I went to my favorite Halloween theme park events sober. They were even scarier — and more fun.

• I’ve been sober for nearly a year and have experienced sober firsts, like vacations and birthdays.
• I also attended many scary Halloween events in Central Florida this spooky season completely sober.
• To my surprise, events I used to rely on a buzz to get through were actually more fun sans alcohol.

It’s been almost an entire year since I decided to stop drinking alcohol. In my 11 months of sobriety, I’ve celebrated holidays like Christmas and my birthday sans cocktails and felt more present on family vacations without booze. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, but was more than a little nervous about the start of spooky season at the Florida theme parks I frequent as part of my job as a theme park writer.

Living near parks like Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, the Halloween season begins in August when events like Halloween Horror Nights and Howl-O-Scream kick off. I visit these scary events early on in the season and frequent them throughout early November when they close. Most are jam-packed with jump scares from high-quality haunted houses and walk-through scare zones, and in a past life, I depended on a few cocktails for the courage to face those frightening scenarios.

A lot of things surprised me about attending haunted and scary Halloween events sober, but the biggest surprise of all was that, like everything else in life, these kinds of events were way more fun without the cloudiness alcohol brings. Here’s what it was like to visit events like Halloween Horror Nights focused on the “boos,” not the booze.

Going into each event with a plan made staying alcohol-free easier

So far this season, I’ve attended Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World, and Howl-O-Scream at both SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. In past years, attending these Halloween theme park events has always involved a few alcoholic drinks before, during, and after the event.

This year, I knew I would not be drinking during these events, so I spent some time planning which non-alcoholic beverages or special snack items I wanted to get during the festivities. Looking through the themed food and beverage menus gave me some extra confidence that I’d be able to find ways to feel festive other than alcohol.

Yes, the events felt scarier sober, but that was so much more fun

While I was definitely quicker to be jump-scared without some liquid courage, I found that haunted houses and general spooky atmospheres felt more exciting without the numbness a few cocktails would bring. Like everything else I’ve experienced sober, a good scare felt like it conjured more of an adrenaline rush than when I was drinking.

Some events were more accommodating of non-drinkers than others

Each park took a different approach to providing festive and fun alcohol-free options for non-drinkers. Some events had special mocktail menus, but at others, the only real options available outside of wine, beer, and spirits were sodas and water.

More than once, I carried around a bottle of Diet Coke while others in my party drank beers or spooky cocktails, but even when my taste buds were bored, my decision to stay sober felt worth it.

Regardless of mocktail options, there were other ways to make drinks feel festive

From souvenir cups with blinking lights to spooky skeleton mugs, there were lots of fun options to drink from at every event, even events where the options for what to drink were few.

At times when I found it haunting how few alcohol-free options were on offer, I focused on how festive it felt to drink club soda with lime from a clear skull mug or how much better Diet Coke tasted in a light-up cup. Little touches like kitschy take-home cups came in clutch, especially when there weren’t any interesting alcohol-free drinks available.

My favorite Halloween event ended was the most sober-friendly

Universal Orlando was hands-down the winner for providing amazing alcohol-free options. There, everywhere from the spooky-themed Halloween bar at Universal CityWalk to the kiosks selling food and drinks inside Halloween Horror Nights had mocktail options. In addition to specialty mocktails like sour cherry boba tea, most drinks on the spooky bar menus clearly indicated which cocktails could also be made as mocktails.

Attending events without alcohol felt freeing

In previous years, every Halloween theme park event has revolved around when and where my group would get their next alcoholic drink. Even at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, where alcohol is only served at sit-down restaurants, my friend group would make plans to get cocktails before and after and be sure to grab a sit-down dining reservation so we could drink beer and wine mid-evening. My friendships have changed drastically since I stopped drinking alcohol, and this year each event felt like a new and fun experience unlike any year in the past.

Instead of attending these spooky events focused on drinking together, I attended Halloween events with friends, family, young kids, and adults, all of whom were there to have fun and enjoy the actual event, not just to drink. It was freeing to see how much my relationships and my priorities have shifted since giving up booze.

I’m proud I faced my fears, in more ways than one

Was I scared to attend Halloween events without an alcoholic drink in hand? Absolutely. But with a bit of pre-planning and the help of some great mocktail menus (and even the occasional Diet Coke), I realized there was nothing to be afraid of.

Not only was it incredibly exhilarating and fun to attend Halloween events sober, but like most social engagements in the last 11 months, showing up as my real self without leaning on alcohol as a crutch was rewarding and something I’m immensely proud of.