The BEST Halloween Events for Kids in Tampa Bay + MORE Fun!
Spooky SZN is here, which means it's time for us to share our annual list of our favorite Halloween events for kids in Tampa Bay!! Get ready to round up your little ghouls and goblins for a spooktacular day or night out in Tampa Bay at one of these awesome Halloween events.
And don't forget — we've curated a list of awesome pumpkin patches in Tampa Bay, including our favorite fall festivals. *We'll continue to update this post as events are announced.
Featured Halloween Events for Kids in Tampa Bay:
*The following events are listed in order of date, brought to you by our incredible community partners!
Busch Gardens Kandy's Sweetacular Celebration
- Every Saturday & Sunday from September 6 to October 26, 2025
- Cost: Included in park admission
- Location: Busch Gardens Tampa
Join Kandy, Busch Gardens’ charming witch-in-training, for a brand-new family-friendly Halloween celebration full of fun and enchantment. Every Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m.–4 p.m. on the Festival Pathway, little ghouls and goblins can explore Trick-or-Treating, Spooky Kooky Science, Magical Storytime, Kandy’s Costume Parade, and more! This event is included with park admission.
Brick or Treat Monster Party at LEGOLAND Florida
- Weekends September 20-November 2, 2025
- Cost: Included with daily admission
- Location: 1 Legoland Way, Winter Haven
Don’t miss this Halloween party built just for kids at LEGOLAND Florida Resort in Winter Haven. Kids can enjoy spooky LEGO building activities (they might even learn some cool LEGO building tricks from the pros!), trick-or-treating in the new candy zones, new event-exclusive character meet-and-greets, along with the V.I.M. (Very Important Monster) Dance Party, new fireworks, and more! You can even climb aboard The Disco Dragon coaster for a groovy Halloween monster jam. We're dishing on all the details here: Brick or Treat at LEGOLAND Florida: Here's what to expect in 2025.
A Pirate's Halloween on The Lost Pearl
- Select nights in October 2025
- Cost:$39.95 for adults, $29.95 for kids, $12.95 for infants
- Location: 33 S Franklin St., Tampa
This October, set sail aboard The Lost Pearl Pirate Ship for a Halloween adventure! The 1.5-hour Halloween pirate cruise blends spooky fun with swashbuckling excitement. Costumes are encouraged for kids AND adults. Activities include Halloween and Pirate Games: Pumpkin Toss, Water Cannon Battles, Mummy Wrap, Spooky Dance Party, and Captain Patchy’s Pumpkin Patch.
Creatures of the Night at ZooTampa at Lowry Park
- Select Nights from September 27 to October 26, 2025
- Cost: Free for members and Pay for a Day ticket holders. $29.95 (Friday & Sunday), $34.95 (Saturday)
- Location: 1101 W Sligh Ave., Tampa
Tampa Bay’s number-one family Halloween event returns in September! Creatures of the Night at ZooTampa is full of eerie family fun for everyone! Ghouls and goblins of all ages can enjoy howling outdoor experiences, mischievous characters, creepy culinary treats, and much more! NEW this year: Mesozoic Mayhem, Carouseul de los Muertos, Happy Harvest Garden, and more. Head on over here to see what it was like at ZooTampa's Creatures of the Night in 2024 (we'll update on opening night in 2025).
Harvest Days at Keel Farms
- Every Saturday and Sunday in October 2025, 10 am-3 pm
- Cost: Free, but parking is $10, and hay rides are $5
- Location: Keel Farms
Get your fall-fun on with hay rides, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch and pumpkin painting, camel rides, a pie-eating contest, local vendors and food trucks, along with some of Keel Farms' great seasonal wines and ciders! Admission is free, and parking is $10. Hay rides are $5 with a wristband that is good for all-day use!
Sesame Street Safari of Fun Halloween at Busch Gardens
- Saturdays and Sundays from October 4-26, 2025
- Cost: Included with park admission
- Location: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
A Nightmare on Franklin Street “Mummy & Me” series at the Tampa Theatre
- Screenings on select days, Oct. 4-Oct. 25, 2025
- Location: Tampa Theatre: 711 N. Franklin St, Tampa
The Tampa Theatre’s A Nightmare of Franklin Street returns this month, featuring classic horror movies for spooky date nights, but for a family-friendly day out, there’s the “Mummy & Me” series featuring kid classics like “Hocus Pocus!” Here’s the “Mummy & Me” lineup: Oct. 4 at 1:45 p.m.: Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Oct. 5 at 1:30 p.m.: The Haunted Mansion (2023), Oct. 19 at 1:30 p.m.: Scooby-Doo (2002), and Oct. 25 at 3 p.m.: Hocus Pocus (1993).
