Amusement parks themed for Halloween

Eighty-one percent of amusement parks will hold Halloween or fall-themed events this year, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

But fewer than half of them offered Halloween Attractions 15 years ago, illustrating the tremendous growth in recreation related to the holiday, according to an informal survey conducted by IAAPA among more than 100 park managers.

Some parks offer haunted walks and other fun for thrill-seekers, complete with zombies and bloody axemen. Other places are geared for kiddies, with pumpkin-decorating and hay rides. And some cities have haunted houses created from abandoned prisons and other creepy places using Hollywood-style special effects.

Here is information on some of these Attractions, compiled by the IAAPA. Check with destinations for exact times and dates; many are only open Thursday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday through Halloween.

• Adventure Landing, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., “Hall of Terror” and “Haunted River Ride,” adventurelanding.com/jaxbeach

• Boo Crew Haunted House in Rochester, Ill., “Dr. Griswold’s Experimentorium,” boocrew.com

•Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Fla., and Williamsburg, Va., “Howl-O-Scream,” howloscream.com

•Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, “HalloWeekends,” halloweekends.com

• Carowinds, Charlotte, “SCarowinds,” scarowinds.com

• Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, Darien Center, N.Y., “FrightFest 2009,” GoDarienLake.com

•Disneyland, Anaheim, Calif., “Halloween Time,” disneylandnews.com

•Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pa., “Terror Behind the Walls,” easternstate.org

• Kennywood Park, West Mifflin, Pa., “Phantom Fright Nights,” phantomfrightnights.com

• Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va., “Halloween Haunt,” kingsdominion.com

• Kings Island near Cincinnati, “Halloween Haunt 2009″ visitkingsisland.com

• Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, Calif., “Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt,” knotts.com

• Lake Compounce, Bristol, Conn., “The Haunted Graveyard,” hauntedgraveyard.com

• Playland-Not-at-the-Beach Museum of Fun in El Cerrito, Calif., “The Haunted Museum,” playland-not-at-the-Beach.org

•Six Flags parks, “Fright Fest,” at parks in or near Mitchellville, Md.; San Antonio, Texas; Jackson, N.J.; Gurnee, Ill.; Lake George, N.Y.; Louisville; Los Angeles, Calif.; Arlington, Texas; Eureka, Mo.; Vallejo, Calif.; Agawam, Ma.; and Atlanta; sixflags.com

•Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif., and in Orlando, “Halloween Horror Nights,” HalloweenHorrorNights.com

• Great Wolf Lodge resorts, “Howl-O-Ween at the Wolf,” Kansas City, Kan.; Traverse City, Mich.; Concord, N.C.; Mason, Ohio; Sandusky, Ohio; Scotrun, Pa.; Grapevine, Texas; Williamsburg, Va.; Centralia, Wash.; Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

• Hersheypark, Hershey, Pa., “Hersheypark in the Dark,” hersheypark.com

•SeaWorld Orlando and Sea World San Diego, “Halloween Spooktacular,” seaworldspooktacular.com

• Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party,” wdwnews.com

SOURCE: USA TODAY / AP