10 places to visit during Halloween in Anaheim

What happens when a holiday destination renowned for its world-class amusement parks and iconic characters transforms into a thrilling Halloween wonderland? One where every detail is designed to immerse you in a spectacular spooky adventure? You will find fun parades and parties for the whole family, haunted house tours and guaranteed thrills in Anaheim during Halloween.

The Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade

Long before “trick-or-treating” was a thing, Halloween was typically a time for mischief and pranks from neighbourhood children. In the tranquil little community of Anaheim, soaped windows, uprooted fences, and damaged property were turning “All Hallow’s Eve” into a major headache for residents and businesses. To steer the energies of Anaheim’s kiddies toward more “wholesome fun,” a Halloween Festival and Carnival with games and costume contests was devised by the local merchants association in 1923.

Anaheim’s Fall Festival & Halloween Parade became one of the biggest Halloween celebrations in the U.S. The Walt Disney Studios became involved two years before the opening of Disneyland in 1955 and have participated each year since. Over time, however, Anaheim shifted from being a rural small town into a popular tourist destination. Nowdays, the Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade, taking place on 26 October in downtown Anaheim continues to be one of the most exciting events of the year while still keeping true to the event’s vibrant history.

Halloween at Disneyland Resort

Festive frights and fun await you during Haloween time at Disneyland Resort from until 31 October. At Disneyland Park, you can enjoy the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay inspired by Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ and meet your favourite Disney characters for a meet and greet around a giant Mickey pumpkin on Main Street, U.S.A.

Head over to Disney California Adventure Park and check out the Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark attraction, where the popular Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!  attraction gets a special after dark mission to rescue Groot.

Knott’s Scary Farm

Knott’s Scary Farm is the longest-running and most haunting Halloween theme park event in Southern California. With over 50 years of experience in nightmares, unimaginable scares and innovative thrills, Knott’s Scary Farm is the king of Halloween.

On select nights from 19 September to 2 November, you can experience the fully transformed theme park, with uniquely haunted mazes and attractions, sinister shows, and more than 1,000 terrifying creatures lurking in the fog and hiding across every inch of the park.

Keep reading:

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Haunted House Experiences

If you enjoy being scared, you must visit the 17th Door in Buena Park for 30 to 45 minutes of spooky thrills and screams. Want to take it further and meet real ghosts? Embark on one of Haunted OC’s paranormal tours, hosted at one of the six most haunted spots in Orange County. If you’d rather face your fears from the comfort of your rental car, drive through Tunnel of Terror OC, Southern California’s First Haunted Car Wash.

Halloween Spooktacular at Anaheim Town Square

The Anaheim Hills Festival Halloween Spooktacular is a fun, free and very spooky event for the whole family. This Halloween event has all the ingredients of a truly ghoulishly good time. Trick-or-treaters can visit stores and restaurants throughout the shopping centre and there are costume contests, live music, free face painting, balloon art and much more.

The Witches Brew Night Market

The Witches Brew Night Market is a curated spooky shopping and photo op experience that showcases all things Halloween. This year’s theme is Beetlejuice with the markets taking place on Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 October from 5 to 9pm at Anaheim Packing District’s Farmers Park. Freakily fantastic vendors will be selling magical items, including crystals, intention candles, soaps, body products, spooky home décor, fashion, art and other unique oddities.

Anaheim Packing District and URBANA Mexican Gastronomy will co-host Dia de los Hambrientos, a Day of the Dead celebration with food, spirits and entertainment. Guests can interact with a welcome community altar by writing a note to a loved one. There will be cocktail and food specials from participating restaurants and bars, along with live mariachi and Chilan-gringo grooves from the Gustavo Galindo Experience. The festivities will take place on Saturday, November 2, with specials available all day and entertainment from 5:30pm to 9pm inside the historic Anaheim Packing House.

Halloween accommodation

Hotels in Anaheim love ensuring their guests have a hauntingly good time during Halloween and will arrange grown-up parties with eerie cocktails, costume contests and dance parties. There are also plenty of trick-or-treating goodies for the kids as well across all of September and October.