Out With September

And so it begins.  We’ve reached October and Fright Fest starts up this weekend.  Where the rest of the season I just close my eyes on coasters, I now close my eyes the entire time I’m in the park.  Even the guests start to scare me during Fright Fest.  (To those twins I ran from the other day, I sincerely apologize if I offended you but you gotta admit, you dress like those girls from The Shining.)

Great Adventure is going to start the fright off a day early exclusively for Season Passholders. The ever popular Fall Family Fun Night is back on on Friday.  Get a sneak preview of Halloween with Exclusive Ride Time 6pm – 10pm and complementary access into a Fright Fest attraction.  (Season Passholders only but, if you don’t have one yet, you can pick it up right here.  2012 Season Passes include the rest of 2011 gratis.)

Six Flags America, Fiesta Texas and New England are all taking interesting approach to Fright Fest this weekend.  The idea basically is that if blood has to be shed, it might as well be for a good cause.  So on Saturday they’ll be running their annual Fright Fest Blood Drive.  Make a donation with the Red Cross between 10am – 4pm and receive a free admission ticket into the park.  Advanced registration is encouraged so get more information over here.  For the rest of you, some other parks will follow suit next weekend.  Stay tuned.

And, for your reference, here’s a handy calendar that shows you just when the horror is going to start up in your neck of the woods.

Six Flags Over Texas – Friday, September 30

Discovery Kingdom – Saturday, October 1

Six Flags America – Saturday, October 1

Six Flags Fiesta Texas – Saturday, October 1

Six Flags Great Adventure – Saturday, October 1

Six Flags Great America – Saturday, October 1

Six Flags New England – Saturday, October 1

Six Flags Over Georgia – Saturday, October 1

Magic Mountain – Friday, October 7

Six Flags St. Louis – Friday, October 7

The Great Escape – Saturday, October 8

La Ronde – Saturday, October 8

Yup.  The best event of the season kicks off this Friday at Over Texas.  For the weak of heart, I’d recommend using the buddy system at all times.  (And, seriously, if anyone sees those Shining looking girls around the park, please reiterate how sorry I am.  I just spook easily.)

Mike

Final Weekend of September

So how’s everyone enjoying their final days on Earth?  Me, personally, I’m just spending time with the family, finishing my memoirs (tentatively titled Open Mike Night) and typing up this here blog.  Then I’ll say my goodbyes and welcome the inevitable zombie attack that’ll take me down next week at Fright Fest.  If the rest of you don’t have as clear an idea on how to use the end of days, there is still a weekend or two left where Six Flags is still a family-friendly, thrill ride stocked theme park.  So go now while you can.

If you’re looking to spend your last few moments getting a little crazy, I’d definitely recommend The Great Escape this weekend.  That place is going to be a pretty raucous party Saturday and Sunday.  The annual Ocktoberfest Celebration has returned.  Bavarian cuisine, authentic music, seasonal ales and German games will be happening all day throughout the park.  Don’t tell my bosses but I’m currently sampling one of these seasonal ales at my desk right now and I gotta say – not bad, not bad!  (Hey, like I said, I’m trying to enjoy these last few days till Fright Fest.)

Great Adventure is celebrating our beloved ACErs with Riding of the Bull Tres. Exclusive ride time on El Toro at this members-only event.  For more info on how to become an ACEr, head over here.  Just know that ACE stands for American Coaster Enthusiast before you apply.  I really love funnel cakes and was under the impression it stood for American Competitive Eaters.  My application was promptly denied.

For the Vallejo guests, make sure to hit up the OnFire NorCal Jam 2011 at Discovery Kingdom.  This Catholic High School Youth and Young Adult event comes with an all-you-can-can buffet and exclusive access park access in the evening.  A ticket also includes admission to the night’s concert featuring Matt Maher, One Sonic Society and Sons and Daughters.  It’s pretty fun to think about how this nice, Catholic event is the last thing we do in the park before we unleashed beasts and demons on every one of our guests.  (Tough, if any anything, this just proves the variety of people we cater to at Six Flags.)

This Saturday and Sunday, Over Texas will be hosting Season Passholder Appreciation Weekend with Exclusive Ride Time on Texas Giant from 8p – 9:30p.  Plus you can use your Season Passholder Value Book to Bring a Friend Free either one of those days.  So if you happen to owe a friend a favor, here is a nice to pay them back.  And if you don’t owe a friend a favor, now you get the luxury of having them owe you.  (Which is way more fun.)

And, finally, we’ll be celebrating Military Appreciation Days at Over Georgia, Six Flags New England and Six Flags America.  Active military members will receive free admission to the park this Saturday and Sunday as our way of saying thanks for all you do.  Families of the military also qualify for discounted admission the whole weekend.

