Get Scared during Fright Fest at Six Flags Over Georgia
From bloody faces with eyes pecked out to black and white werewolves, after 6 pm Six Flags Over Georgia offers up both scares and attention to detail during Fright Fest.
Just as with a regular park visit, as guests first enter the Promenade, there comes a sort of fork in the road at the Promenade Fountain Stage. Those looking for a wholesome, daytime event should venture right toward Bugs Bunny BoomTown, but for the evening guests seeking frights, it’s the path leading left through Nevermore, the first scarezone, that starts the event off strong.
Scare actors in cages feature gruesome makeups on a higher level than one might expect of a regional park. It was also evident how they had been prepped to build suspense by targeting those easily frightened. Stationed at the entrance of Nevermore, an employee would appear to speak into a walkie talkie, as if warning scare actors positioned ahead, describing the clothes and mannerisms of approaching, easily tormentable guests. The gag was very effective, causing groups to sprint out of the area. Even in the Dreadwell Brothers Carnival of Curiosities scarezone the banter with guests led to many jumps and laughs. These two areas leaned into passerby interaction while Rockville Festival of Fright and The Rotted Ones were set up more as photo ops. The last scarezone, Disciples of the Beast, felt a little like a filler area with noisemakers and too much fog.
General admission guests are welcome to roam around any of the five scarezones, but haunted mazes require the add-on Haunted Attractions Pass. Those with the pass will have to have a phone ready to scan a QR code at each maze entrance.
Although each is uniquely different, the haunted mazes’ set designs offered both anticipation and only occasional bottlenecks. Especially in the IP houses, small groups, long, dark passageways, and properly placed ‘boo holes’ made for an exhilarating experience.
Saw: Legacy of Terror
Want to Play a Game? To the left of the Dare Devil Dive Stage in the USA section of the park is an inconspicuous building tagged with a giant spiral. Inside, the maze creeps through dark corridors with occasional red lights and more painted spirals to illuminate the way. Along one turn, the puppet (Billy) rides a tricycle on a platform just out of reach. Rooms open up to scareactors recreating the iconic, gruesome torture scenes from the franchise asking for help from those passing by. It leaves a lot to the imagination with the dark hallways and then surprise vignettes. Scareactors in pig masks creepily backing away instead of popping out were also very effective.
Finklestein’s House of Fun Presented by Skittles
Continuing through USA toward Goliath, behind the Dreadwell Brothers Carnival of Curiosities scarezone, are two mazes. Unlike Saw, Finklestein’s tries to blend a hodgepodge of scenes from one room to the next. The beginning showcases beautiful set design and creativity in a blacklight, gothic graveyard, but the farther along traveled, the more confusing the theming becomes. This unfortunately provides a less immersive and more confused feeling. Yes, it’s a ‘Fun House’, but the transitions are too stark. From an alley with a dumpster full of electronic equipment to a jump scare of a giant T-Rex head on the floor.
Camp Slasher Presented by M&M’s
The Thunder River queue in the Lickskillet section is transformed into a camp complete with cabins and PLENTY of counselors. There are countless jump scares and boo holes, and even a masked slasher stalking those traversing the maze. Since this maze is outside, the lit-up chainsaws aren’t as effective during the daytime, and the long stretches of walking allow for unacquainted members of the group to get to know each other. Experiencing it at night may allow for more suspense building, but even still, there is just too much ‘down time’ taking guests out of the experience.
Infestation Presented by Snickers
Across from Monster Mansion in the Piedmont section is a maze in another rather unassuming building. An exterminator truck sits outside a ‘house.' Once directed inside, the homeowner warns guests to watch for bugs. Winding through the house, complete with gaudy wallpaper, kitchen, and bedroom, plastic bugs are glued to the walls becoming more pronounced the farther in that the guests venture. At one point, an exterminator in a mask offers visitors a giant bug, but unless it was understaffed or guests have a form of entomophobia, it doesn’t offer much in the way of scares.
The Conjuring Universe
Navigating back into the USA section next to the entrance to Goliath is the second IP house. This maze offers the largest queue with switchbacks and even a preshow. Small groups are led into an antechamber where the guide talks about the relics housed by the Warrens, but Annabelle causes some mischief and the guide ushers guests into a different room where Lorraine (?) performs a seance trying to contact the active spirits of the space. That too goes wrong and the group is then put into the maze. Another zigzag of dark hallways where each vignette portrays Annabelle slowly getting bigger before offering up the largest scare of the night. A towering Annabelle puppet pops out from behind the last corner sending guests running toward and out the exit. Speaking from experience, be careful and follow the arrows out, don’t make the mistake of running full speed and accidentally leading the group into the backstage area!
The IP houses definitely had the better production value and were worth the wait for each. In all, Fright Fest at Six Flags Over Georgia doesn’t disappoint in effort and delivery.
This yearly event runs during weekends from mid-September to the first of November.
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