Six Flags will be going big with movie franchises for its Fright Fest Halloween events this year.
The amusement park chain announced today that it will feature mazes based on several popular horror franchises at thus year's Fright Fest, including some that fans have seen at rival Universal's Halloween Horror Nights in the past. Mazes at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Great Adventure will include:
In addition, Six Flags Great Adventure will offer a maze themed to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The company says that a mix of these mazes will be offered at other parks' Fright Fest events.
"For over 30 years, Fright Fest has been haunting the thrills-and-chills season like no other, and this year we are turning things upside down with a huge array of amazing horror franchises," Edithann Ramey, Six Flags' Chief Commercial Officer, said. "We take pride in offering the best experiences and are committed to innovating our parks each and every year to provide the most frightful memories for our guests. Our themed-haunted experiences, scare zones and harrowing creatures lurking around every corner are sure to deliver extreme frights and unexpected surprises."
Fright Fest, which Six Flags is rebranding as Fright Fest Extreme at these parks this season, starts September 7 at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Great Adventure, running 32 select nights through November 3.
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I really hope Six Flags can create truly impressive haunted attractions based off these properties.
I went to Fright Fest at Magic Mountain last year and was disappointed by how thrown together the Saw experience was. The opening date was delayed by two weeks after Fright Fest started. It was about 75% complete when I experienced it. The lighting was off and could clearly see how incomplete it was.
Hopefully Six Flags will invest more in the event this year and start to offer an experience that competes with Horror Nights and Scary Farm.
IP's are only as good as those companies that are utilizing them. I've also heard of other SF locations that delayed or still opened their haunted houses prematurely. My nephew and his friends came back with damaged clothes last season because the painted walls inside the haunted house were still wet. Granted HHN is arguably in a league of its own, and even though I don't anticipate much when I visit other amusement parks during the haunted house season, SF is not an option. On my last visit to SFGAdv, the haunted house outside used white curtains/sheets instead of walls for the structure. White curtains with an abundance of floor and spotlighting took away any type of suspense or surprise as we could clearly see the upcoming scare actors.
I can't speak for the chain, but from what I've seen at SFMM in recent years, they are definitely trying. The problem is I don't trust that they're going to be given the budget to do the IPs justice, in which case I'd rather they come up with a creative original concept than a shoddy attempt at mimicking a known property. Perhaps this year will be better, as given that Fright Fest will be a separate ticket for 2024 (at least at SFMM...not sure about other locations), they need their mazes to be at least on par with the lower tier HHN and KSF offerings or they're quickly going to find themselves without an audience.
Has six flags ever blown anyone’s socks off, ever? They will continue to underwhelm with their crappy teenage staff that really doesn’t care. I’ll never waste my money on the most mismanaged theme park company in the world. It’ll be a half done mess that doesn’t deliver the type of feeling you get at universal. At HHN I feel like I’m transported into the horror movie. Six flags will never deliver. It’s cursed.
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Kudos to SF for trying to up their Halloween game and utilizing some licensed IP. However, we've seen this story before, and I am skeptical that Six Flags can do these IPs justice, particularly when some have already been utilized by Universal in memorable attractions. Also, there's little doubt that Six Flags will continue to operate their haunted attractions as separate upcharges on top of admission (and charge even more per attraction if you want to skip the line).
If Six Flags wants to join the big leagues, and using well-known licensed IP would suggest they do, they should turn Fright Fest into a hard ticket event.