9 Tips for the Castle Halloween Festival
One of my family’s favorite things to do each fall is visit The Castle of Muskogee’s Halloween Festival. With its sprawling village filled with Halloween attractions, the festival is an absolutely magical way to immerse yourself in spooky season vibes. And as I outlined in my Family Fear Guide a few seasons back, there’s plenty of fun for guests of all ages.
Every time we visit, I run into folks who have never been before and aren’t sure where to start or what to do first. Realistically, the Halloween Festival is only open for a few hours each night — it opens at 5:30 and closes at 10. While it would be amazing to do everything at the Castle, there simply isn’t enough time. That’s why, as a longtime fan of the Castle, I love walking people through my favorite lesser-known tips for making the most of their evening — and I realized it’s time to share them with our TulsaKids readers.
1. Arrive early
The Castle gates open at 5:30, and it’s worth your time to show up for the opening festivities. Not only will you get a much better parking spot, but you’ll get time to walk around and experience the shops during the rapidly waning daylight. Most importantly, you’ll get to see the monsters dance in Castleton Square as the festivities kick off around 6:14 p.m.
2. Wear a costume
Wearing a costume to the Castle is a great way to maximize your fun. And you definitely won’t be the only one — we have seen everything from dinosaurs to Muppets to Pennywise through the years. Just be sure to wear something that will fit well in tight spaces if you want to check out the haunted attractions and consider how your outfit might work on the haunted hayride. Bring layers since Muskogee can be a little bit cooler than the city, especially as the night wears on. And be sure to wear shoes that can handle uneven terrain.
3. Save your souvenir cups
Hanging onto our souvenir cups last year at the Castle has paid off for our family. Large souvenir cups cost $7 but only $3 to refill, which is about the price of a large drink at most fast food spots.
4. Bring your appetite
One of our favorite parts about a trip to the Castle is trying something new every time we go. Of course, we always pick up a big bag of freshly popped kettle corn at the kettle corn stand. But we also love checking out some of the quality festival food we haven’t yet had a chance to experience. This year, we went for the chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick — amazing!
5. Go twice
If you have the available weekends, I strongly recommend carving out time for two visits to the Castle. The first two weekends of the festival are much less busy, which means you’ll stand a better chance at checking out all of the attractions you want to experience.
The last two weekends are a great chance to experience anything you loved the first time and spend some time checking out the village vendors. There’s no charge to get into the Halloween village itself, which means you can come back a few times and only pay for the attractions you really want to check out.
6. Save money
There are three main ways to save on your tickets to the Halloween Festival. First, you can follow their social media pages for deals like this Instagram discount on Friday tickets. Or gather up a bunch of your friends and pick up tickets in bulk since the Castle offers a deal on parties of 20 or more. Finally, don’t forget to purchase your tickets online since they’re cheaper that way than at the festival.
7. Try the fast pass
If you’re visiting the Castle on the final weekend, it’s absolutely worthwhile to invest in a fast pass for your favorite attractions since lines can be pretty long. Fast passes are purchased as an add-on to the price of the ticket.
8. Don’t overlook the side quests
Although the super scary attractions are one of the best parts for many guests, some of the best things to do are scattered around the Castle village. We always enjoy sitting down to a ghost story and browsing through the shops. There’s also a climbing wall, zombie paintball, petting zoo, fortune telling, and even escape rooms for the adventurous.
9. Fill out the survey
As you’re leaving the Castle, look for the folks wearing orange lights and take a second to snap a pic of their QR code. If you go home and fill out the survey it leads to, you’ll get a seriously sweet offer for discount Renaissance Faire tickets next year.
If you have any secret tips to making the most of the Castle Halloween Festival, please let me know in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the final weekend of the Castle at 3400 Fern Mountain Rd, Muskogee, OK 74401 on Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26. Most of all, have a spooky week in your nebula!
