We’re back with Pumpkins at the Park!
One of the largest Halloween events in Wichita, KS is returning this year for a spooky good time for the entire family. EVERY Saturday in October from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm you can come celebrate the fall season and get into the Halloween spirit with us. The event will also take place on September 30th with a 50% off special!
From toddlers to grandparents or teens to adults, we’ve got excitement for everyone this Halloween! Five nights of fun makes this Halloween event near you an easy fit into any schedule.
You can expect to revisit most of your favorite epic Pumpkins at the Park experiences and features this year including an escape room, creepy crawlers, bounce house, hayride, Forbidden Forest, stage show, cage maze, laser tag, crafts, candy stations, and games, and more.
So get ready for a month of fun at the biggest zoo Halloween event in Kansas!
Tickets will go live starting on September 5th, 2023.
Click here and buy your tickets now!
Or keep reading to learn why Pumpkins at the Park is Wichita’s biggest Halloween Event!
Here is a list of 20 reasons why you should visit Pumpkins in the Park Halloween Celebration this year.
1. Toddlers and Little Kids Love Tanganyika’s Halloween Local Characters
Keep an eye out for fun characters as they wander around the park! Meet them at the waterfall every 30 minutes for a good ole’ line dance.
Check out this Tanganyika line-up!
- Jimbo – a humble farmer turned into a huggable pumpkin
- Kaos – a scheming skeleton who prefers simple tricks over terror
- Vinny – a baby dinosaur with some serious cuddling skills
- Hank – the only scarecrow that won’t scare you away
2. Teenagers & Adults love the Cage Maze – inescapable, terrifying, only for the unafraid.
Wanting something a bit scarier? Looking for Halloween events for adults or teenagers?
This cage maze will add an extra level of terror that only those truly brave enough can face. Get haunted and lost at the same time, don’t say we didn’t warn you!
It’s intense, and you won’t escape without a close encounter with a zombie. You will have to find your way out, or you might not make it back.
3. A sunset and a hayride are perfect for the family
Before dusk, climb aboard the Tanganyika tractor for a happy hayride. It is perfect for your little ones! You remember your hayride as a kid, so make this Kansas fall just as memorable for your toddlers and little kids this Halloween. The only thing scary about this ride might be the costume you put on your infants. If you’re looking for a Halloween celebration in Wichita that is both safe and fun, hayrides on tractors are perfect.
They provide the nostalgia of walking on a straw while still including all the hallmarks of hayrides – music from swinging lanterns and friendly faces flashing in the firelight! Hayrides allow people to enjoy Halloween without feeling too scared or silly but still in a festive mood!
BRING TODDLERS AND LITTLE KIDS TO THE BEST PUMPKIN PATCH IN WICHITA. BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!
4. Laser tag is an Olympic sport in October at Tanganyika
This adventurous outing, Zombie Task Force, is designed for the frenetic family because it mixes action and Halloween fun. It might sound a little crazy, but this is one Halloween tradition you’ll never forget.
This laser tag experience will be unlike anything you’ve ever played before the hardcore tactical gear and field of play designed to add suspense automatically make it Halloween’s best new game.
There is no age limit: This is where dad and his five-year-old can have fun with laser tag.
5. The choreographed light show is impressive, funny, and unforgettable
If you already know how beautiful our wildlife enclosures are then you know we do exhibits, stages, and theatrics with attention to detail.
Combine 6000 individually controlled lights, four funny Halloween characters, add in Michael Jackson’s world-famous song ‘Thriller,’ and you now have Tanganyika’s center stage. This alone is one of the most unique things to do this Halloween.
Come see this stage performance by Jimbo, Chaos. Imagine synchronized lights towering at 16 feet tall, jack-o-lanterns singing ‘Thriller.’ Now you know what put Pumpkins at the Park on the Halloween Events map in Wichita! Each show takes 25 hours to program and develop!
6. Professor Pumpkin is a humongous orange version of Amazon’s Alexa crossed with your Uncle’s goofy sense of humor.
Professor Pumpkin has a brain of its own, so it responds to what you’re saying.
But, it’s not just your typical assistant. Professor Pumpkin is a Halloween twist on the Amazon Alexa and Google Home smart speakers you see in households around the world…
Don’t believe us?
Ask him questions about Halloween, how many pumpkin pies he can eat, or just where is the closest Zombie-adult drink. Professor Pumpkin is sure to answer, and we promise the answer will be entertaining.
7. Trick-or-Treat all month long
If you’re wondering, “Where should I go to trick or treat near me in 2023?” The zoo probably isn’t your first thought.
I’m betting your kids (or even yourself) want to trick or treat once every week! At Tanganyika’s Halloween Event, there are 15 candy stations around the park so your kids can show off their costumes, learn to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ and you get to eat their candy when they go to sleep.
