Six Flags Fright Fest 2023
Six Flags Magic Mountain's Fright Fest is an annual Halloween event that transforms the amusement park into a spooky and haunted experience. While the scare zones and shows are open to everyone at the park, a separate ticket is required to access the haunt mazes. 2023 marks the 30th annual Fright Fest at this Six Flags park and is running select nights through Halloween. This was the first ever Fright Fest event Dreadful Danny and I had attended, so we had no expectations other than we haven’t always heard the best reviews for this haunted attraction. Nevertheless, we gathered a group of our friends (most of us are Six Flags pass-holders) and headed for a day at the park. Continue reading for the good and the bad, or jump to the TLDR for maze reviews only.
Pictured above: One of the scare actors by the City of Siege scare zone during the slider show!
The Good
The standout of the Fright Fest event was undoubtedly the talent of the cast. The scare actors throughout the park were amazing, especially in the scare zones. It seems that Six Flags really gives their actors the autonomy and freedom to utilize the space and do what they want within it and that allows for some unique experiences that are hard to come by at theme park haunts. Many of these actors are staples of Fright Fest and faces you recognize year after year. If I was only rating this event based on the casting it would be an easy 5/5. You could tell that the actors in the scare zones really work together as a unit and vibe off of one another in terms of improv and the storytelling through the characters they are portraying, as well as the scaring. Very well done and the cast are deserving of all the praise. This would of course not read as well if not for the incredible makeup application. Scott Ramp (and the Scream Team) is still head of this department for the makeup and special effects and it really is impressive the work they are doing night after night. It can be unusual for this level of prosthetics to be used at a theme park haunted attraction rather than the easier ‘just wear a mask’ mentality. For this haunt event, you don’t need to exit the park and come back in because they do not require a separate ticket for entry for Fright Fest, you simply need to purchase a haunt pass (and then pick up a wrist band once inside the park) in order to enter the maze queue. If I lived closer to Magic Mountain and remained a season pass holder, I would simply hang out in the scare zones throughout the haunt season to witness all of the character makeup and scare acting, it really is worth it in that regard.
With that, you can and should take advantage of the fact that the park is open throughout the day to enjoy as normal. My friend group rode a few rollercoasters while I perused the scare zones in the light of day (sans actors, of course), as well as the Fright Fest merch options. The merch was ok! Definitely not a wide variety but the art was cool, and the Saw merch that they have is honestly really cute. I then hid inside in the AC until the sun started to go down. However, there are fun Halloween crafts ongoing in the park, as well as Looney Tunes characters in their Halloween outfits available for meet and greets. The rides also stay open throughout the park into the night which can be a plus if you only want to do the scare zones and rides and not pay the extra amount to do the mazes themselves.
I rarely allow myself the time to catch opening ceremonies at haunt events because I usually go straight for the mazes. It worked out that the friends were riding the new Wonder Woman rollercoaster and I saw they were setting up barricades and it piqued my interest enough to stay put. And I am so glad that I did! I highly recommend you find a barricade to stand behind to catch this ceremony. All of the scare zone actors walk out together with Jinx the Fool leading the charge, they all interacted with my camera as I was filming, it was just such a joy with so much excitement in the air! They then walk up to the stage area that had a really fun dj (I could just stand there dancing to the EDM all night honestly) and then they release the clowns back to City of Siege in a very dramatic fashion. This is also where you will find a lot of sliding happening, a smart choice since there is a slight hill for more dramatic effect. We caught the slider show later in the night which was one of the best entertainment options at a haunt that I have seen. I don’t need a big production like The Purge show at HHN, I’m so happy with a smaller intimate style of show like these sliders. You could tell they were just having fun doing what they love and interacting with the crowd.
