This weekend, I’ll be meeting the Lady of the Gardens at Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Howl-O-Scream event.
I’m a huge fan of Halloween events at theme parks. When we lived in Florida, TH and I always made the trek to Orlando (pre-spawn) to experience the biggest and best Halloween thrills. I don’t know why I love it so much. I’m a wuss and scream at every little thing that jumps out at me. And, you guys? If there’s a haunted house with clowns? Forget it. I’m in tears. Yet I go back for more. I’m a glutton for punishment.
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had the time (and an available babysitter around) to return to our annual pilgrimage of terror. I can not wait to see what the team at Busch Gardens Williamsburg has in store for us this year!
photo credit: Seaworld Parks and Entertainment
This year’s Howl-O-Scream will continue the frights with the Dark Side of the Gardens theme, led by none other than The Lady of the Gardens. She’s pretty much as creepy as they come.
Instead of the traditional “scare zones”, Busch Gardens has “Roaming Hordes”. The scares can pop up anywhere, when you least expect it. Bad news for a wuss like me, great news for TH who loves watching me scream like a little girl. In addition to the hordes, there are several haunted houses, all themed around the country they reside in, shows, special photo opportunities and tours.
This year, Howl-o-Scream will introduce a new maze called Root of all Evil {think “greenhouse gone mad”} as well as debut Dig it Up and Night Beats, two new shows. My favorite show Fiends is moving from Das Festhaus into the Abbey Stone Theater in Ireland.
photo credit: Seaworld Parks and Entertainment
Howl-O-Scream runs on select nights from September 14-October 28. This is not a family-friendly event, y’all. Leave the small ones at home. They can still get in on the Halloween fun, however, during the day. Elmo and his Sesame Street friends put on a little Halloween show for the littlest of park guests in the Sesame Street Forest of Fun several times each day. There are also great Fall-themed up close animal encounters for the kids to take part in. When the clock strikes 6:00, the frights come out, so plan to leave with your younger children around 5:30 or so. Everyone is fair game for scares after 6pm. Busch Gardens makes this very clear to all guests entering the park so there are no excuses about not knowing just how scary it will get.
photo credit: Seaworld Parks and Entertainment
Howl-O-Scream is included with your standard park admission. This is great news for military families. If you haven’t used your Hero Salute ticket for this year, you can attend Howl-O-Scream for free! Just fill out the form and visit the special Hero Salute ticket booths when you arrive at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It doesn’t get any better than free, right?
I’ll be back with a full review of Howl-O-Scream 2012 next week. I’d say I’ll do a video review, but I’m pretty confident I won’t have a voice after Saturday night.
Be sure to follow along with my evening at Howl-O-Scream on twitter @MamaOfAllTrades and Instagram. Also, be sure to follow @BuschGardensVa and the #FrightNight hashtag.
Have you attended Howl-O-Scream or a similar Halloween event in the past?
Disclosure: Busch Gardens Social Media team invited me to attend their #FrightNight event. This is not a required post.
