Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.
Updated: May 6, 2024
The air turns crisp, leaves rustle underfoot, and pumpkin spice fills the senses – it’s that time of year when theme parks across the United States transform into haunted wonderlands! Halloween events at theme parks offer a unique blend of spine-tingling excitement, family-friendly fun (most times anyway), delicious food experiences, and the promise of unforgettable memories.
I present to you the ultimate guide to theme park Halloween events across the USA, coupled with a mouthwatering exploration of the yummy eats that await you, and a few of the tricks you should avoid.
Top Theme Parks with Halloween Events and Limited-Edition Eats
From the East Coast to the West Coast, theme parks all over the country take on an eerie aura as they celebrate the Halloween season with gorgeous decorations and tasty food offerings. Some of the top theme parks that participate in these festive events include:
Universal Studios Hollywood & Orlando (California, Florida)
Known for its spectacular Halloween Horror Nights, Universal hosts a variety of haunted houses and spooky treats like bloody snowballs, and fried zombie brains.
Haunted Houses this year include themes like Stranger Things, The Exorcist: Believer, The Last of Us, and Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count and six (6) others.
Silverwood Theme Park (Idaho)
Did you know that Silverwood’s Scarywood Haunts was considered one of “Halloween’s Scariest Thrills” according to the Travel Channel in 2012? Pretty cool if you ask me! They host numerous haunted attractions and scare zones and a number of dining options across the park.
I will say, the food situation here at Silverwood seems to be inconclusive. You’ll definitely find your regular theme park fare here, but there may be limited edition treats as well. I’ll update you as soon as I know more.
Knott’s Berry Farm (California)
At Knott’s Berry Farm, this blackberry-obsessed park hosts the Knott’s Scary Farm with awesome mazes around the park and if you’re up for some truly interesting food, this is the place to be. During last year’s festivities they had food offerings ranging from chicken and spicy sausage gumbo with frog legs (yes, real frogs!) with a spooky crab sushi roll on order, too.
The menu is eclectic and has something for everyone, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic specialty drinks!
Six Flags (Nationwide)
With Six Flags around the country celebrating the season through Fright Fest, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’ve been known to vary up their menu to celebrate the Halloween season. Typical offerings are blood bag cocktails and Demon Claws (chicken fingers tossed in a ghost pepper sauce). My hope is that this year there will be some new and exciting treats up Six Flags’ sleeve to entice customers.
Hersheypark (Pennsylvania)
When you’re at Hersheypark Halloween, you expect to see a whole lot of chocolate, right? Well, on their Trick or Treat Trail, you’ll most definitely find some candy confections. You’ll also find haunted houses of all varieties, such as the new Auntie Mortem’s Abattoir and The Descent: Catacombs of Decay and multiple scare zones.
Hersheypark doesn’t disappoint in the food category with the help of a food pass, and they have Halloween specials such as Hacked to Pieces, Creepy Carrots, and Red Intestine Cinnamon Rolls. You can find their full menu here: RIP buffet menu.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay & Williamsburg (Florida, Virginia)
Five (5) haunted houses, five (5) scare zones, and some ridiculously delicious food, Busch Garden’s Howl-O-Scream could be one for the books. The Blood Bar is full of hauntingly delicious signature cocktails, beers, spirits, and seltzers, and if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you may find some real, dehydrated bugs to try on certain menus.
Cedar Point (Ohio)
Cedar Point hosts HalloWeekends and while it’s scary good fun with their trails like Blood on the Bayou and Cut Throat Cove, there isn’t much here in the way of seasonal dishes. They do have the typical fare available, but nothing that points itself as being very Halloween themed. I am hoping to be proven wrong, however!
Disneyland Parks (California)
Disneyland Parks in California hosts Oogie Boogie Bash. Unlike other Halloween-scare heavyweights, this is all treats and no tricks. With treat trails and delicious eats, you won’t want to miss the exclusive food offerings here.
From pumpkin spice funnel cake to hibiscus sangria to ghost pepper nachos, there’s truly something for everyone.
Walt Disney World Resort (Florida)
With Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Walt Disney World goes above and beyond the competition by truly raising the stakes. And, like Disneyland in California, WDW in Florida leaves no stone unturned when it comes to trying out new food concoctions for the occasion.
