Guide to Scarowinds 2024 + Carowinds’ new family Halloween events
Scarowinds is back for the 2024 Halloween season, plus Carowinds is introducing the new daytime Tricks and Treats and Oktoberfest events.
Scarowinds runs select nights now through Oct. 27, 2024 at Carowinds, the Six Flags-owned amusement park in Charlotte on the state line of North and South Carolina. This year brings significant changes for Scarowinds’ operations, and introduces two daytime events: Tricks and Treats + Oktoberfest.
There’s a lot to see and do. Here’s your guide to planning a sensationally spooky visit to Scarowinds, Tricks and Treats, and Oktoberfest 2024 at Carowinds.
Scarowinds 2024
Scarowinds 2024 tickets included with park admission
While there is indeed some new live entertainment at Scarowinds in 2024, the most significant new addition to the event is a huge operations change: admission to Scarowinds is now included with a Carowinds daytime ticket, and the park doesn’t close and clear out in between the transition from Carowinds to Scarowinds.
If you’re visiting the park on a Scarowinds day and planning on staying for the haunts, you don’t have to leave and come back. Conversely, if you happen to be at Carowinds and didn’t plan on staying for Scarowinds, you can spontaneously decide to do so at no extra cost. Carowinds officials told Attractions Magazine they hope this new process can help some guests “test the waters” of a Scarowinds experience who might not ordinarily go out of their way to attend the event.
This procedure also effectively means guests get to attend three events — Scarowinds, Tricks and Treats, and Oktoberfest — for one ticket, on top of experiencing the park’s regular attractions like Fury 325 and Copperhead Strike.
Scarowinds dates and hours 2024
Scarowinds takes place select evenings from Sept. 13 – Oct. 27, 2024.
- Sept. 13, 14, 20, 21, & 27-29, 2024
- Oct. 4-6, 11-13, 18-20, & 25-27, 2024
On nights when Scarowinds happens, the event’s operating hours for 2024 are:
- Fridays: 6 p.m. – 12 a.m.
- Saturdays: 6:30 p.m. – 12 a.m.
- Sundays: 6:30-11 p.m.
Again, though, guests already at Carowinds prior to Scarowinds’ “opening time” do not need to leave, nor does the park close and reopen. The hours above merely refer to the operations of the haunted attractions.
Scarowinds mazes 2024
Scarowinds hosts five haunted mazes: “Paranormal Inc.,” “Depths of Darkness,” “Silver Screen Studios: Condemned,” “Slaughter House: The Final Cut,” and “Tooth Fairy.” Like many haunt events, Scarowinds uses the word “maze,” though the attractions are one-way walkthroughs, with no deviations of the pathway.
All of them are repeats from years’ past. The newest is “Paranormal Inc.,” which debuted at Scarowinds in 2022 after several years at Knott’s Scary Farm (a fellow Cedar Fair haunt).
Photo courtesy of Carowinds
Last year, we got a lights-on tour of “Paranormal Inc.,” billed as “a forsaken hospital marred by a chilling history.” The maze’s pre-show features a performer flying above guests via a rig attached to a catwalk. In the dark, the sequence is quite a scare.Exposed of its secrets, it’s more fascinating than frightening. Experiencing Paranormal Inc. with the lights on also provided the opportunity to appreciate the detail of the scenery. What had been terrifying haunted maze now felt a bit like a macabre art installation. It’s easy to not notice the craftsmanship when it’s dark and you’re moving quickly.
Scarowinds scare zones 2024
Four scare zones populate the park during Scarowinds 2024: “Harvest Fear,” “Ripper Alley,” “Bloodyard,” and the new “Lobotomy’s Oddities: Circus of Madness.”
This year, Scarowinds has two less scare zones than 2023, but more scare actors now populate each scare zone. The difference is noticeable; an improvement in our book.
The new-for-2024 “Lobotomy’s Oddities” is the first scare zone to ever be located in the Aeronautica Landing section of Carowinds, an area that debuted in 2023. “Lobotomy’s Oddities” integrates defunct ride vehicles as part of the scare zone’s set design — we spotted a train car from Snoopy’s Junction and a roller coaster vehicle from Kings Island’s Fire Hawk.
Scarowinds live entertainment 2024
An extensive lineup of live shows provides a nice balance to the haunted attractions (and a great detour if the mazes’ lines are too long for your liking).