The Theatre is also offering ghost tours, which are great for tweens and teens!
MOSI’s Spooktacular Science: Carnival of Science & Frights
- Saturday, October 18, 2025, 6 pm-9 pm
- Cost: $10
- Location: 4801 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa
Step right up! This event at MOSI delivers a thrilling night of science and spooky fun for the whole family! Spark your curiosity with hands-on experiments, carnival magic, photo booths, food, drinks, and planetarium shows!
AdventHealth Center Ice Hallowrink Themed Skate
- Friday, October 24, 2025, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm
- Cost: $22 in advance or $25 at the door
- Location: 3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Wesley Chapel
Join in on a Halloween-themed ice skating session with themed music curated by Reign Entertainment, with a costume contest and Ghoul-Tivities!
Trick-or-Treat on the Riverwalk in Tampa
- Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 4 pm- 7 pm
- Cost: FREE
- Location: NEW! Cotanchobee Park and the Tampa Convention Center
Bring the whole family to Riverwalk Trick or Treat for a spooktacular evening of safe, family-friendly Halloween fun along Tampa’s beautiful waterfront! Kids can collect candy at over 50 treat stations, enjoy festive activities, enter a costume contest, and end the night with a showing of Monsters, Inc. in the park. This free community event, hosted by Friends of the Riverwalk, is one of Tampa’s favorite Halloween traditions you won’t want to miss!
MORE of the BEST Halloween Events for Kids in Tampa Bay
*Listed in order of launch date.
Pumpkins & Pythons
- September 25-November 3 ,2025
- Cost: Adults $27, kids 4-12 $22
- Location: 2606 Fairfield Ave. S bldg. 6, St. Pete
FloridaRAMA is your destination for amazing indoor spooky and strange Florida fun! Wander into Python Alley at the Mermaid Star Motel, where giant snakes slither through art, lounges and the pirate ship ball pit. From sea divas to watchful hedges, surprises lurk around every corner. Are you up for an art-venture?
Take part in the Python Challenge where you can track clues, solve puzzles, and explore an artist made world!
Jurassic Haunt Halloween Mammoth Mayhem at Dinosaur World
- Select nights, September 27 – November 1, 2025
- Cost: Tickets start at $19.95
- Location: 5145 Harvey Tew Rd., Plant City
Are you brave enough to face the curse of Dinosaur World's first haunted house? Head to the park after hours to hear the tales of a group of explorers who have unearthed something they shouldn't have. The curse is spreading and it's up to you to break it! Tickets start at $15.
Fall Festival at Dade City Farms
- Every Saturday and Sunday in October, 2025, Saturday, 10 am-5 pm, Sunday, 10 am-4 pm
- Cost: Adults (ages 12+) $12, kids (3-12) $9, kids (0-2) are free
- Location: 17143 Lake Iola Rd., Dade City
Celebrate fall at Dade City Farms' Fall Festival! Snap family photos with your loved ones in our pumpkin patch as you pick out the perfect pumpkin. Meet the friendly animals in the petting zoo, get creative with face painting, and shop for unique treasures from local craft vendors. Savor fall treats like apple cider donuts and other delicious snacks from food trucks, with yard games and activities for the whole family, it’s the perfect fall day on the farm!
Spooky Train Rides and Scary Trail at the Concourse in Shady Hills
- Every Friday and Saturday in October 2025
- Cost: $8 Train Rides, $10 Trail Entrance, or $15 for both
- 11919 Alric Potterberg Road, Shady Hills
This adorable family-friendly activity is a Halloween must, where you can go for a 15-minute spooky ride on a mini train, explore two haunted trails and a maze, check out the petting zoo, jump on the bounce houses, and so much more!
Seminole Heights Great Pumpkin Patch Movie Nights
- October 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2025, 7:30 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location:6111 North Central Ave., Tampa
Bring a blanket or chairs! There will be a food truck as well as concessions available for purchase. The pumpkin patch closes at 8:30 pm, so make sure to buy your pumpkins before the movie starts. MOVIES: October 3- It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, October 10- Halloween Town, October 17- Tower of Terror, October 24- Hocus Pocus.
FEARville at DK Farms
- Fridays and Saturdays, October 3-31, 2025, 7 pm-10 pm
- Cost: Tickets start at $27
- Location: 1750 Lake Ave. SE, Largo
This event has great activities for kids like miniature golf, animal feeding, bull rides, games, fun activities, and more! Be mindful of the skull scare rating as some activities aren't suitable for younger kids.
