One of our favorite fall traditions is taking the kids to Kings Dominion for the annual Tricks & Treats event! This family-friendly fall festival is packed with fun for guests of all ages. Join the Peanuts gang for pumpkin decorating, hay mazes, ghostly games, a costume parade, trick-or-treating, not-so-scary live entertainment, and so much more! With plenty of festive fear-free fun, Tricks & Treats is the perfect way to celebrate the season and create special fall memories with the whole family. Here’s why you won’t want to miss Tricks & Treats at Kings Dominion this fall.
WHAT IS TRICKS AND TREATS
Many readers may be wondering why I’m so enthusiastic about bringing young children to a Halloween event at Kings Dominion. After all, when you think of Halloween at a theme park, “scary” is probably one of the first things that comes to mind! That’s exactly why I love Kings Dominion’s Tricks & Treats event. Designed to be all fun and no fear, this family-friendly fall celebration gives little ones a chance to enjoy the magic of Halloween without the frightening scares.
Throughout the fall, every Saturday and Sunday from September 19 through November 1, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Kings Dominion hosts Tricks & Treats. Along with enjoying some of the park’s favorite family rides, guests can take part in a variety of scare-free Halloween activities, including exploring a hay maze, decorating the perfect pumpkin, enjoying Halloween-themed live entertainment, and more! While ghosts, goblins, and ghouls may be thrilling for adults and older kids, they can be downright terrifying for little ones. That’s why I love that Kings Dominion has created a Halloween experience where the entire family can celebrate the season together—without anyone having to be afraid.
PLAN OUT YOUR DAY
The first thing you’ll want to do after walking through the gates is head over to the height-check station. This is a great way to find out which rides your little ones are tall enough to enjoy before you start exploring the park. From there, make your way to Planet Snoopy, where you’ll find many of the kid-friendly rides, activities, and entertainment. We ended up spending most of our day in Planet Snoopy, riding as many attractions as we could and catching the fun, family-friendly shows along the way. In this section you will find:
Rides
Some of our favorite rides that perfectly fit the Halloween theme are the Great Pumpkin Coaster, Boo Blasters, and the Kite Eating Tree. I also love how festive Planet Snoopy looks during Tricks & Treats. Kings Dominion really goes all out with the decorations, adding pumpkins, colorful displays, and adorable PEANUTS characters throughout the area. They even carry the Halloween theme onto the rides! As you ride attractions like PEANUTS Turnpike and Road Rally, you’ll pass festive inflatables and other fun decorations that make the experience even more special.
Trick-or-Treating
What’s Halloween without trick-or-treating? Kids can dress up in their favorite costumes and travel from station to station collecting sweet treats at Trick or Treat trail. It’s such a fun way for little ones to get into the Halloween spirit!
Special Activities
One of the best parts of Tricks & Treats is all the special activities that are available throughout the event. Kids can enjoy Halloween-themed live entertainment and dance along to classic favorites like “Monster Mash” at the Skelabrations Dance Party! Another fun show you won’t want to miss is the all-new The Witch Sisters! This silly and entertaining show features three funny witch sisters who share hilarious stories and plenty of laughs. It’s a lighthearted, family-friendly performance that’s sure to keep kids entertained—and may have parents laughing along, too! At Sally’s Pumpkin Painting Patch, little ones can pick out the perfect pumpkin, decorate it, and take it home as a special souvenir. Another cute activity is the Beanboozled station, spin the wheel and test out your taste buds to see what jelly bean you get. There is also a new activity this year… paint by number. Help color in a giant mural! There’s so much to see and do that the kids will have plenty to keep them entertained throughout the day!
Photo Opportunities
Don’t forget to take plenty of pictures! Throughout the festival, you’ll find dozens of adorable photo spots featuring festive Halloween decorations and your favorite PEANUTS characters. Be sure to stop along the way and capture those special moments—you’ll definitely want to remember all the fun!