I had read a few reviews myself on this event and largely was seeing folks say the set designs in the mazes were not very impressive. I set my expectations low and was pleasantly surprised! No, the production quality is not Horror Nights or Knott’s. Fright Fest puts their energy and money to their actors and to the autonomy of those characters. That being said, most of these mazes were good! I found Sewer of Souls to be very underwhelming as far as set, but the others we were able to go through had some great areas in their sets and some really unique aspects that I haven’t seen done anywhere else. Some standouts were the very narrow passage in The Condamned House Party, the cemetery set with ‘flowing’ water as well as stairs and a door that you literally have to open in Willoughby’s Resurrected. These mazes felt MUCH longer than most at HHN or Knott’s Scary Farm. Whoever is doing the plans on these mazes is very clever and has a scary mind; there are so many spaces that can be utilized in many ways from many angles. Again, a testament to Fright Fest giving their actors options and autonomy for the ultimate scare. While there were little to no animatronics, I didn’t find that to be a negative, although it may be to some. I am the type to still enjoy home haunts (sometimes more than) just as much as I enjoy Halloween Horror Nights, but perhaps for the masses it can be hard to compete with huge looming animatronics and an endless production budget coupled with endless IP choices. Don’t go into this trying to compare it to anything and just enjoy the experience, then draw your conclusions! Dreadful Danny and I were joined by 6 of our friends, some whom we have dragged to haunts with us before, and some who have rarely if ever gone to haunt events. The screams coming out of these people, the jumps and buckling of the knees - epic. I personally found the scares inside the mazes to be slightly predictable but some of them were incredibly clever and absolutely got me. Our group was large, but at no point did I feel there was a conga line situation, it was mostly kept to just our group in there alone. I think I saw the robed CM’s inside the mazes maybe 3 times, but largely they kept to the shadows and never rushed us through.
With that being said, there were some glaring issues. It’s a bummer because the talent are such shining stars and the potential is truly there. I wish Six Flags was able to cater the event to really support the level of talent. The amount of space in this park is both a blessing and a curse as far as the haunt event. I’ll get into it more with the bad, but just to note, it is nice in the way that everyone is so spread out, you can really feel quite alone in some of these scare zones. It’s easy to spend time interacting with them because their attention isn’t split so many ways, there is room for the sliders to do their thing, there is room for the actors to chase you. In the Nightmares: A Twisted Fantasy scarezone, Lorraine-Lurane (who has been working Fright Fest since 2011 - a legend!) spent a solid half an hour talking with us and pulling in deeper and deeper lore; in this way the huge footprint gives way for intimate encounters.
The Bad
Again, Magic Mountain is massive. The undertaking of trying to make this spooky event feel immersive is huge and unfortunately they do miss the mark. I do not run a theme park, I have no idea of what potential challenges they face in trying to rectify this, maybe it could be as simple as containing Fright Fest to half of the footprint, but I hope they continue to explore how it might be possible to have attendees feeling immersed while in lines or going from zone to zone. It just felt really sparse for the most part, but in terms of set design and amount of actors per zone. The first queue we were in was the Saw X maze and the entrance sign was so tiny. There is really no way to tell which line is Express and which is regular without having to ask cast members (who were always kind, patient and helpful!). We all had general haunt passes, for the record. There was no signage on wait times for the mazes, we did routinely ask the CM’s and they would kind of look at the line and give us a rough estimate. Going off of vibes alone is a choice and one that I’m not sure I love for efficiency sake. We were told 45 minutes for Saw X which felt fair given that it is new for 2023 as well as one of Fright Fest’s first forays into heavy IP. We kept noticing the lights fully turning on inside the maze and no one being allowed inside, we then saw EMS heading to the maze, as well as sheriff’s entering the maze. I don’t know what happened, but I hope the actors were safe. After waiting over an hour, we decided to exit the queue and I later heard that in no way is this maze worth the wait. I wish I could find out for myself!
We went on a Sunday as we usually try to go to haunt events on shoulder days to avoid the busiest crowds, however I did not realize that Fright Fest is only 4 hours on Sundays. 4 hours, Six Flags? Who is doing anything in 4 hours? Because we burned so much time in the Saw X maze, I made peace with not being able to do everything. With that being said, we didn’t even bother with The Conjuring, but the other mazes were very low wait times. We were able to do aaaaalmost all the scare zones and mazes and were even able to catch the slider show. If you only plan on attending once this season, I really recommend going on a night that they are open late.