Monster Splash Spooky Tunes Adventure
- Every Saturday and Sunday, October 4-19 ,2025, at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m.
- Florida Aquarium
Get ready to sing, dance, and splash along with this silly, spooky stage show all about strange and misunderstood creatures—just the thing to get kids and grownups in the Halloween spirit!
Our Lady of Lourdes Fall Festival
- October 11-16, 2025
- Cost: Admission is free but ride tickets are available for purchase
- Location: 750 San Salvador Dr., Dunedin
Each year, the school's campus fills with dozens of rides, games, live music, raffle prizes, food vendors, a pumpkin patch, and face painting!
Wild N' Wicked Nights at Weeki Wachee Springs
- October 17-18, and 24-25, 2025, 7 p.m.-11 p.m.
- Cost: $12 per person (ages 3+)
- Location: Weeki Wachee Springs State Park
Swim into spooky season at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park with The Black Button Underwater Show, The Other Side Manor Haunted House, The Dark Realm Haunted Maze, a peek-a-boo pumpkin path, carnival games, bounce houses, and a costume contest! The Other Side Manor Haunted House and The Dark Side Realm Haunted Maze is not recommended for small children.
Vista Gardens Creepy Crawlies in the Garden
- Saturday, October 18, 2025, 9 am-12 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: 13572 South Village Drive, Tampa
Join in a bug-tastic Halloween event where everyone can get up close and personal with all the creepy-crawlies in the garden! Hold a worm, let a beetle crawl up your arm, peek inside a bee hive, watch a Venus Fly Trap snatch up a fly and eat an ant! There will also be insect crafts, buggy snacks, activities, and face painting for those who prefer to keep their distance from the live bugs.
Florida Railroad Museum Pumpkin Patch Express
- October 18-19 and 24-25, 2025, 10:30 am-1 pm and 2 pm-4:30 pm
- Cost: varies, see website for more details
- Location: 12210 83rd St. East, Parrish
The Pumpkin Patch Express is departing the station for a trip to the Museum’s very own pumpkin patch. Included in your ticket are hay rides, arts and crafts, Lincoln log building, and games! Children are invited to pick a pumpkin from the patch to take home.
Food and beverages are available for purchase onboard the train and while at the Pumpkin Patch.
Avalon Park Wesley Chapel Spooktacular
- Date: Saturday, October 18, 2025, 5 pm-8 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: 5060 River Glen Blvd., Wesley Chapel
Get spooky with trick-or-treating, bounce houses, performances, vendors, food trucks, and a costume contest!
Tampa Bay History Center's A Night at the Museum
- Date: Sunday, October 19, 2025, 3 pm-6 pm
- Cost: $20*Includes trick-or-treating
- Location: 801 Water Street, Tampa
Trick-or-treat your way through the Tampa Bay History Center galleries in search of sweet rewards. Plan for an evening of games, crafts, costume characters, and more! Timed tickets are available now.
Tampa's Haunted Carnival at Armature Works
- Thursday, October 23-Sunday, October 26, 2025
- Cost:
- Location: Armature Works in Tampa
The Haunted Carnival returns with family-friendly fun during the day! There will be carnival rides, carnival games, costume contests, and live music. Then at night, the event switches gears into a more spooky adult experience.
Fall-O-Ween at Coachman Park in Clearwater
- Friday, October 24, 2025, from 5 pm-10 pm
- Cost: free to attend
- Location: Coachman Park: 300 Cleveland Street, Clearwater
Head on over to Coachman Park for a Jeep-or-Treat, candy trail, live tribute bands to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, costume contests, food trucks, fun activities, and more!
Haunted Woods Scare Trail 2025 at Hillsborough River State Park (best for teens)
- Friday, October 24-Saturday, October 25, 2025
- Cost: Park entrance fee
- Location: Hillsborough River State Park, 3501 Baynard Trail, Thonotosassa
This event is better suited for older kids and teens, so parental discretion is advised since this can be spooky! This year's theme is Beyond the Grave!
Zephyrhills Halloween Howl
- Friday, October 24, 2025, from 4 pm-9 pm
- Cost: Free to attend
- Location: Zephyr Park, 38500 5th Ave. in Zephyrhills
Pumpkin Carving Workshop in Largo
- Thursday, October 24, 2025, 5 pm-7 pm
- Cost: $15 per pumpkin
- Location: Largo Community Center
Gals & Ghouls get into the spooky spirit and join us for a frightfully fun pumpkin carving workshop! Each family will receive one pumpkin to carve. Staff will be lurking nearby to offer tips, tricks, and inspiration for your pumpkin masterpiece!
