The Six Flags theme park in Springfield, Massachusetts is currently featuring its Halloween-themed attraction, Frightfest. It is running every weekend for the month of October and on Halloween itself.
For those looking for a true Halloween experience, the appearance of the park certainly seems to have been through quite an overhaul. All of the buildings are covered in cobwebs and old ropes, while an abundance of fog machines spray the entrance with a spooky mist. Some of the Looney Toons favorites are dressed for the occasion, waiting to snap a photo with guests inside the gate. Park attendees dressed as creatures of the undead attempt to torment groups of kids making their way into the park.
And that’s pretty much where Frightfest begins and ends- at the entrance. Once entering the park, most of it appears to be the same, with the occasional decorations thrown on some of the buildings. A few sections of the park have been converted into creepier locales, like the 1950’s area that has been turned into a Roswell-themed alien crash site. Other than knowing that it is October, one would probably forget that they were in the park for Frightfest.
The ultimate attraction of Frightfest is “Nightmare Island,” which is the water park serving as a haunted house. The usual “Lazy River” is drained and instead filled jungle and cave scenes. The participants walk through it, being told they are looking for scientific team that has gone missing. One of the main problems with “the Island” is that it is far too well-lit.
Unlike other actual haunted houses, the path is very wide, very illuminated and very unscary. Many of the “savages and mutants” that are attempting to scare park-goers can be seen long before they pop out from behind sets of fake skeletons. Many of the cheesier items- rubber spiders, robotic gargoyles and fake appendages – are exposed awkwardly by the lit up water park, making it far less scary for older patrons. If “Nightmare Island” isn’t scary enough there is also the “Trail of Terror,” a walk through the woods that was supposed to have once been a thriving town. It’s slightly darker, but off in an obscure location in the park that isn’t as easily stumbled upon.
There are many other events going on throughout the day and into the night, but none that are close to being worth the price of admission. There’s a hypnotist show, a “creature feature” (reptiles and creepy crawlers and such), and all sorts of cheesy shows occurring on the multiple main streets. Probably the most terrifying (but not in a scary kind of way) is the Dead Legends LIVE! show that takes place in the Main Street Gazebo. It’s horrifying mainly because it features dead entertainers butchering otherwise popular songs. There’s probably a reason that no one else has tried to create a family musical experience featuring Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Mama Cass and Jim Morrison painted like zombies and painfully belting Bon Jovi songs.
Between the prices (parking alone is $15 and tickets to enter the park are $40,) the food and the lines, Frightfest most likely isn’t worth the trip for Plymouth State students. Between the three hour ride from Plymouth and the money that is spent by the end of a full day there, college-aged kids will end up feeling more ripped off than entertained. While it is fun to get out of Plymouth to seek some good old-fashioned fall fun, Six Flags is not the ticket. There are other options that are more in the area, like hay rides or other haunted houses. The Haunted Mansion at Victorian Park in Salem is a lot scarier and a lot more affordable, even though it is a fraction of the size (and only an hour away!)
For those dying to get down to Springfield and hang out with Bugs Bunny dressed up as a vampire, investing in passes from Dunkin Donuts would be helpful. They offer coupons for two tickets for the price of one and can be redeemed inside the park. Even without the price of admission, six hours total of driving and $4 Cokes don’t seem worth the effort just to get into the Halloween spirit.