San Diego Halloween Events For Kids 2024
Note: This list was updated Oct. 2024, with the most current information we’ve been able to find — including dates and times. Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee all halloween events in San Diego are going as planned, and last-minute closings do happen. So, to avoid any disappointment for the kiddos, it’s a good idea to check the venue before planning to get your spook on with your little punkies!
Table of Contents
- Kids Halloween Events
- SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular
- LEGOLAND Brick-or-Treat Party Nights
- HalGLOWeen at the Zoo
- Haunted Birch Aquarium: Halloween Aglow
- Pumpkin Station
- Mr. Jack O’Lanterns Pumpkins
- Belmont and Fall Fest
- Dog-o-Ween at the La Jolla Rec Center
- Pillage the Village
- Halloween Celebration at Liberty Station
- Halloween Events at the Hotel Del Coronado
Kids Halloween Events
Halloween is in the air, the Halloween pop-up stores are in full bloom, and the holiday can be full of fright for little ones. But we’ve rounded-up plenty of scare-free fun so kids of all ages can dress up in their favorite costume and go enjoy the lighter side of the holiday. From the San Diego Zoo’s Halloween events ever to the Aquarium’s ghoulish, glowy venue – read on to learn where you can have a monstrously great time with your little ghouls and goblins.
SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular
SeaWorld San Diego (500 Sea World Drive)
Weekends September 27th – November 2nd
Watch silly and spooky live shows and presentations, enjoy fun Halloween activities, and trick or treat for candy and goodies throughout the colorfully decorated park! Halloween Spooktacular is one of San Diego’s biggest fall festivals, with weekends brimming with family fun. Get in the spooky spirit and catch popular live shows or, join delightful Halloween dance parties and let the little ones trick or treat throughout the park in a safe, family-friendly environment. Oh, and be on the lookout for singing pumpkins in SeaWorld.
LEGOLAND Brick-or-Treat Party Nights
LEGOLAND California (1 Legoland Drive)
September 14th – October 31st
Halloween festivities await at LEGOLAND California! Each Saturday evening throughout the month of October, families and little ones will enjoy live entertainment and new shows, character meet-and-greets, costume contests, treat stations (featuring more than 1 million pieces of candy), dance parties, craft time, and more! Plus, don’t miss special treats and decorations and take a spook-kooky ride on various updated coasters. The home of Halloween fun awaits for your next family adventure!
HalGLOWeen at the Zoo
San Diego Zoo (2920 Zoo Drive)
October 4th – 27th starting at 5pm
Join the world-famous San Diego Zoo for a colorfully creepy celebration. Guests will get the chance to enjoy myriad ghoulishly fun activities and entertainment, including the interactive “Boolahoops,” the hip-hop dancing Funky Monkeys, amazing acrobats, pumpkin and cookie decorating, cupcake walks, and the DJ Dance Party – a rousing bash where guests are invited to dance to spectacular Halloween tunes among bursts of bubbles, with a fun finale featuring black-light bubbles!
The Zoo’s zany maestro of fun, Dr. Zoolittle, will astound the crowd with a special “Creepy Crawly” show that just might change your mind about snakes and spiders. Magicians, jugglers, live music, and dancing with amazing feats and mind-blowing acts, while the Zoo characters will get into the spirit of the season and don their best Halloween costumes.
Haunted Birch Aquarium: Halloween Aglow
Birch Aquarium at Scripps (2300 Expedition Way)
October 25 and 26 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Enjoy close encounters with Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists and search the galleries for unusual underwater creatures rarely seen at Birch Aquarium during its spooktacular gala! This spooky San Diego spot allows you to explore a sea of glowing beasts (big and small), make your own seaweed slime, get up-close-and personal with squids and other spooky species, and enjoy ghost stories, all while boogieing down to live music and having a monstrously good time.
Other Halloween activities typically include:
- Trick-or-treat around the aquarium in your Halloween costume — bonus points if it’s ocean-themed!