Trick-or-Treat Trail in Downtown Largo
- Friday, October 24, 2025, at 5:30 pm-7:30 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: 301 W Bay Dr, Largo
Bring your kiddos dressed in their Halloween costumes for a night of trick-or-treating around Largo City Hall. Bags and candy will be provided. This is an outdoor event. Adults can also take home a Trick-or-Tree at the end of the event to plant at home. Learn more at playlargo.com.
- Friday, October 24, 2025, from 5:30 pm-9:30 pm
- Cost: $5 for ages 3 and up
- Location: 11901 146th St., Largo
For a spooky good time, bring the family out to McGough Nature Park for a night to explore a spooky nature trail, candy scavenger hunt, animal shows, and more! Tickets are $5 per person. Kids three and younger are free. You can learn more and book your tickets by visiting playlargo.com.
Treasure Island's Halloween Spooktacular
- Friday, October 24, 2025, from 6 pm-8 pm
- Cost:
- Location: Treasure Island Community Center, 120 106th Avenue, Treasure Island
The Treasure Island Community Center is hosting a frightfully fun night with costume contests, inflatables, trick-or-treat stations, live entertainers, and more!
Haunted Illusions Live
- Friday, October 24, 2025, 8 pm
- Cost: tickets start at $30
- Location: Central Park Performing Arts Center
Master illusionist David Caserta brings his Halloween spectacular, Haunted Illusions, to the Central Park Performing Arts Center! As seen on America’s Got Talent and Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, Caserta’s show includes original illusions, jaw-dropping tricks, and more than a few treats that are fun for the whole family! Tickets for the show start at $30.
Guppyween at The Florida Aquarium
- October 25 & 26, 2025, from 9 am-5 pm
- Included with admission. Costmed kids get free admission with a paid adult.
Dress in your Halloween best and head to the Aquarium for Guppyween! Kids in costume get free admission with a paid adult–this offer is redeemable at the ticket window. There will be a trick-or-treating trail, costume parade, character appearances, costumed divers, underwater pumpkin carving, and more! A sensory-friendly event is scheduled for Sunday, October 26, at 8 am.
Florida Botanical Garden's Pumpkin Fest
- Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Cost: Free
- Location: Florida Botanical Gardens
Join the Florida Botanical Gardens for a pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, and other spooky activities like the 4-H Scarecrow contest, Pumpkin painting, Build your own slime, Bat Book reading, pumpkin decoupage, food trucks, and more!
Great Eeksplorations at Great Explorations Children's Museum
- Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 10:30 am-4 pm
- Cost: Included with admission
- Location: 1925 4th Street North, St. Pete
Celebrate the season with a day of eeks-ploring Great Ex, which will be offering hands-on themed crafts and games, a glow dance party, science experiments, and more!
SkateWorld Tampa Not So Scary Trick-or-Treating Skate Party
- Saturday, October 25, 2025, 12 pm-2:30 pm
- Cost: $12
- Location: 7510 Paula Dr., Tampa
Come dressed to impress for our costume contest, Trick-or-Treat around the rink, Play in the Haunted Laser Tag Arena, enjoy Spooky Cafe specials, and more!
Annual Spooky Stroll with TRIBE Seminole Heights
- Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 6 pm-9 pm
- Cost: $3 per person, $15 for a family of 5 or more
- Location: Seminole Heights Garden Center, Tampa
This beloved annual event will sell out fast, so be sure to purchase your tickets in advance to secure your spot. TRIBE Seminole Heights' Spooky Stroll features tons of family-friendly fun, including costumed characters, trick-or-treat stations, a pumpkin patch, a creepy house tour, fun games, and MORE! In the past, it has taken about 60-90 minutes to complete the stroll.
Sur La Table Family Fun: Spooktacular Halloween Cookies
- Sunday, October 26, 2025, 10 am
- Cost: $79
- Location: 711 South Dakota Ave., Tampa
Halloween on Central
- Sunday, October 26, 2025, 12 pm-5 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: Central Ave. between Dr M.L.K. Jr St and 31st., St. Pete
Halloween On Central features costume contests, trick-or-treating and more at the largest street festival in St. Pete! Partake in great activities like the Voodoo Vendor Village, strolling performers, DJs, entertainment and music, family fun and games, food trucks, trick-or-treating, costumes and costume contests, and more!
Wesley Chapel Fall Festival Trunk-or-Treat
- Sunday, October 26, 3pm
- 5854 Wesley Grove Blvd, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544-8405
- Free
Trunk or Treat for all ages! Free Entry, Starts at 3pm. Trophies for best decorated trunks & costumes. Dress up and enjoy the fun!!
