The Travel Mom A Traveling Mom's Tips for Trips

Are you ready to get spooked?

If so, let Southwest Airlines fly you to some wonderful places to capture the Halloween spirit. Since the holiday falls on a Friday night this year, it’s the perfect time for a spooktacular getaway!

We all know that Niagara Falls is a beautiful place for a romantic getaway, but it’s also an amazing destination filled with Halloween fun. Catch a SWA flight to Buffalo and explore all the haunted activities at The Falls. The falls are a 25-minute drive from the Buffalo Airport and a perfect place to marry a scenic vacation with spooky surprises. The Lockport Cave is a thrilling way to enjoy Niagara and Old Fort Niagara is a haunted fortress. There is a cornfield maze, pumpkin festival, and ghost walks offered every Friday and Saturday night throughout October.

My son and I enjoyed a visit to Philadelphia where we explored lots of haunted places that were, and still may be, home to the ghosts of our nation’s founding fathers. The Spirits of 76 Ghost Tour visits many of the famous sites that our ancestors “never left.” At the Haunted Halloween Bash on the 31st Elvira, Mistress of Darkness, will read “The Raven” at the Park Hyatt where it was actually penned by Edgar Allen Poe. Or if you are particularly brave, the scariest event of them all is Terror Beyond The Walls at the Eastern State Penitentiary.

Theme parks transform themselves into incredibly spooky places for Halloween. At Universal Studios in Orlando and Hollywood, Halloween Horror Nights take place and they are not for the faint of heart.

If your little ones are not ready to be terrified, consider a visit to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Event at The Magic Kingdom in Orlando or at Disneyland in Anaheim. Classic Disney characters celebrate the holiday by dressing up in their Halloween costumes and putting on a special Boo to You Parade. The parks come to life as only Disney does it with safe, family friendly Halloween decorations and ambience.

Arizona is home to ghost towns from the Wild West and Halloween is the perfect time to catch an easy flight to Phoenix on Southwest to visit one of them. Rawhide transforms itself into Doomtown complete with a cowboy stunt show put on by the Rawhide Roughriders. There is a Train of Terror and two haunted houses to explore. For a more modern Arizona escape, The Westin Keirland Resort is hosting an entire weekend over Halloween filled with tricks and treats for kids of all ages.

The Seaport City of Norfolk is easily accessible via Southwest Airlines. The Sheraton Norfolk is offering a rate of $155 a night for a special Families Are Invited promotion. Norfolk is proud of its 400 years of history and embraces all the ghosts and ghouls of it’s past with a Downtown Norfolk Ghost Tour. For a more family friendly experience, consider participating in The Botanical Gardens Campout complete with costumes, games and scary stories told around the campfire.

Halloween is a great time to let go of your inhibitions and celebrate a fun holiday. It is also a terrific time to take advantage of off season rates at resorts across the country. Combine a Friday night holiday, with easy to fly to destinations and more affordable rates, and all the makings are there for a frightfully fun vacation.

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