Best Theme Park Halloween Event (2021)

Halloween Haunt at the legendary Kings Island near Cincinnati is back with evil creatures, frightening mazes, haunted attractions, and night rides on The Beast, Banshee, Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and other thrill-inducing attractions. Special lighting and fog effects turn the 364-acre complex into a spooky experience you’ll never forget.
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Fear awaits in the Virginia theme park’s collection of elaborate haunted houses, immersive themed scare zones, challenging escape rooms and darkly entertaining live shows. 
Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens® Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream®

Darkened thrill rides and even darker story lines are at the heart of Tampa’s Howl-O-Scream, an event that draws in Halloween enthusiasts far and wide with its nightmarish content. Celebrating over 20 years of fear in Tampa, the event will include zombies, demons, ghosts and serial killers among other ghouls.
Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Silver Dollar City celebrates Harvest Festival in Branson, Missouri, in the fall. It has added two new acres of fun, including Mystic River Falls - one of several night rides in the park through October 31. Pumpkins in the City and Pumpkin Plaza dazzle with thousands of illuminated pumpkins, and the park's outstanding Craft Days showcases new artisans from across the country each week.
Photo courtesy of Silver Dollar City

On weekends in October, Knoebel’s Amusement 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.
Photo courtesy of Knoebels

Twenty-four nights of haunted mazes, roaming zombies and spooky shows await thrill seekers at this famed California theme park – threats so terrifying you may just opt for the relative “calm” of riding the world-class roller coasters in the dark instead. Looney Tunes characters and holiday crafts delight wee ones by day, but all bets are off at night when cannibals, ghostly circus performers, man-eating plants and more darken every turn.
Photo courtesy of Six Flags Magic Mountain

The fall Harvest Festival at Dollywood includes a spectacular evening event known as Great Pumpkin LumiNights. Thousands of carved jack o’lanterns illuminate the night in what is the largest addition to Dollywood’s fall festival in the park’s history. The family friendly event includes giant sculptures, pumpkin-themed food options and live entertainment.
Photo courtesy of Dollywood

A host of haunts are on tap at this Virginia favorite, where dangers lurk in the eerie woods and the ghosts of criminally insane inmates are looking to satisfy their eternal bloodlust. Live shows, mazes and more are in store and the mayhem spreads each year.
Photo courtesy of Kings Dominion

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 become “roller ghosters” 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 Zoo America gives guests an educational extra to pair with all that candy.
Photo courtesy of Hersheypark

Mixing the biggest names in horror entertainment with exciting original content is the Universal specialty. This year’s event at Universal Studios Hollywood brings unrivaled film production quality mazes and frightful scare zones to life.
Photo courtesy of Ken Kinzie/Universal Studios Hollywood