About HOWL-O-SCREAM
For over 20 years, Busch Gardens has held its super popular Howl-O-Scream event, one of the best Halloween events on the East Coast! Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream is back in full force for Halloween 2023!
Click here to buy discounted tickets to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Or invest in a Busch Gardens Williamsburg Fun Card that allows you unlimited visits through Halloween and then between January 26th and September 2nd. Buying Busch Gardens tickets in advance saves time and money over purchasing tickets at the gates!
All of the park’s 10 European villages will be available to guests. Your entry ticket will include access to five newly redesigned haunted houses, four terror-tories™, four spine-chilling shows, DJ party zones, and pop-up surprises throughout the theme park.
This year, there will be a brand-new Halloween haunted house – Lost Mines: The Descent! Plus, Busch Gardens Williamsburg has put an updated spin on the returning haunted houses from last year: Death Water Bayou: Full Moon, Nevermore: Chapter 3, Witch of the Woods: Scorched, and KILLarney DIEner: Infested!
There will also be a brand-new terror-tory called Fest-Evil with a Mardi Gras theme in France. Three additional terror-tories will be returning from last year:Scary Tale Road in Germany, Gorgon Gardens in Italy, Ripper Row in England, and the Meat Market that will be served up on the New France Village.
There will also be six themed BOOze bars. Returning favorites include Jack’s Nightcap in Ireland, Pete’s Provisions in New France, Stone-Cold Spirits in Italy, and the Frost Bar and Barkastle Spirits both located in Oktoberfest. OktoberTaps is a new bar that is also located in Oktoberfest. Can’t wait to see what new drink concoctions will be available this year. Past favorites have been the Vampire Bite and the Bahummy Mummy!
Even though the park turns scary after dark, there is still plenty for families to see and do during the day this year! Sesame Street Forest of Fun, Land of the Dragons, plus kid-friendly rides in Italy, Oktoberfest, and Scotland will be open for fun!
Also, starting September 23rd and running on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm, families can enjoy a Sesame Street Halloween event. More details on that below!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Howl-O-Scream runs Friday through Sunday the weekend of September 9th through October 31st. The park will also be open Thursdays starting September 21st. After that, the event runs every Thursday through Sunday plus October 9 (Columbus Day), 18, 25, and 31st. Hours vary by date, so be sure to check their website for more details and information about their commitment to guest health and safety!
Busch Gardens Tampa is also hosting its Howl-O-Scream event. While our post is based on our experience at Williamsburg, many of the main haunts are the same at both parks!
**Get discount Busch Gardens Williamsburg tickets through our exclusive discount theme park ticket link. Click here for Busch Gardens Tampa discount tickets! **
Below are our tips based on our Howl-O-Scream experience.
Tip #1 for Surviving Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream with Kids: Visit during the Count’s Spooktacular
Visit during the Count’s Spooktacular. This is a daytime event held Saturdays and Sundays throughout the festival from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Children 9 and under can dress in Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat. A trick-or-treat trail with several fun Halloween candy stations is located in the Wild Reserve near the bird aviary in between Ireland and New France.
There will also be special Halloween entertainment during the event including an interactive show and Sesame Street characters dressed in Halloween costumes! Plus, there is a hay maze that the little ones will love!
Tip #2 for Surviving Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream with Kids: Hit the rides early
Busch Gardens warns parents that the park may be too scary for young children after 5 p.m. Since we have two scaredy cats, we decided to do all the children’s ride areas first. The biggest children’s attraction areas, Land of the Dragons and Sesame Street Forest of Fun, close at 5 p.m. We like to start at the Forest of Fun and work our way counter-clockwise through the park’s countries.
Just past the Sesame Street Forest of Fun, Italy has Elephant Run, Little Balloons, and Little Gliders for little ones. After that, you’ll be in Oktoberfest where you’ll find swings and bumper cars. Then, on to Germany where you’ll find classic amusement park rides such as airplanes and a carousel.
Land of the Dragons comes up right after the carousel and has a cute treehouse and ropes for kids to explore, plus several rides geared to little dragons.
Now that you’ve hit most of the kids’ rides, you may want to double back to Das Festhaus in Oktoberfest to grab some food, a drink from the wide assortment at the Brauhaus or the OPEN Last Call Howl-O-Scream bar, and watch a show in Das Festhaus beer hall.
Tip #3 for Surviving Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream with Kids: Enjoy the sights
After your time in Oktoberfest and Germany, make your way past DarKastle and Alpengeist and spend some time on the bridge watching the coasters and Le Scoot log flume drop. We had a fun time browsing the shops in New France (a.k.a. Canada) and buying some maple leaf cookies.