Planning Your Final Stops
As the day starts to wind down, I like to save two of these activities for last! Our second-to-last stop is the Trick-or-Treat Trail, located at the Peanuts Driving School. I recommend saving this activity until the end of your day so you don’t have to carry a bag of candy around the park for hours. When you arrive at the trail, an attendant will provide you with an empty bag to fill with candy as you make your way through. It’s a fun way to wrap up the kid-friendly activities before heading home. For the very last activity of the day, I personally like to pick up a pumpkin before it closes at 5 PM. I recommend saving this for last so you don’t have to carry a pumpkin around the park all day. We usually don’t decorate ours right away—instead, we save pumpkin decorating as a fun activity to do at home later. If you don’t plan on staying for “The Haunt,” Kings Dominion’s scary nighttime event, you’ll want to start making your way toward the exit around 6:00 p.m. By 7:00 p.m. things get creepy very quickly! The music changes, fog rolls across the ground, and creepy characters begin appearing throughout the park. So if you’re not looking for the scary side of the evening, make sure you’re on your way out before the park transforms!
TRICKS TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE A TREAT
We’ve been pass holders at the park for several seasons now, so over the years, we’ve picked up plenty of tips and tricks along the way. After many visits, we’ve learned what works, what’s worth doing, and a few things that can make your day a little easier. Here’s what we’ve learned from our time at the park:
- Speaking of season passes. I highly recommend purchasing seasons passes. Kings Dominion has something fun each session. The summer of course has a full water park open to season pass holders, fall highlights Halloween. Season passes include entry into the park all year round, as well as free parking. Adult season pass holders are also eligible to sign their children ages 3-5 up for a FREE pre-k pass! It’s definitely a bargain. Kings Dominion has a bunch of sales right now including admission to the rest of 2026 and 2027 for $89!
- Kings Dominion is the first theme park in Virginia to become ADA certified. Be sure to check out The Playful Parent Family Guide to see all the accommodations, and tips for visiting this theme park.
- Be sure to take time to stop and get pictures with the Characters and decorated photo spots so you capture some fond memories.
- Dress up in costume when you go. Going in costume will make the experience extra special.
- Don’t forget to pick the perfect pumpkin, they are FREE! It’s great that the cost of admission includes a small pumpkin for the kids.
- Visit the family center if you have infants and toddlers, or even a little one who gets sensory overload. Did you know the family care center has changing tables, wipes, a nursing room with rocking chairs, and even bottle warmers? Not to mention a calm down rooms. There are also family style bathrooms in the family care center that aren’t usually busy because no one really knows they are there. The Center is located in Planet Snoopy next to the restrooms.
- If you plan on staying late (after 6 PM) be sure to get a 2026 No Boo! necklace to give yourself scare immunity from the monsters lurking inside the Halloween Haunt. Wearing this necklace significantly reduces the likelihood of being scared by monsters in scare zones. Cannot be used in any of the mazes.
- Don’t forget about food glorious food! If you are looking for healthy meal options, the Grain & Grill is great! I ordered grilled chicken veggies it was delicious. During the Halloween season Kings Dominion has a lot of fun menu items that are sure to tickle your taste buds. Including- creepy cocktails, monster margaritas, and festive funnel cake that is decorated with gummy worms and spiders.
INFORMATION
Address: 16000 Theme Park Way, Doswell, VA 23047
Hours: Weekends September 19- November 1, 2026
Cost: Day Pass start at $49/Season Pass start at $89/ Children 3 and under FREE
Website: https://www.sixflags.com/kingsdominion
Playful Parent Guide: Visiting Kings Dominion with Kids Guide
***The Playful Parent was not paid to promote Kings Dominion. All opinions and recommendations shared in this guide are my own and reflect our family’s personal experiences and favorites around the DMV area. I would like to thank Kings Dominion for inviting us to spend the day at the park so we could gather information, and create this guide to help parents plan their visit to the Tricks and Treats Festival. All content and original photographs featured in this article are the intellectual property of The Playful Parent and are protected by applicable copyright laws and the DMCA. Please do not reproduce, copy, or redistribute any portion of this article or its photographs without permission.***
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