Six Flags is dropping more details today about some of its Halloween haunt events around the country.
In Southern California, Six Flags Magic Mountain will introduce one new maze this year, Carnage presented by M&M'S. (If nothing else, Six Flags is leading the Halloween industry in selling naming rights to haunted houses.)
"This is your origin story, your path to becoming a disciple of the most villainous clown in a city under siege," Six Flags said of this house, which will depict the "chaotic fortress of the original true villain" - Carnage.
Returning houses at Magic Mountain's Six Flags Fright Fest presented by Snickers (snicker) this year will be the IP houses The Conjuring Universe, Saw: Legacy of Terror, and Trick 'r Treat, as well as Condemned: Forever Damned presented by Snickers (ahem), Truth or Dare presented by Skittles (who said there wasn't candy at Fright Fest?), Vault 666, and Willoughby's Resurrected.
Magic Mountain also will present a new show this year, Margo Rita's Monster Ball.
In the Dallas area, Six Flags Over Texas is presenting an exclusive maze based on Lionsgate's The Strangers: Chapters 1 & 2 called The Strangers: No Escape. Returning IP houses in Arlington will be The Conjuring Universe, Saw: Legacy of Terror, and the home state Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Toxicity – The Southern Palace is the new show this year at Six Flags Over Texas.
The Conjuring Universe and Saw: Legacy of Terror mazes also will be coming to Six Flags Over Georgia this year.
As previously announced, Six Flags is bringing The Conjuring: Beyond Fear as an upcharge house to four legady Cedar Fair parks this year: Cedar Point, Canada's Wonderland, Kings Island, and Carowinds.
Carowinds also today announced two other new houses for its SCarowinds event: Defex 2.0 presented by M&M'S, and Silver Scream Studios: 25th Anniversary Director’s Cut presented by Skittles. DepRAVed will be the park's new show for this year.
At Kings Island, Order of the Dragon joins the maze line-up for Halloween Haunt this year.
Six Flags parks will be selling a Haunted Attractions Pass this year that will be required for access to mazes. The pass will not include The Conjuring, but a single use access to that maze will be included with a Haunted Attractions Unlimited Pass. Knott's Berry Farm is excepted from this, as Knott's Scary Farm remains a separately ticketed event.
Kings Island also announced today that this season will be fans' last chance to ride Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, as the interactive dark ride will close September 1.
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@Russell, King's Dominion tried the separate ticketed event two years ago, and it went poorly. Since the upcharge is all-night access, it doesn't bother me. I'm also a Gold Pass holder, so it REALLY doesn't bother me :-D If they had limited it to one-time access like The Conjuring, I would be annoyed.
@DangerGoat - It was a complete disaster when KD tried to make Haunt a separately ticketed event, but that was more because they didn't think about the logistics before they executed the plan. They tried to do what USF does with "Stay and Scream" or what BGT does with their Howl-O-Scream transition, and it just didn't work given the way they tried to manage the transition from daytime operations to Haunt. It should not have been as difficult as KD made it, but it was an absolute debacle with people either "trapped" in the very back of the park with no access to food or drink, or at the front gate in absurdly long lines that often didn't open until after Haunt was scheduled to start.
I would tend to agree regarding the maze passes, but I do think SF has deliberately priced these at a nominal amount to "soften the blow" for guests this season, a year in which people who bought passes nearly a year ago had the expectation that Haunt would be operated as it has been in prior years (i.e. all included in admission). SF already broke their promise by taking away WinterFest from a number of parks where it was promised when selling 2025 passes (they compensated those pass holders with bring a friend for free tickets), so this is yet another promise broken IMHO. I also expect that SF will significantly increase the cost for maze passes at legacy CF parks in 2026 (aside from Knotts of course) to bring them in line with the legacy SF parks.
Ultimately, I think that there is going to be some serious backlash from legacy CF passholders (and other regulars) who will either not pay these upcharges or will not buy a 2026 pass (despite the insane value that they're offering), because of these continual broken promises. I worry that attendance and revenue created from the legacy CF parks this fall will either convinced the company to end the events or jack up prices to ridiculous levels (or break more promises) in 2026. I could see maze passes costing as much as $50 next season with another $50 for Fastlane-type access.
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"Kings Island also announced today that this season will be fans' last chance to ride Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, as the interactive dark ride will close September 1."
I believe this is the only version of the attraction in the chain that utilizes an omni-mover ride system (versus tracked vehicles). I hope that this closure is because the park will install a new version of the attraction with a modern ride system (either in 2026 or 2027), and not just remove an indoor ride that is needed at all of the chain's parks to have options during poor weather days. FWIW, every version of this attraction we've ridden in the past couple of years has significantly degraded, and they could ALL use some freshening up from Sally. However, given how much Six Flags has neglected its legacy parks' Justice League rides, I'm not optimistic that the chain has any interest in maintaining dark rides anymore.
Charging legacy Cedar Fair park guests for haunted attractions is going to be a jolt to the system, but it's clear that SF is pricing the mazes as a nominal upcharge ($10 for an all maze pass and an additional $5 for a 1-time run through The Conjuring). Frankly, I'm of the mind that SF would just be better off making Fright Fest/Haunt a separately ticketed event (like Knotts) instead of selling guests of annual passes that includes "admission" to the events, but upcharging guests who want to walk through the mazes. The reality is that SF doesn't want the pressure and expectation that comes with hosting a separately ticketed Halloween event, and doesn't have the resources or desire to plan and execute an event that would actually be profitable. Instead, they'd rather "shake down" guests who are in the park for pocket change to go through their mediocre attempts at haunted houses.