Fall is a great time to visit Kings Island for Halloween themed fun. Families of all ages can enjoy scare-free activities during the day at the Great Pumpkin Fest and older families can face their fears during Haunt at night.
I’m sharing tips for families who want to experience both during their visit.
This article is written in partnership with Kings Island as a Kings Island Ambassador.
The Great Pumpkin Fest
The perfect event for families with younger kids. The Great Pumpkin fest takes place in Planet Snoopy and focuses on fall fun and Halloween themed festivities without the scare on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 27, 2019, from 12pm – 7pm.
Kids can trick or treat with or without costumes at candy stops located throughout the Great Pumpkin Fest. If your child comes dressed in a costume, you might want to bring extra clothes in case they want to change out of it during their visit.
When you arrive, grab a map at the front entrance so that you can plan out your activities during your visit.
In Franklin’s Game Zone there are several carnival-style games that kids of all ages can play for a low as $1.
Linus’ Foamtastic
Kids are guaranteed to have a blast playing in thousands of foam bubbles created for guests 48 inches tall or less.
*If you have kids who want to try Linus’ Foamtastic you might want to plan ahead and bring extra clothes in case they get wet and cold afterward.
You find plenty of places for fun photo ops located throughout Planet Snoopy.
Visit Snoopy’s Barnyard Friends
Animal lovers of all ages will enjoy spending time with 50 animals to interact with. The barnyard has goats, alpacas, rabbits, ducks, sheep, miniature horses, chickens and more!
Watch a Family Friendly Live Show
The Great Pumpkin Fest has several family-friendly live shows for guests to attend. A few crowd favorites are Funky Pharaoh’s Dance party, Lucy’s Holiday Fashion Show and Costume Contest, and Peanuts Howling Halloween Party.
*Make sure that you download the free Kings Island app so that you don’t miss any of the shows and special experiences.
Make a Special Build-A-Bear
If you want to take home a special souvenir, Kings Island has special Halloween themed furry friends that kids can help specialize at Build-A-Bear.
HalloTween Activities
A new addition for the 2019 season, HalloTween takes the scare out of the attractions with interactive challenges that are perfect for families with older elementary ages and tweens Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 27, 2019, from 12pm – 6pm.
*Tip-If you want to visit all of the HalloTween attractions, make sure that you grab a map at the front and allow plenty of time to visit each one. There are 4 HalloTween mazes and several of them take several minutes to complete.
*The line for some of the HallowTween attractions may be cut early to allow enough time for the attraction to be converted back to a Haunt attraction so plan accordingly.
*Madame Fatale’s Museum of Mystery takes the longest to go through and Shipwreck: X Marks the Spot is a maze that you can complete pretty quickly.
If you have a family member who enjoys being artistic, make sure that they stop by the HalloTween Creepy Craft section.
Enjoy the Rides in the Daytime
Weekends are still a great time to enjoy the rides for all thrill levels located throughout the park.
View the Haunt Decorations in Daytime
If you are curious about the Halloween themed decorations but don’t want to see them at night, daytime is the perfect time to explore the rest of the park.
Haunt at Kings Island
If you are not a fan of scary things, you can still have fun at Haunt at Kings Island. The obvious appeal for Haunt is for the scare thrill-seekers but there are still other options.
Just to be clear, Haunt is NOT designed for little kids.
The Halloween Haunt Map states WARNING: This event is Too Intense for Young Children. Parental Discretion is Advised.
Little Known Fact
Did you know that the Festhaus glockenspiel switches from the chicken dance to a new creepy German song just for Haunt???
Purchase a No-Boo Necklace to keep the Scare Away
The No-Boo Necklaces work for adults and kids who don’t want costumed actors to scare them….and you will find plenty of adults and teens wearing them at Haunt so don’t worry about appearances if you don’t like being startled.
The No-Boo Necklaces are nice to have when you are walking around the park and need to pass through an outdoor scare zone.
*The No-Boo Necklaces DO NOT work inside the haunted attractions so if you make the choice to enter you will be scared.
Attend the Haunt Opening Ceremony at 7:30
Check out some of the scare actors in the Haunt Opening Ceremony at the bandstand on International Street that kicks off the evening’s festivities for Haunt.
If you have younger kids with you I would recommend a “No- Boo necklace” and observing the ceremony from a seating section along near International Street in case it gets too intense for them.
*Heads up-The end of the ceremony can be a little startling in case you have a guest sensitive to sound.
Watch a Live Show
There are three live shows that you can watch during Haunt. Monsters Rock is located inside the Festhaus. This is a very family-friendly show and a great place to hang out if you are waiting for other family members who are attending Haunt.
Drums of the Dead is new for 2019 and takes place on the International Street Stage. This is a really fun show to watch with incredible drums skills and performances using fire.
*Make sure that you download the Kings Island app so that you don’t miss it!
Watch other people being scared by the costumed actors
Two areas with less scare activity are the picnic tables on International Street and the Festhaus.
I sat near the fence at the picnic tables two different weekends and no one bothered me and I loved watching other people being scared by costumed actors.
*There are flames that shoot up near the fountains that can be really startling in the beginning but after a while, you get used to it.
Ride the Rollercoasters at Night
The older I’ve gotten the more that I’ve gotten ok with the fact that I don’t like being scared by people… I’m still ok with scary rides.
Thrill rides have a totally different feel when you ride them at night, especially the Beast.
Try Walking Through a Scare Zone
If you want to experience some of the scare in a less intense way, I recommend starting with the Scare Zones. The outdoor areas have a lot of activity and if you want to observe but don’t want to personally be scared, you can wear your No-Boo Necklace.
Additional Tips for Haunt Thrill Seekers at Kings Island
Have a plan before you go. There is a map online so that you can plan out the scare zones and mazes that you want to attend.
The indoor mazes open first, and the outdoor mazes don’t open until 8pm.
Ride lines generally get shorter the later it gets.
Parking tolls open at 5pm on Friday night and the front gate will open shortly before 6pm.
If you want to skip the big lines, the Halloween Haunt Fright Lane Pass has limited quantities available each night of Halloween Haunt and it’s recommended to purchase those in advance.
How to Save on Admission for Haunt at Kings Island
For the best deals on ticket prices purchase your tickets online in advance.
Haunt is also a great time to save on purchasing next year’s Kings Island Season Pass.
Additional Information on The Great Pumpkin Event and Haunt
For more information check out the Kings Island website.
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