This past weekend I was able to go check out HalloWeekends at Cedar Point. It had been quite a few years since my last visit, so I was pretty excited to get back and see how things had changed. And I was especially excited to bring my son for his first HalloWeekends experience. He assured me and my wife that he was ready to tackle the monsters and haunted houses the park is famous for...
We got there late Friday afternoon, and quickly got two coaster rides in. We would have ridden more, but we were really there for the spooky stuff! We then made our way to the main stage to catch Midnight Syndicate's really cool live performance, Echoes of the Brimstone Club (SPOILER: they performed a variety of their tracks live while carnival performers did their acts. It was a really great show with some really great individual acts - I'm looking at you, Ms. Sword Swallower - and I highly recommend catching it.)
We then made our way to the back of the park to take in the main after-dark scare zone, complete with roaming haunt actors, richly-themed scenery, fog, more fog, haunted walkthroughs and the actual haunted houses.
We ended up skipping the haunted houses due to long lines, but the walkthroughs were detailed really well and provided a nice half-step before finally tackling a true indoor haunt. We crisscrossed our way through the scare zone and then headed for our final destination of the night: Midnight, the lone haunted house located at the front of the park.
My son cautiously got in line and waited for his turn to enter...
He was really nervous as we entered the haunt, but it eventually turned to excitement to see the actors and scenery in each new room. It culminated with a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Midnight, overseer of the entire HalloWeekends festivities, in the final room. He exited the house with a huge grin, telling me how fun it was.
It was the perfect ending, giving him the courage to now go through the full haunted houses back home. And I can't wait to experience THAT with him!
We already have plans to get back to Cedar Point one more time this season to experience the haunted houses and shows we missed on this trip. And my son couldn't be more excited! They really did a great job transforming the park into a full haunted experience for people of any age, and I really recommend it as a part of your October celebrations.
Enjoy some photos from a night at HalloWeekends!
The 14-year-old me shed a tear at the Demon Drop tombstone in the Dead Ride Cemetery, a Halloween memorial to all of the rides no longer at the park. I really enjoyed reading all the old names and remembering each ride...
Echoes of the Brimstone Club, featuring Midnight Syndicate. A really great live performance.
The night's full moon, constrained by the magnificent Millennium Force roller coaster.
Top Thrill 2. Coming soon...
And the night's final destination: the haunted house, Midnight. Savagely conquered by my son...
