Save a Cockroach this weekend at Great America
No one ever thought a bug that can supposedly survive a nuclear explosion would need a campaign slogan for protection.
However, the great "Save a Cockroach" campaign kicks off Saturday morning when Six Flags Great America's annual Fright Fest opens for business.
The "Save a Cockroach" campaign means visitors will not be munching cockroaches as they have in the past during a 7:30 p.m. show. Instead, they'll receive a coveted free front-of-the-line ride pass when they spin a wheel and eat whatever gross bug is identified.
"There are no cockroaches this time around," said Brooke Gabbert, the Gurnee theme park's public relations manager. "We are saving cockroaches this year, but instead people will eat another creepy crawler."
Those crawlers include super worms, night crawlers, grasshoppers, snails and silk worms. The grasshoppers, snails and silk worms are shipped to the park dead, Gabbert said, but the super worms and night crawlers are very much alive when people munch them.
"The disgusting part is the super worms have been known to eat its way out of a reptile if it's not chewed thoroughly," she said. "So, obviously, we are telling people to chew the super worm thoroughly before swallowing it."
Great America will have two haunted houses for people to walk through, as well as two themed "scare areas" people can check out. Also, there will be shows such as Dead Man's Party, Susan Rosen - Mistress of Mesmerism, Love at First Fright and the Zombie Jamboree Parade.
The roller coasters and other thrill rides will operate throughout Fight Fest, Gabbert said.
"People really like Fright Fest, and we love to put it together," she said. "The best thing about it is that everyone takes part in putting it together. Even I was out hanging bats and ghosts from the trees. The employees love it."
Fright Fest runs weekends only through the first weekend of November. The hours are Fridays, 5 to 11 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Monday, Oct. 13, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
People purchasing tickets on line will pay $29.99 from Oct. 4 through Oct. 13, then again Nov. 1 and 2. The cost is $34.99 from Oct. 17 through Oct. 31. People purchasing tickets at the door pay $54.99