By Leanne Costantino
Campus News
The 20th annual Fright Fest is underway at Six Flags Great Escape! The festival is presented by Snickers and will run from September 22nd to October 28th.
“Fright Fest at The Great Escape is upstate New York’s largest and most terrifying Halloween celebration,” said Great Escape Marketing Manager Brit Gillespie. “This year, Fright Fest is bigger and scarier than ever before, with over 15 haunted attractions and shows, including two new haunted houses.”
Two new haunting experiences are in the lineup this year, CarnEvil and Undead Alley. “CarnEvil is a new haunt in Northwood’s Picnic Grove where the circus came to town and the clowns are not what you remember as a kid,” continued Gillespie. “Undead Alley is an all new haunt in Ghost Town, full of blinding black lights that are sure to leave you disoriented as Fright Fest freaks watch your every move.” Guests can also experience scary thrills in Sinister Storytown.
Family favorites, like the Trick-or-Treat Trail, Scream and Costume Contest, and Monster Mash are all back this year as part of the “Thrills By Day.”
Fright By Night begins after 5 p.m. as the creatures and ghouls of the night descend upon unknowing park guests. Fifteen attractions can be enjoyed during the night-time portion of Fright Fest, including Skull Manor, Nightmare at CrackAxle Canyon, The Awakening, and Dead Man’s Party.
The festival will kick off on September 29th with the Zombie Run 5K, where participants will run for their lives as zombies chase after them throughout the course. Proceeds for this event will benefit the American Red Cross and relief efforts for Hurricane Florence.
It’s not just humans and zombies that get to have fun during Fright Fest! September 30th will be the Bark in the Park dog costume contest. The Great Escape will partner up with Friends of Phoebe Animal Rescue and guests can receive 50% off by bringing a bone, bag of treats, or dog food to the front gate. Guests can bring their dogs in costume to receive complimentary park admission for the contest beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Rounding out opening weekend is the Fright Fest blood drive on October 1st. The first 150 people to donate blood to the America Red Cross at the Great Escape Lodge will receive free admission to the park.
The following weekend holds one of the spookiest contests of all; the cockroach eating contest! Guests can win 2019 season passes by eating a 3-inch hissing Madagascar cockroach.
October 13th and 14th has several exciting thrills lined up, including pumpkin bowling, the 30-hour coffin challenge, and the fill a hearse food drive. Pumpkin bowling replaces the traditional bowling ball with a pumpkin for an extra challenge as friends and family compete to see who will become the champion of the challenge. The 30-hour coffin challenge will host six coffin dwellers for a chance to win $300. Dwellers are allowed to bring a friend during Fright Fest operating hours, but must be alone during the non-operating park hours, aside from the Fright Fest freaks who will be lurking in the darkness. Dwellers will be booted from the competition if they get out of their coffin outside of the designated bathroom break times. The fill a hearse food drive will allow guests who bring 25 or more non-perishable food items to enter the park for free. Guests who donate 6-24 items will receive 50% off admission.
Wrapping up Fright Fest will be the Pumpkin Smackdown on October 27th and 28th. This event calls for guests to bring their fall pumpkins that have been lying around to be launched at targets for a chance to win prizes.
There are many thrilling rides that will be especially spooky during Fright Fest. Guests can ride the Sasquatch, getting launched up or dropped down the 192-tower. Creatures of the Comet can take a ride on the coaster that has over 90 years of thrilling history. On the Blizzard Rodent Attack, guests will be blown around by a blizzard on a delightfully disorienting scrambler. There’s even an Alpine Bobsled Terror attraction, where thrill-seekers can ride an Olympic bobsled down a winding mountain. There are many exciting rides for guests to experience during Fright Fest to get the thrilling adventures started.
“Once the sun begins to set, mischievous monsters and gruesome ghouls take over and show no mercy,” said Gillespie. “This is one frightening festival you won’t want to miss.”
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