Taking the Kids: 10 ways to celebrate Halloween safely in these strange times

Make it a weekend road trip to enjoy zoo or theme park Halloween festivities elsewhere, giving hotels much-needed business. But you will need reservations and likely timed-entry tickets as attendance is limited this year. (Check out our Fall Getaways for 2020, produced with our partners at Family Travel Forum, for more ideas.)

Wherever you go, know that there will be extra healthy and safety protocols from temperature taking to mask-wearing (kids too!) to social distancing (forget character hugs). It would be a good idea to prepare the kids in advance for what will be different.

Even campgrounds are getting into the Halloween spirit. Jellystone Park campgrounds have adjusted their Halloween activities so that their popular themed weekends can go forward in many locations across the country, including Asheboro, North Carolina; Estes Park, Colorado; Fredericksburg, Texas, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with Halloween-themed crafts, costume parades and campsite and cabin decorating contests.

See what your local zoo is planning. For example:

Creatures of the Nights 2020 will offer enhanced health measures and take place mostly outdoors this year all October long at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida. This year, it is themed around campfire tales and will include Camp Creepstastic, a spooky spider dance and Pumpkin Palooza.

Boo at the Bronx Zoo. Thursdays through Sundays Oct 12 to Nov.1 includes animal-inspired magic, pumpkin carving demonstrations and a walk among hundreds of expertly carved creations, costume MASKerade (search for your favorite masked and costumed animals during the scavenger hunt).

Boo at the Zoo: Storybook Safari-Denver Zoo ongoing daily Oct. 1 through 31 with animal stories and fairytales coming to life with costumed characters, themed foods and Nature Connects Art with LEGO Bricks with 15 nature-inspired creations b Artist Sean Kenney — life-sized plant and animal LEGO sculptures.

The Orlando SeaWorld park has Halloween Spooktacular as does SeaWorld San Antonio and SeaWorld San Diego with all-new safety procedures, celebrations with a new “Sesame Street” show and more — all included with park admission.

Brick-or-Treat weekends all October at LEGOLAND Florida Resort are included with general admission and with safe trick or treating designed with extra space and shows, including The Groovin’ Graveyard and a special group of characters, including Spider Lady, Brickbeard and more. Kids can help craft a huge LEGO mosaic.

At Walt Disney World, expect special Halloween doings at the Magic Kingdom on the parade route and head down Main Street, dressed in your Halloween fineries. On certain days, you might meet up with favorite Disney villains. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Minnie’s Halloween Dine will be at Hollywood & Vine, with a monster feast served to your table, and favorite Disney friends making special appearances.

And while Universal Orlando canceled its popular Halloween Horror Nights this year, there will be two limited-capacity haunted houses (not suitable for kids under 12) until Nov. 1 and included with park admission. For younger kids, there will be trick or treating at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, a live Universal Orlando Horror Make-Up Show, and an all new scavenger hunt across Universal Studios Florida. (Find all 13 scarecrows and skeletons to receive a candy bag!)

While you are there, try some gummy beating hearts and vegan brownie skulls! Guess you are going to need your costumes after all!

Happy Halloween!

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)