Six Flags Fright Fest 2018 (Magic Mountain)

[DTH]

Do you have any grades for the mazes and your overall experience?

 

[Clive]

Do you have any grades for the mazes and your overall experience?

I guess:

Willoughby's: A
Sewer: A-
Red: B+
Aftermath: B
Condamned C
Hellfest: D+

Scare zones aren't worth ranking because they didn't really exist. Coasters had solid operations. I'd give it overall a B/B-, when I was expecting a C or C+.

 

[Freak]

Fright Fest review from last night! I went Sunday night and the crowds were very light! Got an awesome runthrough on everything! Bare in mind I haven't been through the mazes since '16. Here we go:

Hellfest: Didn't see the video from opening night, but I apparently got to experience the new rooms. Yes, you could tell it was a budget overlay for an already existing maze, but I thought it was pretty good for what it was. It had the vibe of an HHN maze, especially the room with the mannequins everywhere as it reminded me a lot of the Insidious houses. I was also pleasantly surprised at the scares that were present, especially the one with the bodybag room. Not bad at all.

Overall: B

Condamned: Wow,this was really good! Really creative scares that were very well done! Loved the drop-panel scare disguised by the wooden boards. Super detailed and smelled really bad. lol It actually reminded me of HHN before they got lazy with black walls. It was about as detailed as an HHN maze. This is probably my favorite house at the event.

Overall: A

Red's Revenge: It's been here a while, but I still got a descent runthrough on it. I am ready for something else though.

Overall: B-

Aftermath: I did this a while back in '16. It's a pretty cool outdoor maze. The scareactors were pretty awesome! It's just not my favorite design-wise.

Overall: C+

Sewer of Souls: This is a fun maze. I loved the worm puppets and the rat puppet was pretty cool! This is definitely better than the Clowns or TiTE. I took off the glasses 1/3 of the way into it as I found the 3D element to be too distracting. But there were some really good scares and very creative elements in here. They even did one effect that HHN ORlando has done on a grander scale but have always wanted to see done over here (SPOILER: The illusion that you're really high walking on a bridge but you're looking down at a mirror).

Overall: B+

Willoughby's Resurrected: This is an old house, but I still like it. There were some great scares in here! If this wasn't a repeat, I would rate it higher.

Overall: B

Fright Fest was surprisingly good this year. I enjoyed this a LOT more than WB. They really stepped up their game with the production value and scares. I really like how there are just six mazes as opposed to eight for quality over quantity. It was so good, I feel like HHN needs to learn from Fright Fest with their scare tactics. For an event that's "go for the coasters, stay for the rides", it's super underrated and a great value.

Oh, and there were no random, long stretches of black walls like HHN had. Come on HHN. If Six Flags can afford to build detailed mazes, so should you.

 

[Wesker69]

If you need your Halloween event "Blinky Cup" fix, Six Flags has you covered... And like WB, they have Blood Bags with alcohol... neither of these can be found at HHN Hollywood this year... womp womp..

1) Willoughby's Resurrected: and the cast here was on-point. Easy favorite of the night.

4) Aftermath 2: Appreciate the effort on the preshow video, though the acting quality was pretty lacking. I was most enamored with the sheer scale and openness of the sets here... they absolutely do not skimp on the fog, and at times we were wandering around aimlessly, which led to some brutal scares. The fireballs led to a number of "wow" moments, as did the pockets of more contained, fog-infested quarantine areas. The only thing holding this maze back was the ratio of soldiers to zombies/monsters; two-thirds of the maze was (effectively energetic) soldiers telling us to run or keep moving, but I didn't really get "why" until the very end. The more Lovecraftian beasts were super compelling when they did appear, I just wanted more.

My biggest complaint is the scare zones; with the exception of City Under Siege, none of the scare zones were staffed. No joke - did not see a single scare actor in Nightmares, Shadows, Witch's Lair, or the steampunk one (there was a stilt exiting when we walked in). To anyone more familiar with their operations - what was going on here? Staffing issues?

Last year, I was wearing my "Come Play With Us" hoodie & the cast in Willoughby's was all like "We'll play with you! Stay with us" lol

Aftermath is amazingly detailed and there is A LOT you don't notice unless you get to see it in the daytime. Its literally a Magic Mountain graveyard for Deja Vu, Batman Stunt Show, Comet, etc.. It does need a larger cast, but its not easy when you've got other haunt events stealing the scareactor talent for their events. Last year, this was by far my favorite maze. FUN FACT: the blonde dude in the queue video also played The Joker for their Suicide Squad photo-op/scarezone the past 2 years.