So there you go.  Get in on this final weekend cause, in October, things are gonna get real different.  Enjoy the softer side of Six Flags while you can.

Mike

Fright Fest Website Has Launched!

If you’re reading this right now, it is because you are a wuss.  (Look, I know that sounds harsh but I’m telling you as a friend.)  From now till the end of October, this is the website for people too scared to venture into the real one.  This past weekend, we officially launched our Fright Fest site.

I know what you’re thinking – the regular Six Flags site has plenty of Fright Fest info already.  And you’re not wrong; it does.  But that’s the family-friendly, censored version of what’s really going on in the park.  On the actual Fright Fest site is where you’ll get all the blood and guts details that we deliberately keep off the main site for fear of scaring the pants off the younger guests.

But if you want the back stories to all our Fright Fest attractions, this’s where you gotta head.  It’s not enough to know that we have Dr. Fright back in the park this year.  On the Fright Fest site, you’ll be able to read about his origin and learn why he’s so hellbent on killing folks in the first place. FAIR WARNING: These stories include words like “blood,” “guts,” “decapitated,” and “entrails.”  They do NOT include words like “survived,” “didn’t die,” and  “all lived happily every after.”

The main reason behind the brand new Fright Fest site is because this really is a brand new Fright Fest.  We’re hosting attractions, mazes and houses that have never before been seen at Six Flags.  We really did dial up the scares this year and are super excited to show you guys the park’s transformation in October.  While the rest of the year resembles a family theme park with an insane number of thrills rides will, for a month, look like a haunted hell dimension (but still with an insane number of thrill rides.)

We’re also giving away free tickets to the park over on the Fright Fest site so, even if you’re scared, there’s still incentive to find a trusted adult and have them visit the page on your behalf.  Tickets won will even be good for the 2012 season! (Did you hear we’re putting in a few new rides?)  So in between learning about the woman who’s been buried alive in her coffin and the man who turned his whole town into a pack of werewolves, go try your luck on the Win Tickets Page.

You’ll definitely be hearing more about Fright Fest as the weeks go on.  September is (somehow?) halfway over so October’s creeping up.  Time to man up from sixflags.com and head over to frightfest.sixflags.com. (But then as soon as Fright Fest is over, promise me you’ll come right back here cause I hate typing to no one.)

Mike

A few teasers for 2012

Tomorrow’s a big day.  Now before you go running out to shower me in gifts, no, it is not my birthday.  (But still shower me with gifts.)  No, tomorrow is about you guys.  Tomorrow we make some major announcements.  What kind of announcements…I can’t really tell you.  Announcements from whom…well I can’t really tell you that either.  Let’s just say that there might be a webcast popping up online tomorrow ::cough6amcough:: and it might be from someone pretty high up in the company ::coughrecentguestbloggercough::.  But any info I give after that, I risk losing my thumbs.

I can, however, throw you some more hints from other folks… (I honestly couldn’t care less about their thumbs.)

We’ll start at Great Adventure cause that’s the teaser campaign that implicates me the most.  It seems some of my private WHAT I THOUGHT WERE INTERNAL emails have been posted over on their Facebook Page.  A current employee and now former friend at the park has shared some correspondence that hints at what the announcement for Great Adventure might be.  It’s not enough to give away the secret entirely but it’s just enough to make me regret ever trusting him.  All will be revealed in the morning but head over there now if you want a sneak peek.

The pyromaniacs over at Six Flags America have a few teasers on their Facebook Page, as well.  It would appear some confidential envelopes have been “accidentally” burnt to a crisp leaving the contents partially legible.  As someone who has burned a lot of mail in his day (DON’T ASK – JUST KNOW I’M IN TROUBLE), I’m dubious this was an accident.  But, I’m just as eager as anyone to see what’s inside those envelopes so I’ll let it slide.  Head over to the Page to see if you can figure it out.

Great America is hinting at what they have coming in 2012 though a Facebook Puzzle App.  Each day another piece is removed revealing just a touch more of the photo underneath.  As someone of just average intelligence, this is right up my alley.  Putting puzzles together are a pain in the butt but taking puzzles apart?!  Oh, that’s where I’m a Viking.  Check it out.

Finally, those clumsy folks at Fiesta Texas have spilled water all over their 2012 announcement.  The JPEG’s a little blurry now and worse for the wear but still sorta visible.  If you squint your eyes and stare at it long enough you might just be able to make out the image of a p—no.  No, I’ve said too much.  You’ll just have to head over there yourself to see.

And, of course, if you’re too lazy to worry about spilled water and puzzles and burned files and secret emails- there’s always tomorrow.  Set an alarm cause at 6am, it’s all going down.

Mike