Come wear your costumes on the playground and play in mazes in the Wildlife Park! Add in some lights and it will feel like Halloween all October long. We know Halloween is fun, so why celebrate only one night when you can party for a month?
8. Relaxing for parents, fun for the kids… that is Halloween in Wichita at Tanganyika
Every parent wants their kid to enjoy Halloween, but more importantly, it should be safe when you go trick or treating. This is why a visit with the family to the inner gates of Tanganyika is a great safe way for your kids to run around, dress up, get candy from someone you know and trust. Avoid the cars, avoid the houses that turn off their lights, and come to Tanganyika for a great Halloween Celebration.
WICHITA’S BEST HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION – TANGANYIKA PUMPKINS AT THE PARK. DON’T MISS THE FUN
9. Most Mad Scientists are scarier than funny, not at Tanganyika
A mad scientist is a term that may be used to refer to someone who does not do the “normal” things in life, someone who has a different perspective from the everyday person, or different methods for doing things.
If you added a ‘sense of humor’ to this definition, you would be describing Tanganyika’s own creation: Dr. Stein. This mad scientist show is a mix of the bumbling Dr. Stein trying to breed new animals, but instead of lemur-oos or giraffalopes, Dr. Stein tends to invent spiny-pigs that look like porcupines for any toddler or little kid from Kansas.
But don’t tell him; he thinks he knows it all.
10. Campfire stories would be better without camping; this is why Tanganyika created the Forbidden Forest
Look no further for spooky things to do in Wichita, KS! Campfire stories are sure to get you prepared for the fall fun.
Fun and friendly for toddlers and little kids, this storytime is by the snow leapords, so you can listen for squeaks and squawks in the night.
Bring your spider cider and glow cones. Campfire stories are great for toddlers to get into the spirit of camping. This Halloween Event is a great time to dress up in costumes and have fun. So let’s add stories to costumes, and that is even more fun!
11. Tanganyika has personally hand-picked this year’s pumpkin patch
Check out the best pumpkin patch near Wichita, KS this season.
We got pumpkin pie, pumpkin crafts, pumpkin lanterns… pumpkins everything. ‘Nuff said.
12. Family photos are cuter at Jimbo’s Pumpkin Patch
Propped up next to Herbert, the Giant Pumpkin sits Jimbo’s Pumpkin Patch; stop by for an unforgettable portrait of your cuties so you don’t forget what 5 years old looks like… cute as can be.
13. Multiple photo opportunities for the entire family!
Our fall fun is meant to be remembered. Tanganyika has set up scenic Halloween photo backdrops that will make for a spooky addition to the family photobook. Come dressed in your best family costume or your best fall outfit.
You don’t want to miss out on having a memory of this event. I mean how often do you go to zoo Halloween events?
14. Why dress up as an animal when you can take a picture with a Tanganyika creeper?
Creepy Crawlers is our version of taking selfies with cute animals with your kids’ adorable costumes so your Instagram will get a boost of likes.
While our creepers with four feet won’t be in costume, our 2 legged keepers will be.
15. Only 5 people have ever escaped from Kaos´ Kabin, a twisted puzzle turned into family fun.
Tanganyika has dreamed up their ideal Escape Room and it’s another part of our Halloween events for adults! (or smart kids)
Are you good under pressure? This cabin is 6×8 and requires thinking fast without being stumped. Take the tips and discover what Kaos is doing; this is the only way to escape.
16. Tanganyika has the funniest graveyard west of the Mississippi
Our tombstones have funny phrases, questions, and names. I don’t know about you, but I hope my kids don’t write “I am not really dead” on my tombstone.
17. Kids love glow sticks, and Tanganyika has a pop-up store with more selection than any traveling carnival.
Swords, headbands, light spinners, glasses, glow sticks galore!
Did you know that they have chemiluminescence inside? We didn’t either, but we’ve got more of that than social media has bad political advice.
18. One of the only events in Wichita KS that makes grumpy dad more “bearable”
It can be hard to drag pops out of the house for a spooky event.
But don’t worry, with three strategically placed bars we have plenty of spots for parents to rest and recover.
Enjoy Halloween-themed cocktails or craft beer while the kids scamper around Tanganyika in an incredibly safe, outdoor setting.
19. Adults-only night!
For the first time ever, Pumpkins at the Park will feature an adults-only night! This new event will take place on Friday, October 20th, 2023. There will be a DJ, a close-up magician, and fire performers. There will also be laser tag, an escape room, and a hayride as a part of their ticket with “adult prizes.”
20. This Halloween event fills more than your kids’ pockets with candy. It helps fund the non-profit branch of Tanganyika!
All the proceeds of this event go to the Winter Fund. It supports our keeper team in attending to our animals in the conservation side of Tanganyika’s mission.
If the candy, pumpkin, and crafts you take home don’t cover your entry fee, your contribution to our animals will help with our hefty costs during the frigid months of Kansas winter so, thank you.
