Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld San Diego

Nightfall at SeaWorld San Diego is the setting for Howl-O-Scream, billed as San Diego's largest nighttime Halloween experience. The park becomes a dark domain of angry haunts, scare zones, and twisted vile vignettes, and stepping indoors can drop you into a house of horrors. Six themed bars and five speakeasies pour cocktails, beer, and spirits, while the live show Monster Stomp shares the night with a coaster under the sky. The ticket covers the night event only and does not include daytime admission, tours, or dining. A pause at one of the themed bars is the built-in break between scares.

Our take: Enter at 6 p.m. so you are inside before the 7 p.m. start, and leave the costume at home.