If you have clients seeking a heart-pounding Halloween thrill, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Howl-O-Scream returns on select nights from Sept. 5 through Nov. 2, 2025. The park’s signature fright fest is back with new haunted houses, scare zones and live entertainment.
What’s New This Year
Guests can face five haunted houses, including two brand-new experiences. M.A.R.S. plunges visitors into the wreckage of a doomed space mission, where alien creatures stalk survivors. Meanwhile, Raven’s Mill: Lambs to the Slaughter reopens with grisly new enhancements, transforming a once-thriving farm into a place where scarecrows are stitched from the missing.
Three new scare zones also debut, including The Pestilence, where plague doctors roam darkened streets, and Breadcrumbs to Nowhere, a twisted fairy tale set in a rotting cottage. The logging-camp-turned-nightmare Murders at Buckshot Ridge joins the lineup, while returning favorites such as Ragnar’s Wrath and Shadows of Wonderland ensure there’s no safe corner in the park.
Entertainment That Terrifies
Beyond the houses, Cirque X-Scream delivers adrenaline-pumping acrobatics, while The Reckoning stages a fiery clash of good and evil. Howl-O-Scream is a separately ticketed event that begins after 7 p.m. For clients looking to maximize their time, Front Line Fear passes grant priority access to haunted houses, while Front Line Fear Extreme includes skip-the-line access to Busch Gardens’ ten roller coasters.
The Ultimate VIP Tour offers unlimited front-of-line privileges, a complimentary meal at Dragon Fire Grill, private beverage stations and preferred parking.
For more information, visit buschgardens.com.
