Six flags great america Fright fest 2016

[Guy_With_A_Stick]

It's just a suggestion. I saw a few 7-ish year olds when I saw the adult show(probably due to oblivious parents).

The show is really the same, but they throw in a lot more swearing and sexual jokes. If you get a chance to see it on your own, I'd highly recommend it.

Sent from my VS820 using Tapatalk

[n9yty]

Funny how life works... I just did a quick search and there is now a 18+ show recording on YouTube by Theme Park Filming. LOL! If it was someone from here, THANKS! Watched it now, and I think the boys would have been OK [they are 12 and 13] but a lot of it [or some of it, or none of it] would have gone right over their heads. LOL But kids aren't as innocent as we probably want to think or hope. I know I wasn't. LOL But in the end I don't know that it made it better or worse for me, just different.

I have to say, and this is just our first year, but the show is infectious, can't get it out of my head. Of course, I've known the songs for years so it was great to bring them all back together and put them all together with the visuals and little change-ups. Then again, I also find Dead Man's Party great with the very modern outfits and dance style... I looked at previous year videos of DMP on YouTube (not the same as being there, obviously) but I think this year's is much better.

[Guy_With_A_Stick]

I saw that video, and that was last year's LAFF, which I believe was the first time they ever did the 18+ show. Believe me, this year is a LOT more 'intense'. Last year was the 'test' year, this year was the full thing.

[Wisco Woody]

I'll be at the park all day tomorrow with friends, we have no choice but to go on Saturday for them to do Fright Fest. I know I'm probably screwed in terms of us riding all coasters on my usual 2 complete circuit day where I ride all major coasters at least twice and Batman, Goliath, and AE at least 3 times. Does anyone hold out any hope that there won't be 2-3 hour lines tomorrow on Goliath and Batman?

[Dan The Coaster Man]

Sorry for being inactive lately, but I'll be a time the park by myself tonight after 7 if anyone wants to meet up. I don't bite lol. Would love to meet more people from the forum. I'll be wearing black sweatpants and a blue KU (Kansas uni) jacket

[anewman35]

I'll be at the park all day tomorrow with friends, we have no choice but to go on Saturday for them to do Fright Fest. I know I'm probably screwed in terms of us riding all coasters on my usual 2 complete circuit day where I ride all major coasters at least twice and Batman, Goliath, and AE at least 3 times. Does anyone hold out any hope that there won't be 2-3 hour lines tomorrow on Goliath and Batman?

It's the end of Fright Fest and it's pretty nice. It'll probably be packed. The one reason I think maybe some people will stay home at night is the Cubs game.

[Coaster Justin]

My Review of what I did:

Apocalypse
Not bad but needs some more lightning cause I couldn't tell who 1/2 those people are. Some green lighting or flash lighting would help alot.

Gates Of Hell
Replacing the beyond ancient Mausoleum of Terror is basically the same thing with more outdoor stuff. Flashing lights were really cool.

Big Top Terror
Starts off really good but then ends so mediocre and lame that it hurts it. They might as well have ended with clowns telling jokes and squirting you with water. Do not want this house to ever come back.

Infestation
Extremely good house/walk through. This is what I want from Fright Fest in all the house's. Will not mention anything in it.

LAFF- Adults
Hilarious. Loved some "chest jokes" and it was surprising to hear some non SFGAmWorld language.


2 Houses/themes that I wish were added:
A Deadpool knockoff themed house. Basically him as the host of a house snapping on people and telling jokes.
Harley Quinn/Suicide Squad themed house. There is no way it could be worse than Big Top Terror.

[Guy_With_A_Stick]

So I went today, and can quite safely say that it was one of, if not the most crowded day of the year. Parking lot was packed all the way to Robin 56, food lines were longer than some of the coasters, and the paths had so many people you couldn't tell there were any scare actors(which made them even scarier). However, the park did die down a fair bit the last hour, so I did get to go on a fair few things(4 coasters, 2 flats, and 2 houses). First, let me talk the houses.

