Coast 'N' Tiki's Top Halloween / Fall Event Picks!

Heading to any theme park Halloween events this year? Here are our top picks for the best haunts to add to your spooky travel plans!

10. Phantom Fall Fest At Kennywood

Pittsburg’s premier autumn and Halloween event, combining daytime family entertainment with high-intensity nighttime scares. It combines the park's former Happy Hauntings (family event) and Phantom Fright Nights into a single event.

9. Dollywood Harvest Festival

Held annually from mid-September through late October, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival is a fall celebration set against the scenic backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains. Included with standard park admission, the event blends traditional autumn festivities with family-friendly entertainment. Its standout attraction is Great Pumpkin LumiNights—an after-dark display featuring over 12,000 glowing pumpkins, massive carved sculptures like a 40-foot pumpkin tree and a illuminated guitar, themed areas such as Hoot Owl Hollow, and night rides on world-class roller coasters.

8. Silver Dollar City's Harvest Festival

Held annually from mid-September through late October in Branson, Missouri, Silver Dollar City’s Harvest Festival is a premier fall event set in the heart of the Ozarks. Included with standard park admission, it pairs traditional daytime autumn festivities with a glowing after-dark spectacle. The evening's crown jewel is Pumpkins in the City, featuring over 20,000 illuminated real and carved pumpkins, giant glowing displays, fog-filled paths like Foggy Hollow, dance parties at Pumpkin Plaza, and night rides on world-class coasters like Outlaw Run and Fire in the Hole.

7. Kings Dominions Halloween Haunt 

Held select nights mid-September through early November in Doswell, Virginia, Kings Dominion’s Halloween Haunt transforms the park into an immersive nightmare for guests 13 and up. The event features six story-driven haunted mazes—including DIABLO: The Infernal Path, CornStalkers, and Blood on the Bayou—alongside five scare zones like The Catacombs and Pumpkin Eater, where roaming scare actors await in the dark.

6. Kings Islands Halloween Haunt

Recognized as Cincinnati’s premier haunt event, Kings Island’s Halloween Haunt transforms the Mason, Ohio park into an after-dark nightmare for guests 13 and up on select nights from late September through late October. The event boasts terrifying haunted mazes—ranging from major IP walkthroughs like JASON: Blood Reign to original fan favorites like Metal Massacre and Killmart—along with foggy outdoor scare zones like Pumpkin Eater and Coney Maul, where monsters lurk in the darkness.

5. Cedar Point's Halloweekends

Held select nights from mid-September through early November in Sandusky, Ohio, Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends is a premier fall destination for thrill-seekers across Detroit and Cleveland. The event offers a dual-nature experience right on Lake Erie: daytime brings family-friendly fun with non-scary trick-or-treat trails, hay mazes, and PEANUTS-themed shows. Once the sun sets, the park converts into an intense scream fest featuring six indoor haunted mazes—including Diablo: The Infernal Path, Midnight, and Slaughter House—plus outdoor scare zones, live stage entertainment, and dark night rides on world-class coasters like Steel Vengeance and Maverick.

4. Knotts Scary Farm

As Southern California’s original and longest-running theme park Halloween event, Knott’s Scary Farm transforms the entire 160-acre Buena Park location into a fully immersive, fog-drenched nightmare on select nights from mid-September through Halloween. Requiring separate event admission, the dark spectacle features ten detailed, story-driven haunted mazes—highlighted by original concepts like Inked, Unearthed, Cinema Slasher, and Origins: The Curse of Calico—alongside five themed scare zones where hundreds of monsters roam, including the legendary knee-sliding "Sliders" of Ghost Town Streets. The horror is rounded out by high-energy live shows like the satirical The Hanging, stage acts, and dark night rides on world-class coasters including GhostRider, Xcelerator, and HangTime.

3. Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Howl-O-Scream

Held select nights from early September through early November in Williamsburg, Virginia, Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream converts the European-themed park into a fog-drenched nightmare after dark. Included with general park admission, the event unleashes immersive haunted mazes—including story-driven walkthroughs like Clown Town, Killarney Diner, NEVERmore, and Death Water Bayou—plus sinister scare zones like Gothic Underground and Festa De Los Muertos. The evening is capped off by live entertainment such as Jack is Back and Monster Stomp on Cutthroat Row, seasonal food and cocktail bars, and coaster night rides on fan favorites like Pantheon, Verbolten, and Apollo's Chariot.

2. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood

Held select nights from early September through early November in Universal City, California, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights stands as Southern California’s premier movie-quality haunt. Requiring separate event admission, the park turns into a cinematic nightmare packed with world-class haunted houses inspired by iconic film, TV, and gaming franchises alongside sinister original concepts. The event is anchored by the famous Terror Tram—granting guests rare access to walk through real backlot movie sets—and features fog-heavy scare zones, high-energy live shows, seasonal food and drinks, and night rides on top attractions like Jurassic World – The Ride and Revenge of the Mummy.

1. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida

Held select nights from late August through early November in Orlando, Florida, Universal Studios Florida’s Halloween Horror Nights is world-renowned as the premier Halloween event. Requiring separate event admission, the park transforms into an immersive, movie-quality nightmare featuring 10 world-class haunted houses inspired by legendary film, TV, and gaming franchises alongside terrifying original concepts. The event is rounded out by five immersive, fog-heavy scare zones filled with roaming scare actors, high-energy live stage shows, themed food and specialty cocktails, and night rides on major attractions like Transformers, Revenge of the Mummy, and Men in Black Alien Attack.

Got a favorite theme park haunt we missed? Drop a comment on our social channels and let us know where we should head next!

As Always, Keep On Coast 'N'