We have lots of pictures and video to share with you as well, including walk-throughs of all of the new mazes for 2024. 

If you'd like to check out the event overview (no review) that I posted on Thrillgeek, you can check that out here. 

Before I get into my thoughts on this years event I want to start with this. I know how much the creators of Fright Fest Extreme love this event. I've known them for years, some for 10-15 years. They absolutely love this event and want it to be as good as it can be. 

That being said ... 

We've said this in the past, but we're going to have to say it again. The event is too big. I realize Six Flags Magic Mountain is the EXTREME park, but you can be Extreme by creating a smaller footprint.

​I don't know where the decision came to add 3 new IP mazes and also keep every single maze that has been there for years, but I'm guessing it came from very high up. Just so they could say they have the most. I will say I was honestly shocked when they announced that all of the mazes were coming back at Midsummer Scream. 

Trick r' Treat: This maze/house was featured at Halloween Horror Nights in 2018, and to be honest, we weren't the biggest fans of it. I absolutely loved the version at Fright Fest. Easily my favorite maze of this years event. It has the heart and fun of Trick r' Treat with some great scares. Kudos to the team for this one, and for getting it built in record time. ​

Saw 20th Anniversary: Saw was featured at Fright Fest in 2023 and at Scream Break earlier this year. The maze features some of the same scenes as the earlier version, but has definitely been enhanced for Fright Fest Extreme. We all really enjoyed this one and it is highly recommended. 

The Conjuring Universe: Another maze that is a repeat from 2023 but that has been completely revamped and plussed for 2024. This maze was super fun, had some fantastic effects and great scares. If we had one thing to suggest for this one, the effects in the first room need to last a bit longer when a new group enters. By the time we got to see Annabelle, all of the "Conjuring" effects were done. 

Stranger Things: This was a real "get" for Fright Fest Extreme and Six Flags, and I was really looking forward to it. I will say that the "upside down" sections were fantastic. However, being that this was just featured at Halloween Horror Nights last year, the comparison has to be made. I think the rooms here are too large and there is a lot of dead space. There are some very inventive scares here but I hope that if they bring this back next year they tighten it up a bit and make it a bit longer. They have plenty of room in this warehouse to do so. 

Army of the Dead: Based on the Netflix movie of the same name, Army of the Dead takes up the first half of Aftermath 2 that has been at Fright Fest for a number of years. If you've done Aftermath you know what the first few scenes look like, but once you get into the "hotel" the maze really shines. Some fantastic scenes and some funny stuff in here. They did seem to have some issues with the maze throughout the weekend, hopefully they've gotten them resolved. 

Here's a quick rundown of the returning mazes, we all know what's there, but I definitely have some thoughts. 

​Willoughby's Resurrected: There was a new entrance this year, gone is the intro room where you had to walk down a few stairs, which is fine. Nothing new in here and a little light on scareactors. 

Sewer of Souls: Another returning maze that actually seemed to be much better this year. I don't think there were any changes in the maze itself, but this was packed with scareactors. 

Aftermath Nocturnal Hunt: I know the park is labeling this as a 'NEW' maze, but think of the second half of Aftermath 2, but reversed, and a few new twists and turns, and there you have it. 

Truth or Dare: Now in it's 3rd year, this really promising theme of a maze really doesn't deliver. We did do a video walkthrough of this maze, it was 4 minutes long, there were 4 total scareactors in the maze. 

Vault 666: I'll be honest, I've never been the biggest fan of this maze, and it doesn't really bare any resemblance to it's first iteration which was some Island of Dr. Moreau thing going on, and now it's just a mish-mash of things. It's well passed time to retire this maze. 

Condemned: They have abandoned the "house party" theme for Fright Fest and gone back to the original theme of the maze. I'm not sure why, but this is another maze that should be retired. 

Scare Zones are really where Fright Fest (Extreme or otherwise) has always shined. And this year is no different. 

New Scare Zones include: 
​

• Plaza de la Muerte – Step into the spectral celebration of Día de los Muertos, where vibrant colors blend with eerie shadows in an immersive dance of spirits and traditions.
• Underworlds of Oz – Journey through the dark side of Emerald City and the mystical realms of Oz, where twisted enchantments and ominous shadows consume the golden path, and the line between fantasy and nightmare blurs into a chilling adventure unlike any other.
• Grimmlore Ridge – Enter a chilling realm where fear takes root and grows wild, leaving the daunting calls of ravens and crows echoing through the twisted branches and shadowed alleyway.

And the classic returning scare zones including Nightmares, Devil's Triangle, City Under Siege, CarnivHELL, The Deadzone and Exile Hill. 

The question always comes down to "would you recommend this event", and this year the answer is yes. Despite a lack of scareactors in a few mazes and a few mazes that have been around for more than a few years too long, the event is always a blast. 

That being said ... 

Six Flags Magic Mountain is simply too big to have haunts and scare zones in every nook and cranny of the park. It's literally exhausting trying to get everything done in one night. I ran a 1/2 marathon the weekend before in the extreme heat and I was honestly more tired from Fright Fest than I was from that race.