The two I did were Apocalypse and Infestation. Infestation was better than last time! There was a lot more theming than I remembered, the effects were great, and it was a clear night. However, I do think that the scare actors weren't really helping with the theme. They were all generic ghouls/zombies, not creatures/insects. As for Apocalypse, it seemed really lacking this time. There were maybe 10 actors the whole course, all of which my group could see before we got to them. There were so many missed opportunities for good jump scares. The lighting was also meh, like Justin said. The theming could also use a lot of updating, it's been the same for what, 3 years now? Wasn't too pleased this time around. Still better than Big Flop Terror, though.

For the crowds, like I said, pretty nasty. Not only in volume, but in attitude. Not sure what it was, but a LOT of kids who looked quite shady were there. And if I wasn't mistaken, there was a group of people openly smoking Marijuana(?) in front of a bathroom(couldn't tell what exactly, but they were definitely smoking something that wasn't a Cigarette). A lot of people were also quite snotty today, with a lot of people saying 'Hey, watch where your going' or 'Really?' when I accidentally bumped into them. I also found that a lot of people reacted a fair bit to the actors today, which made it quite funny to watch.

For the rides, I did Terror Twister II(great as always), Rue le Dodge/Mourge(still think it could be a bit better in terms of darkness), Goliath(2nd to last row, 90 minute SRQ ), Viper(last row, took waaaay too long), Whizzer(got 2 rides on this, waited a total of 3 trains. And Steve, I completely agree. Whizzer night rides are great! Not to mention that there was a very slight mist, which made the ride even better!), and X-Flight(Front row, last ride of the night(or first ride of the day? )). In all, very good for being the busiest day of the year. Whizzer and X-Flight were done within the last hour of the night, so a lot of people left.

The actors I felt were quite good today. Proper use of their props(especially those clowns. Only 1 had that horn gun, which was used scarcely), they got real close to people for maximum scare, and scared a lot of people really well.

Something else I noticed was that there was someone who worked at SF who was filming! So if SF happens to upload some sort of video about Fright Fest, I might be in it!

Overall, pretty solid night, I must say. I want to go again at least once before the season ends, so hopefully I can go either Monday or next weekend.

[momlovescoasters]

I was hoping to go the last weekend thinking it will be slow since FF is done. Now I see it's BAFF. Do you think that will affect crowds so late in the season?

[Wisco Woody]

The crowds definitely were really bad yesterday and lines started to get very long already by 1 or 1:30, but I expected that and yet my friends and I were still able to ride Batman, Goliath, AE red, RB, and Superman via SRL twice each, along with the other major coasters, Demon VR, a couple houses, and LAFF No Mercy once each.

Thank God we got there at 10, as right away we rode Batman twice, front and back, V2, and then Goliath in back of course. After that we grinded through AE red and blue, X-Flight, RB, and Viper as quick as expected with the lines. The food lines were awful, so we grabbed chicken tenders and fries at the Demon stand.

After Superman using the SRL twice, we skipped Batman and V2 having had our fill, and only hit AE red and Revolution on our 2nd partial circuit. After getting our Demon VR tickets and watching Uprising, we rode Demon VR, which was ... fine but plenty fun despite its flaws, hit a couple houses, and did Goliath via SRL, 90 minutes, and RB, also 90 minutes, and ended the night with LAFF No Mercy.

In terms of the shows and haunts, Uprising was decent but crowded, Infestation and Gates of Hell were both really good production wise, and LAFF was excellent. The scare actors were better than ever and had me laughing and smiling the whole way with their antics. Overall, this was the best Fright Fest I've ever seen despite the massive and less enthusiastic crowds. Six Flags really raised the bar after a somewhat issue plagued season, and I can't wait for the final day next Sunday.

[Tardis1972]

^ I'll agree that this years was great but not the best I've been to.

