Last Call!

Alright, guys.  Last call.  Queue up that Semisonic “Closing Time” song that everyone pretends to like cause you’ve got one more weekend to experience Six Flags and Fright Fest in 2011. (Except for you Texas and California folk.  We’ve got a little thing called Holiday in the Park to prepare for.)  But everyone else, grab that season pass and get one more visit in during the most fun time of the year.  Then, after Halloween, we can say our temporary goodbyes and promise to keep in touch till the Spring.  But for now, lets focus on the present.  This last weekend of Fright Fest is a darn good one.

OK, so when I first heard that guests were eating LIVE COCKROACHES as part of Fright Fest, my initial thought was, “What kind of jackass would ever willingly out that in their mouth?!” Well my question was answered with, “The same kind of jackass who would star on a show called Jackass.”  Yup, this Sunday Jackass star, Raab Himself, heads to Six Flags Great Adventure to hold court with all brave, slightly crazy guests who step up to eat a giant, live Madagascar hissing cockroach.  For spectators, it’s basically going to be like watching Jackass 3-D except the screen is bigger and the 3-D is much, much clearer.  The first 20 guests to join in the fun will get free, VIP admission to Mortuary Manor.  And hopefully some toothpaste.

Also on Sunday at Great America, the annual Smashing Pumpkins event is back!  Bring a pumpkin in to smash and get into the park for just $24.99.  A large bullseye will be placed in Hometown Square for the tossing.  Just think of all the pent aggression you can get out by smashing a pumpkin to bits.  School got ya down?  Smash a pumpkin.  Lady troubles?  Smash a pumpkin.  Cardinals fan? Smash like a million pumpkins.  It’s really that easy, people.  Plus a $24.99 ticket ain’t a bad deal.

Six Flags St. Louis is attempting to set a World Record on Saturday.  (I mean if you can’t take a World Series you might as well take a World Record, right?!  I kid, I kid.  I love you guys.)  Registration starts at 4:00pm to take part in what will hopefully be the largest number of people dancing to Thriller at one time.  And, hey, if you need a couple Thriller dance tips, you can always check out Jersey Shore’s Vinny Guadagino demonstrating with some Fright Fest ghouls in this video over here.

So plenty left to see and do as we wrap up both Fright Fest and 2011.  It’s been a crazy, awesome season with a ton of brand-new, record setting attractions but just wait till 2012.  The countdown starts now.  Have a great weekend and great Halloween, guys.

Mike

Winding Down!

Well, there are two weekends left in October and two weekends left of Fright Fest.  If you’re reading this right now, I can only assume you haven’t been to the park yet since not that many guests make it out of Mortuary Manor unscathed.  This also means there’re only two weeks left of the entire 2011 Season. (Cept for you Cali and Texas parks – but we’ll discuss Holiday in the Park later.)  So not only are there precious few chances left to hit up a haunted maze, this is also last call on Green Lantern, Raging Bull, Dare Devil Dive and the rest of the coaster lot.  This coming weekend is a great opportunity to squeeze a little more life out of your 2011 Season Pass.

Speaking of Season Pass, that’ll particularly come in handy at Six Flags New England this weekend.  This Sunday, we’ve got Exclusive Ride Time for all Season Passholders before the park opens to the public.  Starting at 11am, you get early access to Bizarro, Gotham City Gauntlet and Catwoman’s Whip.  Basically, just cause we love you, we’ll be changing the Fright Fest motto to “Thrills by Morning, Chills by Night.”  (Sure it doesn’t have the same poetic ring to it but it means you get to ride rides earlier so who cares?)  It’s a nice consolation prize since, as a New Englander myself, I know you’re not spending much of October watching post-season baseball.

Six Flags Mexico welcomes Infected Mushroom to the park this Friday.  This is right in the middle of their world tour and they’re bringing along Korn (damn, I wish I computer could do backwards R’s!) front man, Jonathan Davis, for an exclusive DJ set. The show starts at 8:30pm and tickets are available here.  Fair warning, these guys are super loud but, if you think you can handle being close to the stage, VIP tickets are also for sale online.

And, while we’re still on the subject of post-season baseball, Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Over Texas have engaged in a friendly World Series wager.  Should the Rangers win the series, St. Louis’ American Thunder will be renamed American Ranger for a day.  Should the Cardinals win coughbutheywontcough, the Texas Giant will dubbed The Giant Cardinal.  Also each park’s President has their pride and wardrobe on the line- the losing park wears the winning teams’s hat and jersey for a day.  (Look New England fans, I already said I was sorry about the post season.  Just enjoy the ERT on Sunday, OK?)

