Every year when the leaves start to fall and a deathly chill fills the air, amusement parks do an unusual thing. During those cool autumn months, parks redecorate and transform into your worst nightmares. Six Flags and Cedar Fair both have a version of this phenomenon in their parks, known as Fright Fest and Halloween Haunt, respectively. These transformations include haunted houses, scare zones, terrifying decorations, and even haunted musical shows. But which of these parks had more impressive scares this past Halloween season?
Six Flags’ haunted houses have gone above and beyond this past Halloween season, showcasing some of the most infamous horror franchises. Their big houses this year remain unchanged, showcasing horror movies like “The Conjuring,” “Saw X,” and even the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things.” They brandish strobe lights, realistic props, and of course the well known villains of their franchises. The long wait would definitely be worth it next season, as these houses were big successes. However, they aren’t the only ones Great Adventure has based off of media. Their “Army of the Dead,” “Texas Chain Saw,” and “Trick r’ Treat,” houses provide fans with an experience similar to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. The movie-themed houses take ideas from Halloween Horror Nights, which have presented themselves with different terrifying movies and themes over the years. Some of these houses provide flashing strobe lights and terrifyingly gory actors, making for some truly frightening haunted houses. Most of these movie motivated houses do, however, leave room for uncertainty. As the park moves toward eye-catching themes the public is already familiar with, they lose some of their originality and in some cases can stick too closely to the movies’ scares than to their own.
This is not to say Great Adventure didn’t have some original haunted houses at their park this year. Their classic mirror maze transformed into the “Witches Reflections,” which makes for some heart-racing illusions. “The Asylum,” is also not for the faint of heart, or those with trypanophobia (a fear of needles in a medical sense). The bloody walls and helter-skelter rooms are filled with patients and doctors alike, who are not too keen on letting you leave. The final haunted house at Six Flags Great Adventure is none other than the clown themed carnival known as “Big Top Terror.” The 3D glasses and neon walls make for an engaging experience. The house is equipped with contortionists, cages, and of course clowns that will make you laugh “till you drop.” Whether it has a classic Halloween theme or one from your favorite scary movie, Great Adventure’s 2024 haunted houses are filled with scares that are only improving for next season.
Halloween Haunt offers their own houses with bone-chilling stories behind each one. While they have two fewer houses than Great Adventure, Halloween Haunt still offers numerous scares and often shorter lines. Halloween Haunt has seven haunted houses/mazes and a dark tale to go along with each one. The “Roadside Stop N’ Chop,” and “Blackout,” share a similar theme of terror. Both houses incorporate a flourishing food business with products so good you can’t help but wonder where they come from. The “Roadside Stop N’ Chop,” can be highly unsettling for those who venture too far into one of the park’s dark alleyways. Through corn stalks and abandoned barns, one can never lower their guard in this nightmare of a shop. Butchered animals, both alive and dead, await passerby as butchers look for something else to sell to their customers. If you’re able to make it any further into the park you’ll encounter both “The Necropolis,” and “Trick or Treat,” (not to be confused with Fright Fest’s “Trick r’ Treat”). The outdoor maze and haunted house are based off of a popular haunted cemetery and a witches coven.
However, the fan favorite house, “Ghost in the Machine,” brings horror to another level. Unlike the fairytales of witchcraft or zombies, the abandoned factory is based on real historic events. The innovative house matches the area’s usual steel yard theme and includes some realistic historic horrors. Mctavish’s haunted factory has everything from Department of Labor violations to flying specters crying for help. The steel yard is one corner of the park you wouldn’t want to be trapped in. Another hotel nearby holds a similar philosophy to the ghosts of the steel yard. Throughout the haunted hotel known as the “Tourist Trap,” remains of past guests will make for an unsettling experience. Halloween Haunt’s final haunted house is nowhere near the others, both in location and scares. The “Blood on the Bayou,” house has been overrun by swamp monsters and weeds. This house does especially well because of the effort the park puts into it. Some houses have less scare actors or decorations, making it harder for them to succeed during the Halloween season. “Blood on the Bayou,” on the other hand, is a fan favorite, and for good reason. Actors are waiting at every corner, and the swamp grass and dark scenery make them impossible to spot. Overall Dorney Park’s Halloween Haunt had some spectacular displays for the 2024 season, and is only looking up for next year.
Great Adventure’s Fright Fest and Dorney Park’s Halloween Haunt have showcased incredible houses during the 2024 season. Whether it’s houses based on your worst fears or favorite scary movies, both parks offer different takes on the classic Haunted House. So when that deathly chill fills the air and autumn leaves fall once again, you know both Six Flags and Cedar Fair will be preparing some even scarier houses for visitors at their parks.