Haunt season just got a huge boost from Six Flags today, as Six Flags Magic Mountain announced an all-new, after-hours haunt event... for the spring.
Haunt fans won't have to wait until late summer to get their scream on in Southern California this year. Six Flags Magic Mountain's new Scream Break event will run 9pm to midnight on Friday through Sunday nights, starting on March 18. The event will run for 14 nights, through April 16.
Event guests can enter the park starting at 7:30 and parking will be included in the event price, which Six Flags has not yet announced. Scream Break will be a hard-ticket event, so it will not be included with season passes and memberships.
Scream Break will offer two haunted mazes and three scare zones, "all with a chilling Spring Break twist," according to the park. DJs will be playing in DC Universe and the Full Throttle Plaza, while special food and drinks - including sangria blood bags and syringe jello shots - will be available for sale. Several coasters will be running during the event as well, including the new Wonder Woman Flight of Courage, Full Throttle, Goliath, Batman The Ride, Twisted Colossus, and Scream.
In addition to Scream Break, Six Flags Magic Mountain will be offering a new Tacos & Beer Fest for Spring Break visitors during normal operating hours from March 9 through April 16. In addition to a variety of seasonal and craft beers, that menu will include:
On Mondays through Thursdays during the event, Six Flags Magic Mountain will offer Double Ride Days, where visitors can get back-to-back rides on back to back rides on Goliath, Scream, Batman The Ride, and The Riddler's Revenge. Two-for-one discounts also will be offered on select food and merchandise in the park.
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FYI: Six Flags Over Texas has announced a similar event, though with a shorter run time: https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/events/scream-break
It will also host two haunted houses, some scare zones and "night rides" on select attractions.
Wait... so are Goliath and Riddler going to be open by then?
Also, I got an email from Six Flags. Price will be $39.99, but Diamond Elite VIP gets $5 off.
This is pretty interesting. I will be curious to see how this works out for SFMM, because I don't sense a huge amount of haunt interest in the spring. Obviously making this a hard ticket event allows them to get reliable data on interest and demand, but I would worry that the park will be deserted on some night with the park trimming whatever they can on slow nights to try to break even.
I guess SF should be applauded for trying something new, but I think all this work coming up with new ways to make money should be spent on fixing their parks and operational issues so they can hold onto the few remaining fans they have left.
I am absolutely fascinated to see how the attendance turns out for this. The after hours hard ticket events are hugely successful at Disney, but is the SFMM clientele going to pony up $40 for something they get basically for free during Fright Fest? 14 days to start is very optimistic.
I believe this event was the brainchild of SFFT, then Six Flags decided to expand it to several other properties. It's going to be very interesting to see how this goes. On one hand, it's out of season, so it's possible people won't be in the mood for a haunt event in the spring. On the other, SoCal has such a strong haunt event culture that I could see this doing well simply because it's not up against any other competition. I also wouldn't be surprised if this is being used as a trial to test the viability of making Fright Fest a full upcharge event the way all of SoCal's other theme park haunt events are.
As for Goliath and Riddler's, I was at the park for an enthusiast event a couple weeks ago and while on a backstage tour it was confirmed that Goliath is at the testing, recertification, and retraining phase, and that it will be ready to go by the time the park goes daily for Spring Break. They were a little quieter regarding Riddler's, but if they're advertising it as being open then perhaps the new lift motor they've been waiting for has arrived.
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This is a fascinating idea; I'm curious to see what kind of ticket sales they're able to pull off here.