Not only does having a large footprint for Fright Fest require an amount of scareactors that are simply not available in the busy Southern California Halloween market, it also requires makeup artists, costuming, line control staff, maze security and more. 

I would much rather them concentrate on QUALITY over QUANTITY. And for too long, they've been concentrating on quantity. 

If I was in charge this is how I would change Fright Fest in 2025. 

​The Willoughby's are a Fright Fest staple, and they should always be represented at the event. They are as classic to Magic Mountain as any of the parks classic coasters. That being said, Willoughby's Haunted Mansion needs a complete facelift. In fact, I would completely abandon the existing location and move it to where Vault 666 or Condemned are. 

In addition I would retire Sewer of Souls and Exile Hill. Meaning no haunts or scare zones up on the hill. 

Truth or Dare, Condemned, Aftermath and Vault 666 should be retired. If Trick r' Treat is coming back, let's give it a permanent location in the warehouse where Truth or Dare is. I'd love to see what they could do with that space and that IP. 

If Willoughby's is moved to Condemned, The Conjuring should be moved to the Vault 666 location. 

This means that instead of 11 mazes with varying levels of quality and some devoid of talent, you have 6 mazes (Saw, Trick r' Treat, The Conjuring, Stranger Things, Army of the Dead and Willoughby's) where you can move those resources to. All of your mazes are located from the front of the park to back near Apocalypse. No more Exile Hill and no maze near Tatsu. The only scarezone outside of that area would be Nightmares, which definitely should not ever leave. 

Lastly, abandon superfluous scare zones just for the sake of having "more than any other park". If you can't fill the scare zone with scareactors, it shouldn't exist. So while we loved the lighting of Grimmlore Ridge, it's simply not big enough and there weren't enough actors there. This also applies to The Deadzone. I'd much rather them concentrate on filling up the centralized scare zones with monsters than having 1 or 2 monsters in a scare zone. 

Have you visited Fright Fest Extreme this year? What were your thoughts? 

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Last week we were up in the Great White North to visit family and we had decided to visit Canada's Wonderland one of the days. I hadn't had a proper park day at Canada's Wonderland since 2017 and my wife had never visited other than our Haunt trip in 2022. So we were due. 

It just so happened the park was having a tour of AlpenFury the day we were there and they kindly invited me to tag along to get a great look at construction for this new Premier Rides masterpiece, and of course the opportunity to go inside Wonderland Mountain! It was epic. 

​Let's head in! 

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Six all-new haunted houses and three scare zones coming to Fright Fest Extreme include:

• Stranger Things – The students of Hawkins High decide to team up to create a little innocent Halloween fun for their community – but things quickly turn upside down and morph into something far darker.
• Trick ‘r Treat – Enter a dark and twisted candy trail nightmare on a jack-o-lantern-lit path of supernatural encounters which tap into your deepest fears. With Sam, the infamous Spirit of Halloween, as your guide, learn the rules of the spooky holiday before entering a world where tricks dominate treats.
• Army of the Dead – The City of Las Vegas is under lockdown following a recent viral outbreak and survivors must look for an escape while battling the undead.
• The Conjuring Universe – Strap in for a tour of the Warrens’ most hair-raising and gruesome cases, including those that inspired The Conjuring, Anabelle and The Nun. In each investigation, encounters with cursed artifacts make you the target of the possession.
• The SAW Franchise – Celebrate the 20th anniversary of SAW with an all-new experience honoring the franchise’s legacy of terror by plunging guests into the depths of Jigsaw’s twisted mind. Guests will endure torturous trials and come face to face with some of John Kramer’s most diabolical contraptions before time runs out.
• Aftermath: Nocturnal Hunt – Three hundred years after a devastating zombie outbreak, Ash City lies in ruins. Guests will stumble into the breeding grounds of the Nocturnals, the former infected who have evolved into bioluminescent predators. In a desperate attempt to escape, will you be hunting them or are they hunting you?
• Plaza de la Muerte – Step into the spectral celebration of Día de los Muertos, where vibrant colors blend with eerie shadows in an immersive dance of spirits and traditions.
• Underworlds of Oz – Journey through the dark side of Emerald City and the mystical realms of Oz, where twisted enchantments and ominous shadows consume the golden path, and the line between fantasy and nightmare blurs into a chilling adventure unlike any other.
• Grimmlore Ridge – Enter a chilling realm where fear takes root and grows wild, leaving the daunting calls of ravens and crows echoing through the twisted branches and shadowed alleyway.

