Halloween theme park events: Our reporters’ reviews of 2024 haunt season
Reviews of theme park Halloween events all over the country, from the huge (Halloween Horror Nights) to the independent (Field of Screams).
Halloween season is jam-packed with special events within the theme park industry. Many parks host after-hours mazes reliant on scares. Other parks opt for family-friendly spooky activities during the day.
Our team of Attractions Magazine reporters has been busy covering haunts far and wide. Below you’ll find our writers’ takes on various Halloween theme park events (organized alphabetically by park name), along with a link to dive into each writer’s full report.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: Howl-O-Scream
Tampa, Fla.
“Shadows of Wonderland” is the only all-new haunted house of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Howl-O-Scream 2024, and it does not disappoint. We’ve seen horror takes on the classic “Alice in Wonderland” stories before, but the design and immersion here really make this house standout. Fans of the original stories, or at least those familiar, will notice all sorts of references and Easter eggs (twisted into being terrifying, of course, but familiar none the less).
Andy Haynes
Carowinds: Tricks and Treats, Oktoberfest, and Scarowinds
Charlotte, N.C.
The most significant new addition to Carowinds’ Halloween season in 2024 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.
This procedure also effectively means guests get to attend three events — Scarowinds by night, plus Tricks and Treats and Oktoberfest by day — for one ticket, on top of experiencing the park’s regular attractions like Fury 325 and Copperhead Strike.
Blake Taylor
Corn Cob Acres: Field of Screams
Lancaster, Penn.
Pennsylvania is full of legendary independent haunted attractions, but the one that truly lives up to the moniker of “scream park” the most is undoubtedly Field of Screams.
For anyone who’s only familiar with haunts in warehouses and theme parks and has never been to a farm-based haunt before, Field of Screams will absolutely blow your mind.
Ricky Brigante
Disneyland Resort: Halloween Time
Anaheim, Calif.
The full resort is decked out in seasonal décor. Take note of the traditional black & orange Main Street U.S.A. in Disneyland Park while Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure features more modern purple Halloween vibes. Mickey and the gang are dressed in their new Halloween costumes in Town Square for great holiday photo ops.
There are so many new and returning Halloween foods around the entire resort that you won’t be able to try them all, even if you ate some every day through Halloween.
Jeff DePaoli
Hersheypark: Dark Nights
Hershey, Penn.
It’s astounding that this high-quality event is included with regular park admission. It measures up against other theme parks’ separately ticketed Halloween events, and Hersheypark’s Dark Nights just keeps getting better each year.
This year’s Dark Nights strikes a great balance between family-friendly trick-or-treating and thrilling scares for teens and adults. It’s designed to give you just enough fright for a fun night out, without pushing you into a full-blown horror show.
Ricky Brigante
SeaWorld Orlando: Howl-O-Scream
Orlando, Fla.
SeaWorld offers a variety of ticket options for Howl-O-Scream, including those that provide admission to Howl-O-Scream 2024 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Both United Parks & Resorts theme parks in Florida host an after-hours Howl-O-Scream event. While this year marks SeaWorld’s fourth year holding Howl-O-Scream, Busch Gardens is celebrating its 25th anniversary of hosting this scary season event.
Please be careful when purchasing tickets to confirm which Howl-O-Scream you buy tickets for. Last year, we met several groups that bought tickets to the wrong location.
Jon Self
Six Flags Great Adventure: Fright Fest Extreme
Jackson Township, N.J.
This year the long-running Six Flags Fright Fest not only features all-new and enhanced original haunted houses, but also six well-known, popular IP franchises, taking a page out of the playbook of Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights.
For Six Flags Great Adventure, the “Extreme” addendum to Fright Fest represents more than the spooky new additions, also reflecting the passion driving the small-but-fearless entertainment team determined to propel the event into a new era of fear.
While Six Flags Great Adventure’s goals of becoming a world-class Halloween event are still very much early in the works — and honestly much more aspirational than today’s reality presents — there does appear to be a shockingly real sense that Six Flags could very well build enough momentum that perhaps someday Fright Fest might just rival the other renowned events.
Ricky Brigante
Six Flags Magic Mountain: Fright Fest Extreme
Near Los Angeles, Calif.
Ever since I’d begun experiencing Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the event was included with an annual pass or membership. You’d need to purchase a typically reasonably priced wristband to walk through the haunted houses. But scare zones, entertainment and more were available in the park regardless.
Deciding to now require admission to get through the front gate for anybody interested was a bold departure. One that I personally would have supported if the quality of the event had risen. Unfortunately, it did not. In fact, this year’s opening night was my personal worst experience at a Six Flags Magic Mountain haunt event.
Jeff DePaoli
Tweetsie Railroad: Ghost Train
Blowing Rock, N.C.
Note: Tweetsie Railroad is closed at the time of this writing, following the destruction of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Our thoughts are with these communities as they recover from the storm. Consult Tweetsie Railroad’s website for updated information about the park’s operations.
The Tweetsie Railroad Ghost Train event offers a unique, family-owned Halloween haunt in the middle of the mountains. The train itself and its haunted attractions carry an aura of local flavor, and therein lies the event’s niche charm.
We visited with two adults, one of whom wasn’t interested in the carnival rides. We ran out of things to do pretty quickly — but partly because everything was a walk-on. (At some haunts, the only reason our night would’ve been longer is because of huge wait times.) The Ghost Train itself, though, is unique from anything we’ve done at other haunt attractions and was worth the trip for us at least once.
Blake Taylor
Universal Studios Florida: Halloween Horror Nights 33
Orlando, Fla.
Scaredy cats guide
Right off the bat, let me say my Halloween Horror Nights experience wasn’t nearly as horrifying as I expected – and, yes, I realize haunted houses change from year to year, so that may not always be the case. Nevertheless, I discovered a few strategies that definitely dialed down the “fear factor” for me, so I hope they’ll encourage even the scaredy-est of cats to try the event at least once (even if just to say you did).
Samantha Davis-Friedman
Sensory-friendly guide
Now don’t get me wrong; Horror Nights is a great time. But for those with sensory challenges, the large crowds, loud noises, and chainsaws can really cause one’s enjoyment of the evening to start to fade.
If you’re like me, or you know someone like me, you struggle with this. You don’t want to miss out on this incredible seasonal event, but you don’t want to put yourself under unnecessary stress. Everybody should be able to experience Halloween Horror Nights in a way that fits their needs, and I’m here to share those findings.
Mateo Osorio
Haunted house reviews
Familiarity with the franchise is not necessary to enjoy the “Insidious: The Further” haunted house, though an awareness of the baddies and their place in the world could heighten enjoyment.
This house featured perhaps my favorite scare of the night when an over aggressive bride lunged at me from across hall and just kept coming! This house is notable for its large assortment of “boo doors” assigned to each performer, meaning they can get you multiple times and often from unexpected angles. The simple yet incredibly effective use of mirrors in this house allows scareactors to feel like they are literally appearing out of thin air, playing into the surrealism of the “Insidious” world.
Andy Haynes
Premium Scream Night
New this year, the Premium Scream Night was a separate, upcharge event prior to opening night of Halloween Horror Nights costing $350 per person (or $325 if you have an annual pass to Universal Orlando). For comparison, a normal, one-night ticket to HHN starts at $83 and increases depending on the date.
The main attraction of Premium Scream Night was the limited capacity, and Universal delivered! Average wait times for the haunted houses were under 15 minutes all night long. Compare those to the wait times you will typically see on an average night: 30 minutes is a low wait on normal nights, and typical waits are 60-120 minutes. Some can get even higher.
Matt Dobrovolsky
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