Welcome to Fright Fest at Six Flags St. Louis
We get to walk through Spider Crossing to get to our first destination
American Thunder was running well today
Some of the decorations around the Log Flume
352206 was my personal high score of the day on Justice League
Never a bad time for a ride on Reverse Blast
The skeleton playground is always a fun display
Other decorations around the Plaza grounds
This was probably my favorite
Lots of graves in this area
I'm ready for the Terror Train to make a return to Fright Fest.
Unfortunately, it won't be this season
Let's take a ride on Batman
In the Batman courtyard, the Freakout Circus is taking place.
The rotate the acts that are shown throughout the day.
The shows are very popular so arrive early if you want a better spot to watch
Near AXIS Arcade, the Dead Beats perform on another outdoor stage.
Their show was inspired by the show STOMP.
Ninja's VR has been changed to Rage of the Gargoyles for Fright Fest.
Personally, I am ready for this fad to end.
On the Palace Porch Stage, Deadmen's Party performs. This "dance troupe" show features a very talented male lead dancer who has just "ok" back up female dancers.
Inside the Palace Theatre, Love at First Bite is back for another season.
This hokey musical revue show continues to be a crowd favorite
In the Saloon, Macrabre Mansion is taking place for the kids.
There is story telling and puppets with candy bags passed out.
Cornelius' Hay Maze is located in Bugs Bunny National Park behind Go Fresh
Since we are in the area, let's go for a spin on Pandemonium
Let's fast forward to the evening now
MAZE: The Slaughter House
Review: I thought that house could have used a more cohesive theme throughout. It relies heavily on motion activated scares (mostly compressed air blasts). While there are some neat aspects in the house, there is a lot of dead space that needs to be addressed.
MAZE: Black Out
Review: The maze relies heavily on the assumption that most people are afraid of the dark. The issue for me is that I am not. When your vision is taken away, your other senses must kick into compensate. For me, when my vision is taken away, so is the likelihood for me to be "scared." Basically for me this was just a bunch of black walls in a dark room. More annoying than anything.
MAZE: Blind Fury
Review: Like most of the mazes here, there is a theme but the maze doesn't stick to it very long. This was supposed to be a toy factory (or so the host said it was supposed to be). How that ties in with the name is beyond me. The maze features the "classics" for this Six Flags when it comes to mazes (balloons to walk through, hanging severed heads, and random gore props that make no sense to the storyline). The only unique aspect of this maze is there are some funhouse floors that are asking for a lawsuit when someone twists an ankle when they step on it wrong.
HAY RIDE: Wrecker's Salvage: Deadly Detour
Review: I liked how this was a hayride. That was a very unique twist to this maze and something I very much enjoyed. I didn't feel that it was very scary, but it was enjoyable. The propane fire blasts were fun and there were some cool animatronics along the route as well. Story just kind of ends though.
MAZE: Camp Killamore
Review: this was a very strange maze. The whole forcing people to go up unpaved hills is asking for troubles. The loop through the boys' bathhouse was extremely bizarre. The chainsaw guy cornered two girls in our group against the wall which was sort of a jerk move. Again another maze that just ends. Very anti-climatic.
MAZE: Night Terrors
Review: This was the new maze so I was expecting it to be the top of the crop. Unfortunately it seemed that this is where all the unused extra props got put. Another balloon to walk through, random gore props that made no sense. An area with shallow graves where someone is going to twist an ankle if they step in the wrong place (I almost did). The only redeeming feature was the final screamster that was an old man. He was hilarious.
SCARE ZONE: Gnawlin's Hollow
Review: the weakest of the zones. The screamsters had no interest in doing anything
SCARE ZONE: Gnawlin's Hollow
Review: In their defense there is not much to work with here.
SCARE ZONE: Vengeful Trolls
SCARE ZONE: Vengeful Trolls
Review: the trolls interacted well with the guests. They would take selfies with the guests and then scare the crap out of them once the photo was taken.
SCARE ZONE: Vengeful Trolls
SCARE ZONE: Gag Alley / Clowns
Review: The clowns were awesome. They had people screaming constantly
SCARE ZONE: Zombieville
Review: the talent wasn't all that great but the lights were fun.
SCARE ZONE: Zombieville
Review: The location of this zone is questionable due to how bright the surrounding rides are
Closing thoughts: I was impressed with the amount of live entertainment the park has scheduled through out the day. I wasn't able to see all of it (I missed the hypnotist) but from what I saw, it was definitely above the normal quality level for Six Flags.
The mazes were entertaining but I felt that they could have been much better. I think going through and giving them cohesive themes would be quite beneficial. The park probably could also benefit from going the same route as Cedar Fair parks by making permanent structures to house them in.
Overall, I had a good time at the park. The park has definitely made progress on the event, but is still playing catch up with regards to other similar events at other parks in the country (and state)