Five things you need to know before venturing to HalloWeekends at Cedar Point

This year marks the 25th season that Cedar Point has hosted its HalloWeekends to celebrate all things fall and Halloween and it all starts Thursday.

The park is decorated from one end to the other with spooky stuff and more pumpkins than you can shake a witch's broom at.

And it also means some scary big crowds − particularly on Saturdays − as waits for some haunted attractions and big coasters can be an hour or more.

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Since many guests stay until the stroke of midnight, expect long lines and delays exiting the parking lot.

To mark its morbid anniversary, the park is adding a couple new haunts and shows for this edition of HalloWeekends.

There are 11 different haunted attractions this season from outdoor scare zones to full-fledged traditional indoor haunted houses.

Most of the park's rides will be open on Saturdays and Sundays, but some rides will be closed on Thursday and Fridays.

Cedar Point will be open Thursday nights and on Friday, Saturday and Sundays through Oct. 30 before closing up for the season.

The fun will begin around sunset when Mr. Midnight − HalloWeekends’ new and official “Master of Scarymoanies” − welcomes guests at the event's main stage and officially opens the park's indoor haunts and outdoor mazes for the night.

Here are five things to keep in mind before heading to Cedar Point.

New haunt at Steel Vengeance

As if the Steel Vengeance roller coaster wasn't scary enough, the park has reimagined the haunt that is situated just under its tracks.

It is now called the Bloodbath indoor haunted maze.

The backstory is guests are invited to the private Orpheus club but the party quickly goes awry.

Amid the darkness and the music, guests learn vampire-like creatures have taken over the nightclub and things go from bad to worse.

Midnight Syndicate is back

The Northeast Ohio-based Midnight Syndicate has been providing much of the creepy musical soundtrack for the park since 1997.

And in recent years, the duo, whose music is played in haunted houses and theme parks around the world, have taken over Cedar Point's Jack Aldrich Theatre nightly shows.

This combination of live music and some pretty cool stage trickery will celebrate 25 years of collaboration between the musicians and Cedar Point.

Thursday night special offerings

The park has shorter hours on Thursdays as it is only open from 6 p.m. to midnight unlike the 11 a.m. to midnight schedule on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

To make up for this, Cedar Point has some special entertainment that is only offered on Thursday nights.

There is “Scare-a-oke” at the Farmhouse Kitchen & Grill Stage near the Maverick roller coaster.

On the main midway, the Witch Sisters will heckle and interact with guests during the “Witch Sisters’ Insult-emporium: Witch, Please!" from the Cedar Point Ballroom balcony.

And the so-called “Slash Mob” will appear throughout the park throughout the night.

New Eerie Estate haunted house

The park has reimagined the G.A. Boeckling’s Eerie Estate haunt situated just off the main Midway.

The old haunted hotel storyline is gone and now guests find themselves in an estate that is being investigated by the Sandusky Paranormal Society.

Guests get a chance to see whether the rumors are true that ghosts roam the halls of the limestone mansion.

Leave your cash at home when heading to Cedar Point

You can pay cash to park at Cedar Point, but that's about all you can use currency for.

The park and its surrounding properties are cashless this year.

This means you will need to pay for everything from a corn dog to the hoops challenge to a Snoopy stuffed animal with a debit or credit card.

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Those guests who just bring cash to the park will be able to convert it to a prepaid debit card.

If there's any money leftover on the card at the end of the day, the debit card can be used anywhere those payments are accepted outside of the park.

Craig Webb, who ain't 'fraid no ghost, can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Two new haunts open this fall at HalloWeekends at Cedar Point