A few new surprises have been added to the lineup for Scarywood for 2025. In this post, we’ll cover the details (at least, what we know so far!) and share our thoughts on these offerings.
Let’s start with the info from the press release – it’s a long one, so we are only including the relevant sections to this post:
“A NEW immersive dining experience will also be in the haunted Theater of Illusion. Monster Meal will feature mini-horror films featuring your favorite Scarywood haunters, delectable treats, and terrifying surprises popping up for every bite.
Are you not a fan of getting scared? Guests can purchase the new “FrightLight Necklaces,” which reduce the likelihood that monsters will scare them throughout the night. However, these necklaces must be turned off when walking through the haunted attractions so as not to disturb the haunted environment.”
The big news here is the Monster Meal replacing the Dillusion magic show that has run in the Theater of Illusion during Scarywood for several years. As we noted in our update to the Scarywood Rides and Attractions Guide, the magic show is off the table this year, for reasons unknown. While we’re sad to see it go, it’s great to see at least something in its place.
We reached out to the park to get a little more info on the Monster Meal. While this will be hosted inside the Theater of Illusion, it will not utilize the pizza menu that normally runs through the year. Instead, guests will be offered a choice of a hot beverage, entree, and dessert. Specifics are being ironed out, but potential choices include cider, cocoa, hot toddy, spaghetti, turkey legs, churro sundaes, and more. They also teased that there will be some surprises as the monsters on the movie screen “come to life in the theater for a whole new level of horror!”
Turning to some commentary, this does sound like it could be a lot of fun, depending on the execution. It’s not clear to us if this is a full table service experience or just a different version of the counter service – likely the latter. Either way, it sounds like the highlight will be the movies and monsters throughout, as opposed to the food itself, and that’s a good thing in our opinion. We have never advocated spending a lot of time or money on food at Scarywood for reasons we’ve already hashed out in other posts, and we aren’t ready to change that recommendation yet. Partially because your time is too limited to spend on eating; mostly because it’d be a cardinal sin to skip out on Meltz before you get to the park. But we will wait to see exactly what this is like in person before passing final judgement.
Finally, the FrightLight Necklace – Scarywood’s will be offered at a price of $19.99 for those who choose to purchase one. We’ve seen similar announcements at other major Halloween events across the country, The response has been a bit mixed from Halloween Event Enthusiasts, with some claiming that these events are meant for those who want to be scared, and if that’s not you, just don’t go. We don’t ascribe to that opinion per se – if someone wants to go experience the theming and rides and wants a “toned down” experience, we say why not? And as noted in the press release, you can’t use these in the mazes, only out in the scare zones. Those are never quite as intense anyways, so we’d argue you won’t be noticing too much of an impact.
Ultimately this should end up being a great option for those who maybe want to dip their toes in the proverbial water and give a Halloween event a try, with the ability to tone it down if need be so they can ease into the experience at their own pace. If anything, this will only result in more people being able to enjoy these events that we all have come to know and love!
We’ll be sure to share more once we get out to the park in October, so look forward to our full report on both of these, in addition to the extended Swine haunt. We can’t wait to tell you all about it, so stay tuned!
Planning a trip to Scarywood? Be sure to check out our Scarywood Haunted Nights Trip Planning Guide as well as our Scarywood 1-Night Itinerary posts to help you get the most out of your time in the park!
Are you excited about these changes to Scarywood for 2025? Will you miss Dillusion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below - we love to hear from you!
The official Silverwood Theme Park website can be found at: www.silverwoodthemepark.com. All business-related questions should be directed to this site.
So the Monster Meal with mini Movies sounds very interesting. I was actually wondering for the past several months about what the Magic Show for Scarywood would be like this year because I usually go to Silverwood after Work each Friday, and the Magic Show for many of those Days was changed to a bit different show called “Confusium”, with a different Magician guy. There was also maybe a different more Parrot themed show (Parrot FX?) that I didn’t manage to catch although I’m not sure if it was just the Confusium show or not. So I was wondering if something was going on with Nick Norton. I’ll miss the Scarywood Magic Show, but I do want to see the new stuff whatever they are doing.
As for the Frightlight thing, I usually watch the videos for other Amusement Parks’ Halloween Events (mostly from Carpetbagger.), and they do have similar things like you mentioned. It seems funny and pointless at first, but it can make sense if you think about it, and different people’s situations. For example if somebody needs to bring someone else along for whatever reason, and that other person wants a less frightening experience. And it helps the Park get a bit more income for the Event so it doesn’t bother me as long as it doesn’t affect the overall experience for everyone else. I’d been wondering for awhile if Scarywood would ever do something similar, and now here we are.
Thanks for the comment! Agree, it’s a great option for certain people, though definitely not for everyone. We’re bringing our oldest kiddo for her first visit this year, and she’s already a bit anxious about it – having one of these could help her ease into the event at a slower pace if need be, as opposed to feeling like it has to be all-or-nothing. If she opts for one, we wouldn’t be surprised if, by the end of the night she is no longer using it at all.