HalloWeekends returns Sept. 14

Editor's note: Justin Dietz is a Register correspondent representing CPFoodBlog.com and @CPFoodBlog on Twitter. If you have not been to Cedar Point yet this season, there is more than likely a chance you will be for the annual HalloWeekends taking place on select nights from Sept. 14 through Oct. 29. This year, the new indoor maze is Midnight. Based on the character Mr. Midnight created last season, the master of ceremonies gets his own haunted house for 2023. The new Midnight maze explores the shadowy rooms of Mr. Midnight's mysteriously malevolent mind and becomes immersed in his "Book of the Dark," encountering the fears, terrors and horrors living within its pages. This house replaces Hexed at the front of the park by GateKeeper. There will also be a new scare zone on the Gemini midway. Clownz: Death Metal Tour will encounter guests as they stumble upon the "Butchers of Rock" band, who have found themselves performing an eternal concert night after night at HalloWeekends. With live music and clown-faced concertgoers roaming the venue in this new outdoor scare zone, it is sure to provide sinister guitar licks, murderous metal music and blood-curdling screams. Returning haunted mazes include Bloodbath, Fearground Freak Show, Slaughter House and The Haunting of Eerie Estate. Additional scare zones include CornStalkers 2.0, Tombstone Terror-tory, Cut Throat Cove and Blood on the Bayou. Indoor haunted mazes are open 8 p.m. to midnight on Thursdays and Fridays; 6 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays; and 5-8 p.m. on Sundays. It does close at 10 p.m. on Oct. 8. Outdoor scare zones are open 8 p.m. to midnight on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and are closed Sundays. In addition to all of the scares, the live entertainment is one of the major environmental landscapes that bring the night alive. New for 2023 HalloWeekends, Midnight Syndicate returns with an all-new show on the main stage, highlighting their album "The Brimstone Club," which debuted last month at the Billboard No. 2 spot for classical crossover album. The show is one of more than 12 entertainment experiences for adults and kids alike, joining shows like "The Monsters are Coming, Charlie Brown," "Wake The Dead: A Murder Mystery Musical" and "The Shrieks." Also on the menu The cooler nights mean an all-new menu of Tastes of HalloWeekends will be back for 2023. Cedar Point's culinary team continues to formulate the perfect flavors for the season, and, this year, new delicacies are available. Guests can sink their fangs into the smoked wings of fire, maple sausage on a stick with spicy sriracha maple syrup, cheesecake chimichangas with caramel and apple pie toppings, pumpkin pie spiced churros, Nashville chicken and waffles, the Oktoberfest pizza with mashed redskin potatoes, smoked kielbasa, sauerkraut and cheddar cheese and so much more. HalloWeekends-themed specialty drinks and the popular "blood bag" alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will return.