It is a truth universally acknowledged that Halloween fans must be in want of a good scare. Or so the story goes, anyway. Truth be told, however, there are a lot of people who would rather indulge in the spooky atmosphere and harmless gags of the holiday instead of the all-too-convincing frights and gore that usually goes hand-in-hand with a Halloween celebration. When it comes to theme parks, not everyone is cut out for the in-your-face scare zones of Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights or the creep-tastic mazes of Knott’s Scary Farm.
Should you could yourself among the varied, timid masses whose tastes run more toward Hocus Pocus than The Purge—or if you simply have a shy friend or young kids in tow this holiday season—here are a few of the tamer theme park events we’d recommend checking out this fall.
1. Best bang for your buck: Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Walt Disney World
Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)
Dates: September 19 – October 31, 2018
Cost: $75 – 125
If you’re looking for Halloween without (a lot of) horror, no one does it better than Disney. Rarely-seen characters, including quite a few villains, show up for park-wide trick-or-treating in the early evening, while guests are invited to enjoy event-exclusive features like the Frightfully Fun Parade and Halloween Screams Fireworks spectacular toward the end of the night.
While Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Party isn’t the tamest theme park offering on this list, it doesn’t really get much scarier than the Headless Horseman, who leads the nighttime parade and is seen carrying his severed jack-o-lantern head aloft a horse. Very young children might occasionally get startled by a few of the life-sized villains or the loud fireworks, but there’s not much else in the way of gore or horror at this particular event. Disneyland also offers a very similar celebration at their annual Mickey’s Halloween Party, where guests can enjoy the newly re-themed haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy in addition to the standard slate of Halloween-themed activities.
2. Perfect for young kids: Halloween Spooktacular, SeaWorld
Image: Jeff Kern, Flickr (license)
Dates: September 22 – October 28, 2018
Cost: Included with park admission
Of course, there’s plenty of Halloween fun to be had without shelling out $100 per person. One such option can be found at SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular, a non-ticketed event that features trick-or-treating (for both sweet and savory snacks), Count von Count’s Spooktacular Breakfast buffet, interactive dance floors, a costume contest, and, in what feels neither spooky nor Halloween-ish in the slightest, a weekend meet-and-greet at the Mermaid Grotto.
The highlight may well be the live shows, including the animal-based Pet’s Ahoy Halloween and Clyde and Seamore’s Big Halloween Bash and the puppet-driven Sesame Street’s Countdown to Halloween. While most of the Halloween events and activities come free with standard park admission, the Sesame Street show requires a modest entrance fee of $10 per person. If you prefer to take a more cultural approach to the holiday season, SeaWorld San Diego also has a special Día de Muertos section set up inside the park, where guests can learn about the various traditions behind the sacred Mexican holiday.
SeaWorld is unique in its lack of Halloween characters: You won’t find witches, monsters, or zombies roaming around, and even the Sesame Street Halloween Parade is limited to its non-threatening cast of Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and others. The scariest feature in the entire park is the Halloween overlay on Manta Madness, but other than a few jack-o’-lantern and black cat projections, there’s little for even the most timid parkgoer to be frightened of.
3. Geared toward families: Brick-or-Treat Party Nights, Legoland
Image: Legoland Billund Resort, Wiki Commons
Dates (Legoland California): September 29 – October 27, 2018
Dates (Legoland Florida): October 6 – 31, 2018
Cost: $54
There’s nothing frightening about Brick-or-Treat nights at Legoland, making it an ideal choice for families with kids of any age (or just your average, non-horror-loving LEGO aficionado). Like every other theme park on this list, Legoland offers trick-or-treating at its numerous Treat Stations and the colorful Brick-or-Treat Trail —and with a reported “1 million pieces of candy” at its disposal, may encourage that sweet tooth even more than necessary. Besides the standard treat-gathering, character meet-and-greets, and Halloween-themed performances (including the AstroBash Dance Party, Monster Bash, A Candy-Coated Curse, and Jammin’ Jack-O’-Lanterns), guests are also invited to take a more active role in the park’s festivities by entering into the Costume Contest, where contestants’ outfits must fall into one of three categories—Group costumes, Heroes and Villains costumes, and LEGO costumes—and the prizes range from free park admission to popular toys.
Not surprisingly, there are also a few LEGO-themed activities available during the event, from the Bigsy Bicksy LEGO Spider Build to a Cobra Super Brick Build, where participants can help put the finishing touches on a giant snake. As for monsters? This fright fest runs deliberately to the corny side of Halloween, though kids can take photos with “scary” characters like the LEGO Witch, Mad Scientist, Lord Vampyre, Spider Lady, and Mummy each afternoon.
4. Great for older kids: Knott’s Spooky Farm, Knott’s Berry Farm
Image: Jeremy Thompson, Flickr (license)
Dates: September 29 – October 31, 2018
Cost: Included with park admission
Adjacent to the ticketed 13-and-up Knott’s Scary Farm event, Knott’s Spooky Farm is tailored to a much younger demographic, with none of the spine-tingling paranormal mazes or evil clown-filled walkways that make the adult activities such an appealing alternative to Universal’s acclaimed Horror Nights.
Themed to the beloved Peanuts cartoons, Knott’s Spooky Farm invites guests to partake in dance parties, a costume contest, pumpkin decorating, music-filled live shows, and trick-or-treating galore—basically, the same kind of traditional Halloween events you’ll find in any family-friendly area of any theme park around September and October. Those feeling especially brave can hop on the Grand Sierra Railroad to get to Camp Spooky or venture out to the Timber Mountain Log Ride to enjoy the Halloween Hootenanny overlay, where cobwebs and innocent-looking pumpkins mask the aliens, witches, nocturnal creatures, and occasional scare actors lurking inside.
5. Ideal for teenagers: Fright Fest, Six Flags
Image: anjanettew, Flickr (license)
Dates (may vary by park): September 15 – October 31, 2018
Cost: Included with park admission
If a slightly watered-down version of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is what you’re after, you might find it in Six Flags’ scare zones and mazes during their annual Fright Fest. Here, various generic and comic book monsters are “unleashed” to roam throughout 14 Six Flags parks after dark, though some attendees have noticed that the scare actors tend to get overwhelmed by the hordes of teenage guests, rather than the other way around. Fright Fest is also a great way to ease into a scarier Halloween event without shelling out the extra event fees that Universal Studios and Knotts Berry Farm regularly charge, though this means you’ll inevitably face more crowds and enjoy less of an “exclusive” experience at the parks.
While Fright Fest isn’t geared toward young children—in fact, it’s not even recommended for kids under 13 years old—there are a few daytime Halloween activities worth participating in before the sun goes down and the monsters come out. In Six Flags America’s Looney Tunes Spooky Town, for example, kids can dance along to the Monster Stomp and Creature Feature shows, participate in a Halloween costume contest, and collect candy on the Trick or Treat Trail. Just remember to make your exit early in the day; once the clock creeps toward 6 PM or so, the monsters are free to wander through the park and things get considerably scarier (hence the park’s aptly-named “Thrills by Day, Fright by Night” slogan).
What family-friendly Halloween celebrations have you tried so far?
