Boney Island, L.a.'s Long-beloved Halloween Attraction, Comes To An End

Boney Island, a much-loved, homemade, skeleton-centric L.A. Halloween attraction for much than 20 years, will now beryllium a ghost.

Creator Rick Polizzi — known to galore for his 1996-2009 domiciled arsenic a shaper of “The Simpsons” — announced connected societal media Monday that Boney Island is coming to an end.

The reason: A planned move to Santa Clarita has tally into “unforeseen permitting and accumulation challenges.” Polizzi said nan county-wide slump successful TV and movie accumulation is partially to blame.

After a drawstring of venue changes, Polizzi said he was successful talks to rent a group of soundstages astatine Santa Clarita Studios, and a ample magnitude of Boney Island sets, props and different materials had already been moved to Santa Clarita.

But respective logistical challenges proved difficult to solve, and 1 constituent was nan studios’ determination to trim their inventory of soundstages. As a result, Polizzi said, “the rug was benignant of pulled retired from nether us.”

Santa Clarita Studios President Mike DeLorenzo said that this fall, nan workplace will fto spell of leases connected 3 of its 35-plus soundstages. Of Boney Island, DeLorenzo said that “we genuinely wanted this to happen, but it conscionable didn’t make consciousness financially.” By nan tally of FilmLA, on-location accumulation days for movie and TV successful greater Los Angeles fell by 46% from 2022 to 2025.

With nary different remedies successful sight, Polizzi and institution put retired connection connected Instagram and Facebook, saying that aft cautiously considering locations, metropolis permitting costs and storage, “we person made nan difficult determination to officially bring Boney Island to an end” and waste nan collection.

Reaction was quick, sad and peppered pinch family memories. “Thank you for creating truthful overmuch magic for my family arsenic good arsenic truthful galore others,” wrote 1 admirer on Instagram. “My kids and myself will everlastingly locomotion astir successful a squeaky sound reciting: “Help meeee...I feeel for illustration a yo-yo.”

Former “Simpsons” shaper Rick Polizzi successful his Sherman Oaks treehouse, known arsenic “Boney Island,” successful 2025.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Boney Island, a playful homage to Coney Island, was calved successful nan precocious 1990s erstwhile Polizzi group retired to build a Halloween attraction successful his Sherman Oaks beforehand gait for his family and neighbors. He was joined by “Aqua Dazzle” proprietor Rex Danyluk and friends arsenic they designed an immersive, imaginative acquisition without a haunted house, a maze aliases jump scares. Instead it featured cavorting skeletons, magic acts and h2o shows.

“It’s not each nan gore and scary worldly that everything other is,” Polizzi said. “I started it for my daughters.”

Eventually, nan yard’s gangly treehouse and increasing crowds each Halloween led to permit disputes and nan imaginable of criminal charges.

“We were a unfortunate of our ain success, because it sewage truthful crowded we had to prosecute postulation control,” Polizzi told Spectrum News successful 2025, adding that “one neighbour crossed nan thoroughfare ever hated it.” Polizzi estimated that he’d walk much than $50,000 trying to get due metropolis approvals earlier dismantling nan treehouse successful 2025.

“I had nan cool acquisition of really ascending into nan treehouse,” said Kim Cooper, co-owner of Esotouric tours and erstwhile visitors to nan treehouse. “You look astatine this point and you think: Wait a minute. That’s possible?”

Polizzi, successful 2025, flips done a scrapbook he made astir Boney Island.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Boney Island’s red-tape battles pinch nan metropolis of Los Angeles, Cooper said, show that “there is sadistic, demented constituent successful nan metropolis [government] that does not for illustration to spot group who person an independent consciousness of élan and freedom.”

Still, Boney Island seemed apt to unrecorded connected elsewhere. While nan red-tape battles were being fought, nan attraction moved from Polizzi’s gait to Griffith Park successful 2018, went acheronian for respective years, past resurfaced astatine nan Natural History Museum of Los Angeles successful 2023 and 2024, drafting tens of thousands of people. But nan Exposition Park location proved difficult for galore guests, Polizzi said, and nan arena went acheronian again past twelvemonth while organizers searched for a caller location, preferably a gated abstraction pinch astatine slightest 70,000 quadrate feet. Polizzi said he explored galore options, including nan L.A. Zoo, different area of Griffith Park, Descanso Gardens, nan L.A. County Arboretum, but nary rather fit. Some of those spots big elaborate vacation ray displays that require set-up successful precocious October.

The champion action seemed to beryllium nan soundstages astatine Santa Clarita Studios. “It was going to beryllium challenging to person it wrong to statesman with, but I was looking guardant to it,” Polizzi said.

At this point, he added, it would return a last-minute location find to alteration things.

“I would emotion to support it going, I conscionable don’t person a spot for it,” Polizzi said.