Fall is one of the most fun times in Orlando’s theme parks.
This year, Orlando’s theme parks are working hard to get the right balance between ensuring guest safety and spooktacular Halloween fun in Orlando.
Even with the new rules being enforced to protect guests from COVID-19, there is still plenty of fall fun to enjoy!
Here’s our round up.
Scary Good Times at Universal Orlando
Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights are one of our favourite events. Like many people we were sad to hear they won’t be running this year.
Universal have introduced plenty of “scary good” fun to occupy us though!
There are two heart-pounding haunted houses in Universal Studios:
- Universal Monsters The Bride of Frankenstein Lives
- Revenge of the Tooth Fairy.
Virtual lines are in place for both attractions to enable social distancing. Both haunted houses are included with normal admission to Universal Studios Florida or Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
You can take your kids (age 12 or younger) trick-or-treating in Islands of Adventure. Grab a free trick-or-treat bag, then look out for pumpkin stickers marking participating retail stores.
There’s also a fun Scarecrow Stalk. Find all 13 custom-crafted scarecrows and skeletons on this all-new scavenger hunt to receive a candy sampler bag, while supplies last.
Costumes aren’t essential, but they are encouraged. Dressing up is a good way to have Halloween fun in Orlando.
Even better for Florida residents, if you buy a day you can visit every day through to December 24th for free!
Halloween fun at DisneyWorld Orlando
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party isn’t happening this year either. However there are still plenty of special treats to enjoy.
The Boo-To-You parade, fireworks, stage shows and character meet-and-greets cannot take place this year because of social distancing rules.
Nevertheless, Disney has ensured that your little ones can still see their favourite Disney characters and enjoy the magic of the season. Magic Kingdom has introduced mini cavalcades that happen at various times throughout the day. It’s actually really nice to enjoy a more laid-back park experience without the crowds.
There are plenty of special autumnal food treats to enjoy too. How about the Pumpkin Spiced Waffle Sundaes at Sleepy Hollow? Or the Pumpkin Spice Milkshake at Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies?
Disney is inviting all guests to embrace the spirit of the season by wearing Halloween costumes when visiting between September 15 and October 31, 2020. While costume masks aren’t allowed for anyone over the age of 14, all guests are required to wear approved face coverings during their visit.
Taste of Epcot International Food and Wine Festival
This year is the 25th anniversary of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. We’re pleased to say it’s still going ahead, albeit in a scaled back way.
Disney is inviting guests to sip, savour and stroll around the park. There will be twenty participating marketplaces at this year’s Taste of Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.
Kids can follow Remy’s Ratatouille Hide and Squeak Scavenger Hunt. You will need to purchase a map and then explore the World Showcase to help Remy collect ingredients for his signature dish. Along the way pick up stickers from select Festival merchandise locations. At the end of the hunt claim your prize at Disney Traders.
The event is included in your Epcot admission. Remember to use the Disney Park Pass reservation system in order to enter the park.
What Halloween fun is happening at SeaWorld?
You can read more about what’s happening elsewhere in Central Florida on our blog: read about this year’s Spooktacular at SeaWorld here.
Ready to book your own Halloween fun in Orlando’s theme parks?
Check out our vacation homes near Disney World & Universal Orlando:
Our resident thrifty creative, my sister Sonya, has been busy renovating some bedrooms for our property owners again and I thought I’d share some of her handiwork here.
Sonya’s really crafty but she’s also really into keeping costs down to an absolute minimum for our villa owners – we want them to get the most return for their investment without having to spend silly money on expensive refurbs. Sonya is great at this.
First, take a look at how she’s re-purposed these tired old pictures from the living room into some fun, Mickey-themed pictures for a new themed children’s bedroom.
Step 1: Remove glass and tape over the sections of the frame she wanted to keep pale grey.
Step 2: Spray black spray paint over all the ‘mahogany’-coloured woodwork of the frame and leave to dry. NB: put plenty of newspaper down first in the area you’ll be using the spray paint! The last thing we want are some unexpected repair or cleaning costs!
Step 3: In the first frame, Sonya replaced these tired old abstracts with some images from an old roll of retro Mickey Mouse wallpaper she found at a yard sale.
Step 4: In the second frame, Sonya used an image from the wallpaper in the central section, but can you guess what she made the Mickey Mouse silhouettes out of? They’re actually made from an old CD and a pre-loved balloon weight!
Finally, Sonya completed another frame with her trademark black spray paint and a super-cheap tshirt she picked up for next to nothing. I hope you’ll agree that they look great and are a testament to Sonya’s incredible make-do-and-mend approach to injecting a bit of new life into our homes.
Thanks Sonya – great job!
I’m always surprised just how much creativity and ingenuity is required in the day-to-day life of a property manager. That’s one of the reasons we enjoy our work so much here at Ellis Exclusive Villas – not one day is the same.
Part of our job is to keep the properties top notch so that we make sure that they are going to attract the most bookings. Repurposing an under-used room into a fun kids’ bedroom is all in a day’s work!
My sister Sonya had some inspired creative thinking to create these fun accents out of a few bits she had lying around. They look great in this Mickey Mouse themed children’s bedroom. There’s definitely a Mickey theme without it being a too full-on mouse overload!
Both ideas are really simple. First, she covered an old piece of hardboard with some quilting foam and some black spotty fabric using just glue and a staple gun.
Second, she updated an old picture frame which she spray-painted black to match the other (fabric) accent. She stretched an old Mickey Mouse tshirt over a rectangle of cardboard and inserted it into frame (replacing the tired old floral picture it used to house). I think they look fab.
Framing an old tshirt is a great idea I plan to steal for in my own home (thanks Sonya!). How good would an old college shirt look framed on the wall of an office? Thinking back to the optimism of my college self would help me get inspired by some great memories every day…
I hope Sonya’s handiwork inspires you too… we’d love to see your own creative projects if it does! Please share them below.