New at Scarowinds for 2024 is “Wake the Dead: A Murder Mystery Musical” performing inside the Carowinds Theater. Shipped over from Cedar Point, a sister park of Carowinds, “Wake the Dead” features four possible endings. The audience determines the killer in real time, and the finale is different based on which character the guests choose.
For families who happen to be staying in the park as Scarowinds begins and find themselves wandering into the Carowinds Theater: just because this is a musical doesn’t mean it’s family-friendly; the show is decidedly PG-13.
Other shows at Scarowinds 2024 include:
- “The Summoning,” an opening ceremony at the beginning of each event night (Celebration Plaza)
- “Conjure the Night,” an ethereal performance of live vocalists and dancers (Celebration Plaza)
- “Raging Inferno,” a heavy metal band (Thrill Zone)
- “Halloween Hootenanny,” a folk rock band (County Fair)
In 2023, Carowinds debuted two Halloween parades that utilized the same floats, but took on different tones and used different music to match either the family atmosphere of Carowinds or the mature audience of Scarowinds. For 2024, the Scarowinds version of the parade, “Procession of Nightmares,” does not return. However, the family-friendly counterpart, “Tricks and Treats Parade” (more on that later), now performs at 6 p.m., so for early arrivals to Scarowinds, it’s still basically part of the evening’s itinerary.
Check the Carowinds app for showtimes during your visit.
Scarowinds dining 2024
Guests can enjoy a number of specially spooky food and drinks during their Scarowinds visit, from sweet (eyeball cake pops, zombie brains funnel cake, pumpkin cheesecake) to savory (diablo pull-apart bread, buffalo chicken ranch flatbread), alcoholic (“Full Moon Margarita”) to mocktail (Apple Pie Mocktail). It’s our understanding that these seasonal menu items are available during Scarowinds as well as Tricks and Treats.
Consult Carowinds’ fall foodie guide for a full list of seasonal menu items and where to find them.
Scarowinds merchandise (including ‘No Boo’ necklace)
Evil Emporium is Scarowinds’ signature retail shop. Located near Starbucks toward the front of the park, the store sells a wide variety of items, including the “No Boo!” necklace, available for $17. If you’re wearing this necklace, scare actors will not jump out to frighten you in the mazes or scare zones.
New this year, an interactive lantern syncs with the lighting throughout the park.
Other merchandise available includes pins, hats, hoodies, drinkware, and more.
Scarowinds tips if you don’t like being scared
Is it possible to attend Scarowinds if you don’t want to be scared? Kind of. As seen above, the park sells a “No Boo!” necklace at Evil Emporium. Performers will not scare or approach guests wearing the necklace.
Wearing noise-canceling headphones while walking through the haunted mazes also helps mitigate the experience’s sensory overload.
In contrast to the mazes, scare zones are more palatable for guests who are nervous about attending Scarowinds. With most scare zones taking place in open spaces — designed to accommodate huge amounts of foot traffic during regular park hours — many performers openly walk about. This means you can better prepare yourself for a scare; you can see them coming. Scare zones are less-scary (but still, often, startling) alternatives to haunted mazes for those who prefer a tamer Scarowinds evening, or those lingering in the park for a while after a full day.
That being said, if the vibe itself — loud atmospheres intensely themed to horror and gore — is what you’re hesitant about, Scarowinds probably isn’t the event for you. Fortunately, there’s a daytime alternative, Trick and Treats, with a full lineup of seasonal activities that are spooky rather than scary (see below).
Scarowinds 2024 chaperone and bag policies
To attend Scarowinds, guests ages 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21 years old. That adult must bring their I.D. and stay in the park for the length of the minors’ visit. For large groups, Scarowinds requires one chaperone per 10 minors.
Guests ages 16 and up do not need a chaperone. However, guests ages 16-20 may not be the chaperone for guests under age 16. Guests ages 16 and up should also bring their I.D. to confirm their age.
This chaperone policy begins at 4 p.m. each operating day.
Scarowinds prohibits guests from bringing bags of any kind. To reiterate: No bags allowed at Scarowinds. That includes purses, backpacks, you name it. The only exceptions are medical bags.
No filming or photography is allowed inside haunted mazes or scare zones. We were allowed to capture video and photos with permission from Carowinds as part of a media event.
