Pumpkin Passage Turns The Dinosaur Place Into a Halloween Playground

Pumpkin Passage Turns The Dinosaur Place Into a Glowing Halloween Playground beginning Oct. 3, when the dinosaurs stay up after dark, and The Dinosaur Place in Montville transforms its prehistoric trails into a month-long Halloween world filled with glowing dinosaurs, illuminated pumpkins, mythical creatures, live entertainers, inflatables, games, and marshmallows around the fire.

And despite all the ingredients that could make this terrifying — darkness, enormous dinosaurs and Halloween — Pumpkin Passage is deliberately aimed at families with young children.

This is the eighth year for the annual event at Nature’s Art Village, and rather than building a haunted attraction around jump scares and monsters, the park uses its existing dinosaurs as the backdrop for a nighttime Halloween adventure kids can explore with their parents.

The result lands somewhere between a Halloween light walk, an outdoor carnival, and a visit to The Dinosaur Place after everybody forgot to tell the dinosaurs it was bedtime.

Wait Until the Sun Goes Down

The centerpiece is the illuminated trail.

Families walk among glowing dinosaurs, pumpkins and mythical creatures as Halloween lighting transforms the wooded attraction after dark. The Dinosaur Place is already home to more than 100 life-sized dinosaurs, including animatronic creatures, spread across its trails and attractions. Once daylight disappears, those familiar prehistoric residents become part of the Halloween scenery.

But walking the trail is only part of the night.

Pumpkin Passage spreads activities throughout the grounds, including the Jurassic Jungle bounce house, a towering 20-foot Funhouse Super Slide, an inflatable corn maze and other inflatables.

There are also lawn games and activities, including inflatable axe throwing, cornhole, Connect 4 and Who’s Your Pumpkin.

Then there are the pumpkins.

Among the more unusual attractions is an original performance by a family of singing animatronic pumpkins — which seems exactly like the sort of wonderfully odd Halloween creation children will either talk about for the rest of the month or insist on seeing again immediately.

Every Night Adds Live Entertainment

Pumpkin Passage isn’t exactly the same experience every night.

The Dinosaur Place is scheduling live entertainers throughout the run, with the entertainment changing depending on the date. The lineup includes face painting and glitter tattoos, balloon twisting, a petting zoo, DJs, light performers, stilt walkers and other specialty entertainment.

That means families planning around a particular performer should check the night’s entertainment schedule before choosing a date rather than assuming every attraction appears at every performance.

The regular attractions, however, give families plenty to do beyond the scheduled shows.

One of the simplest may also be one of the nicest on a cool October night: free marshmallow roasting around the fire pit, including marshmallows and roasting sticks. S’mores kits, hot apple cider and cocoa are available as extras.

Food trucks rotate through Pumpkin Passage as well, with different vendors scheduled during the month. The published lineup includes pizza, barbecue, burgers, tacos, Mexican street food, ice cream, shaved ice and other festival food.

And because this is Halloween, costumes are encouraged.

Halloween for Kids Who Aren’t Looking to Be Terrified

The most important word in Pumpkin Passage may be friendly.

The event is specifically promoted as toddler- and kid-friendly. This isn’t the place to take a child who wants chainsaws, blood, actors leaping from behind trees and a terrifying haunted maze.

It’s almost the opposite.

The attraction uses the visual language of Halloween — darkness, glowing pumpkins, unusual creatures and dramatic lighting — without turning the night into a scare attraction.

That makes Pumpkin Passage an option for families whose children are excited about Halloween but aren’t ready for a traditional haunted house.

It also gives parents something considerably more substantial than walking around a parking lot collecting candy. Families can make an evening of it, moving between the illuminated trail, inflatables, entertainment, games, food trucks and fire pit.

And for a dinosaur-obsessed child, there’s an obvious bonus: Halloween doesn’t replace the dinosaurs.

It joins them.

There Are 18 Chances to Go

Opening night is Saturday, Oct. 3, but Pumpkin Passage continues throughout October and even spills into November.

The regular schedule includes Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Oct. 3, plus Columbus Day on Monday, Oct. 12, and three specially priced Thursday nights on Oct. 15, 22 and 29. The final night is Sunday, Nov. 1.

Pumpkin Passage begins at 5 p.m. each night. Friday and Saturday dates generally continue until 9 p.m., while Sundays, the holiday Monday and specially scheduled Thursdays run until 8 p.m.

One caution when planning: some outside event calendars show slightly different times. The Dinosaur Place’s own current schedule says Pumpkin Passage begins at 5 p.m., so that’s the schedule we would use when planning a visit.

The Thursday nights are also less expensive than the regular weekend dates, giving families some incentive to visit before Halloween weekend.

Online ticketing is required, and reservations are strongly recommended because individual dates can sell out.

For families who already love The Dinosaur Place, Pumpkin Passage offers something genuinely different from a daytime visit. And for children who want Halloween to feel magical rather than frightening, glowing dinosaurs, singing pumpkins, bounce houses and marshmallows may be a pretty good place to start.

More information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.

Details

Event: 8th Annual Pumpkin Passage
Opening Night: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026
Final Night: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026
Location: The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art Village
Address: 1650 Hartford-New London Turnpike, Montville, CT 06370
Regular Dates: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Oct. 3
Additional Dates: Monday, Oct. 12; Thursdays, Oct. 15, 22 and 29; Sunday, Nov. 1
Start Time: 5 p.m.
Friday & Saturday Hours: Generally 5–9 p.m.
Sunday & Select Weeknight Hours: Generally 5–8 p.m.
Regular Admission: Children ages 2–12, $29; ages 13+, $27; children under 2 free
Special Thursday Pricing: Reduced admission applies Oct. 15, 22 and 29; check current ticketing for final price before purchasing
Tickets: Online ticketing only; advance reservations strongly recommended
Included: Illuminated Halloween trail, glowing dinosaurs and pumpkins, inflatables, lawn games, singing animatronic pumpkins, marshmallow roasting, photo opportunities and scheduled entertainment
Food: Rotating food trucks; additional treats and drinks available for purchase
Costumes: Encouraged
Audience: Designed as a kid- and toddler-friendly Halloween event
Parking: Free
Weather: Outdoor event; management may close attractions because of adverse weather. If Pumpkin Passage is forced to close because of rain or lightning at the scheduled visit time, ticket holders may be offered a rain check to rebook.
Phone: 860-443-4367

 

 

Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.