Kings Island Serves Up Tricks and Treats For New Fall Fest Halloween Event

Kings Island has introduced a new event for the 2020 Halloween season  — Tricks and Treats Fall Fest! The new event features foods, shows, games, activities, and rides for the whole family. The signature part of the event is the introduction of the Tricks and Treats tasting stations around the park. In addition the the regular offerings, many of the main eateries of the park are now serving these unique tricks and treats tastings.

To try the tasting stations, a guest can either pay for each dish separately or use a tasting card. The dishes are $6.99 when bought separately. There are two types of tasting cards (3 and 6 samples). The 3 sample card is exclusively part of the $55 Tricks and Treats Bundle that also includes park admission and parking. The 6 sample card can be purchased at the park for $30.

This past weekend, we tried some the most popular offerings and were thoroughly impressed by the delicious foods.

Dish 1: Poison Apple – Coney BarBQue

Dish Description: Cranberry and apple crisp with whipped cream.

Our Thoughts: The dish was served hot and was loaded with rich flavors. The cranberries were a perfect tart accent to the sweet, cinnamon apples. It is the perfect desert to any meal at Coney BarBQue and we highly recommend you try it.

Dish 2: Toxic Mac – Festhaus

Dish Description: Oooey gooey macaroni pasta tossed in a cheesy, green, fresh basil pesto sauce with vegan Italian sausage

Our Thoughts: We were so excited to try the Toxic Mac but unfortunately, our pasta was over cooked and the sauce was very dry. We would love to try it again as others have raved about this mac. The portion size was great, we had a heaping boat.

Dish 3: Dulce Regalo – Hank’s Mexican Grill

Dish Description: Churros topped with cinnamon sugar and a side of berry sauce

Our Thoughts: The cream cheese filled churros are loaded with cinnamon sugar, and are easy to bite into. We really liked this dish (we actually got it twice), as the berry sauce seemed similar to the Boysenberry sauce served at Knott’s Berry Farm. The mix of the churros with the sauce made this one of our favorite dishes for the event. Although we really enjoyed this dish, we would have liked to see this offering include more churros for the price point. (Each churro piece was about 2 inches long and there were 4 pieces.)

Dish 4: Full Moon – French Corner

Dish Description: Bananas foster crepe topped with toasted pecans

Our Thoughts: We are a huge fan of bananas foster and it didn’t disappoint! This dish was delicious and the portion size was perfect! It wasn’t too sweet, it was just right. The pecans on top added a nice crunch. The crepe was soft, warm, and balanced the sweetness of the filling. This was so good that we want to try to make it at home!

Dish 5: French Quarter Poutine – Rivertown Potato Works

Dish Description: Duck fat fries topped with a braised short rib, port wine sauce, and cheese curds

Our Thoughts: This tasting was excellent. The braised rib was extremely juicy and delicious, and the wine and cheese curds made for an excellent poutine dish. We really appreciated the balance between all the components. We were about to get a piece of fries, rib, and cheese curd on our fork for every bite!

Dish 6: Worms in Dirt Funnel Cake – Funnel Cakes

Dish Description: Crisp, deep-fried pastry dough topped with Oreo crumbles, gummy worms and whipped cream

Our Thoughts: The funnel cake offerings are one of the most popular offerings of the event. The Worms in Dirt Funnel Cake tastes similar to a deep fried Oreo. Furthermore, the gummy worms provide a nice sour taste to each bite. This is another dish we would have liked to see a larger portion. The funnel cake was about 5 inches in diameter. (Served on a small plate.)

Dish 7: Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake – Funnel Cakes

Dish Description: Fresh funnel cake infused with pumpkin spices and topped with cream cheese frosting

Our Thoughts: The pumpkin spice funnel cake is the latest pumpkin spice offering that the park has offered (following it’s Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream a few seasons ago). The pumpkin spice funnel cake tasted great (very consistent), and the cream cheese icing was the perfect topping for this funnel cake. Again, this was a mini funnel cake, so we would have liked to see a larger portion. The funnel cake was about 5 inches in diameter. (Served on a small plate.) With that said, there’s plenty of tastings around the park to fill your tummy!

Dish 8: Witch’s Grilled Cheese – JukeBox Diner

Dish Description: Pumpernickel bread with smoked gouda and swiss cheese, served with fire-roasted tomato soup

Our Thoughts: This grilled cheese was fantastic. The combo of the toasted pumpernickel bread with the gooey swiss and gouda cheeses gave it so much diverse flavor. We received a full sandwich, which we though the portion was above and beyond! Its hard to tell from the photo but there was less than an inch of soup in the tiny bowl. We were slightly bummed by the lack of soup. We would have preferred to have slightly more soup and maybe just a half sandwich to compensate. The fire-roasted soup was amazing paired with the sandwich. It had that cozy smoky/fire taste along with a hint of sweet basil.

Dish 9: El Chupacabra – Hank’s Mexican Grill

Dish Description: Spicy chicken Mexican egg roll topped with crème, red sauce, and salsa verde

Our Thoughts: This tiny eggroll packed a ton of flavor! The outside was buttery and soft but had that eggroll crunch. The inside was like a little burrito filled with chicken, corn, salsa, and more. We really enjoyed it! It was definitely spicy like the title suggests. The sauces on top was a great balance to the inside spice. The portion size was eggroll size, so we felt it was a bit small for the price point. A recommendation would be to serve it cut in half so that two people could each try it, or to serve two as one portion.

Dish 10: Devil’s Horns – The French Corner

Dish Description: Fresh baked croissant with sliced meats and cheese

Our Thoughts: Portion size was great. The croissant was full size was was plenty for us to share. It was fresh, warm and flaky. It had the right amount of meat and cheese to taste all flavors with each bite.

Dish 11: Fire Toasted Dessert Flatbread – LaRosa’s Pizzeria

Dish Description: A dessert flatbread topped with chocolate chips and marshmallow fluff, oven-toasted with drizzled raspberry sauce

Our Thoughts: This was another favorite among our group. Its hard to see from the photo but underneath the toasted marshmallow is perfectly melted chocolate! Yum! The raspberry sauce added that fruity, tart component that complemented both the rich chocolate and the marshmallow topping. The food was very consistent, as the amount of chocolate, sauces, and marshmallow did not vary per bite. The portion was great and the flatbread was cut in half – perfect to share! Overall, this was an extremely enjoyable dessert.

Dish 12: Witch’s Brew Hot Chocolate – French Corner

Dish Description: Rich chocolate hot cocoa.

Our Thoughts: We loved the look and taste of the hot chocolate. It was served in a mini plastic mug with a swirl of whipped cream. The portion size was good for kids but too small for adults. The tiny mug was only about 3 inches high with a handle for one finger.

 

Aside from all the food tastings, the park offers a plethora of unique alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. They are not covered on the tasting card and are purchased separate.

We tried the Hocus Pocus Punch — although it was quite pricey at $13, it was a terrific drink and really tasty! It comes standard with Tito’s Vodka, but we had that replaced with Captain Morgan Rum, which was a good swap!

Here’s the full menu of drink offerings:

Tricks and Treats Fall Fest runs until November 1st.  Check out the event in the highlight video below!

For tickets and more information, visit the official Kings Island website by clicking here.

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