Halloween season has arrived in Orlando, despite the temperatures being as high as ever. While you may be most familiar with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in Disney World and Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando for celebrating the spooky season in Orlando, there’s ANOTHER event you can’t miss this year.

Over at SeaWorld Orlando, you’ll find Howl-O-Scream. This event began in 2021, making this year its 5th anniversary! While this event has the lowest-priced tickets of all three events, is it truly worth the cost? We went on opening night, and our answer may surprise you!

SeaWorld Orlando’s Howl-O-Scream event offers five haunted houses with four NEW storylines, six scare zones with four of them being brand new, four shows, five new interactive bars, two hordes that may strike when you least expect, and more! Tickets range in price from $47.99 for single-night tickets to $124.99 for the Two Park Unlimited Scream Pass.

This year’s event takes place on select nights from September 11th through October 31st.

Haunted Houses

I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch

One of the brand-new houses this year is I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch. Here, the Fisherman stalks your every move. You’ll journey through the seaside town of Southport as the horrifying events of that fateful summer come back to life. Will you make it out before the killer catches up to you?

The inclusion of I Know What You Did Last Summer as the first IP SeaWorld has ever licensed for a house is already impressive enough, but when you add the fact that they made this house legitimately terrifying, which is less characteristic of this event and more characteristic of Halloween Horror Nights, you can see that they’re really making an attempt to appeal to a wider audience.

Everything Must Stay

Another new house this year is Everything Must Stay. For six years, one suburban home has sat unsold while every open house ends the same way — with terrified buyers fleeing from things they can’t explain. Tonight, those unseen forces awaken, and you’ll find yourself trapped inside for the worst showing imaginable!

Personally, this was our favorite house! The design is extremely campy and fun, with lots of vintage plush and other toys, furniture, and an overall great retro aesthetic. It’s definitely scary, but it has enough aesthetic appeal that we were often distracted by how cool everything looked, which made it easier for us to get through all the jump scares and illusions.

The Rave Yard

One of the returning houses this year is The Rave Yard! Buried deep in the shadows of a forgotten cemetery, a sinister underground rave pulses with life (or rather, unlife). The bass reverberates through crumbling tombstones, and mausoleums glow with neon light as the dead rise with one purpose: to party… forever. If you’re not careful, you’ll be joining them!

This house was tons of fun last year, and remains so this year, but they HAVE upped the scares, so beware!

The Dark Net

Another new house this year is The Dark Net. This house takes place in a futuristic city that has been pushed to the brink by an energy crisis. Survival has taken a sinister turn, and desperate cyborgs have discovered a new power source: blood. You’ll descend into the decaying underbelly of the city, where cybernetic predators stalk the darkness, machines feed on machines, and humans are accidentally getting caught in the crossfire. Among the neon ruins, black oil drips alongside fresh blood, and once these creatures are hungry enough, they can’t always tell the difference.

The Crawl Space

The last house this year is another new one — The Crawl Space! Hidden beneath the city lies a forgotten network of tunnels that were abandoned after a catastrophic containment failure. Curiosity leads you through a broken fence and into the darkness, and you’ll discover that the truth wasn’t buried — it was left to grow. Each and every twisting corridor pulls you deeper underground and closer to something that’s become far larger, far hungrier, and far too close to escape. This place was sealed for a reason, and now you’ve walked right inside.

Scare Zones

Dooms District

New this year is Dooms District! Here, civilization has collapsed, and Dooms District is ground zero for the chaos. Conspiracy theorists, survivalists, and doomsday preppers battle here to prove their version of the apocalypse is the right one and will try to recruit you before it’s too late.

Extermination Order

Another new scare zone is Extermination Order. Here, something is crawling, buzzing, and multiplying through the streets of Howl-O-Scream. From skittering insects to swarming horrors, the infestation has taken over, and it doesn’t plan on giving the territory back. Extermination crews are sweeping the area, hunting anything that doesn’t belong. The big problem? You’re on the list.

Nekrosis

Another new scare zone this year is Nekrosis! In this scare zone, the party ended forever when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2000. This once-thriving seaside town has been abandoned to decay, frozen in the final moments of the millennium. The streets are littered with remnants of a decade long gone, but the people who celebrated Y2K never truly left. You’ll get to see the eerie aisles of Howl-O-Flix, a video store frozen in time, and monsters lurking behind relics of the past; every corner is packed with unsettling reminders that the greatest decade never truly ended. What REALLY happened when the countdown reached zero, and what’s still waiting here?

Just One More Chapter

Book lovers will adore the new Just One More Chapter scare zone! If your bookshelf is filled with toxic obsession, masked men, and the most twisted love stories, this is the scare zone you’ve been waiting for.

Here, irresistible temptation creates deadly intentions, and every path leads deeper into the darkness. You can lose yourself in an enchanted garden filled with gothic beauty, cursed romance, and creatures that are every bit as dangerous as they are captivating.

If you have ever dreamed about having your favorite romance novel come to life, brace yourself because sometimes our dreams can come true in dark and unfortunate ways, just like this. Never have we seen any offering from this event gain so much immediate popularity or go viral in this way. They really hit on something with this scare zone! People were spending a really, really long time in there, and we know that because so were we!

