As you may have heard, the Undead have once again taken over at Six Flags for the annual Fright Fest celebrations. Our East coast creepy colleagues have already described the Great Adventure horrors that await park visitors, so we’re here to tell everyone what they can expect if they visit Discovery Kingdom, Six Flag’s West coast-equivalent. There’s lots of fun and scares to be had, especially for families and younger children.
The park is decked out in some fantastic Halloween decorations – cobwebs cover all of the store fronts, spooky vehicles can be found on many of the paths and the iconic Dolphin Fountain at the entrance has been turned into a blood red pool, adorned with skeletons that weren’t lucky enough to get away. The atmosphere is fantastic and once darkness falls, the park really does give off a great Fright Fest/Halloween vibe.
The Awakening, listed as a new attraction, is an event that begins a bit before 6pm and kick starts the Fright Fest festivities at the park, officially unleashing the undead on the patrons. Unfortunately we didn’t make it in time for this, but it is described with the following: “Nicholas Nightmare has been accused of horrific crimes against humanity. Is he guilty? The crowd will decide his fate on the hangman’s gallows. A spooky Awakening to your Fright by Night!” We arrived a bit after this show, but the crowd was still floating around and the kids were buzzing. The monsters had arrived!
The park offers a number of its regular aquatic attractions to visitors, themed for Halloween. Our focus was on the haunted houses scattered throughout the park, so we didn’t spend much time checking out the more family-friendly demonstrations but, rest assured, there are plenty – including the Spooky Sea Lion show and the 70’s dolphin show.
As we begin to discuss our haunted experience, we should note that there is an extra charge to walk the haunted houses, with prices at $5 per house/maze or a pass for all of them for $15. You can also get a VIP pass for $25, which allows you to skip to the front of the line. Personally, we didn’t need these, as we didn’t really experience any lines during our trip, but it is worth noting as an option.
Our goal was to brave each of the parks five haunted attractions, described as “edgier, darker and more intense” than ever before. Challenge accepted!
Our goal was to brave each of the parks five haunted attractions, described as “edgier, darker and more intense” than ever before. Challenge accepted! We began our drive to be terrified at Nightmare Manor. The story behind the manor: Dead twins Arsenic and Arania have come back to life to take vengeance on trespassers in the manner where their father was killed. We entered the house and the tension began immediately as darkness engulfed us. Candles and low-light guided our way though dark hallways. It wasn’t long before creepy ghosts and monsters started appearing through well-placed entry points in the walls. These ghouls would pop out of shadows or jump out from behind corners, catching plenty of people off-guard. The hallways gave way to renaissance-themed rooms that hid similar horrors. There were ghosts popping out of fireplaces and hiding behind furniture. Halfway through the house, a hallway full of mirrors adds incredible tension, as you realize it’s actually not a good time to try to catch your breath. The aforementioned twins make a terrifying appearance near the end of the house, and some people will literally be chased out of the exit. This was a great start to our tour.
As we made our way through the park, we came upon a crowd watching Jim Mackenzie’s Intrepid Comedy Sideshow Spectacular. Jim was brilliantly working the crowd up into a small frenzy as he took nails and hammered them into his face and making small talk at the same time. He had a lot of tricks up his sleeve and was highly entertaining; we left after he was running with scissors and managed to lodge them squarely in his face, to the delight of most of the crowd. Well, except those who are easily squeamish. I’m not sure they were fans. Jim seemed to put on a great show and I recommend checking him out if you have time.
The next attraction we hit was Bloodbath Bayou, described as, “the water runs red with the insane inhabitants and primeval creatures that lurk in the fog.” Unfortunately, this one didn’t really deliver for us as much as we’d have liked. Guests are led through the opening, down a short hallway and then walk out into an open area, completely covered in fog. The fog was so thick we actually briefly lost sight of each other in it. In the distance, we heard screams of terror and we were incredibly tense. There’s nothing scarier than not being able to see what’s in front or behind you and not knowing what’s stalking you in the fog. And then…nothing happened. We reached the end of the path, came to the exit gate and we were guided out by helpful park workers. Confused, we waited by the gates and looked back up the path, and sure enough, we heard screams and saw people running out of the fog terrified, being stalked by a handful of deadly creatures! I’m not sure if our timing was off – perhaps we were put onto the path too soon – but we never saw a single zombie/ghost/monster. I think the effect can be great, if executed properly, and I love the idea of briefly being lost in the fog. Unfortunately for us, that didn’t happen, but this can still be considered a great attraction for kids or those weak of heart. Just make sure they get the timing right.
