ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL — A Petrified Forest opens its 19th haunt season on Oct. 2 with “Chaos Reigns,” a new theme built around five new attractions: three original scare trails, an interactive escape ride, and an immersive horror experience. The independently owned Central Florida scream park runs select nights through Oct. 31, with general admission at $38 and tickets on sale now.
“Every year, we challenge ourselves to give guests something they haven’t experienced here before,” said an owner of A Petrified Forest. “Chaos Reigns gave our creative team the opportunity to build dramatically different worlds while creating a sense of connection across the entire event. As we enter our 19th season, we’re still growing, experimenting, and finding new ways to surprise guests who’ve been visiting APF for years.”
A Petrified Forest sits in Altamonte Springs, a suburb just north of Orlando, which makes it the closest dedicated scare park to the city’s theme-park Halloween events. It also works differently from them. The region’s big Halloween draws are overlays on existing theme parks, and Halloween Horror Nights in particular is built around licensed movie and TV franchises. A Petrified Forest is a standalone, independently owned scream park that has built original attractions since it grew from a neighborhood haunt in 2007, and Chaos Reigns keeps that all-original approach.
The three new scare trails
Chaos Reigns introduces three original walk-through trails, all included with general admission.
“The Craving” takes guests through a dark interpretation of cannibalistic cultures across history, where becoming part of the food chain may be impossible to avoid.
“Last Responders” opens after a catastrophic comet strike has left a city in ruins. As survivors struggle to hold order, a mysterious frequency turns citizens into something increasingly dangerous.
“Drawn to Death” sends the cheerful world of Saturday morning cartoons into a demented Technicolor nightmare when familiar characters escape the screen and enter reality. Cartoon horror is having a moment this fall, as Knott’s Scary Farm’s new Inked maze follows a 1930s cartoonist whose creations turn on him.
Beyond the trails: The Keeper’s Offering and Psychosis
New for 2026, “The Keeper’s Offering” is the park’s escape ride, announced in August as Dark Road Riders: The Keeper’s Offering and shortened in the September release and the ticket guide. Guests “embark through the woods on a seemingly innocent prop tour but are abruptly derailed by its sinister inhabitants,” per the park, and “only with the assistance of a friendly soul can they dictate their fate and choose the right path back to safety.” The park says it “combines a haunted house, live-action ride, immersive show, and interactive game system into one large-scale attraction where every group’s decisions physically change the show around them.” It is $15, sold on site only, with limited availability.
For a more intense challenge, “Psychosis” begins with Therapist Dr. Draft loading guests “into an enclosed box” and sending them “down an 85 foot track into the paralyzing world of Psychosis,” where, in the park’s words, “you will be relentlessly hunted and tormented in total darkness by each of the terrifying traumas that made you.” Guests will be touched and may be separated from their group, a signed waiver is required (the park provides a safe word), and it is not recommended for guests under 13. Psychosis is also $15, sold on site only, subject to availability.
Beyond the haunts, the event includes backstage tours, laser tag, roaming scareactors, live DJs, local artists, and food vendors.
Special event nights
Several fan-favorite APF traditions return in 2026:
- “Kid’s Day,” Oct. 10 (9 a.m. to noon), a charity event for Make-A-Wish of Central and Northern Florida with games and trick-or-treating through a kid-friendly part of a trail, at $5 per entry. The Keeper’s Offering and Psychosis are not available.
- “Blood Moon,” Oct. 11 (7 to 10 p.m.), when a Bite Mark Pass unlocks unlimited trips through the scare trails.
- “Accessibility Night,” Oct. 14 (7 to 9:30 p.m.), with modified lighting, sound, and effects for guests who benefit from additional accommodations.
- “Total Eclipse Nights,” Oct. 21 and 28 (7 to 10 p.m.), sending guests through the trails in near-total darkness with only a glow stick. A waiver is required, the actors will touch guests, and anyone under 18 needs a parent’s signature.
Dates and hours
A Petrified Forest runs select nights from October 2 through October 31, 2026, mostly Fridays and Saturdays, with Thursdays and special weeknights added as the month goes on. The park is at 1360 E. Altamonte Drive in Altamonte Springs.
- Fridays and Saturdays: Oct. 2-3, 9-10, 16-17, 23-24, and 30-31 (7 to 10:30 p.m.)
- Thursdays: Oct. 15, 22, and 29 (7 to 10 p.m.)
- Blood Moon: Sunday, Oct. 11 (7 to 10 p.m.)
- Accessibility Night: Wednesday, Oct. 14 (7 to 9:30 p.m.)
- Total Eclipse Nights: Wednesday, Oct. 21 and 28 (7 to 10 p.m.)
- Kid’s Day: Saturday, Oct. 10 (9 a.m. to noon)
Security gates and ticketing open at 7 p.m. on show nights, and the trails open between 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. The ticket booth closes at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays and at 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The show is rated PG-13, and guests under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. There is no on-site parking beyond limited accessible spaces. The park runs a monitored lot at Adjectives Market, 1200 E. Altamonte Drive, with a free Terror Trolley shuttle to the gate.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now at APetrifiedForest.com. The park’s 2026 ticket guide lists three admission tiers and six add-ons, and every ticket includes free parking and the trolley ride to the event.
- Mayhem, $38: one admission to all three scare trails.
- Havoc, $52: the three trails plus the backstage tour.
- Complete Chaos, $62: the three trails, the backstage tour, and laser tag.
- Add-ons: The Keeper’s Offering ($15) and Psychosis ($15), both sold on site only with limited availability, the backstage tour ($15), The Scavenger ($15, listed as front yard only), one battle round of laser tag ($12), and a $5 Chicken Lanyard for guests who want the actors to lessen the scares.
- Special nights: Kid’s Day is $5 per entry. Blood Moon runs on a Bite Mark Pass for unlimited trips through the trails. Accessibility Night tickets are sold on site only.
