All week and next we will be voting for the winners of the 21st annual Theme Park Insider Awards, with finalists selected from the nominations you submitted over the past weeks.
Today's category is Best Halloween Event, and we have four finalists for your consideration in this category. These four Halloween events led all other nominees by a wide margin, sending them to the final vote. But which one deserves our honor? That's for you to decide, below.
The finalists are:
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida
Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa
Knott's Scary Farm
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom
Please campaign in the comments for your favorite, if you wish. When you are ready, here's the vote:
Previous category: Vote now for Best New Attraction.
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All of a sudden, that old classic sesame street song “three of these things belong together” just popped in my head….
Knott's Scary Farm isn't even the best Halloween event in its own region. This is a fairly easy one for me.
I would still give Knott's Scary Farm a very slight edge over either Universal event, but it's mainly because I prefer original concepts to IP mazes.
I thoroughly enjoy Scary Farm and they have great add-ons like unlimited fast lane and the boofet. I went to Orlando and Hollywood HHN's and Tampa Howl O Scream also.
The biggest put-off for Orlando HHN is the crowds and the lack of an unlimited Express (I hear they have it but it's close to impossible to get). Hollywood HHN has much less production value for sets than Orlando, but their scare actors I found were more aggressive and the RIP and add-ons were better. Tampa is fun but I don't rate it as highly as the other three.
In any case I enjoyed them all and didn't regret attending any of them.
Is there any contest here - HHN is by far the best event with other parks merely trying to emulate the industry leader or trying to establish their own seasonal niche and falling far short of the standard bearers.
HHN. Deadman's Pier: Winter's wake was particularly epic with several multi story set pieces, snow and 'sea smells'. I'd consider Deadman's pier the best temporary theme park attraction of the year.
The food at HHN was also some of the best theme park fare I had all year. The theming was great and the stands didn't seem understaffed. I never waited more than a few minutes for food and drink, where it could take up 30 minutes at other parks.
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Howl-O-Scream has always been a solid presence in Florida, but adding Orlando has hurt the Tampa event in recent years due to the inevitable budget splitting. I've never been to Knott's or Disney for Halloween, so I don't know how those compare.
So that leaves me with Halloween Horror Nights, which always delivers a top-notch experience whose rotating line-up makes it a must-see every year.