Six Flags has announced a revised "HallowFest" Halloween event at several of its theme parks for this year.
HallowFest will run weekends through November 1 at the following parks, with starting dates noted for each park:
Hours vary by park and date, but generally are 1-9pm or 2-10pm. Reservations will be required and are available now on the Six Flags website for most parks.
Theme parks across the country have been canceling or revising their Halloween due to the pandemic. With no way to safely host large crowds of people in confined spaces, parks have had to drop plans for haunted houses and mazes. That's led companies such as Universal and Cedar Fair to cancel events such as Halloween Horror Nights and Knott's Scary Farm.
Six Flags is going ahead with modified events that will not feature the indoor houses or shows found at its traditional Fright Fest. Daytime activities at HallowFest will include a Trick or Treat Trail, family-friendly Halloween shows, and Halloween-themed treats, decor, and merchandise. After dark, parks will roll out the fog machines and scareactors for scare zones as well as special rides on select coasters.
Covid health and safety procedures will apply, including six-foot physical distancing between parties and mandatory mask usage by all guests ages three and up. (Let's get creative, Halloween fans!)
Yes, the physical distancing requirement means that scareactors will be trained not to get within six feet of you. But last I checked, the sound of a chainsaw firing up behind you travels a lot farther than six feet.
There are no announcements that HallowFest will happen at any of the Six Flags-branded parks that are not currently open for full operations, including Six Flags Magic Mountain and Discovery Kingdom in California, Six Flags Great America in Illinois, or Six Flags New England in Massachusetts.
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Looking like Great America may just not open this year despite hopes as Illinois is trying to keep it tighter without going back to full shelter orders again (Hurricane Harbor water park is open). A shame for all the employees but hardly alone and it seems unlikely they try to open for just a couple of months.
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Hats off to Six Flags for making the best of a bad situation. It has been very easy for many to complain about the chain through the years but they have a new sheriff in town (Spanos) and they have really stepped up to do what they can to open at least some of their parks in a safe environment.
Although I will miss the usual features of the normal 'Fright Fest', I am really looking forward to seeing what SF scares up (pun intended!)