It’s one of the most popular attractions in Lake George. Six Flags Great Escape attracts tens of thousands of visitors throughout the summer for its thrill rides and water park fun. In October, the park offers a Halloween themed experience. Fright Fest, held each weekend through the month, is “family friendly” during the day, but geared towards older children and adults at night. The crew at Lake George Examiner broke away from Oktoberfest revelry this weekend to examine Fright Fest at Great Escape. These are our notes:
Daytime at Fright Fest
Children costumed as Princess Leia, Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lego bricks and hamburgers follow a trick-or-treat trail through the small cottages of Storytown. Nursery rhyme characters fill their goodie bags with candy. It’s the usual theme park wrapped in cobwebs and shrouded in fog. Skeletons, spiders, punny tombstones and creepy clowns are scattered throughout. It’s all in good fun. Periodically, a voice comes over the public address system warning guests that things will change at 5 p.m., and those that do not wish to be scared should wrap up their visit at that time.
The haunting begins
Shortly before the witching hour, a crowd gathers by the Grand Carousel. The cheerful merry-go-round calliope tune is replaced by a funeral dirge and park guests, who are focused forward on a display of cobweb-wrapped coffins, are startled from behind by the undead worming through the crowd. Zombies drag their pallid and mutilated bodies through the audience stopping to turn and glare before resuming their march into the arena. (Note for Walking Dead fans: One zombie is carrying Lucille, Negan’s weapon of choice.)
The ghastly assemblage holds a frozen pose as Phantom of the Opera-type organ music kicks up. A creepy voice introduces the troop: “Ladies and gentlemen, for those among you who are easily frightened, we suggest you turn away now. For those of you who think you can take it, we say ‘Welcome to the mad house.’” The zombies become animated, executing a choreographed ballet to Rihanna’s Mad House. The performance was similar to a mall flash mob.
Darkness descends and the fog thickens throughout the park. The sound of chainsaws rip the night, puzzling the uninitiated — “why are people getting in their winter firewood in the middle of a theme park?” Even those well versed in Great Escape Fright Fest antics tend to retreat quickly when a masked chainsaw-wielding ghoul approaches.
Fright Fest 2016 features four haunted houses
Up in Ghost Town, the Wild West-themed area of the park where for decades Marshal Wild Windy Bill McKay and his deputies kept the town safe from robbers, the undead roam. Park guests stand in line to enter one of two haunted houses. Total Darkness, adjacent to Charley’s Saloon, is a dark maze where all who enter must feel their way through with cobwebs brushing their faces and disembodied voices whispering in their ears. Across the street, Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon requires all who enter to navigate through a zombie-filled mental ward/slaughter house.
In the Northwoods Picnic Grove, park guests find Skull Manor, a classic haunted house of the severed-head-on-the-kitchen-table variety. The Aftermath – Zombie’s Revenge is an outdoor affair. Fans of The Walking Dead feel right at home stumbling through shipping containers, ala Terminus, and feeling their way through a fog-filled school bus. Entrance to all four haunted features is included in the general admission price; however, the lines are long. The park does offer express passes — $5 for one house, $20 for all four — that puts pass holders to the front of the line.
Best deal in town
The most affordable way to get into Fright Fest is to purchase a combo ticket to the Adirondack Stampede Charity Rodeo. The combo tickets are $17 and include admission to the Rodeo at Glens Falls Civic Center Nov. 6 or 7, admission to Fright Fest and $4 off admission to any Adirondack Thunder ice hockey game in November or December. Combo tickets are available at Noble Ace Hardware in South Glens Falls, Walker’s Farm, Home and Tack in Fort Ann and at the Glens Falls Civic Center box office.
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