Wednesday, September 24, 2008

letter to theme parks

It is that time of year again.
HALLOWEEN!!

Dear Theme Park,

Now, I have nothing against Halloween. I rather enjoy dressing up the kids in an overpriced sweat box of something cute and knocking on strangers doors begging for crap (yep, I just said crap, cover your children's eyes:) that is going to cost me the equivalent of a small yacht at the dentist. IT. SO. MAKES. PERFECT. SENSE. TO. . ME!!

I also have nothing against advertisements. Mostly because in this day of DVR's I fast forward through them.

What I do have a problem with are the theme parks and their advertisements. Now if you are like me and you live within a reasonable distance of a theme park (say 5 surrounding states) then you are inundated with advertisements right now to visit the theme park for their Halloween-I-know-it-is-fake-but-still-scares-the-crap-out-of-me-event.

Really, do you have to post your blood and gore up on a billboard the size of life so you can frighten the crap out of my little kids? Really, they have to be traumatized by the sight of some football player looking freak with blood running down the side of his face, missing half his body with his eyes reflecting the devil? R.E.A.L.L.Y. That to you says good advertising? Have none of you ever had children? Are your children normal functioning members of society? I do have to wonder. I would like to say it is better on the radio, but even if I turn it down, you have maximized the audio to be heard even over a train. Really, my kids love to listen to the horror music and it is very easy to explain the sounds of a chainsaw and a person screaming and how they go together. THANK YOU! Now, the TV. As if the billboards, which I speed past or try to deflect their attention from and the radio which I have now pulled out of the car weren't enough. YOU HAD TO MAKE A COMMERCIAL TO RUN DURING AMERICA'S FUNNIEST VIDEO'S? IS. THERE. NOTHING. SACRED. PEOPLE? I don't watch the news during any hours my children may stumble across the TV (I can't afford therapy at 1,3 and 7) because I like to disillusion them into thinking the world is good. However, I am better off subjecting them to hours of real news of blood and gore than the crap you are exposing them to in your 30 second commercial. REALLY, IT SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF EVEN ME.

I do not visit your theme parks for your scare fest. My kids have given me enough gray hair. But, even if I did, I choose to see that, I am an ADULT! Yes, I agree, you have the freedom of speech. BUT PLEASE USE YOUR BRAIN! Please do NOT force my children to be scared out of their wits this time every year.

Please allow my kids the opportunity to use their imagination to think up the next reason for asking to sleep in my bed. They don't need your help!

Thanks,
Annoyed Mother

11 comments:

Julie Willis said...

Amen!

Anonymous said...

This very thing really started annoying me a couple of years ago. From the time i see the first billboard or see the first tv commercial, i start counting the days to the end of october. They seem sooooo much worse this year, it makes a parent want to take drastic action. I don't need the kids sleeping on the floor next to my bed. Freedom of speech......

Anonymous said...

Well if you feel the theme parks dont have the "freedom" to say what they want, then maybe you all don't have the freedom to complain. Perhaps your kids should be doing something else besides watch TV.

Anonymous said...

It's not the job of the Theme Parks to protect your child, it's your job.

BPOTW said...

Wow anonymous...give a mom the right to be frustrated and express her opinion! Give us your name and blog address instead of complaining anonymously!

I for one agree that these advertisements are out of control. I hate Halloween and everything society is pushing for it to represent. It gets more gory and salacious every year. I applaud any parent who wants to protect their kids from this, which can include complaining about things kids see, not only on tv but on billboards. Should we blindfold our kids when we put them in the car?

And thanks for submitting again!

Jen said...

Freedom of speach is great. BUT! You should also respect others right to be in an environment where it isn't forced upon them. TV is crazy for this. It's not the best thing to be doing, it's mostly a time waster, (I say this as my kids have had a couple movie marathons) but it has some value to it. Now it's just getting harder to find the good stuff without it being injected with bad. Like commercials or blips of noise,visuals that weren't necessary at all. Billboards are getting just as nutty and even harder to block. ANYWAYS......
Amen to your post! I love Halloween but I could do without all the blood and gore.
a visitor form BPOTW

Anonymous said...

Well I for one agree with the other anonymous comments. I mean, come on, how scarey could these things be. Do you walk around the streets when you're taking your kids trick-or-treating and walk up to people and say "Um excuse me, but could you go home because your costume is just too scarey for my child." Grow up! Be a parent! Tell your kids its fake, and get over it! If it was that inappropriate then these things would not be allowed on TV or Billboards.

Anonymous said...

This is a response to BPOTW. The MOM has the right to complain, but the public is not responsible for protecting the worlds children. Its the same as those idiot parents who complain because their children are seeing horrible things online and perverts contacting their children online. HEY- Here's an idea...Dont let your children go online!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey I know some kids that are afraid of Santa Claus when he's in the mall. Perhaps they should do away with that too.

Gombojav Tribe said...

Hey, I'm with ya mom! As you walk into the main doors at our local Wal-Mart there is some headless thing that moves in response to motion and plays some creepy music. That combined with some gigantic spiders and some tombstones make a lovely welcoming committee for my children.

*sigh* I go in for toilet paper and come out with a million questions as to why people want to celebrate the dead like that. And why that person was headless. And then the kid who doesn't want to sleep alone because he can't get that monster thing out of his mind. Very expensive toilet paper.

Lovely.

I cannot wait until Halloween is over.

Gombojav Tribe said...

btw, I found you through BPOTW!