Business & Tech

Six Flags Fright Fest Opens Today

Scary good fun for all at Six Flags Fright Fest, starting Saturday Sept. 29 in Gurnee.

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee kicks off its 22nd season of Fright Fest, which is presented by SNICKERS®, with new haunts and more scares than ever before. Starting September 29 and running weekends throughout October, the theme park transforms into a 100-acre, fog-filled land of shadows, ghosts and ghouls that offers thrills by day and fright by night.

Fright Fest, the area's premier Halloween event, returns this season with five haunted attractions, eight horrific scare zones, eight hair-raising shows and nearly 200 monsters throughout the park. Guests can also enjoy all of their favorite rides with an eerie makeover.

"We are unveiling our biggest Fright Fest event ever," said Hank Salemi, Six Flags Great America park president. "In response to our huge success in 2011, we are expanding this year's Fright Fest into the troughs of Roaring Rapids to create Wicked Woods and out into Hurricane Harbor to unveil a new nighttime dance club experience, Fright Club, which is rated NC–17. You simply cannot find a more immersive haunt experience than Six Flags' Fright Fest."

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New 2012 Fright Fest Attractions

  • Wicked Woods – Twist through the dried-up riverbed of Roaring Rapids and come face-to-face with urban legends like Sasquatch, Mothman and the Jerzy Devil who roam freely seeking destruction and retaliation to those that had imprisoned them. The Wicked Woods is not for the faint of heart.
  • Manslaughter Manor – Tucked away in Southwest Hills, this house might have been abandoned by the living, but it is rumored that the dead continue to torment the home and attack anyone who lives there. Dare to follow the supernatural investigators as they try to uncover the truth.
  • The Dead Line – The Scenic Railway will undergo a full transformation as guests board The Dead Line to escape a zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic world. Travel through the dead zone and, with any luck, travel safely to zombie free land.
  • Fright Club – For the first time ever, Fright Fest expands into Hurricane Harbor where DJ Fright creates the fiercest nighttime club experience including pulse-pounding music and live dancers. Fright Club is rated NC–17.

"There is no doubt that we are expanding and raising the bar on Fright Fest this year," said entertainment manager, Kristopher Jones who has been with the park since the first Fright Fest in 1991. "We have more haunted zones and attractions than any past Fright Fest event."

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This year also brings the return of several Fright Fest favorites, including the award-winning show "Love at First Fright," the world-renowned hypnotist—Susan Rosen, scare zone Necropolis, haunted house Mausoleum of Terror and scare-free areas including the Character Candy Trail. Fright Fest staple, the 500-pound inflatable gorilla will take his reign atop Sky Trek Tower while Six Flags continues to mourn the loss of "Tiny" the spider.

Fright Fest starts Sep. 29th and runs weekends through October—including the addition of a Thursday night—with more fright at night. Also, this year Fright Fest is open later, to scare later. Hours are Fridays 5pm-11pm, Saturdays 11am-11pm, Sundays 11am-9pm, Columbus Day 10am-6pm and Thursday, Oct. 25th 6pm-10pm. Fright Fest remains family-friendly until 3pm with the children's areas kept scare-free and a trick-or-treat trail in the Southwest Amphitheater.

Fright Fest haunted houses and mazes are not included in general admission, although a combo-haunt deal provides an unlimited day of access to all five Fright Fest attractions. For more information visit http://frightfest.sixflags.com/greatamerica.


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