Disneyland Park, Magic Kingdom and Silver Dollar City lead a new ranking of the best amusement parks in the United States for a Halloween visit, based on visitor reviews and seasonal feedback.
The analysis found that some of the country’s biggest theme park destinations receive stronger ratings during the Halloween season than they do overall, as visitors respond to seasonal attractions ranging from family-friendly pumpkin displays to elaborate haunted houses and scare zones.
Disneyland Tops Ranking of Best U.S. Theme Parks for Halloween
Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, ranked No. 1 with an overall score of 84.8 out of 100. Its 705 qualifying Halloween reviews produced an average rating of 4.44 out of five, compared with the park’s overall visitor rating of 4.33.
Disneyland’s seasonal offerings include Halloween-themed entertainment and Haunted Mansion Holiday, which gives the classic attraction a temporary holiday makeover.
Magic Kingdom Park in Bay Lake, Florida, finished a close second with 84.1 points. Its Halloween reviews actually averaged slightly higher than Disneyland’s, reaching 4.48 out of five across 950 qualifying reviews.
Magic Kingdom also had the largest overall review count among parks included in the ranking, with 69,904 reviews across all languages. Just 6% of its qualifying Halloween reviews awarded the park one or two stars.
Silver Dollar City Earns Highest Halloween Review Rating
Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, ranked third with a score of 83.2. The park recorded the highest average Halloween review rating in the study at 4.50 out of five, based on 191 qualifying reviews.
Its Harvest Festival combines fall and Halloween experiences, including pumpkin displays, evening rides and pumpkin dance parties.
Disney California Adventure Park placed fourth with 79.4 points, giving Anaheim two parks among the top five. Its 106 qualifying Halloween reviews averaged 4.42 out of five. The park also hosts Oogie Boogie Bash, a separately ticketed Halloween event on selected nights.
Universal Studios Hollywood rounded out the top five with a score of 77.7. Its 465 qualifying Halloween reviews averaged 4.08, while 24.7% of its English-language reviews were posted during the September-to-November period.
The Los Angeles park is known for Halloween Horror Nights, which features haunted houses, scare zones and the Terror Tram for visitors looking for a more intense Halloween experience.
Top 10 Amusement Parks for Halloween
| Rank | Theme Park | Location | Overall Rating | Halloween Rating | Fall Reviews | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disneyland Park | Anaheim, CA | 4.33 | 4.44 | 25.5% | 84.8 |
| 2 | Magic Kingdom Park | Bay Lake, FL | 4.32 | 4.48 | 23.2% | 84.1 |
| 3 | Silver Dollar City | Branson, MO | 4.44 | 4.50 | 25.8% | 83.2 |
| 4 | Disney California Adventure Park | Anaheim, CA | 4.49 | 4.42 | 24.3% | 79.4 |
| 5 | Universal Studios Hollywood | Los Angeles, CA | 4.36 | 4.08 | 24.7% | 77.7 |
| 6 | Dollywood Theme Park | Pigeon Forge, TN | 4.34 | 4.46 | 23.9% | 76.8 |
| 7 | Universal Studios Florida | Orlando, FL | 4.21 | 3.96 | 24.9% | 72.9 |
| 8 | SeaWorld Orlando | Orlando, FL | 4.17 | 3.82 | 22.1% | 58.0 |
| 9 | Cedar Point | Sandusky, OH | 4.35 | 4.07 | 20.8% | 52.8 |
| 10 | Knott’s Berry Farm | Buena Park, CA | 4.12 | 4.17 | 23.6% | 52.3 |
Dollywood and Universal Studios Florida Stand Out
Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, ranked sixth with 76.8 points. Its 397 qualifying Halloween reviews averaged 4.46 out of five. The park’s Harvest Festival includes Great Pumpkin LumiNights, featuring thousands of illuminated pumpkins and large seasonal displays.
Universal Studios Florida took seventh with 72.9 points. The Orlando park generated 1,266 qualifying Halloween reviews — the most of any attraction in the ranking — with an average rating of 3.96.
Its 2026 Halloween Horror Nights event features 10 haunted houses alongside scare zones and live entertainment.
SeaWorld Orlando ranked eighth with 58.0 points and an average Halloween rating of 3.82 from 153 qualifying reviews. Its seasonal calendar includes the daytime Spooktacular, featuring costumes and trick-or-treating, as well as the nighttime Howl-O-Scream event.
Cedar Point and Knott’s Berry Farm Complete the Top 10
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, finished ninth with 52.8 points. Its 381 qualifying Halloween reviews averaged 4.07 out of five. The park’s HalloWeekends event combines its rides with haunted attractions and seasonal entertainment.
Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park completed the ranking with 52.3 points. Its 172 qualifying Halloween reviews averaged 4.17. Knott’s Scary Farm features haunted mazes, scare zones and live shows.
California ultimately placed four parks in the top 10, while Florida had three. Missouri, Tennessee and Ohio each contributed one.
Visitor Reviews Show Different Ways to Celebrate Halloween
The ranking was compiled by custom neon signs specialist Neon Designs using Tripadvisor review data. Researchers considered each park’s overall rating, total review volume, the share of English-language reviews posted between September and November, and the average rating of validated Halloween reviews to calculate a score out of 100.
Austin Colasanti, CEO of Neon Designs, said the results demonstrate that Halloween theme park trips are not necessarily centered on frightening attractions.
“Disneyland and Magic Kingdom are familiar names for a trip like this, but Silver Dollar City does very well alongside them. It has the highest Halloween review rating in the study, with a seasonal program built largely around its harvest festival. That’s a good reminder that people book these trips for different reasons. Getting scared is only one of them.
“Dollywood does well too, and there’s plenty to enjoy about walking around somewhere full of glowing pumpkins. Especially with children, who can be very excited about Halloween until something actually jumps out. Having a night that everyone enjoys is worth more than getting through every haunted attraction.
“The lighting is a big part of what makes Halloween work. Something you barely noticed in daylight can become the thing everyone stops to photograph once it’s lit up. And it doesn’t all need to be dark and frightening. A warm glow around a pumpkin display can make people want to stay a little longer, which matters when the evening is as much about wandering around as going on rides.
“Before booking, check the details for the night you’re going. A photo of a Halloween party on a park’s website doesn’t mean it’s included in your ticket, or even running that evening. Look at the age guidance too, and leave a bit of room in the schedule. It’s still a night out, and nobody wants to spend all of it rushing to the next line.”
The findings suggest that America’s most highly rated Halloween theme park experiences span everything from family-oriented fall festivals to full-scale horror events. Disneyland may lead the overall ranking, but strong visitor ratings for Silver Dollar City, Magic Kingdom and Dollywood show that elaborate scares are only one part of what makes a theme park popular during Halloween season.
