Four new haunted houses, a fan favorite show returning after a year away, and one line in the fine print that catches families every season: the mazes are not included with your ticket.
Six Flags Great Adventure turns the lights off tonight.
Fright Fest Presented by SNICKERS opens Friday, Sept. 18 at the Jackson, New Jersey park and runs select nights through Nov. 1. Nine haunted mazes are listed on the park’s own event page. Four of them are new.
The two biggest are licensed. JASON: Blood Reign pulls from the Friday the 13th franchise. Final Destination: Death’s Playground comes from the Warner Bros. horror series. Two more were built in house, Twisted Holidays and Deadwood Cabin.
They join The Conjuring Universe and Army of the Dead, both back from last season, plus Asylum, Big Top Terror and The Witch’s Reflection.
What do the haunted mazes cost at Fright Fest?
Your park ticket does not get you into the mazes. Admission, a Season Pass or a membership covers the scare zones, the live shows, and nighttime rides on the coasters. The mazes need a separate Haunted Attractions Pass on top of all that.
Six Flags sells it three ways. There is a one-night pass, an All Season version listed at a starting price of $75 plus a $9.99 processing fee, and an Express tier that moves you toward the front of maze lines.
The scare zones are included, and there are five. Maniacal clowns take over The Boardwalk in CarnEvil. Zombies fill Exile Canyon. Restless souls haunt Plaza De La Muerte, the undead circle the Bloody Fountain, and pirates prowl Curse of Blackbeard’s Bounty.
Why was Dead Man’s Party gone last year?
Six Flags has not said.
What the park will say is that it is back. Dead Man’s Party returns in 2026 after a one year absence, putting Dr. Fright and his undead band back on stage. The show has been a Great Adventure fall tradition for decades, landing somewhere between a rock concert and a Halloween stage spectacle.
“Fright Fest is one of the events our guests wait for all year, and this Friday we are turning the fear all the way up,” said Mike Fehnel, park president of Six Flags Great Adventure.
Three other shows fill out the night. The Awakening signals the park’s nightly transformation. Blade Drummers puts demonic bladesmiths on stage. Unleashed mixes acrobatics, dance and cirque style stunt work.
Is Fright Fest too scary for young kids?
Six Flags says yes.
The park’s own materials carry the warning: Fright Fest is not recommended for children under 13. If you are bringing a family, plan around it. The daytime park runs normally, and the whole thing changes after dark. The scare zones are open air, so there is no walking past them.
Four horror franchises, four different owners
The licensed mazes at Great Adventure come from four separate rights holders this year. Final Destination and The Conjuring both belong to Warner Bros. Army of the Dead is Netflix. Jason belongs to Horror, Inc.
Warner’s role is the one to notice. The company’s Global Experiences division is the same group that operates The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal parks around the world. It licenses horror to a regional chain while building flagship lands for a direct competitor.
Horror, Inc. has its own reason to be at Great Adventure. The company launched its Jason Universe brand in 2024 and has an A24 prequel series, “Crystal Lake,” heading to Peacock. A maze an hour outside New York City makes a decent billboard.
What is Bakunawa, the new Six Flags coaster for 2027?
Bakunawa arrives at Great Adventure in 2027, a spinning launch coaster going into The Boardwalk, the same district CarnEvil takes over every October. Six Flags claims six world records for it. Tallest spinning coaster at 382 feet. Fastest at 100 mph. Fastest inversion at 80 mph. Longest stall inversion. First floorless spinning coaster. And a first launch that happens while riders are upside down, accelerating the train from 60 to 80 mph inverted.
The layout runs 3,163 feet with two 20 passenger trains. Minimum height is 48 inches.
Six Flags is pushing 2027 Season Passes hard against all of it. The pitch is Fright Fest this fall, Holiday in the Park this winter, Bakunawa next year, one purchase.
The company has reasons to want that money early. Six Flags sold seven parks this year for $331 million to EPR Properties, using the proceeds to cut debt and concentrate on its stronger properties. Those seven ran a 17.3 percent profit margin against a 25.5 percent company average. Great Adventure is one of the parks it kept, and now one of the parks it needs.
Passholders get a second Halloween event out of it too. Dorney Park’s Halloween Haunt includes an all new Blair Witch: No Signal maze this year, built around the Black Hills Forest and the Rustin Parr house.
Event dates, operating hours and Haunted Attractions Pass details are on the Six Flags Great Adventure website.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (Sept. 15, 2026), the Fright Fest announcement, the four new mazes, scare zone names, Dead Man’s Party return, the Fehnel quote, the under 13 recommendation, and the Dorney Park and Bakunawa details
Six Flags Great Adventure event page, the full nine maze lineup and the All Season Haunted Attractions Pass starting price
Attractions Magazine, the six claimed Bakunawa world records, track length, train configuration and height requirement
Axios, the seven park divestiture to EPR Properties, the sale price and the margin figures
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