Cornbelly’s: A small-town vibe in the Silicon Slopes

Thanksgiving Point’s family-friendly Halloween park — Cornbelly’s — began in 1996 and has only become more popular with time. The park offers more than 60 attractions, several sprawling corn mazes and a wide selection of carnivalesque food and drink items including hand-battered corn dogs, steaming apple cider and fresh-popped kettle corn.

From the moment of arrival, you’ll find yourself in the center of a bustling crowd. Don’t let that discourage you from entering the park though, because once you do it’s easy to break free from the throng of people and find an unoccupied bench to take a breath. Bright, colorful lighting and the shouting of eager children only add to the feeling of nostalgia, causing even the toughest in the park to feel sentimental for small-town life. 

Many of Cornbelly’s attractions are certainly targeted toward younger audiences. Corn Cob Beach, found in the park’s northwest corner, gives children (and adults) the opportunity to play within a veritable sea of corn kernels. Ever pondered the feeling of skin submerged in unpopped corn? Your answer is only the park’s price of admission: $18.95.

You’ll have to shell out a bit more cash though if you’re looking for an experience spookier than the family-friendly one described. Insanity Point is a section of the park generally recommended for guests aged 12 and older. While tickets to Insanity Point are a bit pricier at $34.95, guests eager for a more typical haunted-house experience can find a number of things to scream about within the sectioned-off portion of Cornbelly’s.

Perhaps more famous and prolific than any other attraction within the park is the sprawling corn maze. While adventurous souls can journey into the Hysteria Hay Maze of Insanity Point, the true spectacle of Cornbelly’s is its family-friendly corn maze, this year split into two different yet equally daunting sections. Though unnoticeable from the ground, the maze has been meticulously crafted and grown to depict a homage to Disney’s “Peter Pan” and the words “Never Grow Up.”

No disrespect to grandma, but this isn’t her corn maze. Once guests allow themselves to truly get lost within the sprawl of stalks rising more than 10 feet high in the densest areas, escape is a genuine struggle. Numbered signs bearing QR codes that link to maps are littered throughout the maze — despite this, it is remarkably and deceptively easy to wander circuitously through the towering stalks only to find yourself back at another familiar landmark.

The maze is made even more engaging through the scavenger hunt-type programs made available at the entrance. Each aforementioned signpost’s number corresponds to a question on the program that can serve to aid or hinder your eventual escape, depending on whether or not you answer a question correctly. Cornbelly’s is the quintessential autumn event center of Utah County. The festival exudes a merry atmosphere, honing in on the senses to create a warm and vibrant experience for all who come. Buy your tickets here and enjoy the park Monday through Saturday until Nov. 5.