Taking the Kids: Celebrating Halloween all October
On the West Coast, famous -- and favorite -- Disney villains overtake both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure during Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort (Sept. 6 through Oct. 31, 2019.) New this year is the after-hours, separate-ticket event at Disney California Adventure. Additionally, both parks feature seasonal experiences inspired by the spirit of Día de los Muertos, with Plaza de la Familia and A Musical Celebration of Coco at Disney California Adventure, and a colorful Day of the Dead tribute in Frontierland at Disneyland.
If you love scares, maybe your teens will invite you to join them at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando and Hollywood (where Throwback Thursdays celebrates many '80s-inspired mazes from movies such as "Ghostbusters" and "Creepshow." There's also a dance party hosted by Beetlejuice.) With so many haunted souls, blood-thirsty beasts, super scary haunted houses and mazes, don't bring the under-13 crowd, Universal suggests.
Ditto for Howl-O-Scream at the two Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa Bay and Williamsburg, Virginia, though there are kid-appropriate Halloween activities during the day. The 18 Six Flags parks touts "Family by Day, Fright by Night!"
Maybe this is the year to make a holiday of Halloween -- perhaps a stay at a “haunted” inn. Many B&Bs are in historic homes, which have otherworldly spirits lingering. The 1872 John Denham House in Monticello, Florida, even has special October Teen and Parent Ghost Hunting weekends, complete with hands-on ghost-tracking skills.
Woodloch Pines, the all-inclusive family resort in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, promises haunted hayrides (wagons wind their way through the resort's heavily wooded nature trail, transformed to mimic scenes from popular horror films), a haunted carousel, as well as Halloween scavenger hunts, pumpkin painting costume parties and more.
The Great Wolf Lodgeindoor water park resorts around the country promise younger families "A Spooktacular Good Time" at Howl-O-Ween, complete with a witch's lair, trick-or-treat trail through the lodge, spooky crafts, pumpkin carving and, of course, the water playground they're known for.
The most important thing -- don't embarrass the kids with your costume! Happy Halloween!
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