Busch Gardens Williamsburg, a pastiche of faux European villages with thousands of flowers and beautiful landscaping, frequently wins the "Most Beautiful Theme Park" title. Big kids get their thrills on such gut-wrenching roller coasters as Apollo's Chariot, which hurls riders down nine drops totaling nearly 1,000 feet at speeds up to 73 mph. Alpengeist, one of the world's tallest, most twisted steel coasters, flips the fearless six times and drops them a sheer 170 feet. On Curse of DarKastle, the brave endure a sleigh trip gone wrong, encountering scary visual projections as they hurtle through the dark, ice-bound corridors of a deserted Bavarian castle.

Little kids especially like the child-friendly Land of the Dragons play area and the kid-sized rides. Meanwhile, shows like "Pet Shenanigans" provide welcome respite for tired little feet. At Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve, view gray wolves and hand-feed the tiny lorikeets. Don't forget to visit the Clydesdales and board the Rhine River boat for a scenic ten-minute cruise.

The park's frightfully fun during Howl-O-Scream, when good witches, ghouls, and goblins add to the renamed, pumped up attractions. Busch Gardens rates its scare zones by showing one (for everyone) to five (only ages 17 and older admitted) pumpkins; however, this frightfest might not be the best choice for young children. For Halloween, werewolves jump out at you on the Werewolf Reserve, aka Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve, a three-pumpkin scare; pranks and a street party enliven Germany, rated two pumpkins; jack-o'-lanterns magnify the scares at Jack's Nightmare Express, at three pumpkins; and the dig beneath Escape from Pompeii morphs into a maze with carnivorous plants and creepy bugs, rated four pumpkins. Older teens brave the five-pumpkin terror at Wicked Woods, a haunted maze, and Sleepless Hollow Manor, a haunted house frequented by the headless horseman.

2006 Info: Howl-O-Scream operates Friday, Saturday, and Sundays from September 15 to October 29. (1-800-4-adventure; www.buschgardens.com)