Fright Fest Opening SFMM...and *Harley Quinn*

We attended the opening of Six Flags Magic Mountains Fright Fest this weekend, and what used to be a less than stellar event has turned into a full blown haunt. I was surprised at the number of people there specifically for Fright Fest, there was a time when people were oblivious to the fact that there was a haunt happening right in front them and were more concerned with riding roller coasters. With the improvements made over the past few years this event is approaching the quality of some of the bigger haunts. Now, this event used to be free with admission and the scare zones still are, but if you want to enter the mazes you'll need a wristband. Wristbands will cost you $20 General and $35 for Express Access. Which, the lines do get long for the better mazes (over an hour), so if you don't like to wait, get the Express Access. There's also a season pass discount and the option of upgrading your General pass to Express if you find the lines too long. There are 7 mazes, 7 scare zones, rides in the dark on your favorite coasters and stage shows for your entertainment. Also a Demonic Dining buffet is available Saturdays in October. Make sure to add this to your haunt list this year, especially is you haven't been in awhile.

The highlights for me were Aftermath 2: Chaos Rising, an updated version of the old outdoor maze, 3 times the size and with a more cohesive storyline. Vault 666 is a great maze and on par with the other haunts in the area, great sets and lots of effects. Red's Revenge has a very creepy feel and a nice back story to set you in the mood, this also had the longest lines of the night, so plan accordingly. The scare zones were well done, Demon's Door at the entrance to the park had tons of monsters, lighting, and even fire effects. And of course, Suicide Squad was awesome! All the characters were dead on from the movie and the lighting, video mapping and pyro effects were amazing. My favorite of course was Harley Quinn, who along with Joker, had very long lines for pictures. The lines did die down later in the night, and they did change sets throughout evening, so this may be worth more than one visit if you are a fan of the movie, or just of Harley Quinn.

Well, that's about all I have, so here are some pictures...

You say there's beer?! Two beers and I sampled both, just a sip of each.

Snacks to fuel us during the scares.

Can't remember what this is called, but it had peanuts in it and was very brittle.

These people are nuts! I mean, these nuts, are nuts, because they're nuts.

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out...

Fried Oreo's and some buffalo wings.

Warning: I've had two beers and I'm looking for Harley Quinn!

Suicide Squad!!!

People lined up to take pictures with some Joker.

Although I didn't like this version of the Joker in the movie, he was having a lot of fun with the crowd.

Eye's of the Advesary? I think.

My girl with her fans.

It only looks like she's smiling at the camer, she's totally thinking of me!

Fire!

Pyro and video mapping to create Diablo's fire!

These projections change throughout the night.

Aftermath 2: Chaos Rising

Might be some small fire effects.

Crap, box is open!

Friend or foe? It's so hard to tell!

Just pile the dead ones in the corner.

Mayhem around every corner!

Nice girl, or creppy zombie?

Entering Nightmares - A Twisted Fantasy.

Something tells me those weren't just regular mushrooms!

Stay away, or I'll saute you with some some wine and garlic!

Chupa mi...I mena, Chupacabra...Chupa...cabra...goat sucker...really.

Okay, still working, more to come inclucing: Reds Revenge, Toys of Terror 3D, Demons Door and more Harley Quinn!

Okay, here we go again...

I got one picture out of the entire maze, perhaps if they let us use a little lighting we could actually show off the maze.

Willoughby's Resurrected.

This is pretty much Willoughby's Garden of Darkness, not the greatest maze ever.

Exile Hill

Some guy stuck in a tree, I'm going to leave him there.

Demon's Door!

Possibly one of the best scare zones in the park.

Not sure what this is, but it's tall!

Wristbands sold here.

Wristbands cost this much.

Vault 666, not to be missed!

Crowds looked like this.

Human/animal experimtation...what could go wrong/

This nice lady says everything will be alright.

This is normal right?

Toyz of Terror 3D

Oh the horror of it all!

Red's Revenge

The biggest line I saw, well over an hour.

Spider!

TERRORtory Twisted!

Another round of Suicide Squad, Joker's here, so I'll go take care of Harley. It's the least I can do.

She's not here!!!

Found Croc and Katana!

There you are!

Sorry sweetheart, I gotta go.

Pictues with Killer Croc.

Don't forget Voodoo Nights!

Thanks Six Flags Magic Mountain for a great event, and to the haunt talent for putting on a great show...and Harley for being...Harley!

There you go, great event, a little cheaper than the others and Harley Quinn! Thanks for looking, leave a comment!

Awesome pics, thanks for posting.

I love that the old Flashback station is still being used for other purposes after all these years! Thanks for sharing so many great photos of the event!

I attended Fright Fest at Magic Mountain for the first time in 11 years last year and I thought it was really good. I like the fact that the mazes require a wristband, but it's reasonably priced, and that the express wristbands are only $15 more - that's a no brainer for me. I liked the whole atmosphere and vibe of the park during Fright Fest at dark and the hilly topography of the park added to that. They were so many fog machines being used in the park that I could see actual fog clouds forming below from Samurai Summit.

Thanks for sharing your opening night experience. I'll be checking out Fright Fest sometime in October, most likely on a Sunday night though.

Good times at Fright Fest last year.

A foggy night at the park.

Fright Fest this year does look much better than it did in past years. I've never been to a Six Flags Halloween event.

I have to get up there to activate my gold pass prior to Oct. 30. Is it crazy crowded on the weekends during FF? Haven't been to it for a bit.

I have to get up there to activate my gold pass prior to Oct. 30. Is it crazy crowded on the weekends during FF? Haven't been to it for a bit.

From what I've heard it's crazy crowded on Saturdays, especially the last couple of Saturdays in October. Your better off going on a Sunday, as Friday nights will be really busy too. Last year I went on the the last Sunday (and night) of Fright Fest which was actually November 1st, and it was not too crowded at all, and I had a great time.

I saw a lot of the stuff being prepped for this, when we were there on our West Coast bash Day, Sept.10.

Nice to see how it all worked out. Thanks for sharing a lot of great photos, Caesar!

Looking good! Haven't been to Fright Fest at SFMM in a loooonng time. Look forward to getting back there!

Oh, and Harley Quinn. Who's current incarnation is thanks to Deborah Harry as 1976 Punk Magazine Playmate of the Month. So cool to see such a cool influence on the Suicide Squad.

Looks like they're trying to up their game since the old "Two Fog Machines Junction" years.

Was debating attending HHN at Univ when I'm out in LA for a couple months, however, with the decent reviews this event is getting and the reports of 2.5-3hr waits for the mazes at HHN, do you think this would be a decent alternative? Also, never been to SFMM before to ride any of the coasters.

I have to get up there to activate my gold pass prior to Oct. 30. Is it crazy crowded on the weekends during FF? Haven't been to it for a bit.

 

From what I've heard it's crazy crowded on Saturdays, especially the last couple of Saturdays in October. Your better off going on a Sunday, as Friday nights will be really busy too. Last year I went on the the last Sunday (and night) of Fright Fest which was actually November 1st, and it was not too crowded at all, and I had a great time.

Thanks! I will get up there one of these FF Sundays.

Was debating attending HHN at Univ when I'm out in LA for a couple months, however, with the decent reviews this event is getting and the reports of 2.5-3hr waits for the mazes at HHN, do you think this would be a decent alternative? Also, never been to SFMM before to ride any of the coasters.

Fright Fest is fun and all, but events like Dark Harbor and Knott's Scary Farm are better quality still and more fun. Granted if you also want to ride the coasters then yeah go on a Friday or Sunday and ride the coasters all day before the event starts and enjoy minimal wait times.