Many people love Halloween: it’s a great time to dress up in scary costumes and wear ghoulish makeup, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a great time to play jokes on people and scare them half to death! If you’re in the mood to be scared, there are events in south and central Florida that will make your hair turn white! Below I’ve profiled two fan favorite events and one that’s making its debut this year.
SOUTH FLORIDA
John Dunlap, CEO and manager of Jungle Island, tries to explain the storyline of “Terror in the Jungle”: “A plane carrying toxic bio-chemicals from a research lab in Mexico flew off course and crashed into the ruins of the Aztec city surrounded by a lush tropical jungle. The bio-chemicals mutated the jungle animals and local Indians into half dead creatures who feed on all the living creatures in the jungle. The Aztec Indians prayed to their gods for forgiveness and instead, the Gods unleashed their demon called the Hunter, which devoured everything living in its path.”
People brave enough to step foot into the jungle will be greeted by a 40-foot “toxic zombie jungle” entrance. A highlight of the production is a recreation of ancient Aztec pyramids, which house a 10,000-square foot haunted house. In the haunted house and in the mazes, you must run from zombies and demons, and those who don’t make it all the way through will be added to the “Wall of Lost Souls.”
Kittendorf describes his inspiration thusly: ““Every time you let your guard down, there will be something else to scare the living daylights out of you. We’re creating a gory Halloween attraction using nature’s natural darkness, fog, costumes and special effects, screams, animals and visual stimulation to play on peoples phobias and fears.”
Tickets to Terror in the Jungle cost $45 on non-peak days and $55 on peak days. Non-peak days are considered to be October 23, 26, 29 and November 1, and peak days are considered to be October 24, 25, 30 and 31. Tickets can be bought online at terrorinthejungle.com.
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Tickets are currently available for the dates October 23-26 and October 29-November 1. Halloween Horror Nights is open from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. from October 23-26, to midnight on October 29 and November 1 and to 1 a.m. on October 30 and 31. Florida resident passes are priced between $45.99 and $72.99 depending on the day. Visit halloweenhorrornights.com to purchase your tickets online for extra savings.
This year’s Howl-O-Scream features eight different haunted houses, including the Zombie Containment Unit, Death Water Bayou, Blood Asylum, The Basement, and the Zombie Mortuary. There is also a special dance-themed show, Fiends, in addition to rides like Falcon’s Fury, SheiKra, Montu, Gwazi, Cheetah Hunt and Kumba.
Howl-O-Scream is open from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and tickets are available for purchase for the nights of October 23, 24 and 25 and October 30, 31 and November 1. Prices run between $50 and $65 depending on the date. Visit seaworldparks.com/en/howloscream-tampa to get the best prices or call 1-888-800-5447.
Where should you go after these events? Find a gay-friendly hot spot! It’s as easy as downloading the Hotspots Magazine app, available for free on Google Play or iTunes.