Five returning guest-favorite haunted houses featuring state-of-the-art makeup, props and special effects, include:

• Condemned Forever Damned – In this dilapidated home where the walls are alive and terror crawls in every corner, guests are left trying to escape the spirits of those who once lived there as they unleash fury on anyone who dares to trespass.
• Willoughby’s Resurrected – Evil spirits roam the once-affluent Willoughby’s family mansion that now echoes with whispers and footsteps of these restless spirits, creating an atmosphere of perpetual dread.
• Sewer of Souls – Stumble into an underground world where the air is thick with the despair of lost souls and the darkness is alive with unseen terrors. Guests will be left to navigate through the terrifying tunnels where evil oozes and fear thrives with every step.
• Truth or Dare – In a warped game of Truth or Dare, guests find themselves questioning their every move. The stakes are perilously high as the dares become increasingly dangerous and the truths reveal hidden fears and dark secrets. Can you handle the pressure, or will the game unravel your sanity?
• Vault 666 Unlocked – Demonic relics are locked in a dark and sinister antique shop, waiting to be unleashed upon anyone foolish enough to disturb their rest. Haunting and inexplicable occurrences plague those who dare to enter, for the relics do not forgive or forget.
  
  

Six additional scare zones around the park that leave guests nowhere to hide and screaming to get out include:

• City Under Siege – The clowns are back and spreading havoc in every inconceivable manner. As their twisted grins and sinister laughter fill the air, no place is safe from their deranged antics.
• CarnivHELL – Visitors are invited to step right up and enter if they dare into a once-thriving circus now taken over by a carnivorous band of carnies.
• Nightmares: A Twisted Fantasy – In this perverse twist on childhood favorite bedtime stories, your worst nightmares come to life, taunting you to sleep with one eye open.
• Devil’s Triangle – Succumb into the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, haunted by the many souls lost to the Devil’s Triangle that prey on guests drifting by.
• The Deadzone – A renegade group of cyberpunk zombies are unleashed and feed on unsuspecting visitors.
• Exile Hill – Unimaginable sinister souls appear without warning and send chills down the spines of guests that dare to journey through this dark and ominous passage.

For those looking revel in the Halloween spirit during Fright Fest Extreme, an exciting selection of exclusive merchandise and culinary delights will enhance the spooky experience. Guests can scream louder with limited-edition apparel, collectibles and unique souvenirs inspired by Six Flags Fright Fest and some of the park’s haunted attractions. In addition, a variety of themed food and drinks will be available throughout the park for those looking to satisfy an eerie appetite including sangria blood bags and more.


Tickets for Fright Fest Extreme at Six Flags Magic Mountain are available online now and include:

• Single Day Admission – A separate admission event ticket will be required for Fright Fest Extreme admission with access to all haunted attractions, entertainment and the world’s largest collection of thrilling rides and coasters. Guests can purchase an express upgrade for priority entry to all haunted houses.
• Pass Holder Admission – Fright Fest Extreme park admission is included for all 2024 Gold, Platinum and Diamond Six Flags Season Pass Holders, Six Plus Members and Legacy Six Flags Members with a valid Pass. An additional fee for entry to haunted houses will still be required.
• V.I.SCREAM Tour – Enhance your visit with a guide to the fright! Experience the VIP treatment with a private guided tour featuring unlimited priority express access to all eleven haunted houses, priority express access to select rides and attractions, VIP parking, Fright Fest Extreme exclusive food and beverages, and more. All Tours must be booked a minimum of 48 hours in advance online. Some restrictions may apply.

As the countdown to Fright Fest Extreme begins, guests are invited to prepare for the largest, scariest and most extreme Halloween event ever. For more event details, including operating dates and times or to purchase tickets, visit sixflags.com/magicmountain/events.

Six Flags Careers
Six Flags Magic Mountain is currently hiring ghouls, scare actors, talent managers, make-up artists and more for Fright Fest Extreme. Team Members receive in-park discounts, rewards and recognitions, exclusive Team Member events and more. Applicants, age 18 and older, can apply online at careers.sixflags.com.
 
About Six Flags Magic Mountain    
Six Flags Magic Mountain, known as the Thrill Capital of the World, boasts 20 world-class roller coasters—more than any other theme park on the planet—including roller coaster icons like Twisted Colossus, Tatsu, Goliath, Full Throttle, and X2—plus one of Southern California’s largest children’s areas featuring over a dozen pint-sized rides and attractions. Thrill seekers of all ages can also enjoy various events, entertainment and exclusive food and beverage offerings year-round. For more information, visit sixflags.com/magicmountain or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn. #ThrillCapitaloftheWorld 
 
About Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: FUN) is North America’s largest regional amusement-resort operator with 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties across 17 states in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Focused on its purpose of making people happy, Six Flags provides fun, immersive and memorable experiences to millions of guests every year with world-class coasters, themed rides, thrilling water parks, resorts and a portfolio of beloved intellectual property including Looney Tunes®, DC Comics® and PEANUTS®.
 
 
ANNABELLE, THE CONJURING, THE NUN and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WB SHIELD: © & ™ WBEI. (s24)
 
Army of the Dead ™/© Netflix. Used with permission.
 
SAW and all related characters and elements ®, TM & © 2024 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 
Legendary: © 2024 Legendary Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
 
Stranger Things ™/© Netflix. Used with permission.
 
MARS: © 2024 Mars or Affiliates