[n9yty]

I saw that video, and that was last year's LAFF, which I believe was the first time they ever did the 18+ show. Believe me, this year is a LOT more 'intense'. Last year was the 'test' year, this year was the full thing.

In the description it claims it is from this year....

Published on Oct 23, 2016
Filmed on 10-14-2016

At any rate, we decided to catch a different show. Great times, except the absolutely INSANE crowds on Saturday the 29th. Everytime I think it can't get more packed with people... BAM! It was crowded.

[Wisco Woody]

Yeah the crowds were really bad, but the lines really weren't that much worse than usual for a FF Saturday. Despite the surprisingly great work of the scare actors and other employees, many people were in a collective lull and slow moving daze, and I think it was due to the perceived lack of options for short ride/haunt lines, the sheer number of kids in the crowds, and the mere sight of the overcrowding at the major rides and attractions.

Yes Goliath had a 120-140 minute wait, and RB had a 90 minute wait, but that's par for the course on any Saturday. In a weird way, the normal Saturday lines scared away the one visit per year guests from making the lines too much longer. But seriously, that's only the 2nd time I've waited over 2 hours for Goliath, and while front row in the dark was worth it, having done back row in the dark several times before, I am never going to wait that long for any coaster less than 4,000 ft long and not absolutely flawless ever again.

[momlovescoasters]

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween! I hope whoever goes tonight has a great time. The weather has been awesome. It's going to be a loooong six months. I've enjoyed following this forum and hope everyone checks in during the winter months.

[RollingCoasting]

I just had the best day at the park ever.

No lines for anything.

All day.

I got to the park around 5:30 and rode

Viper x2 - 1 Train wait for the back row, plenty of empty rows. When I got off I had to move up 1 because someone came in my row (RIGHT as the train was pulling in the station, too. )

Raging Bull x1 - I walked up to the station and asked if the attendant was choosing my row as expected, and he actually told me he didn't care where I sat. Yay. 1 train wait for row 8

Justice League: Battle for Metropolis x1 - I was in pure shock when I saw an empty line. The employee at front was even urging people to get in line as this is the shortest they'll ever see it. I got 2nd or 3rd place I think

X-Flight x1 - Again, no wait. I walked right up to row 6, right side, left seat

Goliath x1 - It looked like it had a 10 or so minute wait, but the single rider line was E-M-P-T-Y. I walked on right as a train was boarding and scored the 2nd to last row. (Again!) I feel bad for whoever used the SRL this weekend as the gates were there to accommodate extra riders.

Fiddler's Fling x1 - No line, and fun as usual

The Dark Knight x1 - Had a 7/8 minute line, but there was no line in the sloped room. I scored front-row

Viper x1 - I couldn't resist another ride, this time I waited for the front. It was actually running better in the front today!

Whizzer x1 - No line, I waited 2 trains for the front row. Amazing at night, and there was even a little drizzle.

I was at the park for about 3 hours and got on 10 rides, none of which had a long wait. I also ate for an hour or so between Viper and Whizzer so really I spent 2 hours riding.

Great day, really excited for next Sunday!

Also, kudos to whoever mentioned that Halloween is always dead, you were right!!!

[batmanfan80]

We went last night after avoiding every other day since the last time we went due to the lines posted on the queue sites. I'd say the queue sites were very accurate last night when I checked them at the park. We only went from 5-7 since neither of us felt that great and we were going just bc we knew 99% that there wouldn't be any crowds based on Halloween trip reports from the last 4 years. People don't go to Great America anywhere as much on 4th of July and Halloween for some reason. It was real empty, like twice as empty as a typical June day where everything is a walk up. But it was also pretty frigid. And once it got dark the place was almost pitch black, making it even less comfortable.

