Best Theme Park Halloween Event (2023) - USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards (2024)

Get ready for fun and frights

Best Theme Park Halloween Event(2023)
September 29, 2023

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Photo courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort

No. 10:

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios - Multiple locations

Universal Studios’Halloween Horror Nightsimmerses gleeful guests in gore from end to end. Killer clowns and brain-starved zombies are among the characters you might meet as you navigate the streets, which transform each evening into a hellscape of bone-chilling screams. You’ll find little refuge in any of its horrifying haunted houses., with themes like "The Exorcist: Believer" and "Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count."

Photo courtesy of Cedar Point

No. 9:

HalloWeekends at Cedar Point - Sandusky, Ohio

Cedar Point rolls out the orange carpet come Halloween time. Fun fall activities sans scares can be enjoyed during the day, but the park's cheery exterior morphs into the stuff that haunts your dreams after the sun goes down. Those who are brave enough can enjoy haunted mazes and spooky live shows.

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Photo courtesy of Silver Dollar City Attractions

No. 8:

Harvest Festival at Silver Dollar City - Branson, Missouri

Branson's Silver Dollar City celebrates Harvest Festival each fall. Pumpkins in the City and Pumpkin Plaza dazzle with thousands of illuminated pumpkins, and the park's outstanding Craft Days showcase new artisans from across the country each week. Visitors can indulge in yummy fall treats and enjoy rides and attractions into the night.

Photo courtesy of Kings Dominion

No. 7:

Halloween Haunt at Kings Dominion - Doswell, Virginia

A host of haunts are on tap at this Virginia favorite, where dangers lurk after dark. On select nights during fall, hundreds of monsters are set loose in the park, just waiting to terrify you. Live shows, mazes, and more are in store — and the mayhem spreads each year.

Photo courtesy of Hersheypark

No. 6:

Hersheypark Halloween - Hershey, Pennsylvania

The treats are still sweet come nightfall at Hersheypark, but they do take on a Halloween theme that offers a fanciful bump-in-the-night for families. The park’s famed thrill rides can be ridden in the dark during the last hour of operation and a trick-or-treat trail offers extra interactive fun for the kids. Theming throughout adds holiday allure and a “Creatures of the Night” flashlight tour at neighboring ZooAmerica gives guests an educational extra to pair with all that candy.

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Photo courtesy of Castle Park

No. 5:

Castle Dark at Castle Park - Riverside, California

When it comes to Halloween fun, Castle Dark at Castle Park delivers in a variety of ways. Visitors can take a trip down the Haunted Highway through a pumpkin patch cemetery in the park's antique cars, walk the halls of an abandoned theater at The Cinema of Fear, and sail into Shipwreck Cove with deadly pirates and mysterious sea creatures. Don't forget the yummy treats while you're making your way through the park.

Photo courtesy of Kings Island File Photo

No. 4:

Halloween Haunt at Kings Island - Mason, Ohio

Halloween Haunt at the legendary Kings Island near Cincinnati returns each fall, with evil creatures, frightening mazes, haunted attractions, and night rides on The Beast, Banshee, Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and other thrilling attractions. Special lighting and fog effects turn the massive complex into a spooky experience you’ll never forget.

Photo courtesy of Knoebels

No. 3:

Hallo-Fun at Knoebels - Elysburg, Pennsylvania

On weekends in October, Knoebels Amusem*nt Resort in central Pennsylvania transforms into Hallo-Fun, a haunted playground for all ages. Visitors can find Halloween-themed treats, games, and attractions and can buy daily passes to enjoy the rides all day.

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See Also

The UPS Store | Ship & Print Here > 7726 N 1st StHalloween Events and Haunted Places in Portland | The Official Guide to PortlandThe UPS Store | Ship & Print Here > 11251 Sierra Ave

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Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens Williamsburg

No. 2:

Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens - Multiple locations

Darkened thrill rides and even darker storylines are at the heart of Busch Gardens'Howl-O-Scream, an event that draws in Halloween enthusiasts far and wide with its nightmarish content.Zombies, demons, ghosts, and other ghouls make appearances in haunted houses and live shows.