- Boo-gie down to live music from Billy Lee and the Swamp Critters!
- Play ghoulishly fun games like Skeeball, Whac a Mole and more!
- Explore the Living Light Experience to see the ocean’s bioluminescence and fluorescence up close
- Learn about some of the weird and wonderful research being done at Scripps Oceanography!
Pumpkin Station
Multiple Locations
Check their website for locations, dates, and times
We have scoured the internet to see if there’s any news about pumpkin patches and pumpkin stations in San Diego being open, and it looks promising! Pumpkin Station is actually a brand name, and they have locations in Del Mar, Rancho Bernardo, Mission Valley, National City, and Bonita. Pumpkin Stations usually include such attractions as slides, rides, play centers, carousels, and pumpkin patches.
There are also other various pumpkin patches around town, which we’ll cover below.
Mr. Jack O’Lanterns Pumpkins
6710 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla CA 92037
October 4th – 31st, Mon – Fri, 12pm – 8pm
La Jolla has its very own pumpkin patch. Mr. Jack O’Lanterns Pumpkins is open for the season. You can check their website for other locations, dates, and times for some good, old-fashioned Halloween time fun.
Belmont and Fall Fest
Belmont Park (3146 Mission Blvd.)
September 7th – October 31st – please check their website for various times and events
Fall Fest transforms Belmont Park with fall thrills and chills throughout the beachfront amusement park! Halloween and fall-themed festivities will be happening on Fridays and Sundays in October through November. Attractions include Disco Ghost painting , trunk-or-treat events, a pumpkin patch where you can participate in pumpkin painting, the Spooky Coaster ( the 1925-era Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster), the Superhero Zip Line & Rock Wall, and Zombie Laser Tag, where creatures will join you in a three-floor maze.
Dog-o-Ween at the La Jolla Rec Center
La Jolla Rec Center (615 Prospect St.)
October 26th,11am – 1pm
Welcome to Decker’s Dog-O-Ween – a Dog Costume Contest, Dog Trick-or-Treating, and a Dance Party! Get ready for a pawsome event where our furry friends take center stage. Decker’s Dog-O-Ween is a tail-wagging extravaganza that celebrates the spookiest time of the year with our four-legged companions.
Pillage the Village
Downtown La Jolla
Oct. 29th, 3pm – 6pm
Every year, trick-or-treaters in La Jolla walk around the Seaport Village in costume and treat the locals to a little Halloween spooky fun. Participating merchants and businesses will have orange and black balloons visible, so you know where you’ll be able to get some goodies. A good starting point is Girard and Prospect. Work your way around downtown La Jolla until you’ve trick-or-treated everywhere!
Halloween Celebration at Liberty Station
Liberty Station (2848 Dewey Rd.)
Oct. 27th, 12pm – 4pm
Liberty Station is inviting the community to join in on a free family-friendly Halloween celebration this October! Fun daytime festivities will include a costume contest, trick-or-treating throughout Liberty Station, inflatable obstacle course, live music and entertainment, a Hollywood car show, and tons more! Families can also participate in festive games, as well as find their way through an inflatable obstacle course and the Liberty Public Market pumpkin patch.
Halloween Events at the Hotel Del Coronado
Hotel Del Coronado (1500 Orange Avenue)
Various activities throughout the month of October. Check their website for events, dates, and times.
Kids of all ages can attend various Halloween parties and do spooky activities at the Hotel Del Coronado. Little ones will delight at all of the spooky decorations and costumes as they enjoy trick-or-treating, games, a themed dinner, and ghost roasts (bonfires), haunted halls tour, and more. This San Diego Halloween event is a bit of a splurge, but it will make for a memorable evening that can only take place on Coronado Island. Plus, the Hotel is rumored to be haunted — what could make a Halloween evening more fun?
Media credits: Except where otherwise noted, images copyright LaJolla.com.