.jpg)
Garden After Dark is a fun little Halloween event at Red Butte Garden. It features a fun interactive adventure as you walk through the Gardens area. There is also a dance party and a couple of trucks offering hot beverages and treats. This years theme was Adventures in Neverland. Which included several fun Peter Pan themed areas 4 of which offered clues to a puzzle to solve to get a prize at the end. It was made mainly for kids, but it was cute and fun.
Quick Details:
Length: It is about a mile loop.
Trail Type: Loop.
Difficulty: DR2 it is paved and mostly easy, but there is a good hill!
Elevation Gain: About 100 feet.
Restroom: In the Visitor Center, and there is one by the Rose Garden as well.
Dogs? No.
Other Info: October 15th - 30th. Fee area. Tickets: Mon - Thur 6-8PM $15 Members $13. Fri - Sun 6-9PM $20, members $18. Flex Tickets (can be exchanged) $23, members $20. More details on their site (outside link)
To Get Here:
Take i215 to Foothill Drive heading north. Go about 3.3 miles and turn right on Wakara Way. Continue up that for 9/10ths of a mile and it will be on the right.
We actually got to park in the main parking lot, instead of the over flow lots like we generally have to do for Blooming With Pride.
The Trail:
The kids room.
This Tinkerbell actress was amazing! We had a pre-teen with us and she made some really special pictures that I think she will cherish… at least until the teen angst starts.
“Every Halloween Peter and I scatter Pixie Dust across Neverland to wake up the island’s Halloween magic.
It makes the pumpkins glow, the skeletons dance, and the Halloween fun begin.
But Hook captured Peter before we could start. Without him, Neverland’s Halloween magic won’t wake up.”
“Hook didn’t just kidnap Peter Pan he(?) stole my Pixie Dust! He mixed it with one of his silly pirate potions and shrank Peter Pan to the size of a fairy.
Now Peter is Trapped in a magic cage at Hook’s hideout at Skull Rock.
Honestly Hook has the worst ideas.”
I tried to get good pictures of the story as it unfolded, but with all the people here, sometimes it just was not going to happen. But I think I got most of it.
“Luckily, I know Hook’s pirate tricks, so I planned ahead.
I hid four emergency supplies of Pixie Dust beneath plants across Neverland. To keep them safe, I turned the Pixie Dust into magic beads and asked my Firefly friends to guard them.
They may look small, but they’re bursting with fairy magic!”
Here we got cute little pipe cleaner magic wands.
“At each stop in Neverland:
- Find the plant hiding my Pixie Dust.
- Tell the nearby Firefly where you found it.
Collect all four beads, and we’ll have enough magic to save Peter Pan.
Ready? Let’s go remind Hook that pirates never win.”
“Now we need to go to Neverland. Normally you’d fly there, but humans don’t have wings.
Good thing I saved a little Pixie Dust for the trip!
Take a Pixie Dust vial, think your happiest thought, and fly through the stars.
I’ll see you in Neverland!”
Vile of Pixie Dust. The dust glows in black light, and retains the glow effect for a little while after as well. Fun.
Fun statue.
The ‘flight’ to Neverland.
With some fun fall color.
‘Flying’.
Through the clouds and stars.
And the moon.
More stars.
And mist.
Stars and clouds.
Over the city. This is really imaginative.
Forest.
Then we reach the Pear Arbors in the Floral Walk or the beginning of ‘Neverland’ for today.
“Welcome to Neverland! We put out our Halloween decorations, but without Pixie Dust, none of the magic has come to life!
Our first Pixie Dust bead is hidden beneath the Bird of Paradise at the Lost Boys camp.
Cone on! Lets go find it!”
We were also handed The Shadow Hunt book. Which contained a series of 4 puzzles to work out for the next 4 areas.
No grown ups! Kids Only!
Some fall color.
LoƧt Boyz rule pirates drool.
The LoƧt BoyƧ Hideout.
Tent.
Campfire.
“This is the Lost Boys’ Camp. I hid my first Pixie Dust bead here because the Lost Boys are good at keeping secrets… when they want to be.
Look for the Bird of Paradise that glows in the night. When you find it, tell a nearby Firefly where you spotted it to collect your first Pixie Dust bead.”
Lost Boys games.
Kitchen.
Food and hollow trees.