Photo courtesy of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment

No. 1:

Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld - Multiple locations

Frights await at SeaWorld's Howl-O-Scream. Each spooky season brings a collection of elaborate haunted houses, darkened thrill rides, immersive scare zones, and darkly entertaining live shows. Parkgoers can even knock one back in one of the many themed bar experiences.

Christine Barger

Christine Barger

Christine Barger, aka The Haunt Girl, has over 30 years experience in the entertainment industry. She started out entertaining audiences through the art of ventriloquism. As an adult she has acted in live theatre productions, haunted attractions, theme park shows, television and movies. She has also designed and built attractions. She is currently building her second escape room coming soon to The Exit Game in Anaheim, California. She is also a popular content creator on TikTok and Youtube. She has gained popularity in the escape room and haunt communities through her IG & vlog channel (TheHauntGirl) dedicated to updating her community on the newest immersive plays, escape rooms and haunted attractions. Her passion for escaping rooms has taken her to over 650 escape games nationwide.Christine’s primary hobby aside from cuddling her cats is a fascination with the paranormal. She has done her fair share of investigations and had a handful of paranormal experiences that she couldn’t explain away using “logical explanations” such as the full body apparition she saw on the Queen Mary. She and her husband even went ghost hunting in London for their honeymoon. While many people look for the nicest hotel or best deal on vacation, Christine plans around the most haunted places to stay. She doesn’t mind a friendly spirit following her home now and again, as long as they don’t bother her beloved cats.Christine knows a lot about:· the paranormal
· unique roadside attractions
· the best places to get locked in a roomConnect with Christine at: Instagram @ChristineBargerOfficial, TikTok @ChristineBarger, Youtube, and her website, TheHauntGirl.com.

Jamie Davis Smith

Jamie Davis Smith

Jamie is an attorney, writer and photographer. She was born with deeply ingrainedwanderlust and has visited 45 countriesand counting. She often brings her children along for the adventure and is passing her love of travel on to the next generation. Jamie has written forInsider,Fodor'sTravel,Yahoo,theHuffingtonPost, theWashingtonPost,ViatorandReviewedamong many other publications.Jamie is from Philadelphia and now lives in Washington, DC, where she takes advantageof everything the region has to offer.Jamie can be reached atjamiesmithwrites@gmail.comandcan be found onTwitter,InstagramandTikTok.

Kyle McCarthy

Kyle McCarthy

Kyle McCarthy is the co-founder and editor of Family Travel Forum, the trusted resource for family vacation planners since 1996. FTF’s award-winning publications: MyFamilyTravels.com, America’s Most Popular Family Vacations andThe Family Vacationiste-newsletterprovide destination reviews, tips andseasonal roundupsfor all aspects of travel. Ms. McCarthy, author of a dozen Frommer’s guidebooks, also contributes to US News, CNN and other publications. She can be found on most social networks@familytravelforum.

Nikky J

Nikky J

NikkyJ is a theme park super fan, Author of The Solo Theme Park Traveler’s Guide, the founder and owner of ThemeParkHipster.com, a wishful Food Critic, coffee enthusiast, and a lover of life! She currently resides in Orlando, Florida where she enjoys spending time with her husband and two little girls while discovering the beautiful attractions of Florida.You can watch her onYouTubeor listen to her podcast.

Robb Alvey

Robb Alvey

Robb Alvey is the owner of ThemeParkReview.com, started in 1996 and one of the longest running and largest theme park fan sites with over 3 million followers. Robb travels to theme parks all over the world each year including Europe, Asia, Australia, and all around the Americas, has visited hundreds of different parks and ridden about 2,000 different roller coasters. His background in theme parks started as a cast member for Disneyland when he was 17 years old and has continued more than 30 years later.

Robert Niles

Robert Niles

Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, an online consumers' guide to the world's leading theme and amusem*nt parks, read by more than 400,000 people each month. It has been named the top theme park site on the Internet by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines and was a Webby Award finalist and winner of the Online Journalism Award, presented by the Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Robert is a former Walt Disney World cast member and has worked as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and website editor for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.

10Best Editors

10Best Editors

USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.

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