2. Perfect for young kids: Halloween Spooktacular, SeaWorld

Image: Jeff Kern, Flickr (license)

Dates: September 22 – October 28, 2018

Cost: Included with park admission

Of course, there’s plenty of Halloween fun to be had without shelling out $100 per person. One such option can be found at SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular, a non-ticketed event that features trick-or-treating (for both sweet and savory snacks), Count von Count’s Spooktacular Breakfast buffet, interactive dance floors, a costume contest, and, in what feels neither spooky nor Halloween-ish in the slightest, a weekend meet-and-greet at the Mermaid Grotto.

The highlight may well be the live shows, including the animal-based Pet’s Ahoy Halloween and Clyde and Seamore’s Big Halloween Bash and the puppet-driven Sesame Street’s Countdown to Halloween. While most of the Halloween events and activities come free with standard park admission, the Sesame Street show requires a modest entrance fee of $10 per person. If you prefer to take a more cultural approach to the holiday season, SeaWorld San Diego also has a special Día de Muertos section set up inside the park, where guests can learn about the various traditions behind the sacred Mexican holiday.

SeaWorld is unique in its lack of Halloween characters: You won’t find witches, monsters, or zombies roaming around, and even the Sesame Street Halloween Parade is limited to its non-threatening cast of Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and others. The scariest feature in the entire park is the Halloween overlay on Manta Madness, but other than a few jack-o’-lantern and black cat projections, there’s little for even the most timid parkgoer to be frightened of.

3. Geared toward families: Brick-or-Treat Party Nights, Legoland

Image: Legoland Billund Resort, Wiki Commons

Dates (Legoland California): September 29 – October 27, 2018

Dates (Legoland Florida): October 6 – 31, 2018

Cost: $54

There’s nothing frightening about Brick-or-Treat nights at Legoland, making it an ideal choice for families with kids of any age (or just your average, non-horror-loving LEGO aficionado). Like every other theme park on this list, Legoland offers trick-or-treating at its numerous Treat Stations and the colorful Brick-or-Treat Trail —and with a reported “1 million pieces of candy” at its disposal, may encourage that sweet tooth even more than necessary. Besides the standard treat-gathering, character meet-and-greets, and Halloween-themed performances (including the AstroBash Dance Party, Monster Bash, A Candy-Coated Curse, and Jammin’ Jack-O’-Lanterns), guests are also invited to take a more active role in the park’s festivities by entering into the Costume Contest, where contestants’ outfits must fall into one of three categories—Group costumes, Heroes and Villains costumes, and LEGO costumes—and the prizes range from free park admission to popular toys.

Not surprisingly, there are also a few LEGO-themed activities available during the event, from the Bigsy Bicksy LEGO Spider Build to a Cobra Super Brick Build, where participants can help put the finishing touches on a giant snake. As for monsters? This fright fest runs deliberately to the corny side of Halloween, though kids can take photos with “scary” characters like the LEGO Witch, Mad Scientist, Lord Vampyre, Spider Lady, and Mummy each afternoon.