If you still have time before dark, you can walk through the aviary, visit the wolves, and the eagles before you land in Ireland.
Tip #4 for Surviving Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream with Kids: Take in the shows
We weren’t sure whether our kids would be too frightened for the shows, but we were able to see them all in one day without Here is a rundown of the shows and their scare factor for kids:
Phantoms of the Festhaus– Das Festhaus in Oktoberfest
This musical show involves a ghoulish singing competition so it is more campy than terrifying! And it is inside, so it is a great place to take a break, grab a drink and get some food! Make sure you get there early to snag a good seat and give yourself time to get in line for refreshments.
**Insider theme park tip: Go for the middle line for food. Everyone always tends to go into the first line so the second section moves more quickly!.
** Scare factor: 3
Skeletones – Teatro di San Marco in Italy
Enjoy some festive live music at this open air theatre. This is a great place to give your weary bones a rest and grab some food and drinks at Marco Polo’s Marketplace. Arrive early if you want to get a table spot!
** Scare factor: 1
Monster Stomp on Ripper Row – Globe Theatre
No matter which season you visit Busch Gardens, shows out of this theater never disappoint with high-quality theatrical music and dance productions. The coolest parts of this show were a knife percussion solo done on a wooden casket and an Eminem rap/Evanescence song montage. There were also glow in the dark bones and aerial skeleton disco acts, plus stomp rhythms all mixed with a cat and mouse type love story until, well…it is Halloween in old-school England! Despite the storyline, the kids were highly engaged and we all agreed this was our favorite show of Howl-O-Scream!
This theater is right near the park exit, so we usually watch this show last and then head out. This is a very large theater so seating should not be an issue. Arrive early for the best seats.
** Scare factor: 8
Jack is Back – Ireland Village
This street performance stars Jack, a popular character returning from his appearance in past years. Party it up with Jack, pumpkins, and scarecrows in a disco dance show. Jack may be a little scary for little ones to see up-close, but the scarecrows are pretty fun!
** Scare factor: 6
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Tip #5 for Surviving Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream with Kids: Embrace your inner child!
If you have enough adults with you, take turns popping into the Haunted Houses. This year, there are four exciting and unique haunted attractions to explore…if you dare!
There are four Terror-tories sprinkled throughout the park’s themed lands. Below is a list so you can steer clear if you have your kids in tow after dark or you are not a petrified parent!
- Ripper Row® (England): Jack the Ripper is on the loose in London!
- Carn-EVIL (France): Where souls lurk around the Mardi Gras quarter!
- Scary Tale Road (Rhinefield): A startling take on fairy tale creatures.
- Meat Market (New France): This will be one of the more gory encounters!
- Gorgon Gardens (Italy): Starring some sinister sisters.
- Roaming Hack Pack (TBD): Watch out for these monsters because they can lurk anywhere!
We didn’t have a sitter on hand, so we couldn’t explore the indoor haunts. However, we did stroll down one of the terror-tories. The kids did get creeped out, but it was worth the laugh. If your kids get spooked, duck into a shop or restaurant because the Scare Squad cannot follow you in there.
If you need a place to stay while you’re visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg, we highly recommend the SpringHill Suites. For larger families or longer stays, check out Marriott Manor Club at Ford’s Colony!
Click here to find more fun things to do in Williamsburg, Virginia!
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I remember being to Busch Gardens, but it was not for this what seems to be a super-fun event! Judging from the happy faces of the kids, they definitely don’t need a survival guide – hence, it’s good that you wrote one for parents 😉 Either way, I’m sure that everyone had a great time – good for you guys!
Yes! My daughter bought a light up spider which wards off the scary people, so she walked around holding that out for protection : )
I hadn’t heard of this vacation adventure spot until now. It sounds like it is completely different and a lot larger than the Busch operation in St. Louis. From what I read here, I am surprised that I hadn’t heard about it earlier!
Thanks for your comments! It is one of our favorite Halloween events!
This sounds so much fun, even for adults! I am going to have to talk to my husband about possibly taking our daughter – she’d love the Sesame Street parts!
Let me know how you like it : )
The counts spooktacular sounds great! Love how you split it up per scare factor.
Thanks for your feedback! Glad it was helpful!
I wish I still lived on the east coast so I could go! Busch Gardens’ shows were some of my favorite!
They are such high-quality shows. We love them too!
This looks like a lot of fun for kids of all ages. And your little Wonder Woman and minion are awfully cute! 🙂
Aw thanks! Yes, it’s definitely fun for all ages!