Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest 2026 Media Night Update and Event Review

Last weekend we were invited out to Six Flags Magic Mountain to take on Fright Fest 2026! If you've been following our site for awhile you'll know how much we love this event, especially the scare zones!

This year we definitely observed some steps in the right direction at this event and a new maze that really shows off the tremendous new partnership between Fright Fest and their sister event Knott's Scary Farm!

We've got some great walk-throughs of the mazes at this years event and some spoilery stuff to share. So be warned.

Let's head right into the fog!

Unleashed!

One of the best Fright Fest traditions is starting off the night with Unleashed! This is where all of the monsters come out from the mountain to terrify young and old.

And we do mean young. Seriously people, don't put your 3-5 year old's facing a wall of monsters and traumatize them.

New Mazes

Final Destination: Death's Playground

So, I definitely have some thoughts on this "maze", if you can really call it that. Realistically it's 3-5 show scenes that depict scenes from Final Destination and then a short walkthrough at the end.

While I really appreciate what they were trying to do here, the problem is if you miss the show scenes you miss the entire maze. Which is exactly what happened to us. So much so, we had to put a disclaimer on our video. Not because of gore, just because we couldn't properly review the maze because we didn't actually see most of it.

As "content creators" (I really do hate that term) we've always operated under the assumption that our content isn't any more important than making sure paying guests get the best possible experience, and that other "creators" are not impeded by what we're doing. Apparently the memo was lost on the group we were with.

We will definitely be making a point to visit this maze again next time we're at Fright Fest to give it a proper review. But we won't be able to record again, which is fine.

Wolves Blood

The second new maze for Fright Fest 2026 is Wolves Blood, designed by veteran Scary Farm Maze Designer Gus Krueger.

Honestly, this maze could have been called "Easter Egg" because it's got SOOOOO many incredible references to past Fright Fest mazes and it's incredible.

The maze is a LOT of fun, and is what this event has needed in an original maze for years. More of this please!

I would love to get a lights on tour of this maze just to see and capture all of the incredible Easter Eggs (hint hint Magic Mountain)

That being said, one of our biggest issues with Fright Fest mazes over the years has been the sound design, and the fact that there really isn't any. If we had to pick something that was lacking from this maze it would be that. Still, we absolutely loved this maze.

Returning Mazes

Trick 'r Treat

Back for another year of making sure you follow the rules of Halloween is our buddy Sam. This maze has moved up to where SAW was located last year. It's almost the same layout as the previous maze, but it did seem a big longer.

Carnage

Up next is Carnage, which debuted last year. We absolutely love this maze and is one of those Fright Fest originals that really fits in with the event.

Willoughby's Resurrected

The classic Willoughby's Resurrected (it will always be Willoughby's Haunted Mansion to us) is back once again.

This maze is always fun and the talent in here is impeccable every season. They really get what this is all about.

The Conjuring

The last "returning" maze is returning in name only. The Conjuring has been completely redone for 2026 and it's honestly amazing.

Scare Zones

Like with our opening weekend nights at Knott's Scary Farm we didn't spend as much time in the scare zones as we typically would. Why? Unlike other events, Fright Fest is not a hard-ticket event which means that the scare zones are overpacked, especially on Saturday nights. We always visit on a Friday or Sunday for our scare zone content, so we'll be doing that this year too.

That said we did continue our tradition with our dear Lorraine Lurane. This is the 9th version of Storytime with Lorraine Lurane we've done throughout the years. And this years is a banger! Wonder if she's got anything special planned for the 10th anniversary.

Maze Access

New this year is a new access procedure for the mazes. Basically you have to scan in for each maze prior to getting in line (similar to how Fast Lane/Flash Pass works).

Unfortunately from an operational standpoint it doesn't really make a lot of sense.

If they were going to give everybody a return time like they do with the Fast Lane it would make more sense, but because it's just an "access" pass it seems like an unnecessary barrier for accessing the mazes. People were crowding the line entrances like it was the Starbucks or Costco Pizza counter and creating traffic jams.

That's not even taking into account that it was taking about 5 minutes to explain the new process to everybody. We like to think we're pretty technologically savvy, but it took us a couple of mazes before we got the process down.

If you could do all of this on the app that would at least make it somewhat easier, but you can only do it on the website, which means you are constantly having to go online to "check in" for your next maze.

I honestly don't know what the operational need was to make this change, there was nothing wrong with the wristbands and if they are using these to count the number of people who go through the mazes there are certainly easier ways to do it.

One thing we've always been impressed by with Fright Fest is their operational efficiency, this is the opposite of that. Granted, this was the first weekend so hopefully it will improve. I just wish I could figure out why this change was made.

Event Review

Overall, Fright Fest 2026 saw some significant improvements in the mazes. Wolves Blood is fantastic and is just what this event has needed for years. The tweaks to The Conjuring and Trick 'r Treat has kept those mazes fresh and Carnage is amazing this year.

That said, we didn't bother with Vault 666 and didn't feel any need to go through that maze for the 13th year in a row. So I hope that's where they put their concentration on next year.

With a couple of show changes for Final Destination: Death's Playground we think that could be a fantastic experience, namely not starting the show scenes until everybody is in the room, and making sure people move forward to allow everybody to experience the maze.

The scare zones are as always amazing, that being said we do miss the old City Under Siege. While the props are fantastic, we used to just be able to sit for hours and watch the clowns do their thing. I'm probably showing my age here but the music is just too loud and annoying and it simply overpowers everything.

We are definitely looking forward to going back and spending some Scare Zone time on a slower night soon.

Did you experience Fright Fest 2026? What did you think. Let us know in the comments.

Related Updates

September 23, 2026

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