SeaWorld San Diego holds its first-ever Howl-O-Scream event, an outside event that will bring fright and fun to San Diego’s popular amusement park. Full of terror and screams, SeaWorld attracts all kinds of audiences.

SeaWorld first opened its doors to the public in March of 1964 and ever since has been a safe haven for injured and helpless marine animals. This organization helps take care of marine life until they are healthy and able to be set free into the wild again. However, some animals are too weak to survive on their own so the company keeps them for educational purposes to teach the public about wildlife conservation. 

For over 50 years, SeaWorld has saved over 36,000 animals in need. From the unique marine animals to the tourist attractions such as roller coasters and a wide variety of entertaining shows, SeaWorld alone has brought millions of people to come see the park every year. This year, the park has decided to add an attraction known as Howl-O-Scream to celebrate the frightening holiday, Halloween, in hopes of attracting more mature audiences and not the faint of heart.

Howl-O-Scream kicked off its first day at SeaWorld San Diego on September 17. It will run for 24 nights all the way until Halloween, October 31. There are many gruesome themes in this event that were pulled from other sources of entertainment such as slasher films, classic horror characters and the supernatural realm.

 It consists of three haunted mazes throughout the park, along with six scare zones. 

The mazes are filled with tons of twists and turns. Doors that lead into various rooms and doors where scary characters jump out to scare. 

Because of the unique elements and designs Howl-O-Scream has to offer, there is a rule for no photography inside the haunted mazes for legal purposes. The scary elements around the park are available for photos and some monsters will be willing to flash their fangs as well.

The first maze that is towards the front of the park is called Nightmare Experiment. This maze is set in an insane asylum where the main goal is to get out of the maze before the “doctor” finds you. 

The second maze is Death Water Bayou. Based in the bayou of New Orleans, filled with voodoo dolls and “curses,” the guests have to escape the maze before falling victim to the Swamp Witch. 

The last maze is Simon’s Slaughterhouse. With saws, blades and a food court boasting, “you kill them, we grill them,”  it’s a place where the food comes from a fictional human meatpacking plant, and the main goal is to make it through the maze, without becoming the meal. 

On top of the three mazes, there are six scare zones throughout the park. These are stations that terrorize guests as they walk by. 

The first zone is Deadly Toys filled with creepy dolls and toys. The second is the graveyard with zombies and ghosts. The third is the sirens who lure guests to their doom with their alluring voices.

La Llorona is the fourth site which is based on the famous legend where La Llorona drags her victims into a watery grave. The fifth is actually the first station guests will encounter when they first enter the park, filled with clowns, skulls, and snakes. The last and final scare zone is the hauntings which is a scary forest where evil is all around watching the guests walk by. 

If that wasn’t enough, there are chainsaws, vampires, clowns, butchers and many more spooky characters who prowl around the park as the roaming haunters that hunt and startle guests throughout the park to add that interaction between the guests and characters. 

This event has attracted many visitors to the park making it a must-see this year. Tickets are $41.99 for a single night. For an extra $15, one can purchase a “no boo” necklace that shows the monsters not to scare the selected individuals who wear the light-up necklace. 

The famous roller coasters in SeaWorld, Manta, Electric Eel and Journey To Atlantis will stay open past hours for thrill-seekers seeking an adrenaline rush. Souvenirs and spooky foods are provided throughout the park to help the public get into the Howl-O-Scream mood. Beta7 is a rock band that plays rock, Indie, Ska, punk and so much more to provide music for a Halloween-type atmosphere. 

This band has played with many other headlining acts such as Blink 182, Sublime, and Weezer. The park also has “The Underground Dance Club” filled with dancing and drinks. The Vampire Circus, one of the most popular shows for Howl-O-Scream provides spooky entertainment with acrobatics, unique characters and dark comedy.

These events run as long as Howl-O-Scream, so make sure to come see them before they disappear.

For its first time this event has ever been held at SeaWorld San Diego, Howl-O-Scream has been a success. Integrated marketing manager for SeaWorld, Adrienne Sharp, has nothing but good things to say about this new event.

“We have seen amazing reviews from people and have had really good feedback,” Sharp said. “People are used to coming in to see we’re all for a family-friendly time, riding all night, our theme park, and all the things we have to offer during the day. So I think people were really intrigued to see how we would pull off an event like this and many of them have been very pleasantly surprised and happy with their attendance.”

This event hopes to attract mature audiences and the ones who are older and have a strong passion for Halloween.

“So during the day, we have Spooktacular, which is geared towards family and kids. But this is really an opportunity for us to get to a different audience that is very excited about Halloween and like the scary component of it and have a good time,” Sharp said.

This event goes from 7 p.m to 11 p.m Fridays and Saturdays. Sundays it runs from 7 p.m to 10 p.m, along with Thursdays. Thursdays will be available between October 14 and October 28. 

The scare level intensifies at 7 p.m so it is recommended that anyone under 13 should leave the park. The guests are allowed to enter the park for Howl-O-Scream at 6 p.m, and no costumes are allowed.

 Be sure to check out their website for more information about Howl-O-Scream.

Happy Halloween!