Halloween attractions around central Florida

FOX 13 digital media specialist Amari Kraft has been to all sorts of haunted attractions this season and she's here to explain what sets them apart. How fun. Which one would you say was the most fun? the best overall like since you've seen them all now that i've seen them all my personal favorite even though it was the most terrifying experience in my life was scream again i agree that that was a whole experience in of itself and everyone really cared right so you could really feel all of that horror and that angst and just like it felt like you were transported into probably not kid friendly right i would not take a little child to that event at all Not at all. Oh, what would be for the kids? So Zoo Tampa has an amazing event, Creatures of the Night. That's perfect for kids. I'd say it's good because it starts at 4 p.m. So if your kiddos have a bedtime, they can still go to sleep pretty early, and they will be able to experience some of that Halloween-esque, you know, spirit without having to be out super late. It's a little bit less scary, and they have a pumpkin rating, an eerie scale, where it lets you know how scary something is and kind of what the... Perfect age range is for kids when they're there. So what about for teens and maybe like if you wanted the whole family to go? I would say Halloween Horror Nights is the absolute best for a family trip for teenagers because it's very cinematic. If you've seen all of the latest movies, if you're a big fan of all the horror movies, they have a little bit of something for everyone there. There's rides for folks that may not want to do all of the scary stuff. There's a lot of food options, but there will be something for everyone while you're there. Well, as far as local, Scares or concern, what would be your best recommendation? Definitely hollow scream. I actually got kind of a... Unexpected experience there because they let me become a scare actor for a night and if you watch Florida Tonight later tonight you'll be able to see that full thing but it's really cool just being there. They have some nods to some local Florida history that are in some of their houses. A lot of the folks there have normal jobs and you know in their day jobs they're finance bros but then at night they come and they put the full costume on and they're there to spook you. Escapism right? Yeah. Escapism. So you said Screamageddon was the most terrifying. Was there Is there anything that surprised you at any of these places? I think what surprised me the most is that the attendants, when you first enter the queues for the different haunted attractions, they get in on the spooks for you. So you're not safe, even once you exit and once you go in, a lot of the attendants there are kind of part of the experience and they'll say stuff to you, they'll pop out of walls, they'll do some fun stuff that you might not necessarily expect because they're not in full costume. Got it. I love that. Some people like to... Do the spooky things and feel a little bit of the fear, but maybe not have that kind of jumping from the shadows, the jump scares, the guy with the knife. So are there any experiences that you could have without all of that? Yes, I would recommend heading to Time Trap Escape Room. It's in Newport Richey, so it might be a drive for some, might not be a drive for others, but they have a haunted hospital escape room game there. I've never heard of that. It's really cool, and there are no scare actors there to spook you and surprise you. There are a couple of noises that might unnerve you a little. It's definitely pretty dark in there, but it's super fun, kind of gets your brain going. You're still trying to escape, right? You're still trying to escape. Okay. So you have an hour to get out of there. If you don't get out, unfortunately... I did not get out. Oh, no. Oh, no. Even if you don't get out, you're able to sign their wall. They have a huge wall in the escape room where you can sign your name and say, like, hey, I was here and this was fun. Okay. It was a good time. That's really fun. Yeah. You can choose your own level of scare. Exactly.