I thought I had been disappointed before by a haunted attraction’s lack of Halloween vegan options but boy did Six Flags humble me! Absolutely NO vegan options in this park. They fully removed their Beyond Meat product offerings. There are fries and maybe some garlic knots but otherwise please plan to eat before and bring snacks with you. Do I need to tell you how ridiculous that is at a theme park in the greater Los Angeles area? I don’t think I do. Do better, Six Flags. Also Six Flags Magic Mountain does not have a liquor license, which if you are reading this and know why, please comment because I am genuinely curious as to that choice. They label drinks as ‘cocktails’ but are only able to use Soju. They also do not allow you to walk and drink, therefore no alcohol in the maze queues. All around lame as hell in the food and drink category.
All in all, you should certainly attend Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest at least once if you are local to the LA area. The standout feature of the Fright Fest event is the exceptional talent of the cast, particularly in the scare zones. Six Flags gives their actors the freedom to improvise and utilize the space, resulting in unique and memorable experiences. The makeup application, led by Scott Ramp and the Scream Team, is impressive. The opening ceremony is recommended for its excitement. The maze set designs, though not on par with larger events, exceed expectations, with some standout features. The mazes feel longer and utilize clever design, contributing to a great overall experience. The talent, rather than animatronics, is emphasized, and the scares are effective. The event offers a mix of entertainment options beyond the mazes. The vast size of Magic Mountain poses challenges in creating an immersive experience, making some areas feel sparse. The lack of clear signage is an issue, and there's a lack of information on maze wait times. The limited operating hours on Sundays can be insufficient to fully enjoy the event. A particular maze, Saw X, experienced delays, and there were concerns for the safety of the actors. The park lacks vegan food options, and the absence of a liquor license restricts drink options.
TLDR
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TLDR 〰️
The consensus from the group was that Truth or Dare was the best maze overall, quickly followed by Condamned House Party. They enjoyed the CarnivHELL scare zone the most, and all agree that the slider show is not to be missed.
Boo’s Review:
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 2.75
Atmosphere Rating: 1.5
Vegan Food Rating: 0 (very lame that Beyond products were removed from the park)
Costume & Makeup Rating: 4
Scare Actor/Cast Rating: 4.5
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 3.5
Value for Money Rating: 4
Individual Attraction Name: Condamned House Party
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 3
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 4
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 2
Individual Attraction Name: Truth or Dare
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 3.5
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 4
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 2.5
Individual Attraction Name: Willoughby's Resurrected
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 4
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 4
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 4
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 2
Individual Attraction Name: Vault 666 Unlocked
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 3
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 2
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 1
Individual Attraction Name: Sewer of Souls
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 2.5
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 2
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 2.5
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 1.5
Killer K8’s Review:
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 3
Atmosphere Rating: 1.5
Vegan Food Rating: 0
Costume & Makeup Rating: 4.5
Scare Actor/Cast Rating: 4.5
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 2.5
Value for Money Rating: 3.5 (if you have a season pass it’s definitely worth it, otherwise I’d rate this lower)
*We were unable to make it to the Saw X, The Conjuring, and Aftermath 2 mazes
Individual Attraction Name: Condamned House Party
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 3.5
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 4
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3.5
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 1.5
Individual Attraction Name: Truth or Dare
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 4
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 4
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 3
Individual Attraction Name: Willoughby's Resurrected
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 4
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 3
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 4
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 2
Individual Attraction Name: Vault 666 Unlocked
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 3.5
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 2.5
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 3
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 3
Individual Attraction Name: Sewer of Souls
Individual Attraction Overall Rating: 2.5
Character & Story Cohesion Rating: 2
Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 2.5
Scare/Intensity Factor Rating: 1.5
*Ratings are out of a possible 5
