Is Pumpkins After Dark Autism Friendly -

This past Thanksgiving weekend, my sister and I took the kids to London to do a Pumpkins After Dark autism review. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the event to be very autism-friendly, and for many children on the spectrum, it could be a challenging event with some safety risks for those who are prone to wandering or running.

While Pumpkins After Dark has been around since 2019, this is the event’s first year in London, Ontario. The London event is being held inside Storybook Gardens, replacing their previous StoryBOO! Trick-or-Treating event. If you want more details on the event, check out my full review on my sister site. Below, I’ll focus on how autism-friendly the event is.

If you’re looking for a more autism-friendly activity in London, check out our post “Is the London Children’s Museum Autism Friendly? You can also check out our other posts for autism travel tips, to see the autism friendly events, attractions and hotels we’ve rated so far, or to learn everything you need to know about doing Disney World with autism.

Planning to stay the night?

Here are my top 3 recommendations for kid-friendly hotels in London, Ontario:

Delta Hotels London Armouries – A pet-friendly “castle” hotel with a heated indoor pool and two restaurants.
Hard Rock Hotel –A pet-friendly hotel with an indoor/outdoor pool and onsite restaurants, located near the Children’s Museum and The Factory.
Best Western Plus Lamplighter Inn – Our favorite, with a tropical pool area that includes a waterfall, hot tub, and waterslide.

My Pumpkins After Dark Autism Friendly Rating

Overall rating: 3/10

Other than accepting the Access 2 Card, I didn’t notice any real autism-friendly features at Pumpkins After Dark.

Honestly, I don’t think Pumpkins After Dark is very autism-friendly for most children on the spectrum. It might be fun for older children, teens, or adults who enjoy visual sensory input, but younger kids or those who get easily overwhelmed—or need other types of sensory input like tactile, proprioceptive, or vestibular—probably won’t get much out of it.

Even for kids who might enjoy it, the crowds, darkness, loud noises, and safety concerns may make it hard to attend. The fact that there aren’t any sensory-friendly times or accommodations makes it even less accessible.

Tickets

Rating: 8/10

This is a timed-entry event, so while you can buy tickets at the door, it’s really best to get them online in advance to make sure you get in. I especially recommend this if your child might struggle with disappointment if tickets sell out or with having to wait.

The event accepts the Access 2 Card. Just buy the number of tickets you need minus the support person’s ticket, then show the card at the gate to get the support person in for free. We did this with no problems.

There are three ticket options for both adults (14+) and youth (3–13): General Admission, Admission with Maze, and Flex Pass. The Admission with Maze costs about $7 more, but honestly, in my opinion it’s not worth it—see my full review here for why. The Flex Pass is $5 more than the Admission with Maze (it also includes the maze) and lets you come any time instead of picking a timed slot.

You can arrive up to 15 minutes before your ticket time. If you’re late, they’ll try to get you in if there’s space, but it isn’t guaranteed.

Safety

Rating:2/10

Pumpkins After Dark currently has six locations in Canada, two in the U.S., and one in Europe. We went to the London, Ontario event. The layouts at each location will be different, but since it’s an outdoor evening event, the safety issues I noticed will probably apply everywhere.

The London event is held inside Storybook Gardens, which may make it a bit safer than other locations since the entire park is fenced. At the entrance, several staff are scanning tickets, with a few more selling merchandise and snacks and there’s a staff at the exit through the Gift Shop, so if a child tried to wander off, they would likely be noticed.

But for me, this isn’t enough to consider it safe for a runner/wanderer.

The night we went was extremely crowded, which makes it very difficult to keep an eye on your child. If you were to look away for a second, a child could very easily become lost in the crowd. To add to the difficulty of finding them quickly, it’s very dark and hard to see in spots. The event is also spread out over a large area, so if a child did wander off there would be a lot of places to look to

If you’re attending with a child, teen, or adult prone to wandering or running, I recommend using a stroller,wrist leash, waist leash, or child safety harness, as well as a tracking device like an AirTag, Tile, or Smart Tag worn in a bracelet, necklace, shoe insole or hidden AirTag pocket. Glow bracelets or necklaces are also helpful if you don’t plan to purchase them at the event.

Staff

Rating:3/10

I saw far more staff outside directing traffic than inside the event itself. Aside from those selling items (at the gate, merchandise, and food booths), the only staff I noticed were the staff at the Candy Cauldron, the one checking hand stamps to enter the maze, two staff in pumpkin costumes inside the maze, and a couple directing the traffic flow in areas with two paths.

