In the middle of Spring, you’d be hard pressed to find an event that fills the void left by the Halloween season. For us Halloween fans, this is about the time we start to count down the days between now and our favorite event’s opening night. Thankfully, Six Flags Magic Mountain has brought back their wildly popular Scream Break event to help satisfy those Halloween cravings. With 2 Haunted Houses (SAW and Condamned: House Party), 3 Scare Zones, 6 Coasters in the dark, Food, Drink, and a party atmosphere; Scream Break brings the fun of Spring Break but with all the thrills and frights that only Six Flags can do.

We’ve not been shy about our love for this event! In fact, if you want to hear an in-depth discussion about our experiences, make sure to check out our latest episode of the podcast HERE.

But in short, Scream Break embraces the absurdity of Halloween within a Spring Break party setting and that is where it succeeds. The monsters aren’t tasked to only scare you, but to also make sure you’re having fun. At one point a monster approached me and asked what time it was. I felt as though I was being set up for a joke but hesitantly responded with the actual time. He responded by telling me it was “MODELO TIME!” and asked me where my drink was, but to avoid the ooze. Or even walking through Condamned: House Party (one of two haunted houses) and being coxed into a chant with a undead Toga Bro. It’s moments like these that leave lasting impressions with us, rather than the quick momentary scare.

Honestly, the talent at Scream Break are truly what make this event special. From the undead students of Demon’s Row, the club going vampires of Bloodborn Hollow, or the dancing maniacal clowns of Grave; each zone completely chock full of monsters who scare, interact, and create memorable moments with guests venturing through the park. Not only that, but each scare zone has it’s own distinct style and tone which not only gives the event a variety of scares, but it also lends a bit of unpredictability, which we love.

Back again from last years Fright Fest, Saw returns with some upgrades! The maze felt much more populated, there were more set design pieces, and we noticed an upgrade in the sound design as well. The major stand out for us were the trigger noises for the scares which actually gave us a small…small…small jolt. This is still some of the best work that SFMM has done in terms of their haunted houses and I’m glad to see them continue to plus the experiences.

Then we have Condamned: House Party, back from it’s first run at Scream Break and showing up at Fright Fest. I believe we said it in our Fright Fest 2023 review, but House Party thrives at Scream Break. It needs that overall atmosphere of Scream Break to reach it’s highest potential. The energy from the monsters in this maze is completely infectious. You see them having fun and you immediately want to join in! They even had a character outside the maze giving backstory to the experience, which we love.

One thing we will say about the maze experiences at Scream Break is that there needs to be one more maze. Scream Break’s first year had 3 mazes and I feel it’s absence at this years event. During the Haunted Happy Hour, the crowd gets overbearing at times. If Vault 666 or Truth or Dare was opened, it would help alleviate those crowds.

A major highlight of the night is hands down Sigma Phi: Slide or Die. For us, Six Flags Magic Mountain haunted events are known for their slider shows. Each year, the talented team of sliders continue to impress us and defy our expectations. This years show was much more choreographed with synchronized dance moments to popular music. It’s the perfect show to get you into the Spring Break mood.

The last thing we want to talk about in this article is somewhat personal, so please bear with us. If you listened to the podcast, you know exactly where this is going.

Much like Scary Farm, Scream Break this year has become something so incredibly personal for us. We decided, after much discussion, Scream Break would be a perfect stepping stone for our kiddo’s first foray into the world of haunts. Scream Break has many of the familiar elements of haunts, but presented in a way that is much easier to digest for a 5 year old. We were fully prepared to leave if our kiddo wasn’t into it or couldn’t handle it. But from the moment we walked into the gates of SFMM, the community really took care of her and us. Not only that, but the monsters and staff of the event took it upon themselves to make sure she had a fantastic time. Monsters approached cautiously, got on her level, and interacted in a way she could understand. Some even giving her glow bracelets, stickers, and bracelets. She had such a good time that she wanted to go into the haunted house, which was a big surprise to us. While some things creeped her out more than others, she was a trooper and really dove head first.

At last years Midsummer Scream, we showed our kiddo her first slider show with the crew of Decayed Brigade! Since then, she’s talked about it almost non-stop and has tried to recreate those moments at home to our dismay! But when we told her about the slider show at Scream Break, she was determined to see it, no matter how tired she was. She sat front row and loved every moment. She cheered, clapped, screamed, and had a blast. Even pointing out specific monsters that she wanted a picture with because she liked them so much.

Our experience that night is one of those “core memory” moments as a parent and hopefully for her too. Words couldn’t even begin to express how thankful we are to be within a community of people who care so much about a 5 year olds experience at a haunted event. It means the world to us not only as parents, but to fellow members of this community.

OVERALL

Scream Break continues to show why it’s so incredibly popular and successful. Fantastic talent, great entertainment and roller coasters in the dark; are a deadly combination for Spring Break thrill seekers. While there is always room to grow and improve; Scream Break is such a breathe of fresh air in the themed entertainment landscape during this time of year. The combination of the event’s overall tone and vibe help create an experience like no other. We can only hope that Scream Break comes back in 2025, because we will be their opening night, hopefully with our kiddo in tow.

Thank you to everyone at Six Flags Magic Mountain for helping make Scream Break memorable for us.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SCREAM BREAK AND SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN, CLICK HERE