***This post is sponsored by Dutch Wonderland so I could share the scoop about and sweet savings for Happy Hauntings–the incredible Trick or Treat Trail included!–with all of you!***
Happy Halloween, friends! Or as we like to say in our neck of the world around Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA, “Happy Hauntings!” Happy Hauntings is the annual event at this amusement park when the doors are thrown open to kiddos of all ages in their spooky (or not-so spooky!) Halloween costumes so they can check out the rides and attractions, and most notably, visit the fantastic Trick or Treat Trail.
Why is Happy Hauntings a must for your family?
- You can save BIG with by purchasing tickets HERE for a specially discounted price exclusively available to my readers! The promo code is halloweenblog18. Grab the savings and get your haunting fun on, friends!
- Excepting the water area, all rides are open!
- The park is tricked out with sweet seasonal decor (need a place to snap that annual hay bale and pumpkin photo, mom? Delivered!)
- Costumes welcomed! Ruing that those well-planned costumes only get rocked one night of the year? No longer! A visit to Happy Hauntings scores you a whole extra day of wearing, enjoying and showing off your cool costumes.
- Outdoor fall fun. Such a treat just to be outdoors this time of year and celebrate all this season has to offer in a place where kids are free to run and play!
- As mentioned, the Trick or Treat Trail…
Why is the Trick or Treat Trail so incredible?
- It is organized and contained. Unlike the haphazard craziness that will touch down in your neighborhood in a week or so, this is a calm, orderly progression that gives families time to truly take in the event (and plenty of time to reinforce those important “thank you” manners as you walk the trail!)
- THE THEMING! So impressive! The trail is set up on Exploration Island with the dinosaurs. Each dinosaur (/group of dinosaurs) is dressed in a particular costume theme (i.e. Minions, Star Wars, Toy Story, etc.) and the human attendant distributing the candy is dressed to match, along with surrounding decorations that fit the theme as well. A neat sight (and super photo-op!) to see!
- At each stop the kids get ONE piece of candy, so you won’t leave with an overwhelming bucket-load. Forgot a Trick or Treat bag? No sweat, they have plastic ones you can grab at the entrance.
- Accompanying adults get a ticket to select a treat of their choice for themselves while on the trail! Score–a Reese’s cup for Mommy!
- If candy’s not your thing or you have dietary restrictions, each stop on the trail also has a non-candy item (i.e. bubbles, small toys, stickers) available as an option.
- Kiddos get to Trick or Treat TWICE this season, thanks to Dutch Wonderland. Trick or Treating is always a seasonal highlight, and how great to be able to do it more than once?!
A few tips to keep in mind when hitting Happy Hauntings:
- Get there EARLY. As in, if the park opens at 2pm, shoot for a 1:45pm arrival time. If you’re anything like our chronically running-late family, this will not only give you a cushion, but help you beat the crowds.
- There will be CROWDS. Major crowds. Anticipate this and prep your kiddos by telling them may not be able to ride all of their favorite rides during this Dutch Wonderland visit, as lines will be long–cushion the blow with the promise of candy!
- Beeline for the Trick or Treat Trail as soon as you get there. Trust me on this one. One year we made the mistake of meandering to the back of the park where the trail is located…and then waited in line for an hour and a half. Get there first thing.
- After the Trick or Treat Trail, hit some of the bigger rides, like the coasters or the bumper cars. These lines get huge quickly, so you’re wise to get them in as early as possible.
- Costumes aren’t necessary…really! If you’re randomly swinging by the park and decide to pop in sans a tricked out get-up, it’s cool–I promise! For as many people who are in costume, there are just as many without a costume.
- If you do costume up, gear it out before you enter the park. To tamper the crazy with my “energetic” children, we go so far as to dress them up before buckling them into their car seats–one less hurdle to tackle after we get there.
- Be food-friendly. I know, what the heck does this mean?? The thing is, kids get cranky without food. Unless you plan on letting your child(ren) plow through their entire Trick or Treat Trail stash to tide them over until they get home, plan on buying food at the park (loads of options there) or go the economical route and pack it up before you head out. We always pack a dinner (PBJs for the win!) for on the way home and give our kiddos hefty snacks before we trek into the park.
- Take a breath, Mom and Dad! Try to actually enjoy the moment. I know, I know, it’s a frenzy of people and activities and screaming after the kiddos to “just hold a hand or stay with the group!”, but this, this insanity, is the stuff of which childhood memories are made. Go run it out with a smile…and then crash on the couch with blessed exhaustion after you finally tuck those monsters in bed.
Now that you have the Happy Haunting scoop and the super savings on tickets, it’s time to make your visit, friends! See you at Dutch Wonderland for all the Halloween fun!
Thanks to Dutch Wonderland for hosting our annual visit so I could share the scoop with all of you–and give you this awesome promo (use code halloweenblog18), so you can save big on your family’s visit!
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Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.
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Janine Huldie says
Still haven’t gotten to Dutch Wonderland with my girls yet and this looks like so much fun though that I need to find time to try to get there to do with them. Seriously thanks for sharing and really want to look into this further now!! 🙂
Meredith says
It’s so much fun, Janine! One day, we’ll get you there 🙂
Meredith says
That place looks so fun, wish it were closer!!
Meredith says
I know! Then we could rock some Halloween fun together! 🙂