That sound you hear is the 2011 clock ticking, my friends. (Or perhaps you’re just watching an episode of 24, I don’t know.) The point is, the season’s winding down.  Let’s do this while we can.

Mike

Free Tickets to Fright Fest?!

This past Saturday I got my first real taste of the dialed up Fright Fest at Six Flags Great Adventure.  Now, obviously, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect since we’ve been living and breathing Fright Fest in the office for quite some time (Rome wasn’t built in a day, kids.)  But to see it all put together was quite the experience.  I’d love to give you all an accurate depiction of how scared I was in Mortuary Manor but seeing as this is a family blog, I’m gong to have to abstain.  Just know it was a lot.

Before you even ask, I know what your first question is gonna be.  “Mike, you’re really good looking.  Also, I live in Georgia and have too much blood.  Is there any way I can convert that into a comp ticket to Fright Fest?”  Well, you’re all very kind and also YES, YOU CAN. Six Flags Over Georgia is offering up FREE admission to anyone who donates blood tomorrow through the LifeSouth Community Blood Center.  You need to make a reservation first and space is limited so head here for more info.  Plus if you see a little blood on Thursday, you’re going to be that much more prepared for what you see at Dr. Fright’s Frightorium once you hit the park.

Now let me predict the follow up question from many of you.  “Mike, you’re still incredibly good looking but I don’t live in Georgia and can’t spare the blood.  What about me?!”  Well, OK, fine.  This might not result in a guaranteed ticket, but you can still test your luck once per day on our Fright Fest site.  Head over here to sign up for our park newsletter and enter for a chance to instantly win two tickets to Fright Fest.  But fair warning: winning is lucky– taking those free tickets and making it though Lakefront Graveyard alive is very lucky.

And for all the frat brothers in the room, we’ve got something for you, as well, at Six Flags America.  In an effort to ease the pain of your losing Entourage after 8 bro-tastic seasons, we’re setting up a promo just for the Greeks.  Grab your frat or sorority and head over to Fright Fest this Saturday with promo code GREEKDAY.  You’ll get a discount into the park good for the whole day whether you come for the thrills by day or the fright by night.

So there you go.  Lots of opportunities to get over to Fright Fest for free or on the cheap.  (Or, of course, you could always just grab a 2012 Season Pass that’ll get you the rest of the 2011 included at no cost.  Just sayin’.)  Enjoy the weekend, folks.  There aren’t all that many left.

Mike

Free Tickets and Cockroach Eating at Fright Fest

Alrighty!  This coming weekend marks Fright Fest being unleashed at every Six Flags in the country.  More than just the country, actually, cause it also opens up in Canada at La Ronde. (Speaking of La Ronde, if you’re a fan of the park or even just a fan of horror movies, you gotta check this out.)  And, if you do plan on heading to Fright Fest this weekend, bring a camera! It might mean a couple free 2012 tickets for you.

Starting this weekend, we’ll be collecting your best photos from the park over on our Fright Fest site.  Upload your scariest shot and, if it’s considered one of the best, we’ll give you a couple free tickets to come on back.  Use it to get your first rides on one of our new 2012 attractions or, if you’re an Over Texas, Fiesta Texas or Discovery Kingdom fan, come use it in December at Holiday in the Park.  The winning photos will be hand selected by our expect team of professional art critics.  (Full disclosure – we’re not really art critics.  We’ll just be choosing the Fright Fest shots that give us the worst nightmares.  Keep em scary, guys.)

And, while you’ve got your camera out this weekend you might want to get a few shots of the Cockroach Eating Contests happening in the parks.  Yes – Cockroach. Eating. Contests.  As in eating disgusting insects competitively.  I imagine there’ll be some killer prizes for the winners but, in a cockroach-eating contest, does anyone really win anyways?  If you’re braver than me you can register in the park; first come first served.  Here’s hoping first prize is some mouthwash.

Fright Fest is also teaming up with Sega® to bring you demos of both Rise of Nightmares on XBOX 360™ with Kinect™ and House of the Dead: Overkill™ for PS3.  (House of the Dead isn’t even in stores yet so you’ll literally be one of the first to try it out.)  These games are both hard “M”s though so game play doesn’t start till after 5pm when the kids go home. You’ll also need to be at least 17 to play.  (And don’t try any funny business, 15-year-olds-that-are-creepily-able-to-grow-mustaches-prematurely.  We can still tell.)

So there you have it.  Come for the coasters and haunted houses and maybe leave with a few ticket-winning photos and cockroach breath.  Not a bad way to spend the weekend.  Come to think of it, it’s not a bad way to spend the following weekend, too.  Ya know what, let’s just say we’ll see you all of October.