Halloween 2026

Plan Your Haunt Night Like You Plan a Park Day

Every Halloween event at the parks we cover: dates, house lineups, honest pricing, and the one thing every park buries, what's actually included with your ticket.

A fog-filled scare zone at night lit green, purple and red, with a robed figure standing beside a queue of guests
One of ours: a scare zone filling with fog at Kings Island, October 2025.

A haunt night has its own rhythm, but it's still a park day. Lines still build, houses still fill up, and the night still gets away from you without a plan. That's the whole reason Ride Ready exists: you make the calls, we make sure you're never guessing. We don't sell tickets, Express passes, or line-skips, and we don't do affiliate links. One thing to know before anything else this year: most parks now sell maze access separately from admission. Every guide below spells out exactly what's included and what isn't.

Separate night ticket

Halloween Horror Nights 35

Universal Studios Florida, Orlando, FL
49 nights, Aug. 28 to Nov. 1, 2026

All 10 houses announced, including Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser, and Ozzy Osbourne. Earliest start in event history.

See houses, prices & dates →

Howl-O-Scream Tampa

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL
Select nights, Sept. 11 to Oct. 31, 2026

Six houses including the first-ever IP house (Anaconda), plus coasters in the dark. Mature audience event.

See houses, prices & dates →

Howl-O-Scream Orlando

SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, FL
Select nights, Sept. 11 to Oct. 31, 2026

Five houses including the new I Know What You Did Last Summer, with the family Spooktacular running separately by day.

See houses, prices & dates →

Haunt nights sit on top of a normal park day, and the daytime crowd still decides how the night goes. The crowd calendars cover every park here, free and with no account.

Included with park admission

Howl-O-Scream Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA
25 nights, Sept. 11 to Nov. 1, 2026

The only Howl-O-Scream that's included with park admission, haunted houses and all.

See houses & dates →

Dollywood Harvest Festival

Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, TN
Daily, Sept. 14 to Oct. 31, 2026

Great Pumpkin LumiNights, food, and zero scares. The one fall event on this page built for every age, all included with admission.

See the Dollywood guide →
Event included, mazes cost extra

HalloWeekends

Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH
Select nights, Sept. 17 to Nov. 1, 2026

Six mazes including the new Blizzard-licensed Diablo. Maze pass from $15, family daytime side included.

See mazes, prices & dates →

Halloween Haunt

Kings Island, Mason, OH
Select nights, Sept. 25 to Oct. 31, 2026

Two new mazes including Jason: Blood Reign, plus The Beast at night. Maze pass from $15.

See mazes, prices & dates →

Halloween Haunt

Kings Dominion, Doswell, VA
Select nights, Sept. 18 to Nov. 1, 2026

The Diablo maze lands here too, shared only with Cedar Point this season. Maze pass from $10.

See mazes, prices & dates →

SCarowinds

Carowinds, Charlotte, NC
Select nights, Sept. 11 to Nov. 1, 2026

Eight new experiences in year 26, headlined by a licensed Jason Voorhees maze. Maze pass from $10.

See mazes, prices & dates →

Halloween Haunt

Canada's Wonderland, Vaughan, ON
Select nights, Sept. 25 to Nov. 1, 2026

Haunt is included with admission for the first time ever, and the six mazes moved to a paid pass. Both changes explained straight.

See mazes, prices & dates →

Fright Fest

Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, NJ
Select nights, Sept. 18 to Nov. 1, 2026

Nine haunted houses, four of them new, including Jason and Final Destination mazes. Maze pass from $35.

See haunts, prices & dates →

Fright Fest

Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, IL
Select nights, Sept. 19 to Nov. 1, 2026

Two new mazes including Blair Witch: No Signal, plus a 50th-anniversary scare zone revival. Maze pass from $35.

See haunts, prices & dates →

Fright Fest

Six Flags Over Georgia, Austell, GA
22 nights, Sept. 12 to Nov. 1, 2026

Fright Fest by night, Tricks & Treats by day. Maze bundle from $69, season maze pass $49.

See haunts, prices & dates →
Every event at a glance

2026 dates and what the haunted houses cost

Event Park 2026 dates Event entry Haunted houses
Halloween Horror Nights 35 Universal Studios Florida Aug. 28 – Nov. 1 Separate night ticket On your event ticket
Howl-O-Scream Tampa Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Sept. 11 – Oct. 31 Separate night ticket On your event ticket
Howl-O-Scream Orlando SeaWorld Orlando Sept. 11 – Oct. 31 Separate night ticket On your event ticket
Howl-O-Scream Williamsburg Busch Gardens Williamsburg Sept. 11 – Nov. 1 Park admission Included
HalloWeekends Cedar Point Sept. 17 – Nov. 1 Park admission Maze pass from $15
Halloween Haunt Kings Island Sept. 25 – Oct. 31 Park admission Maze pass from $15
Halloween Haunt Kings Dominion Sept. 18 – Nov. 1 Park admission Maze pass from $10
SCarowinds Carowinds Sept. 11 – Nov. 1 Park admission Maze pass from $10
Halloween Haunt Canada's Wonderland Sept. 25 – Nov. 1 Park admission Maze pass from $10 CAD
Fright Fest Six Flags Great Adventure Sept. 18 – Nov. 1 Park admission Maze pass from $35
Fright Fest Six Flags Great America Sept. 19 – Nov. 1 Park admission Maze pass from $35
Fright Fest Six Flags Over Georgia Sept. 12 – Nov. 1 Park admission Bundle from $69, season $49
Harvest Festival Dollywood Sept. 14 – Oct. 31 Park admission No haunts. Family event.
Quick answers

Which Halloween events are included with regular park admission?

Howl-O-Scream Williamsburg and Dollywood's Harvest Festival, fully. HalloWeekends, the three Halloween Haunts, SCarowinds, and Fright Fest include the event with admission but sell maze access separately. HHN and the Tampa and Orlando Howl-O-Screams are their own night tickets.

Why do the mazes cost extra at so many parks now?

Six Flags moved its parks to an unbundled model. Your ticket covers the event, zones, shows, and rides; the walkthrough mazes take a Haunted Attractions Pass, roughly $10 to $35 a night depending on park, with cheaper all-season versions. Passholders pay it too. Each event guide above has the exact numbers.

Which event should I take young kids to?

Dollywood, no contest: the Harvest Festival has zero scare content. Otherwise use the daytime family events, which are included with admission: Tricks and Treats at the Six Flags parks, Fall Fun by Day at Cedar Point, and the Sesame Street Halloween Spooktacular at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The night events at those parks generally carry a not-recommended-under-13 line.

When does the 2026 season start?

HHN kicks off Aug. 28, its earliest start ever. Almost everything else opens the weekend of Sept. 11 or 12, Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland wait until Sept. 25, and most events run through Halloween or Nov. 1.

The rides don't stop for spooky season

Every event on this page runs coasters in the dark, and the app tracks live waits at all of these parks, flags the drops, and rebuilds your plan when the night goes sideways. Get it on the App Store before you pick your date.

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