[HalloGeekHalfrican]

Hey all! Every year, my friends and I take a road trip for my birthday to either Busch Garden's (Williamsburg) Howl-o-Scream or Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios (Orlando). I've also been to the Halloween stuff at King's Dominion. I absolutely love it, and always end up losing my voice from all the screaming, haha.

Has anyone else gone to these?
What other amusement parks have a nighttime Halloween extravaganza?
What are your experiences?

 

[Bruzilla]

My kids have been going to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando for the past 11 years and love it. It's like a pilgrimage for them at this time of year.

My preference is to go to Spooky Empire's Mayhem or Ultimate Halloween event down in Orlando, which is actually being held on Halloween weekend this year. You get to meet a lot of great horror fans, actors, and get some great ideas.

 

[DeadED]

Six Flags New England. It was a nice set up but I wasn't really prepared for paying the extra cost after admission, so I didnt go in any of the manors. I will not make the same Mistake when I go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg this year.

 

[Queen Of Spades]

All that sounds like so much fun! One Halloween in the future I may need to take a trip to the east coast.
Here in California we have Knott's Scary Farm, Disneyland does Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, SeaWorld San Diego does a Halloween Spooktacular, and Universal Studios has their Halloween Horror Nights.

I don't have the nerve to go to Knott's Scary Farm but I've heard great things about it. If our passes covered Scary Farm I might consider it but it requires a separate ticket.
Disneyland's MNSSHP is a lot of fun. Everyone dresses up and they turn down all the lights in the park, put up special lighting packages, there's rolling fog all over the place, the villains are out, and you can trick or treat as many time as you want (or can carry haha) but it does require a separate ticket.
SeaWorld's Spooktacular is on weekends during the month of October and is included in regular admission price. It's a nice day out. It's during the day so you loose a lot of the Halloween feel. They have one area set up with some characters to pose with and Halloween props. The trick or treating is as much as you want but has never felt as encouraged as Disneyland is. Also, not many adults dress up for it.
Universal's HHN looks amazing but I've never been. A friend of mine worked for it last year and he says it was one of the best experiences he ever had.

 

[aaronmb]

Planning on doing Six Flags Fright Fest. Im looking more forward to riding rides in the dark, rather than the haunted houses. As far as haunted houses, I got my tickets for www.scarefest.com already.

 

[mr_synical]

My wife & I have season passes to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and we go to Howl-o-Scream every year. As a matter of fact, unless plans change, we'll be going the first weekend of October. This year looks pretty good. They're doing 3 new houses.

 

[Regions Beyond]

I've been to Knott's Scary Farm every year probably since 2005 - it's a can't-miss for me, the street talent monsters are amazing and great energy, and their walk through designs and ideas just keep getting better. This very weekend will be going to Knott's and Universal Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights (first time at the Hollywood event, been to Florida in 2006).

 

[meltyface]

I'm going to the Hollywood Horror Nights for the first time on October 2nd. I've always thought that since Hollywood is the home of special effects it must be the best haunted house...we'll see. I've heard great things about it too.

 

[HalloGeekHalfrican]

My wife & I have season passes to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and we go to Howl-o-Scream every year. As a matter of fact, unless plans change, we'll be going the first weekend of October. This year looks pretty good. They're doing 3 new houses.

I'm sooo glad they're putting new houses in. The last couple of times I went, I think they were all the same houses with slightly different scare zones. Don't get me wrong, they were still fun to go through, but new scares are always better!

 

[HalloGeekHalfrican]

I'm going to the Hollywood Horror Nights for the first time on October 2nd. I've always thought that since Hollywood is the home of special effects it must be the best haunted house...we'll see. I've heard great things about it too.

I know you'll have a blast there; HHN is seriously top-notch! A word of advise though: do some serious planning before going in (which houses you want to see first, which ones are most popular, which are closest to the entrance). It's not uncommon to be waiting in line for 3 hours.

 

[Teresa.Macabre]

I have been to the Universal Halloween Horror nights in Hollywood. I had a great time and their mazes are so detailed! I would recommend buying the Front of the line pass because some of the lines were 2-3 hours long later in the evening. With the Front of the Line pass my group got to ride everything and go through every maze with the longest wait being 5 minutes. We also ran down to the lower level first (near Jurassic Park, Transformers, etc) and we got to go through all the mazes and rides without using the front of the line pass so we could go back and use the pass later. So if you want to go through some of them twice, that definitely helped!

Then this past Thursday I went up to Knotts Scary Farm for the first time.. It was also a lot of fun. Not quite as detailed all around like Universal, but they also don't have universals budget. But I really did love their Trick or Treat maze, the Black Magic maze, and the Paranormal Inc one. I would recommend going on the weekday at the beginning of the season, we were able to ride everything and go through all the mazes without paying for any special passes. And it was also wonderful to see Elvira perform again.

Then this week I also went to Disneyland for Mickey's Halloween party. Its the only time I go to Disneyland now, you get to dress up.. go trick or treating.. and still ride everything without as crazy of wait lines. It's become a yearly tradition for me to go at the beginning of the month. It definitely gets you in the spirit.

 

[HalloGeekHalfrican]

I have been to the Universal Halloween Horror nights in Hollywood. I had a great time and their mazes are so detailed! I would recommend buying the Front of the line pass because some of the lines were 2-3 hours long later in the evening. With the Front of the Line pass my group got to ride everything and go through every maze with the longest wait being 5 minutes. We also ran down to the lower level first (near Jurassic Park, Transformers, etc) and we got to go through all the mazes and rides without using the front of the line pass so we could go back and use the pass later. So if you want to go through some of them twice, that definitely helped!

Then this past Thursday I went up to Knotts Scary Farm for the first time.. It was also a lot of fun. Not quite as detailed all around like Universal, but they also don't have universals budget. But I really did love their Trick or Treat maze, the Black Magic maze, and the Paranormal Inc one. I would recommend going on the weekday at the beginning of the season, we were able to ride everything and go through all the mazes without paying for any special passes. And it was also wonderful to see Elvira perform again.

Then this week I also went to Disneyland for Mickey's Halloween party. Its the only time I go to Disneyland now, you get to dress up.. go trick or treating.. and still ride everything without as crazy of wait lines. It's become a yearly tradition for me to go at the beginning of the month. It definitely gets you in the spirit.

Man, you've been busy! I've always wondered how HHN Hollywood compared to Orlando. I like Orlando because it has more to do in the daytime (more rides), but I'm sure Hollywood has more scary stuff since it's a functioning movie lot.

 

[Brandon Reuter]

Elitch Gardens Fright Fest in Denver, CO
https://www.elitchgardens.com/fright-fest/