Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's HOWL-O-SCREAM is BACK just in time for Spooky Season!

Tampa's Premier Halloween event, Howl-O-Scream, is BACK at Busch Garden's Tampa Bay! Taking place on select nights, Thursday-Sunday from now until October 31st, Busch Gardens® Howl-O-Scream® returns in full force, taking over the entire park with haunted houses, scare zones, sinister shows and more.  

Yesterday I was invited to attend the opening night and after going the last few years, I have to say, I think this is my favorite year yet! Scare zones were throughout the park and more decorated. There were new houses as well as some old favorites, but they felt scarier. My favorite was The Forgotten, which was like a red room of pain vampire house - very well decorated. The Christmas house, The Residence: Home for the Holidays, was definitely a fun spin on halloween horror too. 

Although last night was not too busy, this event is guaranteed to get much, much busier so I highly recommend the front line fear pass which will get you to the front of the houses one time each - instead of waiting in long lines! You can also do the front line fear pass extreme, which will include the coasters that will be open. I had the equivalent to this pass and I have to say, it was AMAZING - totally worth it and allows you to do everything you'd want to do during your visit.

This year there were bumper cars with clowns and I was here for it. It was fun to feel like a kid again bumping into people and interacting with the spooks like this. The line was short too - so if you are looking for something different to do during your visit, be sure to visit the bumper cars.

This year for drinks there were some new cocktails, fun souvenir cups, my fav - the Jell-O shots, and soon there will be blood bag drinks. My drink of choice for the night was this vodka grape drink which I cannot remember the name of, but it tasted a lot like a vodka cranberry. It was yummy.  They also had one with tequila. The Jell-O shot was made with peach schnapps and was delish! Definitely a fun way to start the evening.

New this year were interactive necklaces. These were super cool! These skull necklaces light up different colors depending on the area of the park you are in and then, from what I was told, go into a fog mode while in the houses. They also sold "no boo" necklaces for those wanting to enjoy the evening but not be scared. 

As usual there was some great entertainment. Unfortunately, we were only able to catch the last 10 minutes of Fiends because we were off having too much fun - lol - but what we did see was funny and great as usual. We did catch the Rolling Bones which was really good. I loved how their instruments changed colors to the music and they played really well. Highly recommend catching them for a short performance. We did not see any of the other shows while we were there since we were off doing other things around the park. 

Howl-O-Scream is an extra ticketed event at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, so be sure to see which nights are available and find your tickets HERE. Here's wishing you a happy spooky season!

Note from The Orlando Millennial:​
I am a Busch Gardens Tampa Bay & Seaworld blogger ambassador.  In exchange for sharing upcoming information sometimes I receive complimentary admission to events.  I often share my adventures at the parks on Instagram, so be sure to follow along at @orlmillennial
As always, all opinions are my own.