Additionally, no costumes are allowed to be worn by guests during Scarowinds hours, but all guests (kids and adults alike) are invited to participate in the daily costume contest during the daytime (see below).
Consult Carowinds’ website for a full explanation of these policies.
Tricks and Treats daytime event (new)
The new Tricks and Treats replaces The Great Pumpkin Fest as Carowinds’ family-friendly, daytime Halloween event (though a few mainstays from The Great Pumpkin Fest remain part of the festivities).
Tricks and Treats dates and hours
Tricks and Treats takes place at Carowinds from 12-6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 14 – Oct. 27, 2024:
- Sept. 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, & 29, 2024
- Oct. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, & 27, 2024
The activities and shows for the event happen park-wide, and do not require a special event ticket.
Tricks and Treats activities
At an event called Tricks and Treats, one might expect trick-or-treating, and there’s plenty of it at Carowinds. Children and adults alike can attend Tricks and Treats in costume (following the park’s guidelines, of course), visit trick-or-treating stations throughout the park to pick up candy, and participate in a costume contest. Winners selected in the categories of original, cutest, and scariest costume get to ride on a float in the evening parade.
Photo courtesy of Carowinds
For guests who didn’t arrive in costume but want to join in, a mask-decorating station is on hand near Afterburn.
Over in Aeronautica Landing, guests can play BeanBoozled, a game in which the jellybeans you try might be delicious or disgusting. A free pumpkin-decorating station is also in Aeronautica Landing.
Tricks and Treats live entertainment
The centerpiece of Tricks and Treats’ live entertainment is “Tricks and Treats Parade.” Performing at 6 p.m. each event date, the parade features floats designed by Kern Studios, makers of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras floats.
Other live entertainment presented during Tricks and Treats includes the Spectral Sisters singing act (Carousel Park) and the “Skelebration!” dance party (Blue Ridge Junction).
Casualties from The Great Pumpkin Fest that are no longer part of Tricks and Treats include The Monster Bash Band, The Skele-tones a capella group, and musical stage shows “The Monsters are Coming, Charlie Brown!” and “Whistlin’ Willie’s Wake.”
Tricks and Treats dining
There are specialty, seasonal food and drinks available at Carowinds just for autumn. See above section about Scarowinds dining for details (the same food is available all day).
Oktoberfest daytime event (new)
But wait, there’s more! Oktoberfest makes its debut in 2024, joining Scarowinds and Tricks and Treats for a total of three special events happening concurrently.
Oktoberfest dates and hours
Oktoberfest takes place at Carowinds from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 14 – Nov. 2, 2024:
- Sept. 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, & 29, 2024
- Oct. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, & 27, 2024
- Nov. 1 & 2, 2024
The activities and shows for Oktoberfest do not require a special event ticket, and are mainly concentrated in the Thunder Road section of the park (outside of Harmony Hall).
Oktoberfest activities
Guests can embrace the spirit of Oktoberfest by participating in a stein-holding contest or a brat-eating contest, or by taking part in the color-by-numbers mural.
Oktoberfest live entertainment
The Oktoberfest event lawn near Ripcord is home to a keg-tapping ceremony to begin the day’s festivities, followed by performances throughout the afternoon by The Guten Tag Players. Over at Harmony Hall, The Über Oompah Band performs.
Oktoberfest dining
Three food tents and one beer cart are all set up in the courtyard outside of Harmony Hall with authentic German bites and sips. Pictured below are German nachos, pork, pretzel nuggets, and smoked sausage.
Consult Carowinds’ fall foodie guide for a full list of Oktoberfest menu items.
Scarowinds 2024 tickets
Carowinds single-day tickets — which, on event dates, include admission to Scarowinds, Tricks and Treats, and Oktoberfest — start at $50 when purchased online. Carowinds pass holders can purchase bring-a-friend tickets starting at $40.
Guests can add the all-day Fright & Fast Lane — granting front-of-line access to rides and haunted mazes — starting at $89.
Seeing as Scarowinds doesn’t require a separate ticket this year, Carowinds gold season pass holders receive entry into Scarowinds with their pass (though the event has always been included with a gold pass regardless). Gold passes currently sell for $105; when purchased during the remainder of this year, your pass will be valid for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025.
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