Trailer Park Tragedy

Returning this year is Trailer Park Tragedy, where something wicked’s gone down at the Trailer Park. Once a rowdy backwoods community on the edge of nowhere, the residents here have turned territorial…and terrifying. This year, Mama was hanging out at the trailer while all of her daughters, who called themselves sister-cousins, ran around terrorizing each other and unsuspecting passersby. This was campy, funny, spooky, and fun.

The place is in ruins, and the residents protect their home with savage vengeance. These locals don’t take kindly to visitors, and they’ve got the rusted tools, snarling beasts, and twisted sense of justice to prove it. You may accidentally stumble in, but getting back out is another story.

Woodrot Hollow

The final scare zone, also returning this year, is Woodrot Hollow. Deep in the heart of the festering swamp lies Woodrot Hollow, a place where the trees weep sap like blood and the ground oozes with decay. The locals here whisper of a creature made of mud, moss, and rage, protecting its home from anyone who wanders too far off the trail. In this swamp, the only thing more suffocating than the stench is the silence before they strike — wander in, and you may find yourself rotting with the rest.

Shows

Dead Air

One of the new shows this year is Dead Air! This is located at The Rewind Bar, and these ’90s rising stars never got their shot at boy-band fame—but death won’t stop their comeback. Back from beyond the grave, Dead Air takes the stage with killer harmonies, sharp choreography, and a haunting twist on the boy-band era.

Hellzapoppin Presents: The Grave Danger Thrill Show

Returning this year at the SeaFire Grill is none other than Hellzapoppin Presents: The Grave Danger Thrill Show. Here you’ll creep into a rock ‘n’ roll spectacle of death-defying circus stunts and jaw-dropping oddities & curiosities. As part of the legendary Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow, with over 3,000 performances across 16 countries, this thrill show redefines danger and wonder. Witness wild feats that push the limits of human possibility with stunts like sword swallowing, glass walking, illusions, and more.

Throttle

Then it was time for Throttle, another returning show. Located at the Lakeside Patio, this is a place they don’t speak of, where Hell didn’t stay below, and the dead don’t rest.

Where twisted metal drinks dirty water, and fire doesn’t burn out—it feeds. Here, the riders don’t follow roads; they tear through portals. And leading them is a nightmare carved in bone and flame. He has no mercy. No soul. No brakes. He is Havoc, and he’s not here to haunt you. He’s here to rule you.

This year, Havoc is haunted by the return of his ex-girlfriend, Pestilence, who, as she says, is made from the same darkness he was. This show is edgy, and it’s literally impossible to be bored with so much going on at once.

Monster Stomp

The fan favorite Monster Stomp show is BACK again this year at the Nautilus Theater! This is a must-do each year!

In the misty corners of Victorian-era London, a fiend known only as Jack the Ripper walks the streets. Watch him take the stage in a way you’ve never seen before in this modern rock and rhythm spectacular.

Hold onto your seat as electrifying percussion, dancing, and singing combine for a show that’s as darkly entertaining as it is exhilarating. Truly, you won’t forget it!

Themed Bars

We can’t forget about the five new themed bars at this year’s event!

Byte Bar

Plug in and power up at the all-new Byte Bar, where cyborg vampires are serving up a sinister new kind of nightlife. Step into the digital underworld, grab a themed cocktail, and drink in the futuristic atmosphere before something decides to take a byte out of you.

The Rewind

Grab a themed cocktail and relive the ’90s through stacks of VHS tapes, ringing landlines, glowing arcade lights, and the unmistakable screech of dial-up. Between the throwback soundtrack and the undead atmosphere, this is one rewind you’ll never forget. Just don’t expect to press “Stop.”

Resurrection Club

This spot has pulse-pounding beats, electric energy, and killer cocktails that bring the Rave Yard back to life.

The Black Sheep

Here, a doomsday watering hole where survivalists crack open the canned goods, pour the drinks, and toast to making it another night.

Larva Lounge

Pest control has never tasted this good! Grab a creepy-crawly cocktail and keep a toothpick handy for any legs left behind.

Merchandise and Food

We can’t forget about the merchandise and food at this event! Themed retail locations at the exit of Mako and the exit of the event itself feature 5th anniversary Howl-O-Scream merch. Food and drink stands are all around the park and have exclusive offerings you can’t get any other time. Personally, we stopped by the Fanta Fright House to snag one of their mocktails!

We felt the food overall got a major upgrade this year. Instead of serving the same few premixed cocktails at every location, each one had its own signature drinks, and people were saying they were actually really delicious. We also heard great reviews on the food, especially the bison burger!

Attractions

You can also ride four of SeaWorld’s most popular attractions during this event — Mako, Pipeline, Ice Breaker, and Infinity Falls! It’s hard to find time for the rides with everything else going on, but hey, they’re there if you’re looking for some extra thrills.

We think this event is a great choice for those who are just entering the horror scene and want something entertaining, immersive, and spooky to start out with. We’ve been coming to this event for the past three years, and we can say confidently that it gets better and better each time! We really love that at this event, a lot of the storylines are bringing you in and asking you for help with their situation, because it really gets us into it all! We do want to help the actors, and we also want to join them if what they’re taking part in is something like a literal underground rave beneath an abandoned graveyard. Even if you’re usually a fan of scarier events, we still think this is a must-visit for all Halloween fiends in the area!

Why You Might Want To Add a Ticket to SeaWorld During Your Disney World Vacation

Are you thinking of checking out Howl-O-Scream this year? Tell us in the comments!
Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by SeaWorld Orlando to attend their media preview of Howl-O-Scream. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