It’s possible that there were more staff around, but they were not easily distinguishable in the crowd or darkness. If a child were lost inside the event, it would likely be difficult for them to find help without more visible staff. The parking lot staff had light-up wands, which made them easy to find. It would be helpful if staff inside the event had them too so they would be more noticeable if anyone needed help.

Sensory Friendly Activities

Rating:2/10

The event is very visually stimulating, which is great for autistic children, teens, and adults who enjoy that kind of sensory input—but that’s pretty much all it offers in terms of sensory activities. Aside from a crossword puzzle and a few musical instruments (part of Storybook Gardens’ regular attractions, not the event), there isn’t much for kids to interact with. It’s mostly just walking around to see the displays, with no play areas or activities for little ones.

For older children, teens, and adults on the spectrum, it’s a fun experience and was worth the money for us. Brie really enjoyed it, and we’ll likely go back next year to see the new displays. But for younger children, it might feel a bit boring, and for anyone sensitive to visual stimulation, it could be overwhelming.

Noise Level

Rating:3/10

This event might not be suitable for children with severe sound sensitivities. With a crowd like the one we saw, it’s naturally going to be very loud. Being outdoors helps a bit, but having everyone in the same space along the path can make the sounds overwhelming. Like any event with children, there’s always the chance of a crying or screaming child, which can be a trigger to some that are sensitive to noise. In a crowded setup, it can be hard to get away from those triggers.

On top of the crowd noise, many displays have music and sound effects, often at a fairly high volume. While these sounds might be fine on their own, the combination with crowd noise can be too much for some kids.

That said, Brielle gave it a thumbs up. She wasn’t bothered by the noise at all, even without headphones or earplugs.

Break Areas

Rating:6/10

During regular hours, Storybook Gardens has a nursing station/calming room in the middle of the park near the stage. I didn’t notice if it was open and accessible during the event, but since the washrooms were available, I assume it was.

I also noticed two areas that could work for a quick break if you needed to get away from the crowd. Near the start of the experience, there’s a dark path leading to an area that isn’t being used for the event. The other spot is at the end of the path by the large whale display (A Storybook Gardens attraction, not part of the event). It’s off the main path and would work well to get away from the crowd.

Sensory Friendly Times

Rating:0/10

I wasn’t able to find any information online about sensory-friendly times. With the loud music, special effects, and the crowd, it would be tough for some families to attend during normal hours.

While the event is meant to be viewed in the dark (and that’s definitely the best experience for most), a sensory-friendly time half an hour to an hour before opening would be a great option for those with sensory sensitivities. During that time, the natural light would make the display lights less intense, the music volume could be lowered, and the number of tickets sold could be limited so it’s not so crowded. Hopefully they will consider offering that next year.

Brie’s Experience

As soon as we scanned in at the gate, Brie noticed the tables with glow toys. I had planned to bring some glow bracelets and necklaces so she wouldn’t ask, but I forgot to pack them. She wasn’t interested in the bracelets, but when she saw the light-up swords, she wanted one. They were only $15, and since she had money, she bought one herself. She held it up for most of the experience and was very happy with it.

The biggest challenge for her was how crowded it was. I had forgotten to put her AirTag on her, so we had to keep her very close. Zen walked with her most of the time, holding her hand, and there were a couple times that the two of them got ahead of us. The light-up sword helped us locate them, since all we could see were silhouettes in the dark.

Brie was somewhat interested in the displays, but didn’t stop long at most. She spent the most time at the word search and the singing Jack-O-Lantern display.

While I didn’t think the maze was worth the extra cost, it was her favorite part. Although some images are from horror movies, none of them were overly scary or gory, so she was fine.

There were a few musical instruments from Storybook Gardens’ regular attractions, and she stopped briefly to play them. She was happy to stop to take some pictures at the photo op spot too, but even happier to get a hot chocolate and some donuts.

While there was a variety of characters in the displays, none were particularly appealing to her, so she was mostly neutral. She did enjoy the overall experience, but nothing she got really excited about.

Overall, it was a decent outing. We will probably return next year, but we will skip the maze and choose a later time slot to avoid the crowd.

If you’re looking for more autism-friendly travel in Ontario, including museum visits, day trips, and special needs activities for adults, follow us on Facebook and TikTok. We share “Is it autism friendly” reviews and practical tips for families searching for Ontario sensory friendly travel—plus other accessible destinations across North America.

Want to share your experience at Pumpkins After Dark or recommend other sensory-friendly attractions in Ontario? Join our new Autism on Vacation Facebook group, where families can share reviews and tips or ask others for advice when planning their trips.