8 Fun Kids-Friendly Things To Do at Six Flags’ Fright Fest

Fright Fest is an annual fall tradition at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, and every year it gets bigger and scarier, with new attractions and activities. The park is open during the day with activities better fitted for young kids, and it turns into Fright Fest after 6pm. I visited in the fall of 2019 with my two boys aged 6 and 9, and here are some of the coolest things we were able to do:

• Reflections of the Dead is a mirror maze, where you come face-to-face with yourself as you try to escape the labyrinth. I’ve done during their winter festival when it’s filled with joy, but the Halloween version was way cooler, darker, and with ghouls popping out unexpectedly (however without trying to actively scare you). But sometimes, suddenly seeing a ghostly figure multiplied on the mirrors can be scarier than a zombie yelling at you.

• Big Top Terror: Forgotten Carnival 3D is a haunted house representing a forgotten circus with rotten broken tents, haunted by vicious monstrosities trapped in the netherworld. It’s dark, and you get 3D glasses which magnify some of the objects (however it’s not really popping at you; more like creating a hazy atmosphere). Very creative zombies and broken clowns will jump out of hidden spots are screech at you from behind. It’s cool and entertaining.

• Houdini’s Great Escape is a standard Great Adventure ride, but it fits much better in Fright Fest’s mysterious landscape. If you don’t know it, it starts with a sinister story in the lobby, and then you get into the “theater”. The ride itself is very similar to the swinging pirate boats, but it’s very dark inside, and after a while the walls start spinning as well, creating a vertigo-like illusion that you keep spinning over 360 degrees.

• Scary monsters, zombies and ghouls get out on the park alleys after 6:15pm and they do their best to startle you and make you scream, with sudden movements or screeches, with strange devices (like chainsaws). They will inconspicuously walk among the crowd, and terrorize you when you least expect it. If you’re with very small kids, they’ll try not to scare them to much. Our 5-year old friend even got a high-five from a sinister creature. Their many roaming grounds are Bone Butchers (by the Log Flume ride), CarnEvil (boardwalk games area), and Demon District (towards the Batman rides).

• Kiddie rides are still available after dark, especially in the Safari Kids zone. Earlier in the day, there’s also a trick or treat trail there.

• SkyWay Gondola offers great views of the park after dark! You can see all the cool lighting effects, the contours of the big coasters, some of the scary monsters, musical events, the bloody fountain at the entrance and much more. A must do!

• No-line rides! Yes, we were there on a Sunday night during Fright Fest, and at least the moderate, kid-friendly rides had almost no lines. Whether your kids are interested in the Harley Quinn or Runaway Train rollercoasters, the LogFlume, the Carousel or the Bumper Cars, you can do them without any waiting. The more thrilling coasters seemed to have pretty short lines as well, probably under 5 minutes.

• The Bloody Fountain welcomes you year after year as you enter the park. The pumpkin king reigns over it’s bloody red waters. Around the fountain there are coffins, scary decorations, ghouls and zombies and plenty of photo opportunities!

You can read here more information about Fright Fest 2019.