Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends running now through October 30

HalloWeekends has returned for its 20th year as Cedar Point’s fall fright festival, and is running on Fridays through Sundays, now until October 30 at the Sandusky, Ohio park.

New additions at HalloWeekends for the 20th anniversary include:

· The Great Pumpkin Parade – This new parade starring Charles Schulz’s Peanuts characters celebrates the 50th Anniversary of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” with colorful floats, characters, and the most famous beagle of them all, Snoopy. Guests can watch the parade every Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m., weather permitting.

· New Skeleton Key Rooms – Five all-new rooms, located along the Frontier Trail, feature intense haunted experiences. Access to the Skeleton Key rooms is granted with the purchase of Fright Lane, giving guests one-time, front-of-the-line access to all haunted houses.

· Blood Drums – Located in front of Giant Wheel, this new percussive show features a cast of drummers using items usually found in a junkyard to create high-energy music.

For families, the daytime The Great Pumpkin Fest is back again with Franklin’s Tractor Trek (a hay bale course where they can use their pedal power to race each other on miniature tractors); Linus’ Mummy Pit (a foam pit); Trick-or-Treat with the Peanuts; and The Magical House on Boo Hill, a not-so-haunted house with fun surprises around every corner. Other daytime activities include Count Snooptacula’s Kids’ Costume Contest, Pig Pen’s Pumpkin Painting, Charlie Brown’s Coloring Zone, Sally’s Craft Corner, Marcie’s Monster Mash Bash dance party and drive-in movie showings of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” at Joe Cool’s Dodgem School each evening. Activities at The Great Pumpkin Fest are available Saturdays & Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Each night when the sun sets during HalloWeekends, the park’s atmosphere transforms with The HalloWeekends Great Pumpkin Spectacular, as the faces of carved pumpkins burst to life in a display of more than 1,000 pumpkins, most of them hand-carved and positioned along the Top Thrill Dragster Midway. The event kicks off with “The Call of the Scare” in Celebration Plaza every Friday & Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The creatures from the park’s six outdoor scare zones, including Cut Throat Cove, Tombstone Terror-tory, Blood on the Bayou and more, come together before they’re set loose to their domains.

The park’s six indoor mazes this year are Slaughter House (returning for its second year), Zombie High School, G.A. Boeckling’s Eerie Estate, Hexed, Eternity Infirmary and Eden Musee.

Live entertainment includes the extremely “Skeleton Crew” show, where aerialists, contortionists and high-wire walkers combine with high-energy music and lighting, and “Sideshow: A Carnival of Magic,” “Spooky Shenanigans,” and “The Edge of Madness.”

Dining experiences are also available during HalloWeekends, like Boeckling’s Banquet, fine dining with menu items like filet mignon and seafood, set in the halls of the G.A. Boeckling’s Eerie Estate haunted house. Inside Joe Cool Café, guests can enjoy the Night of the Living Fed all-you-can-eat buffet. Menu items include fried fowl, gory pasta salad, baked brains & cheese, spaghetti & eye balls and more. Boeckling’s Banquet is available on Fridays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. Night of the Living Fed is available Saturdays at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Advanced purchase is recommended for both dining experiences.

Many of the park’s rides and coasters are also operational during the event, including the new, world-record-breaking Valravn dive coaster. Everything from the swinging maXair to the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad and even Planet Spooky’s pint-sized rides are open for guests. (Limited ride availability on Friday nights.)

Cedar Point’s Hotel Breakers and Breakers Express are offering the Ultimate HalloWeekends Package, which provides a 60-percent savings off of gate pricing and includes a two-night stay, free Friday night admission plus all-day admission for Saturday and Sunday with Early Entry and Cedar Point parking for all three days. Reservation information and additional package options available at cedarpoint.com/stay or by calling 419-627-2106.

HalloWeekends is open every Friday night from 6 p.m. to midnight, Saturdays from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. through October 30. On Sunday, October 9, special hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A visit to HalloWeekends is free with the purchase of a 2017 Season Pass. All new 2017 Season and Platinum Passes include one free fall visit valid any single operating day through October 30. Additional visits in the fall are $14.99 each for all new 2017 Season Passholders.

For complete information on The Great Pumpkin Fest and Haunt, visit halloweekends.com. And if you want to see something really scary, watch our POV video of Cedar Point’s Mean Streak roller coaster, which permanently closed on the opening night of this year’s HalloWeekends: