Kids Boo Fest and Oktoberfest are already running in Jackson, and both come with admission. Meanwhile two other Six Flags parks skipped the scary one entirely this year.
Six Flags Great Adventure is running three fall events at once. Kids Boo Fest and Oktoberfest started Sept. 12 on select days through Nov. 1. Fright Fest runs select nights from Sept. 18 through the same closing date.
That full slate is no longer a given across the chain.
Fright Fest returns for its 34th year at nearly every Six Flags park, but two are sitting it out. Six Flags Darien Lake in New York confirmed it is not holding the event, and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California has a fall calendar without it.
Both are running family daytime programming instead.
Kids Boo Fest costs nothing extra
Kids Boo Fest activities are included with regular park admission. It runs during the day, before Fright Fest sets up, with trick-or-treating, games, themed activities, and live entertainment.
Costumes are encouraged. The whole thing is built for the crowd that would find Fright Fest genuinely upsetting.
Mike Fehnel, park president at Great Adventure, framed the season broadly. “Fall is one of the most enjoyable times of the year to visit Great Adventure,” he said.
The Oktoberfest menu is the real draw
Also included with admission, though the food and drinks are not.
The lineup runs sauerbraten, knockwurst and bratwurst on pretzel buns, cheesy spaetzle, German potato salad, potato pancakes, steamed and fried pierogies, and soft Bavarian pretzels with beer cheese.
Guests 21 and over get Paulaner Oktoberfest, Hefeweizen, Munich Lager and Grapefruit Radler, plus Samuel Adams Oktoberfest and Boston Lager.
That is a stronger German menu than most regional parks attempt, and it is presented by Cash App this year.
Fright Fest is the one with the separate cost
Two things to know before planning around it.
Fright Fest is not recommended for children under 13. And the haunted mazes are premium attractions, not included with general admission. Access requires a Haunted Attractions Pass.
New this year at Great Adventure is Final Destination: Death’s Playground, which is also running at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Returning licensed experiences across the chain include attractions built on The Conjuring universe, SAW, The Strangers, Trick ‘r Treat and Army of the Dead, with names varying park to park.
Why did two parks skip Fright Fest?
Neither park has explained it in detail.
Darien Lake confirmed the cancellation to WROC8 News and said it would run Kids Boo Fest every weekend from Sept. 19 through Oct. 11, plus an Oktoberfest that started back in August. Discovery Kingdom’s calendar lists Oktoberfest and Tricks and Treats with no Fright Fest, and the park has not publicly confirmed a cancellation.
Two parks out of a large chain is not a trend on its own. It does line up with a broader shift toward daytime family programming, which costs less to stage than a nighttime scare event with actors, mazes and licensed IP.
What else is at Great Adventure this fall?
The park is running its full attraction lineup alongside the events, including Nitro, El Toro and Jersey Devil Coaster.
New for 2026 is Shoreline Pier at The Boardwalk, a seaside-themed area with five attractions plus games and dining. Wild Safari holds more than 1,200 animals, and Hurricane Harbor New Jersey has over 25 water attractions.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation now operates 20 amusement parks, 14 water parks and nine resort properties across 13 states, plus one park in Saudi Arabia, following its 2024 merger with Cedar Fair.
For anyone in the region deciding between the two Halloween experiences, the split is straightforward. Daytime is free with your ticket. Nighttime is not, and the mazes cost more on top of that.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Six Flags Great Adventure (Sept. 9, 2026), the event announcement, the Oktoberfest menu and beer list, and the Fehnel comments
Six Flags, the official Great Adventure events calendar and the Fright Fest admission terms
Haunted Attraction Network (September 2026), the 34th-year figure and the park-by-park Fright Fest status including the two exceptions
Attractions Magazine (September 2026), the new and returning licensed haunted attractions and the Discovery Kingdom calendar note
Inside the Magic (September 2026), the Darien Lake confirmation to WROC8 News and its replacement event dates
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