Halloween will soon be upon us and theme parks around the US are gearing up to thrill their guests in 2020. Although it has been confirmed that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World and Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando will not be going ahead, there are many events still planned this year to fulfil guests of all ages urge to be thrilled.

SeaWorld announced last week that it would be hosting its Halloween Spooktacular, Busch Gardens Tampa has a modified Howl-O-Scream and those readers in the UK heard the good news that Alton Towers is putting on its popular Scarefest and Thorpe Park is hosting Fright Nights.

This week Six Flags have announced that they will be hosting their Hallowfest event at a number of its US parks throughout the coming months, including Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags America, Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Frontier City.

As expected due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic we will see a modified event being hosted, with the following safety guidelines in place across the parks:

• All team members (including scareactors) and guests 2 years and up will be required to wear masks covering the nose and mouth while in the parks. Please NOTE - at some parks it is from 3 years.
• No indoor mazes, haunted houses, or indoor shows will be operated; some haunted trails and scare zones will be operated outdoors with social distancing strictly enforced.
• A limited number of nighttime scareactors will always remain at least six feet away from guests and each other.
• Guests viewing outdoor entertainment will be separated by at least six feet.  
• Props, rides, restraints, handrails, and dining and restroom facilities will be cleaned and sanitized regularly. 
• Multiple hand-washing and alcohol-based hand sanitizer stations will be located throughout the parks for guest and team member usage. 

As can be seen, a focus is on outdoor scare mazes with indoor mazes and shows not being offered this year. Here is what each of the Six Flags parks are offering its guests this fall... 

Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure is hosting Hallowfest, presented by Snickers on select days September 18 through November 1, plus October 12. The park will be open from 2 to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and from 5 p.m. with varying closing times on Friday evenings. To see the full calendar, click here.

There will be a range of offerings to cover all age groups including for younger guests:

• Pumpkin spicing things up in the park for little witches and goblins 
• Trick-or-Treat Trail
• Hay bale maze
• Festive fall décor

For those that are looking to be scared, starting from 6pm the scare zones will be open, you can experience rides in the dark and enjoy hallow-treats.

Reservations must be made for this event and tickets will be available to reserve for Members and Season Pass holders from Thursday September 3, 2020 at 12pm and for all other day ticket holders from Friday September 4, 2020 at 12pm. For full details and to book visit their official site.

Six Flags America

Six Flags America is offering this event, beginning October 3 and runs weekends through November 1 from 1-9 p.m.

For younger guests in the day there will be:

• Pumpkin spicing things up in the park for little masked witches and goblins.
• Kid-centric haybale mazes
• Halloween shows
• Themed attractions including the popular Trick-or-Treat Trail

After dark, guests can experience:

• Riding coasters in total darkness including WONDER WOMAN Lasso of Truth and Firebird.
• Creepy fog, eerie lighting, and sinister music will create the perfect backdrop for nighttime scares and chills. 
• Tasty hallow-treats.

Reservations must be made for this event, members and season passholders can do this now and one day tickets will be available soon. For full details and to book tickets visit their official site.

Six Flags Over Georgia

Six Flags Over Georgia is hosting Hallowfest, presented by Snickers every weekend from September 19 through November 1. Reservations must be made for this event, members and season passholders can do this now and one day tickets will be available soon. For full details and to book tickets visit their official site.

Family fun will be available throughout the day, including:

• Trick-or-Treat individually packaged candy and treats offered throughout the park
• Kids’ spooky magic shows, featuring verbal interaction only and no physical contact
• Five amusing Fair Zones with not-so-scary witches, sweet scarecrows, happy pirates, and comedic clowns.
• Family-friendly Halloween stories while enjoying a scenic ride along the Six Flags Railroad
• Kid-centric games and activities among cornstalk and hay bale festive decor
• Halloween-themed speciality treats including gooey caramel apples and funnel cakes
• Exclusive HALLOWFEST selfie stations for kids and families to capture favorite fright-filled photos.

For those guests that are looking for all the scares halloween has to offer, at 6pm the five spine tingling outdoor scare zones will open, you can experience rides in the dark and enjoy hallow-treats. For full details and to book tickets, visit their official site.

Six Flags Over Texas 

Six Flags Over Texas our offering their Hallowfest event every weekend between September 26 and November 1. For full details of timings, visit their calendar.

For younger guests in the day, there will be:

• Pumpkin spicing things up and spooky enhancements throughout the park
• Spooky photo opportunities
• Trick-or-Treat Trail
• Delicious treats

  For older guests that are looking for thrills, you can experience:

• Outdoor midways with creepy fog, eerie lighting, larger than life Halloween props and sinister music
• four hair-raising Halloween zones for guests to experience throughout the park
• Experience rides in total darkness including Titan, New Texas Giant, MR. FREEZE: Reverse Blast, JOKER, SUPERMAN Tower of Power, and Shock Wave
• Halloween-themed merchandise will be on sale as well as glow-in-the-dark items.

 Six Flags Over Texas specify the following costume rules which are based on their costume policy:

Guests 10 Years & Younger - May wear a full costume to include masks and full face painting if accompanied by an adult.  Morph suits and bodysuits are not permitted.  
If they are alone or with other same age children, then they must comply with the policy for Guests 13 Years & Older. Costume masks must be immediately removed if instructed to do so by park personnel.
 
Guests 11 Years & Older may wear costumes with the following provisions, NO EXCEPTIONS:
Masks may only cover the mouth and nose.
Partial face paint is allowed as long as it does not disguise the facial features (no more than 50% of the face may be painted).
 
ALL GUESTS All costumes must accommodate or include a mask that covers your mouth and nose.

Reservations must be made and will be open soon for Season passholders and one day tickets. For full details and to book visit their official site.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Six Flags Fiesta Texas is hosting Hallowfest every weekend between September 19 and November 1. For the full calendar of opening hours visit the calendar.

For younger guests there will be:

• HALLOWFEST enhancements throughout the park
• Fireworks
• Seasonally themed shows
• Distanced photo opportunies

For the guests who want to be scared, starting from when it gets dark there will be spine tingling outdoor scare zones, you can experience rides in the dark as well as enjoying halloween treats.

Reservations must be made for this event and tickets are on sale now. For full details and to book visit their official site.