Kennywood’s New Happy Hauntings Promise Family Fall Fun

Looking for creepy-crawly fun for the whole family? Don your Halloween best and head to Kennywood this October.

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In addition to the regular ghosts and ghouls which roam the paths of Kennywood as part of the teens-and-up Phantom Fright Nights attraction, the West Mifflin amusement park will host Happy Hauntings, a family oriented fall festival. The park will open for these all-ages Halloween-themed afternoons from 12-4 p.m. beginning Oct. 7.

Best suited for children under the age of 10, Happy Hauntings will transform Kiddieland into a Halloween festival featuring trick-or-treating, pumpkin decorating, dance parties and more.

Happy Hauntings aims to bring families (and those of us who are scared of the dark) to Kennywood throughout the fall season without facing the fear-inducing (and not appropriate for young children) Phantom Fright Nights. Children will be able to enjoy all the perks of Kennywood with the extra benefits of pint-sized Halloween activities.

"Kennywood in the fall is a fantastic sight to see, but younger guests and the not-so-brave haven't been able to enjoy it," Jerome Gibas, general manager of Kennywood said via a press release. "Happy Hauntings will allow guests of all ages to experience Kennywood in the grandeur of the season without being scared.”

Attractions will include the Happy Hay Ride, which will pick up guests at Mortem Manor and send them through a tour of the park, and the Mystery Maze, which will popup in the pavilions near Kiddieland with a few friendly ghosts and mummies lurking in the shadows of the corn stalks.

The same costume and makeup teams that bring the undead of Phantom Fright Nights to life will create unique, family-friendly costumes for the park’s actors.

The majority of fun will take place around the Lagoon and in Kiddieland, but additional big-kid rides such as the Auto Race, Train, Merry-Go-Round, Paratrooper and Jack Rabbit will be available. While costumes are encouraged for children to get into the spooky spirit, costumes involving draping capes or extended accessory pieces may not be allowed on the rides.

Tickets are $16.99 plus fees; discounted admission will be available at Spirit Halloween locations.

Happy Hauntings will run for four weeks, ending on Oct. 29. Phantom Fright Nights, which enters its 16th season this year, will follow Happy Hauntings, beginning at 6 p.m. Click here for more information.