Sponsored by Florida Blue
East Pasco Family YMCA Trunk-or-Treat
- Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 5 pm-7:30 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: 37301 Chapel Hill Loop, Zephryhills
It's all treats and no tricks at the Family YMCA Trunk-or-Treat!
Trunk-or-Treat with the Salvation Army
- Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 6 pm-8:30 pm
- Cost: $5
- Location: 3800 9th Ave. N, St. Pete
Come out and raise funds for Salvation Army at the Trunk or Treat Fall Festival! This fall event featuring food trucks, live entertainment, candy, reptiles, games, prizes, markets, face painting, and so much more.
Halloween Spookquarium at Clearwater Marine Aquarium
- Friday, October 31, 2025, from 10 am- 6 pm (trick-or-treat stations from 3 pm-6 pm)
- Cost: included with admission
- Location: CMA, 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater
Have the kiddos dress up in their Halloween best and head to CMA for the Halloween Spookquarium for an afternoon of spooky fun! CMA will be decorated for the holiday to add to the fun. Kids can take part in the themed crafts, interactive games, watch an underwater pumpkin carving, and even go trick-or-treating!
Zephryhills Public Library Trick-or-Treat Costume Parade
- Friday, October 31, 2025, 2 pm-3:30 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: 5347 8th Street, Zephryhills
The parade starts at the library and leaves every 15 minutes, starting at 2:15 pm. The last parade will leave at 3:15 pm. Show off your costume as you walk from the library over to City Hall, collecting candy from all the City of Zephyrhills employees. There will also be crafts and games!
Día de los Muertos with Xochi
- Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2, 2025, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Florida Aquarium
The season doesn’t stop at Halloween! Celebrate the Aquarium’s first-ever Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with their new axolotl costumed character, Xochi, who will be specially dressed for the holiday!
Discover Xochi’s traditions from her home in Mexico City while wandering through the Aquarium. Families can honor loved ones, craft colorful sugar skulls, and enjoy festive fun surrounded by vibrant décor. Guests can also enjoy an exclusive menu in Café 71 including a Short Rib Tamale and Apple and Fruit Compote Tamales.
Halloween Costume Ideas
Our team is sharing some of our favorite DIY Halloween costume ideas.
Halloween Treats and Spooky Snack Ideas
Need some spooky inspiration for your child's lunch box? Jenny P of @lunchboxmafia is dishing some ghoulishly good Halloween party snacks that also double as fun lunchbox additions! For a healthy twist, check out Ginain Grayes of @cookprayslay's Healthy Halloween Snack Ideas.
Halloween Science Experiments
Glazer Children's Museum shared some really cool spooky science experiments you can do at home for extra thrills including how to make ghost eggs!
Tell a Halloween Joke!
Q: Who won the skeleton beauty contest? A: No body! We've got even more ghoulishly good Halloween jokes for kids to keep your kiddos laughing all day long!
Events that have already happened in 2025. Stay tuned for 2026!
A Sensory Friendly Halloween Family Night at Brighter Days Brewing
- Sunday, October 4, 2025, 4 pm-7 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: 311 N Safford Ave., Tarpon Springs
At this sensory-friendly event, kids can enjoy pumpkin painting + sensory play, Ice Cream Balls for dessert, face painting, bounce house, food trucks, and a sensory-friendly costume contest!
Seminole Heights Great Pumpkin Fun Run
- Saturday, October 4, 2025, 9:30 am
- Cost: $10 adults, Kids ages 7+ $5, kids 6 and under are free
- Location: 6111 North Central Ave., Tampa
This one-mile family-friendly event is a great way to get into the fall spirit! You can expect an easy one-mile loop that ends running through the pumpkin patch archway! All registered participants will receive a custom Great Pumpkin Run Bib and a free perfect pumpkin as a finisher prize, and the top 3 finishers will get their choice of heirloom. There will also be post-race treats from Gulf Coast Sourdough. All proceeds benefit the HTCA & SHUMC.
The Great Glass and Clay Pumpkin Patch
- Saturday, October 11, 2025, 9 am-5 pm
- Cost: Free
- Location: 420 22nd St. S, St. Pete
The Morean Glass Studio space transforms into a great glass pumpkin patch filled with over 100 blown-glass pumpkins and will feature fall-themed photo-ops for the family! From 10 am to 4 pm, The Morean Center for Clay will be hosting a trick-or-treat gallery walk with face painting.
For even MORE Halloween Fun, check out our Ultimate Guide to Fall Events in Tampa Bay here.