Until 1972, the year that Knott's Berry Farm transformed its Southern California park into Knott's Scary Farm, theme parks didn't embrace Halloween. In fact, most parks generally shut their gates soon after Labor Day. Now, however, virtually every park has jumped on the hay wagon with elaborate haunted houses, shows, and other Halloween hoopla. Discover where to find spooky fun in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
Scaredy-Parks 2011 Guide
Busch Entertainment. Used with permission.
Halloween Horror Nights 21 at Universal Orlando
Universal Orlando, 2011. Used with permission.
It is year 21 for the venerable Halloween Horror Nights, and Universal Orlando is exploiting the number to incorporate a blackjack/21/gambling-gone-wacko theme. Visitors lucky enough to escape the wrath of Lady Luck will find one of parkdom's best collections of haunted houses, scare zones, shows, and all-around Halloween goodness. Among the new mazes this year is one based on the film, The Thing.
Knott's Scary Farm Haunt 2011 at Knott's Berry Farm in California
Knotts Berry Farm, 2011. Used with permission.
Six Flags Fright Fests 2011
Six Flags. Used with permission.
More 2011 Florida Halloween Theme Park Events
Walt Disney World. Used with permission.
Universal Orlando is not the only place in Florida to find scary (and not-so-scary) Halloween fun. There's also Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World, Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and SeaWorld Orlando's Halloween Spooktacular.
More 2011 California Halloween Theme Park Events
Disney. Used with permission.
Knott's Berry Farm is not the only park in California to offer Halloween antics. There's also Six Flags Fright Fest, Disney's HalloweenTime, and other Halloween events at Legoland, California's Great America, and SeaWorld San Diego.
The Best Haunted Attractions
Arthur Levine, 2004. Licensed to About.com.