There are a plethora of parades, character meet and greets, trick-or-treat locations, and, of course, rides! The food at Mickey’s shindig is also party-exclusive, so you won’t be able to find these tasty treats outside of the party. The unfortunate truth about Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, however, is that it is such a great event, that this year’s party is already sold out. If you don’t have a ticket, I’m afraid you won’t get a taste of the magic this year.
Best Way to Navigate This List
With a plethora of spooky attractions, thrilling rides, and good eats, planning your Halloween-themed adventure is as exciting as the events themselves. Make sure to check each park’s official website for the latest event details, including dates, ticket information, and any COVID-19 related updates as I am sure I may have made a mistake.
To fully immerse yourself in the experience, don’t forget to explore the unique limited-edition offerings that each park brings to the table. The nice thing about these theme park halloween events is that, aside from the scare factor, it’s the fact that parks typically are open to trying foods that they normally would never try otherwise.
So explore all of the places you can, not only for the haunted houses and the scare trails but for the strange concoctions that you can check off on your bucket list.
The Complete List of Theme Park Halloween Events by Regions
A lot of the best theme park food is found at special events, and Halloween is of no exception. While not every event listed below boasts special food dishes, you are guaranteed to have a lot of fun at these spooky spectacles.
Also, I know that there are other events that occur such as Harvest Festivals (e.g., Silver Dollar City / Storybook Land), but since they are not Halloween-centric I chose not to add them to this list.
All events below have clickable links (when they show up in lists, they don’t look active, but I promise they’re active)!
Midwest
Illinois:
- Six Flags Great America ‣ Fright Fest, September 14 – November 3 on select nights
Indiana:
- Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari ‣ Happy Halloween Weekends, September 21 – October 27 on Saturday and Sundays
Iowa:
- Adventureland Resort ‣ Phantom Fall Fest, October 1 – October 29 on select nights
Michigan:
- Michigan Adventure ‣ Tricks and Treats, September 14 – October 13 on Saturday and Sundays (FYI: family-friendly)
Minnesota:
- Valleyfair ‣ Tricks and Treats, September 28 – October 27
Missouri:
- Six Flags St. Louis ‣ Kid Boo Fest / Fright Fest, TBD
- Worlds of Fun ‣ The Great Pumpkin Fest / Halloween Haunt, TBD
Ohio:
- Cedar Point ‣ Halloweekends, September 12 – October 27 on select nights
- Kings Island ‣ Tricks and Treats Fall Fest / Halloween Haunt, TBD
Wisconsin:
- Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park ‣ Halloween Town, Weekends of October 1 – November 1
Northeast
Connecticut:
- Lake Compounce ‣ Phantom Fall Fest, TBD
Quassy Amusement Park ‣ Terror at Quassy, October 6 – 29 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
Maryland:
- Six Flags America ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 21 – November 3 on select nights
Massachusetts:
- Six Flags New England ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 21 – October 27 on select nights (Kids Boo Fest runs from September 21 – November 3, 2024)
New Hampshire:
- Canobie Lake Park ‣ Screeemfest, September 21 – October 27 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
New Jersey:
- Jenkinson’s Boardwalk ‣ Boo at the Boardwalk, TBD (FYI: this is a family-friendly event)
- Six Flags Great Adventure ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, TBD
New York:
- Legoland New York Resort ‣ Brick-or-Treat, TBD
- Playland ‣ Hosting Hudson Horrors, TBD
- Six Flags Darien Lake ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 21 – October 13 on select nights (Kids Boo Fest runs from September 21 – October 24)
- Six Flags Great Escape ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 28 – October 27 on weekends (Kids Boo Fest is only on Saturdays and Sundays)
- Sylvan Beach Amusement Park ‣ Halloweekends – TBD
Pennsylvania:
- Conneaut Lake Park ‣ Ghost Lake, TBD
- Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom ‣ Halloween Haunt – TBD
- Dutch Wonderland ‣ Happy Hauntings, TBD
- Hersheypark ‣ Hersheypark Halloween, TBD
- Idlewild & Soak Zone ‣ Hallowboo, TBD
- Kennywood ‣ Phantom Fall Fest, TBD
- Knoebels Amusement Park ‣ Hallo-Fun, October 4 – 27 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