I have never noticed this side platform before. I will have to try to remember to check it out next time we are here.
Closer look at the pirate flag.
Bird of paradise.
Terrible, blurry shot of the sign.
“Did you know
The Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) gets its name from its unusual flowers, which look like a colorful tropical bird in flight. The bright orange and blue flowers make the “bird” easy to spot. The plant is native to South Africa, where it’s dramatic flowers rise above large large, paddle shaped leaves.”
Fun directional sign.
“Welcome to Mermaid Lagoon! Nobody guards treasure better than a mermaid. They were thrilled when I asked them to guard my second Pixie Dust Bead.
Look for the coconut palm that twinkles at night. Then tell one of the nearby Fireflies where you found it. They’ll give you your second Pixie Dust bead.”
Mermaid skeleton.
Coconut tree.
.jpg)
“Did you know
Coconuts (coco nucifera) are built for ocean travel! Their thick, fibrous husks help them float, allowing them to travel across the water and wash ashore in new places. If conditions are right, the coconut can sprout and grow into a new palm.”
Heading into the Rose Garden.
Neat giant eyeball plant.
More eyeballs.
Roses.
Fun lit path.
Heading into the Water Pavilion Garden or the "Jolly Roger" for tonight's adventure.
Pirate skeletons on the water.
Jolly Roger Crew Wanted.
More skeleton crew.
“Welcome to the Jolly Roger! I hid my third Pixie Dust bead right under Hook’s nose. He never even thought to look on his own ship!
Find the banana plant that sparkles in the night. Then tell a nearby Firefly where you found it to collect your third bead.”
“Did you know Bananas (Musa spp.) may look like trees but they’re actually herbaceous perennials! Their “trunks” are made from tightly overlapping leaf bases. After a stem produces bananas, it dies back and new shoots grow from the base of the plant.”
The banana tree and flags. I love how they turned this dock into the Jolly Roger. Very imaginative.
Skeletons on the water.
It’s getting dark, so a little more spooky.
Graveyard and ship.
Entering "Crocodile Creek".
“Welcome to Crocodile Creek! Even Captain Hook runs when he hears the Crocodile’s famous tick-tock. That’s why I hid my Pixie Dust bead here.
Look for the orchids that shimmer in the night. Then tell a nearby Firefly where you found them to collect your last Pixie Dust bead.”
The Crocodile Clock. Hah, that’s fantastic! They did a really good job on that.
“Did you know
Phalaenopsis orchids are also called moth orchids because their flowers can look like months in flight! Their name comes from Greek words meaning “moth-like”. In the wild, many grow on trees, using their roots to cling to the trunks and branches rather than growing in the ground.”
They do look pretty moth like.
Climbing back up.
Its pretty.
At the top we reach "Skull Rock" which is in the Terrace Gardens section.
Oh, this one is too washed out to read…. something something .. "Lets save Peter Pan!"
Skellies.
This must be Hook’s lair?
Fun spiral ceiling.
Little Peter Pan in a cage.
His shadow in a lamp.
Cemetery. Dead men tell no tales.
Poop, this one got a little blown out too.
Something "it worked! Peter" … something something … "Halloween magic is finally waking up.
Not bad for a bunch of humans.
Now, follow the path to Pixie Hollow, then head straight on till morning to fly home.
Happy Halloween!”
Fun archway leading to Pixie Hollow.
Welcome to Pixie Hollow.
Its cute.
Fun décor.
Fairy skelly.
Giant dandelion.
Another archway.
Almost back to the Visitor Center.
The cute fountain.
The Orangery.
Inside it.
The prize for solving the riddle was a crocus bulb and a sticker. Yay.
Well, that was not quite was I was expecting, but it was fun! I am glad we decided to do it. Only one of the helper people gave us a second look at being a group of adults with 1 preteen haha, the rest didn’t bat an eye and just let us let our inner children out. Whoever put the story together and fit it into the existing garden, bravo. I was very impressed by how imaginative it was and how it all just seemed to work out. My only gripe is that is was a little more crowded than I would like. Also, I would have like a more significant food option than sweets, but my bad for not eating beforehand. 8 bats.
As for difficulty, it is 99% paved except for the flight to neverland, but that can be bypassed if needed. DR2.
Dogs are not allowed, so be sure to leave Fido home.
