WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Sept. 8, 2008)- Get ready for the biggest Howl-O-Scream season ever as Busch Gardens celebrates a decade of spooky thrills in 2008. Beginning Friday, Sept. 19 and continuing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 26, Busch Gardens' fall "spooktacular" takes Halloween scares to a whole new place with attractions and shows starting earlier in the day.
"We're stepping up the thrills for the 10th season of Howl-O-Scream and addressing our guest's insatiable demand for Halloween thrills day and night," said John Reilly, executive vice president and general manager for Busch Gardens. "It's a whole different park whether it's light or dark when guests visit Busch Gardens during Howl-O-Scream." As part of Howl-O-Scream's 10-year anniversary celebration, Busch Gardens is expanding the park's fright factor with all-new haunted houses, scare zones and spooky shows. New this year is Masquerage, where "Cloakwalkers" haunt a ruined Italian palace that once served as the back drop for grand galas. Turn upon turn lead guests further into the palace, and deeper into bone-chilling crypts that spell their doom. The popular Wicked Woods: Ripper Row haunted maze returns this year, with new characters and an all-new location in Italy where gruesome scenes of history like the Great Fire of London, the rampage of Jack the Ripper and the bubonic plague come to life. Three new spooky musical shows will have guests stompin' their feet to the beat alongside groovin' ghosts, mummies, vampires and monsters. Little ghouls and goblins have nothing to fear. Land of the Dragons will remain a friendly place for children to enjoy the holiday spirit without the startles. Families also can jump aboard Jack's Pumpkin Express and jam to Halloween tunes on a train ride tour of the world's "Most Boo-ti-ful Scream Park." Busch Gardens' Howl-O-Scream features more than 15 scare zones, haunted attractions and Halloween-themed shows. Howl-O-Scream attractions are included with park admission or an annual pass. Not all Howl-O-Scream activities are suitable for children and parental discretion is advised. Ratings for each activity are posted at the attractions and on the show schedule. For more information, guests may call (800) 343-7946 or visit
www.howloscream.com.
# # # Busch Gardens is a Worlds of Discovery ® park. Other Worlds of Discovery parks include Water Country USA in Williamsburg; Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fl.; the SeaWorld parks in San Diego, San Antonio and Orlando, Fl.; Sesame Place near Philadelphia; Discovery Cove in Orlando; Adventure Island in Tampa; and Aquatica, SeaWorld's water park, in Orlando.
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