TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Old Tucson is reopening in October with Nightfall, the annual Halloween-themed event. Officials tell KGUN 9 they are selling tickets to Nightfall even faster than expected.
Old Tucson says it has sold tickets to people from 17 different states and to people as far away as Mexico City.
Officials say ticket sales have been been brisk since the moment they went live Thursday morning.
"It was a floodgate," said Old Tucson Ticket office Manager Tyler Novy. "It was way beyond what we expected right out of the gate. And they keep rolling in. We can't say how excited we are about not just the sales, but just the level of interest that we've seen on the engagement on social media. It's been very exciting around here."
Nightfall opens on October, but you must pre-order tickets with a specific entry time.
The first person to snag tickets to nightfall Thursday morning was a New Mexico man. Sam Valentic used to come to Old Tucson with his family growing up.
"We'd always go to Old Tucson," Valentic said. "It was always one of my favorite places to go because I used to watch all the westerns and I had so much fun doing those things."
He knew he had to go to nightfall once he heard the Wild West theme park was reopening.
"I have to go," Valentic said. "I've been to a lot of the competitor-type haunted house theme parks and stuff. I'm just really excited to see an old western version of it."
As the first person to purchase tickets to Nightfall, Old Tucson is awarding Valentic a special weekend package with a free hotel stay.
Old Tucson is also starting to sell tickets to their Christmas-themed event called Yuletide at Old Tucson, which runs the day after thanksgiving through Christmas Eve.
——-
Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
