HalloWeekends is here again

Editor's note: Justin Dietz is a Register correspondent representing Fun Food Blog at cpfoodblog.com and @funfoodblog on X. SANDUSKY — Have you put away all the lawn furniture and shut down the pool? That means the fall season is approaching and with that, Cedar Point's HalloWeekends returns. This week kicks off the 2025 HalloWeekends season at Cedar Point with the park open Thursdays through Sundays until Nov. 2. Family-friendly fun operates daily and includes a variety of kid-focused activities, like corn mazes, trick-or-treating and Peanuts character appearances until 7 p.m. each day of operation. Then, for those looking to bring on the classic HalloWeekends experience, the Midnight Express rolls into the park starting at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays with the opening scary-moanies. What's new? New for 2025, guests wishing to visit the six haunted mazes will be required to purchase an upcharge haunted attractions pass. The price varies from $10 to $30 each night. Or guests have the option to upgrade, from $69 to $99 each night, for a haunted attractions express pass that gets them priority access to each house plus a single admission to the new The Conjuring: Beyond Fear experience. Various Six Flags have teamed up with Warner Bros Entertainment to bring a first-of-its-kind escape room-type experience featuring the characters of The Conjuring Universe. "Step into the role of paranormal investigator, recruited by Ed and Lorraine Warren to lock away cursed artifacts before supernatural chaos is unleashed," according to an amusement park statement. "Join a small group of recruits and take on the daunting mission of restoring order after dark forces escape from the cursed objects within the Warren Artifact Room," it read. "Encounter legendary entities — such as The Nun, The Crooked Man and The Ferryman — as you race to lock Annabelle back in her secure box or risk catastrophic consequences for the living realm." The Conjuring: Beyond Fear is a separately ticketed experience. And if guests did not purchase it as part of select haunted attractions passes, then the cost is an additional $15 to $25 per person. The traditional scare zones — Blood on the Bayou, Cut Throat Cove, Tombstone Terror-tory and Clownz: Hall of Infamy Tour — are still included with the price of admission and operate Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. One of the highlights of HalloWeekends is always the live entertainment, and there will be a huge lineup operating each night. With the changes to how HalloWeekends is operated this year, it will be interesting to see how the crowds react to the new upcharges. Are guests really going to pay a premium to go into the haunted mazes, or are they there to get their end-of-the-season thrill rides in before the park shutters in November?