- Sesame Place Philadelphia ‣ The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular, September 17 – November 6 on select days
Southeast
Arkansas:
- Magic Springs Theme and Water Park ‣ Magic Screams, September 28 – October 27 on Saturdays and Sundays
Florida:
- Busch Gardens Tampa ‣ Spooktacular / Howl-O-Scream, September 8 – October 31 on select nights (Spooktacular begins September 9)
- Disney’s Hollywood Studio ‣ Minnie’s Halloween Dine, TBD
- Disney’s Magic Kingdom ‣ Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, August 9 – October 31 on select nights
- Legoland Florida ‣ Brick-or-Treat, TBD
- SeaWorld Orlando ‣ Spooktacular / Howl-O-Scream, (Spooktacular runs August 31 – November 3) September 6 – November 2 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September and Thursdays to Saturdays in October
- Universal Studios ‣ Halloween Horror Nights, August 30 – November 3 on select nights
Georgia:
- Lake Winnepesaukah ‣ Lake Winnepespookah – TBD
- Six Flags Over Georgia ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 21 – November 3 on select nights
North Carolina:
- Carowinds ‣ The Great Pumpkin Fest / Scarowinds, September 13 – October 27 on select nights (Pumpkin Fest begins on September 14)
Virginia:
- Busch Gardens Williamsburg ‣ Halloween Spooktacular / Howl-O-Scream, September 6 – November 3 on select nights (Spooktacular begins September 21)
- Kings Dominion ‣ The Great Pumpkin Fest / Halloween Haunt, September 20 – October 27 on select nights (Pumpkin Fest begins on September 21)
West Virginia:
- Camden Park ‣ Spooktacular – TBD
Southwest
Oklahoma:
- Six Flags Frontier City ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 14 – October 27 on select nights
Texas:
- Kemah Boardwalk ‣ Boo on the Boardwalk, October 2024 on select nights (various activities; check link)
- SeaWorld San Antonio ‣ Spooktacular / Howl-O-Scream, September 15 – October 29 on select nights (Halloween Spooktacular begins September 14)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 7 – November 3 on select nights
- Six Flags Over Texas ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 13 – November 3 on select nights
West
California:
- Adventure City ‣ Boo-tastic Halloween Party, TBD
- California’s Great America ‣ Tricks and Treats, September 20 – October 26 on select days
- Castle Park ‣ Castle Dark, TBD
- Disneyland Park ‣ Oogie Boogie Bash, August 23 – October 31 on select nights
- Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park ‣ A Bigger Better Boo, TBD
- Knott’s Berry Farm ‣ Knott’s Scary Farm, September 19 – November 2 on select nights / Knott’s Spooky Farm, Thursdays through Sundays, September 26 – October 31
- Legoland California Resort ‣ Brick-or-Treat, September 14, 21, 28 and Weekends in October
- Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Amusement Park ‣ Boardwalk Fright Flicks (21+ only), TBD
- Sea World San Diego ‣ Spooktacular / Howl-O-Scream, September 27 – November 3 on select nights (Spooktacular dates TBD)
- Sesame Place San Diego ‣ The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular, TBD
- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom ‣ Fright Fest, September 21 – November 3 on select nights
- Six Flags Magic Mountain ‣ Kids Boo Fest / Fright Fest, September 6 – November 3 on select nights
- Universal Studios Hollywood ‣ Halloween Horror Nights, TBD
- Special Mention: The Haunted Amusement Park at the now-defunct Marshal Scotty’s Playland, TBD
Colorado:
- Elitch Gardens ‣ Fright Fest, TBD
Idaho:
- Silverwood Theme Park ‣ Scarywood Haunt, TBD
Oregon:
- Oaks Amusement Park ‣ Hosting Oaks Park ScareGrounds by ScareGrounds PDX, TBD
Utah:
- Lagoon Amusement Park ‣ Frightmares, TBD
Washington:
- Wild Waves Theme and Water Park ‣ Fright Fest, October 4 – November 3 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
Happy Halloween!
Halloween events at theme parks offer a unique way to celebrate the spooky season with your family. Beyond the thrilling rides and entertainment, these events also provide an opportunity to indulge in delicious seasonal treats. The diverse range of attractions, haunted houses, entertainment options, and mouthwatering food ensures that there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
We hope this guide helps you plan your Halloween adventures and create unforgettable memories. Share your experiences and favorite events with us – we’d love to hear from you! And remember, the magic of Halloween awaits you in all of your theme park bites.