Howl-O-Scream Opens Friday, and the FAQ on SeaWorld's Own Page Still Answers With Last Year's Dates

Howl-O-Scream opens at SeaWorld Orlando on Friday. Scroll to the bottom of the event's own page, though, and the fourth question in the FAQ, the one asking when the event takes place, is answered like this: "Howl-O-Scream takes place during select nights, September 5 - November 1, 2025, at SeaWorld Orlando."

Wrong year, and wrong dates for this year either way.

Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld Orlando, which opens Friday, September 11. Image: SeaWorld Orlando

The dates the park is actually selling

The body copy higher up the same page has it right: the event runs "select evenings from September 11 through October 31." SeaWorld's own calendar graphics, published on that page, mark the nights individually.

September gets six: the 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th, all Fridays and Saturdays.

The park calendar for September. Six nights, none of them before the 11th. Image: SeaWorld Orlando

October gets twenty, running Friday through Sunday for the first two weekends, Thursday through Sunday the weekend of the 15th, and then Thursday the 22nd straight through to Halloween. Twenty-six nights in total.

October, including a solid final week. Image: SeaWorld Orlando

Three more things that do not line up

The wrong year is the headline, but it is not alone on the page.

The gate time. The FAQ says "Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld Orlando starts at 7:00 p.m." The ticket copy on the same page says "Event starts at 7 p.m. but gates opens at 6:30 p.m." The 7 p.m. start is consistent. The gate is fifteen minutes apart depending on which paragraph you read.

The entrance. The FAQ says a dedicated event entrance "is located to the right of the main entrance." The ticket fine print tells you to enter "through the event entrance located on the southernmost side of the parking lot." Those may describe the same door, but the page never says so.

The rides. The FAQ says the rides open during the event include "Ice Breaker, Mako, Pipeline: The Surf Coaster, and Infinity Falls." The event page's own bullet list promises "4 Thrilling Rides at night." The Howl-O-Scream attractions page names a different four: Mako, Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice, Ice Breaker, and Pipeline, which it says "will operate throughout the night." So the FAQ includes Infinity Falls, a water ride the attractions page leaves out, and omits Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice, the newest ride in the park.

Two more dated lines

The Single-Night Ticket fine print still reads "Howl-O-Scream 2025 ticket is not valid for general day admission, tours or dining." The Annual Pass answer further down the FAQ still points members to a discount "starting on May 12," with no year attached, a date that on its face passed back in the spring.

What is current

The prices, at least, are this year's. As this was written the page carried a live countdown reading "Hurry Offer Ends Sept 7th," and the figures below were the sale prices showing at that moment. A Single-Night Ticket is $45.99, down from $125.99. An Any Night ticket is $69.99. The Two Park Unlimited Scream Pass, covering SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, is $104.99, and the SeaWorld-only option inside the same card is $99.99, down from $205.99. Pass members can buy a single night for $40.99.

None of it changes what opens Friday. But the FAQ is the part of the page built to answer questions directly, and its answer to when the event runs is a year out of date.

Sources

SeaWorld Orlando, "Howl-O-Scream"
SeaWorld Orlando, "Howl-O-Scream Attractions"

Image credits: SeaWorld Orlando (all).