Our third attraction was the Slaughterhouse Pig Farm, easily the best of the night. The description: “Come visit the Slaughterhouse Pig Farm, a formerly condemned family owned pork-processing plant where human flesh is served to unsuspecting customers.” The atmosphere and presentation here was fantastic; as we waited on line to get inside, a PA system gave the back-story of the farm to everyone, 1930s style, setting the tone for the terror that awaited us inside. This haunted house was very elaborate; we began at the pig farm with a chainsaw monster stalking us just out of sight. The terror was amped up early and remained relentless throughout. We had to leave the farm and cross through the “outside”, which was full of clothes hanging out to dry, covered in blood and completely obscuring our view of what was coming next. There were multiple “chicken exits” scattered throughout the maze to give those feint of heart a way out early. This was a very nice touch, particularly one situated right before a very foggy area of open ground that hid a particularly terrifying ghoul just waiting to stalk us. I would’ve liked to have seen more ghouls take advantage of these amazing opportunities to plague us, however, but I’m not complaining. We then made our way into the meat processing facility, expertly designed and crafted. Chicken feet adorned some of the walls and other indications were all over to remind us that something went very wrong here in the past. Each room was separated by long pieces of rubber, just like in an actual slaughterhouse or complex, and as we neared the end the scares amped up. The pig farmers began to pop out and terrify groups of people walking through, and it got intense enough at the end that some folks were running for the exit, chased by some freaky pig-headed creature. Afterward, my group raved about this maze, which is saying something, as we’re some jaded horror vets that pride ourselves on not scaring easily.
We made our way across the park at this point, and I was a bit disappointed to not see more monsters crawling around the park and terrorizing children. That’s the Fight Fest I remember as a kid; walking with my mom and dad across park grounds only to see a ghost or zombie in the distance suddenly turn its attention on us and stalk us for what felt like forever. We crossed the park a few times and only saw this happen once; again, it could’ve just been our luck and timing, and zombies may have been really scaring kids at other parts of the park grounds, I can’t say for sure. We did see it happen once, briefly, as two creatures stalked an over-confident little boy who thought he could outrun the shambling monsters. When they began running toward him, he freaked out and ran to his mom. It was brilliant. I just wish there were more to mess with us or to watch them scaring others.
As we stopped for some frighteningly delicious funnel cakes, we came across the Dance Macabre production, which featured a number of ghastly ghouls singing and dancing to some major pop and Halloween hits, including Katy Perry’s “E.T.” They put on a fun show and drew a sizable crowd, and I recommend checking them out if you’re into song and dance, or if you’re just taking a snack break nearby.
Our fourth stop was the Scrapyard of the Dead, a name that caused us to think of all of our favorite George Romero zombie flicks.
Our fourth stop was the Scrapyard of the Dead, a name that caused us to think of all of our favorite George Romero zombie flicks. Also, the description on our pamphlet gave us excitement too: “Behind the deafening heavy metal music and piles of scrap and debris are the living dead, ready to pounce on whoever comes their way.” Finally! Zombies! Alas, as we rank our experiences at Fright Fest, this will probably be on the bottom of the list. This basically amounted to a small zigzag-style maze with some black walls, blasting music from a distance and some funky-smelling fog. The design left something to be desired, especially coming from the Slaughterhouse, as we just wound our way back and forth, back and forth around black walls and dark corners. The zombies, for the credit, did the best they could with what they had to work with. They looked fantastic and the actors did a great job, banging on walls as we approached, stalking us as we made our way through and at one point jumping in our faces and briefly impeding our way. That was about as scary as it got, however, and before we knew it we were already out of the maze. This seems like another attraction great for the younger crowd or families or those who scare easily, but for us, we saw it as fun with the potential to be much more.
Our last attraction was the Shipwreck of Horror, described thusly: The evil pirate Captain Bloat lies in wait for those who intrude upon Crimson Reid, his sunken vessel. Visually, this attraction was stunning; the park took its aquatic attraction, complete with a variety of fish and real life sharks, and converted it into an underwater horror maze. There weren’t very many scares initially, as a handful of ghouls were lurking about. Near the end, however, we entered an open room that seemed completely empty and we let our guards down. This was a mistake! From there, we made our way one of the final paths near the exit, and we were stunned to find ourselves under water! We stopped to appreciate the fish and water swimming above and around us in the tunnel, completely awed by the beauty of the visual. Our awe turned into dread however, as we saw a dark room lit only by strobe lights at the end of the long tunnel. This created an intense tension among us, the kind of tension that was lacking in some of the other attractions. And the room did not disappoint, with a ghastly scare or two to be had before we made our way safely back outside. Also sharks! Did I mention sharks? Because sharks were swimming near us, and they were awesome.
There was also an attraction called The Last Ride, where folks can pay to climb into a coffin and experience the simulation of being buried alive (Ed. Note: Egads, I would never have the guts to try this!). For gamers, there is a SEGA Game Zone where you can go play (for free) Sonic Generations, Rise of Nightmares or House of the Dead Overkill – Extended Cut. And, aside from the Fright Fest fun, we highly recommend you check out some coasters if they’re your thing. Medusa and Roar are amazing rides, and Kong is absolutely terrifying. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kong broke us – in a good way.
Overall, the park is a great place for Halloween fun, and Fright Fest continues to be a great theme attraction this time of year. I do feel that there is potential to be even more terrifying in the future with its mazes and randomly wandering monsters but, for families – especially those with children or young teens, it’s a great place to have fun and spend your night.
A special thanks to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for the opportunity to visit the park and allowing us access to the Terror Trails. Be sure to check out the official Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Fright Fest website for ticket information, park hours, and more.
