San Diego's Halloween attractions are renowned for their "spooky" factors and fun. From the award-winning Haunted Trail at Balboa Park to Scream Zone, San Diego hosts activities that people look forward to each year; however, light-sensitive and epileptic residents find it difficult to participate when flashing strobes are crucial to these experiences.
Haunted Trail at Balboa Park's actors and sets. Video by CBS 8 San Diego
Although CBS 8 San Diego's coverage of the Haunted Trail does not contain flashing lights, these Halloween attractions have strobes. This leaves people with light-sensitivity issues to find other activities. Here are some ideas to help you get started!
Pumpkin Patches
San Diego has many pumpkin patches during fall, which is perfect for people who don't want to see flashing lights, including Bates Nut Farm. This spot is a @visitsandiego favorite. Bates Nut Farm is located at 15954 Woods Valley Road in Valley Center, Calif., and it's open until Oct. 31.
Almost every pumpkin patch has other activities associated with it, such as picking out a pumpkin to carve, but Bates has hay rides, straw mazes, face painting, bouncy houses and rock climbing. All of these activities are perfect for people who cannot go through Halloween attractions that may induce light issues.
San Diego places to visit for Halloween. Video by visitsandiego's Instagram
The video highlights many pumpkin patches to visit in San Diego; however, if residents and visitors want to look for other options, the opportunities are endless.
Haunted Tours and Locations
Haunted San Diego Ghost Tours offer guided experiences throughout the city, including Old Town, El Campo Santo Graveyard and the historic Whaley House. There are trolley tours and bus tours.
The tours occur every night, and the first one begins at 7 p.m. Even though the tour is at night, there are no indications that flashing lights are part of the experience, so it's a great option for people who want to be part of a spooky Halloween experience without strobes.
Belle Zimet's visit highlights. Video from Haunted San Diego Ghost Tour's X account
Another company, US Ghost Adventures, offers walking tours in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. The hour-long tour includes the Davis-Horton House and the old City Hall. If you're comfortable walking around for long periods of time, this could be a great opportunity to get in the Halloween spirit.
There are plenty of haunted locations throughout San Diego to check out if you dare, though, including the ones included in the @visitsandiego post below.
Seven haunted places in San Diego to check out for Halloween. Video from @visitsandiego Instagram account
These haunted locations should not induce light issues, especially if you go to these spots during the day, but it doesn't hurt to look it up beforehand.
Rooftop Cinema Club
The best parts of Halloween are the movies, and Rooftop Cinema Club at Downtown San Diego's Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel is a great opportunity to watch them with friends, family and food.
There are plenty of Halloween movie showings during the month of October, including "The Sixth Sense," Hocus Pocus" and "Ghostbusters." For light-sensitive people, there are films played at earlier times, which will help mitigate the flashing light effects. This includes "Coraline," which will play at 1 p.m.
The newest Rooftop Cinema Club location has headphones and other details to ensure a fun time. Video from Rooftop Cinema Club's YouTube
Some films are more difficult to view for light-sensitivity, especially during the Halloween season. If you haven't already seen the film played at Rooftop Cinema Club the day you want to go and you have photosensitive epilepsy, look for warnings attached to the film summary online, talk to friends who have seen the film before and bring dark sunglasses in case something bothers you. Use your best judgement.
It may seem difficult to find fun activities for Halloween that don't contain strobes, but there are plenty of options out there. From pumpkin patches to haunted locations and watching films on a hotel's rooftop, people dealing with light-sensitivity or epilepsy can enjoy Halloween. Go have a spookily good time!
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