Print Story: Halloween events around the country – Yahoo! News
NEW YORK – ‘Tis the season for haunted houses, ghost stories and pumpkins. Here are some Halloween happenings around the country.
Guests at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia can take part in a recreation of a dramatic trial, to weigh the guilt or innocence of a woman who was accused of being a witch in 1706. The program, “Cry Witch,” is one of several offered in the spirit of Halloween at Colonial Williamsburg, including tours that explore ghost legends and evening walks held by flickering candlelight. Details at http://www.history.org.
In Arkansas, the state’s biggest Halloween celebration, “Magic Screams,” will be held weekends through Oct. 28 at Magic Springs & Crystal Falls theme park in Hot Springs. The park is decorated with ghosts and goblins but many activities are appropriate for families with young children, including visiting a wizard, a costume contest, a maze, and pumpkin painting. For those with a higher tolerance for fright, there are haunted houses and a haunted trail. Details at http://www.magicsprings.com.
In California, besides the annual Halloween extravaganza at the amusement park at Universal Studios Hollywood, the Oct. 31 West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval draws 500,000 people to Santa Monica Boulevard. The Queen Mary, a retired ocean liner permanently docked in Long Beach, offers paranormal tours, dinners, ghost investigations and haunted hotel rooms. Knott’s Scary Farm’s Halloween Haunt in Buena Park offers mazes, monsters and scare zones; the attraction won the “best Halloween event” 2007 Golden Ticket award from the trade newspaper Amusement Today.
Several communities around California also host Dia de los Muertos Festivals, the Mexican “day of the dead” tradition. Visitors can create altars in honor of lost loved ones at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood on Oct. 27. In San Francisco, a festival takes place Nov. 2, including a procession from the Mission District to Garfield Park. In Oceanside, an Oct. 28 festival includes filling streets with more than 30,000 marigolds in the form of altars commemorating the dead, and allowing visitors to make their own memorials in an interactive “Chalk Cemetery.”
Ripley Entertainment attractions have special Halloween events scheduled besides their year-round exhibits of weird artifacts and creepy happenings. “Fright Nights” will be held throughout this month at Ripley’s Haunted Adventures in San Antonio, Texas; in Gatlinburg, Tenn., with a special appearance by actor Bill Moseley from horror flicks “House of 1,000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects” on Oct. 26-27; and in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where Doug Bradley, who acted in the “Hellraiser” films will appear Oct. 26-27. In addition, a “Carnival of Screams” is being offered at Ripley’s Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax in Grand Prairie, Texas. Ripley’s is also offering ghost walking tours and a “Ghost Train Adventure” in St. Augustine, Fla. Check dates and details at http://www.ripleys.com.
In Tampa, Fla., Busch Gardens Africa will be transformed by “Howl-O-Scream” with haunted houses, scare zones, shows, and the usual scream-inducing roller coasters. Details at http://www.howl-o-scream.com/tampa/.
To locate Halloween events elsewhere in the country, check out the Halloween Getaway Guide at the family travel Web site WeJustGotBack.com, which lists other theme parks and “Boo at the Zoo!” events around the country. The Web site also provides a guide to resorts that offer special Halloween activities, like Nickelodeon Family Suites in Orlando, Fla., and Great Wolf Lodges in various locations.
Help–overwhelmed planning disney world trip?
Ok, so this will be the first family vacation and I don't want it to end up like the Grizwolds. 2 kids will be 7/9. My questions:
1. Has anyone stayed at the Nickolodeon Hotel–any feedback, good bad ugly?
2. The Nick hotel looked like a day of fun in itself–thinking save some money and skip a park that day.
3. What parks with kids these ages should we skip–my husband and I would also like to have fun and he wants to go to Universal.
4. We are looking at going The first week in August or the week after Labor Day, someone mentioned the local schools have field trips there, any time better than another as far as these two time frames?
5. Any help on where to get cheap tickets would be great, pro's/con's–the tickets for the hopper and universal are going to be more than airfare and hotel–is that crazy or what.
Thank you for your help.
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Wonerful! I love how this blog is always updated with fresh content.I made three of my friends subscribe btw,lol