I was invited to Dorney Park’s 2026 Halloween media event and stayed the whole day to see both versions of the park. From 11 to 5 it’s Tricks and Treats, the family version with candy and costumes. At 7 p.m. it becomes Halloween Haunt, which is a completely different event: six haunted mazes, five scare zones, and hundreds of actors loose in the park.
I went with my kids, the friends they brought along, and the little one in our family. Here’s how each part went, what’s worth your time, and what you need to know before buying tickets, because there’s one detail about the passes that trips people up.
Tricks and Treats: the daytime
Tricks and Treats runs Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., from September 19 through November 1. The park gets decorated for Halloween, kids can come in costume, and there’s trick-or-treating inside the park.
The best part of the day wasn’t a ride. The youngest in our group had never been to an amusement park before, and we put him on several rides he’d never tried. He got off one of them red-faced from laughing and announced, very seriously, that it was the best day of his life. That alone paid for the trip.
The Trick or Treat Trail
This is the main daytime activity. You pick up a bag and follow the pumpkins painted on the ground, which lead you door to door: Egypt, Vampire, Spider, Pumpkin, Witch, Monster, and Steel Yard. Seven stops, candy at each one.
Heads up, because this catches families off guard: the trail is for kids 54 inches and under. Older siblings can walk along, but the candy is for the little ones.
Other daytime activities
All included with admission, no long lines:
- Patch’s Pumpkin Patch, for pumpkin decorating (best photo op of the day)
- Mask Makers and Frame Worthy Frights
- S’more Than a Feeling
- Pedal Cars and Road Rally BOOlevard
- Skeletons of Fun Games
- Phantom Foam Pit
- Alfundo House
Daytime shows
If you’re coming with kids, plan your day around these two:
- The Monsters Are Coming, Charlie Brown at Peanuts Showplace: 11:30 a.m., 12:30, 1:30, 3:30, and 4:30 p.m.
- Spectral Sisters at Center Stage: 11:10 a.m., 12:20, 2:10, and 3:45 p.m.
There’s also a costume contest, so if you’re dressing the kids up, commit to it.
The shift change
As part of the event I went to a party before dark, with food, drinks, music, and a preview of the seasonal merchandise. It’s a strange feeling to be eating and laughing while the park is changing outside.
At 7 p.m. Planet Snoopy closes, the lighting changes, and the monsters come out. That moment has a name, the Monster Release at Center Stage, and it’s worth catching if you’re staying for the night.
Halloween Haunt: the night
Halloween Haunt runs select nights from September 18 through October 31. Six Flags is billing this as its biggest Halloween celebration yet, and Dorney Park’s share is six haunted mazes, five scare zones, and four live shows.
Something nobody tells you until you’re inside: the monsters aren’t only in the mazes. They’re on the walkways, behind the food stands, next to the lines. Walking from one end of the park to the other is already part of the experience.
Blair Witch: No Signal
The big new attraction for 2026, a maze inspired by The Blair Witch Project, debuting exclusively at Dorney Park and Six Flags Great America.
It takes you through a version of the Black Hills Forest, with narrowing trails, abandoned camps, ritual sites, and the infamous Rustin Parr House. Most of it in near darkness.
I walked in calm, telling myself they’re actors, they’re actors. I walked out thinking I should bring someone braver next time 😂. You know perfectly well they’re actors. The problem is you know it afterward.
The other mazes
- Blood on the Bayou: a French Quarter of curses and demons wading through murky water.
- Roadside Stop & Chop (presented by M&M’S): a “family” recipe where you’re the main ingredient.
- Trick or Treat (presented by SNICKERS): the house by the creek where a coven of elderly sisters is looking to get its youth back.
- Necropolis (presented by LIFE SAVERS): vengeful spirits beneath the park.
- Ghost in the Machine: an abandoned steel factory with the echo of the machinery still running.
Scare zones
These are included with admission and don’t need a separate pass: Dystopia (post-apocalyptic), Port of Call (pirates), CarnEVIL (clowns), Midway Misfits (shape-shifting creatures), and Steel Yard: Forge Your FeAR.
The Conductor
If you only see one nighttime show, make it this one. It’s new for 2026: a 12-minute drumming and violin production inside the McTavish Steel Yard, with pyrotechnics, about the spirits haunting a forgotten steel mill. They play versions of songs you’ll recognize from the last five decades.
Showtimes: 7:00, 8:00, 9:20, and 10:20 p.m.
The other three shows are The Shrieks! (a Halloween rock party), Skeleton Crew (a circus act with skeletons), and Sink The Jerk, a carnival game with a performer you’ll genuinely want to dunk.
Food and drinks
The Blood Bags get the most attention: drinks served in transfusion bags. There are alcoholic versions (Transfusion, Alien Blood, Zombie Juice, Ectoplasm Elixir) and non-alcoholic ones (Vampire’s Kiss and Pixie Potion), which were a hit with the older kids in our group.
On the sweet side there’s Pumpkin Spice Soft Serve, a S’mores Milkshake, Dessert Nachos, a Graveyard Pudding Parfait, and a S’mores Cookie.
For adults there’s a full menu of themed cocktails at Midway Bar, White Water Tavern, Port of Call, Misfits Bar, and the new Dragon Spirits. You have to be 21 or older with valid ID.
What to know before you go
The mazes require a separate pass. This is the most important thing in this post. Your park admission, season pass, or membership does not include the haunted mazes. You need a Haunted Attractions Pass on top of it. There are three versions: the regular pass, the All Season pass, and the Express Pass, which gives you priority access and is what saves your night on a Saturday.
Recommended for ages 13 and up. The park officially states that Halloween Haunt is too intense for younger kids.
No costumes at night. During Haunt, no costumes, makeup, or masks are allowed. During Tricks and Treats in the daytime, they are.
No re-entry after 7 p.m., not even with a season pass. If you leave, you’re not getting back in that night.
If you don’t want to be scared, there’s the No Boo necklace, around $17.99 plus tax at most park merchandise locations. You wear it and the monsters leave you alone.
Health warnings: the attractions aren’t recommended for guests with pacemakers, claustrophobia, heart conditions, seizure disorders, or asthma, because of the strobe lighting, artificial fog, and haze.
No flash photography or flashlights inside the mazes.
My recommendation for families
If you have little kids and teenagers, do what we did: get there early for Tricks and Treats, use the full day, then split up. Have someone take the little ones home around 5 or 6, and let the older group stay for Haunt. These are two separate events in the same park, and both are worth doing.
Practical info
- Tricks and Treats: Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., September 19 through November 1
- Halloween Haunt: select nights, September 18 through October 31
- Where: Dorney Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Tickets, passes, and calendar: dorneypark.com
- Six Flags app: for the full map and updated showtimes
The 2027 season passes (Gold Pass and Prestige Pass) include access to Halloween Haunt and Tricks and Treats, free general parking, access to other Six Flags parks, and discounts on food and merchandise.
I was invited by Dorney Park to the 2026 Halloween media and creator event. All opinions are my own.
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