And yea... while they did up the budget here/there for Fright Fest, they also budget cut the event A LOT as well. Which is why the scarezones were so understaffed. It really is disappointing. Last year I only saw 2 scareactors total in the Terrortory Twisted scarezone. Another issue is that the park is so "DEAD" and devoid of the spooky atmosfear in general. Cobweb, lighting, music whatever... would all go a long way even if it wasn't official scarezones. That is weird that there wasn't anyone in Nightmares because that & Demon's door were the best last year. Hopefully next year they will "attempt" to staff the streets better.

Fright Fest review from last night! I went Sunday night and the crowds were very light! Got an awesome runthrough on everything! Bare in mind I haven't been through the mazes since '16. Fright Fest was surprisingly good this year. I enjoyed this a LOT more than WB. They really stepped up their game with the production value and scares. I really like how there are just six mazes as opposed to eight for quality over quantity. It was so good, I feel like HHN needs to learn from Fright Fest with their scare tactics. For an event that's "go for the coasters, stay for the scares", it's super underrated and a great value.

I don't remember what exactly was new/different from 2016 last year but it was so great. As for the mazes, they actually have at least 2 other locations that have been used in the past they could put into action. I actually want them to up the maze count only because the park really needs a maze in the back of the park. Also keep in mind their production value is accomplished by repeating mazes for several years (thankfully, the good mazes with the most scenic detail- willoughby, reds, etc). The park/event suffers in not staffing enough people.

And you can't compare WB to theme park events :bonk:

 

[DTH]

Sounds like in 2 or 3 years time, it may be worth checking out again...15 years later...

 

[Wesker69]

Or you can just go check it out this year and have a good time like everyone else... although i'd wait until next year when WCR is open, but thats my biased (and optimistic of them doing more) opinion lol

This event will always be held back by the way to park is operated and taken care of. With that being said, its still a fun event

 

[DTH]

I don't go to places for fun, I can go somewhere free to have fun lol
If I'm going to Haunt, I want qualityyyyy
Fun + Quality divided by (Reasonable) Pricepoint = worth my money

 

[Wesker69]

Six Flags practically is free.... except for parking. Parking is just awful... And they have the quality, just not the staffing because they're cheap @$$hats...

Anyway, Fright Fest has these two cute photo-op backdrops in the park, not sure if there is a 3rd, I've only seen these two. Its.... something.. :look:

^This one is near Full Throttle

^This one is next to GoldRusher

Here... have random Sewer of Souls signage porn...

Its really irritating how devoid of Halloween atmosfear there is around the park. It wouldn't take much to spookify the park. There are just so many dead empty areas that could be utilized in some way. This was my complaint last year when I went to the event (along with the terrible lack of lighting), but being there in the daytime so much its just painful to see the lack of effort.

Also in other news, the Zombie Looney Tunes merch is back (...FINALLY). Very limited supply it seems. Tshirt, Hoodie, Hat & (on sale for $13.99) Backpack. Sorry, forgot to take a pic

 

[DTH]

Practically free? I think even it's cheapest day is $88. Most expensive is $111.
Unless I can buy just a maze wristband for $18, which IS cheap, but I ain't going all the way to Valencia, walk into that theme park, and NOT do rides haha
But from what I understand, you need park admission, too.
Dang, that moment when you realize FRIGHT FEST of all places is the most expensive freakin' theme park haunt in So Cal.

 

[Rideguy70]

Those prices are assuming you don't already have a SFMM park admission... it's including the park admission and wristband together.

If you already have park admission/season pass/membership, then it's just the cost of the wristband (and some membership levels include that already).

Don't have those? It's not that hard to find discount park tickets to SFMM. Most company employee recreation services have cheaper, AAA, restaurant/fast food promotions, etc.

 

[DTH]

College Discount Site = 56 + 18 = 74
AAA = 53 + 18 = 71

Still at least as much as HHN. Almost double some KSF nights.
Nowhere near the quality.

 

[Rideguy70]

Yes, but you're getting full day park admission and access to all rides. KSF may also have access to rides, but only at night during the haunt. Same goes for HHN. So you are getting a lot more value for your money.

 

[DTH]

From what I understand, the coasters have insane wait times. When I went 13 years ago, that's what I vividly remember the most. On top of long lines for the mazes. It wasn't worth it in any regard.

Plus I dislike MM's park very much (layout wise, love the rides), just in general, and rarely have a desire to go there. Once every 2-3 years is just fine for me.

 

[Rideguy70]

The lines aren't nearly as long during the day. And things have changed a lot in 13 years... I had some pretty bad experiences in the park myself around then. Though maze lines can still get long, especially on weekends. But their FoL pass, which isn't really much more expensive, is a really great deal and well run.

But that said, if you don't like the park, you don't like the park.