surprises and many real masked actors popping out of dark corners just often enough so that you never caught your breath.

After the haunted house and bumper cars my husband and I spied an oasis in this 13 year old infested desert- a makeshift bar. We made a beeline to the sign that read 22 ounce beer for $2.00. I commented to the bartender that my husband needed a beer in order to spend any more time in the Fright Dome; the bartender commented that he would need a lot more than alcohol to endure the Fright Dome. With alcohol beverages in hand we went to sit down and wait to see the Jim Rose Circus. My thought was, “it’s a Circus, how scary can it be?” As it turned out, it was really beyond anything we had ever seen before, the more tame acts included a performer lifting a car battery off the ground with his nipple rings and watching a beautiful pink haired girl have a bowling ball thrown on her chest. I won’t give away the finale but suffice to say that my macho fighter pilot husband who has never looked away from anything in his 45 years of existence had his head burrowed in my hair during the act. It involved regurgitation in various forms, enough said.

James and I had to punt and leave the boys to their own devices and of course the Vegas teen necessity of a cell phone while we went to the Pink Pony Coffee Shop in the relatively silent casino. The food was great and the waitress was fabulous and eventually the boys decided that they had had enough fun for one night and emerged from the depths of the Fright Dome as well. This is a definite must do if you are 13, or act like you are 13, or think like a 13 year old. It is scary and I can’t imagine anywhere else having anything like it in the world. Once again Vegas rocks and shrieks!!

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Kellie Archuletta is a senior at UNLV majoring in Marketing, the president of the PTSA at Knudson Middle School the magnet for the performing arts and a former 5 time Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier who still enjoys running and coaching. Her husband Jaime is a United Airlines Pilot. Her son Charlie is a 13 year old aspiring actor and musician. You can contact her by e-mail kellie.archuletta@cox.net

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