We went straight for front row Batman. This time I rode in the right inside seat at first. It was downright gentle compared to a few weeks ago. Wife found the right outside seat too violent, so I rerode in that seat. Same seat as last visit. That seat is a lot more violent but it was still pretty tame compared to our prior visit. So I didn't really get much of a charge outta front row Batman this time. She went on V2 next, no line. Then we did X-Flight, basically another walk up. After that we used our dining pass and got a pretzel. Waited a bit and went to Angelo's. No line there. Waited a little more and got a funnel cake with no line near the Carousel. By then it was so dark and cold that we just didn't feel motivated to ride anything else. Usually they had lighting and stuff going that made for a real enticing atmosphere. FF in the pitch black is just dour.

I could've stayed and rode some more and let the wife play phone, but the cold is only tolerable real well when it's sunny out. Reminds me of some overcast and cold days in May when I'd gone and not gotten much a charge outta the rides.

A word of warning on going next weekend. Last year on the last weekend the weather was halfway good and it was the worst crowds ever. There was literally no parking at Gurnee Mills even though the mall was almost completely empty inside. The hordes were so desperate to go to Great America that they were apparently parking that far away and walking. If I had known about the queue sites then I wouldn't have even driven there. Six Flags should stop being evasive about posting their wait times on their sites or giving them out by phone. Nobody wins if people drive to the park and get all angry about wasting their time. Hopefully queue sites continue to exist for a long time to come.

[RollingCoasting]

Weird thing about yesterday, 60% of the guests were families with young children Not what I would've expected on Halloween.

Oh well, shorter lines for me!

[Carlo]

A word of warning on going next weekend. Last year on the last weekend the weather was halfway good and it was the worst crowds ever. There was literally no parking at Gurnee Mills even though the mall was almost completely empty inside. The hordes were so desperate to go to Great America that they were apparently parking that far away and walking. If I had known about the queue sites then I wouldn't have even driven there. Six Flags should stop being evasive about posting their wait times on their sites or giving them out by phone. Nobody wins if people drive to the park and get all angry about wasting their time. Hopefully queue sites continue to exist for a long time to come.

I doubt it will be that busy this weekend. Remember that Fright Fest is over. Saturday and Sunday will be just normal days. Most people will not know that park is even open and they close at 7pm on Saturday and 6pm on Sunday.

[anewman35]

I doubt it will be that busy this weekend. Remember that Fright Fest is over. Saturday and Sunday will be just normal days. Most people will not know that park is even open and they close at 7pm on Saturday and 6pm on Sunday.

You may be right - but it's also a Bring-A-Friend-Free weekend for those who renewed early. So I have no idea.

[RollingCoasting]

F*** I just realized I forgot to ride TT2

[CoasterNick3157]

Bring a friend for $15

[CoasterRiderSC]

^ I believe it's Bring Friend for $15 with 2016 pass, but if you renewed your 2017 Pass it's Bring Friend Free!

[gottastrata33]

I'm at the park now, it's packed. Was really hoping for the opposite but when we got here at 1130, we were already directed to the overflow lot. Parked next to 55.

So what I found really interesting was while walking through the Joker site, twice I heard two groups of GP talk about the bridge being saved/moved & how the Joker will prob look a lot bigger than it looks in the pic, how it will "go from here to here" as someone said oh wow I thought it was small. Maybe they weren't GP but if they were I was impressed lol cause I've already heard someone say one side of American Eagle is built faster than the other that's why there's flames on one of them. LOL oh boy.

[momlovescoasters]

That sucks....I'm sure the weather is playing a big part in the crowds, along with BAFF. Do you know if the Flash Pass building is open? I tried to purchase for tomorrow and it won't let me on-line.

[Wisco Woody]

If tomorrow is as crowded as a normal Sunday I will be slightly disappointed, but it would be a good sign of positive growth and improved public perception for the Park. With yet another staff and maintenance heavy attraction opening next year, they are definitely looking for a big improvement in start of season and end of season attendance since the lackluster 2010-2011 seasons.