With amusement park Halloween season almost (or already) upon us, I figured I’d provide a summary of the various Halloween special attractions and events at California’s major parks, and some links for more information on them. I’ll admit that I rarely go to Halloween events (I’m more about riding roller coasters than being screamed at by guys in clown make-up), but it is an awesome way to ride coasters at night and a lot of these are huge events for fans, especially at a couple of the Southern California parks. So, in South to North geographical order:
Nightmare Before Christmas at Disneyland!
Disneyland: Although not really a scary Halloween make-over like at the other parks, Disney, as with everything, does some cool things for Halloween. This season, like in the past, the Haunted Mansion becomes the Holiday Haunted Mansion, with decorations from one of my favorite movies, Nightmare Before Christmas. This actually might be my favorite Halloween themed attraction anywhere, especially because it’s always a little different each year. In addition, Space Mountain transforms into Ghost Galaxy, with some new spooky effects, and the park in general gets lots of great autumnal decorations. Also expect to see lots of Disney villains around the park, and in some special events. Halloween time has already started at Disney, and runs through Oct 31. For more details on Disney’s Halloween, check out the official page here.
Awesome sounding new interactive Halloween attraction at Knott’s.
Knott’s “Scary” Farm: Regarded as one of the best transformations anywhere, and the biggest, Knott’s goes all out for Halloween (makes sense what with one area of the park already modeled after a California Ghost Town). This year the event features a whopping 11 haunted areas/mazes, in addition to the areas of the park infested with monsters. New this year is a first of it’s kind interactive Zombie hunt area. Groups of guests, led by a “squad leader,” enter the area armed with laser guns to fight off infected zombies. Basically you get to act out a video game, it sounds freaking awesome. For more info on all the Knott’s Halloween mazes, shows, and attractions, check out the press release from last month, and the official Scary Farm page.
Full map of all of the Knott’s Scary Farm attractions. Huge.
Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights: The other huge, top of the line Halloween make-over is at Universal. Of course, being Universal lots of the Halloween events have tie-ins to movies and TV shows. Some of the highlights this year are seven new mazes, including ones based on The Walking Dead and Alien vs Predator (plus lots of other movies), five new scare zones (hey look, more Walking Dead!), and the “Terror Tram: Invaded by The Walking Dead” ride. Ok, so there’s a lot of Walking Dead in there, but zombies are great, and if anyone can do them really well, it’s probably Universal (plus, the new season of The Walking Dead starts this month, so it’s probably a promotional thing…). Horror Nights runs through Nov 2, and you can get some decent deals for select days online. For more info check out the official site.
“Go To Terminus” appears to be the theme for Halloween Horror Nights this year. I assume that’s a “Walking Dead” reference I don’t get.
Six Flags Magic Mountain: Generally a tier below Knott’s and Universal, Magic Mountain is increasing the size of it’s “Fright Fest” this season to try to compete. They probably still won’t be able to (let’s be real Knott’s and Universal are two of the best themed parks in the country), but it’s always good to see more stuff! They’ve added three new mazes, bringing the total to eight, and added a new scare zone, of which there will be seven total. In addition, they’re killing the lights on most of the parks coasters, which should make for some pretty awesome rides (Tatsu through the woods in pitch black would be amazing), and X2 has been modified to have something to do with aliens. Fright fest starts this weekend and runs through November 1. Check out details and hours on the official site.
I just like pictures of Tatsu, imagine it’s even better at Fright Fest!
California’s Great America: Not as large as the Southern California events, the Northern California parks still get big changes for Halloween. CGA is adding two new mazes this year, for a total of eight (pretty impressive for a relatively small park), to go along with three scare zones in the park. Additionally, the “Action Theater” ride/attraction gets a make-over into the “Fun House Express” and the “Mirror Mirror” attraction. There are also a total of four live Halloween shows. Haunt begins this weekend and lasts through Nov 1, more details can be found here.
Once beloved Rue Le Dodge at CGA being converted for Haunt!
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Lastly, Discovery Kingdom is adding some new features this year as well. SFDK will have four scare zones throughout the park, and five haunted mazes, including one new this year, “The Boathouse at Blood Lake.” There are several “Monstertainment” shows, and expect a bunch of the rides to be slightly re-themed for Halloween. Fright Fest starts this weekend as well, and lasts through Nov 1. The rest of the details about the mazes and hours can be found on the official site.
So, are you planning to go to any Halloween events at any amusement parks? Are there any that you’re particularly excited about this year? Let us know!
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