Knott’s Berry Farm is slowly transforming from Summertime fun to frightful Fall festivities. But this year is extra special. The Farm’s annual Halloween event, Halloween Haunt, is celebrating its 40th Anniversary. Our sources tell us that they are really pulling out all the stops this year to scare the pants off of all who dare to visit. Another annual tradition, the annual MiceChat Halloween Haunt Meet, lands on Saturday, September 22nd this year and tickets have finally gone on sale. Here’s what’s new at the farm and more about MiceChat’s must-do event of the season.
MiceChat’s KNOTT’S SCARY FARM 40th Anniversary HALLOWEEN HAUNT SPOOKTACULAR 9.22.12
MiceChat kicks off the Halloween season each year with a major event at Knott’s Scary Farm. This will be Knott’s 40th year of scares. And that calls for an extra special celebration, MiceChat style.
This year, we are offering:
- Admission to the 40th Annual Knott’s Scary Farm Haloween Haunt on September 22
- Behind the scenes tour of one of the new mazes, hosted by one of the maze designers
- Private all you can eat Boo-ffet Dinner
- Meet and greet with Haunt makers, Maze Designers, Haunt Legends and more
- Presentation by Ted Dougherty author of the Knott’s Halloween Haunt Pictorial
- Commemorative Trick-Or-Treat Bags
- VIP Wristbands for Front of the line access to all Knott’s Haunt mazes (Excluding VIP Maze, “Trapped”)
- More untold surprises
HAUNT PREPARATION
Truth be told, Knott’s has been preparing for this upcoming Haunt since well before the last haunt ended. Why? It is a landmark year for the original Halloween Haunt event. Most of the finishing touches are already being made to the mazes which are located backstage. While the more visible mazes inside the park are now being constructed.
General Manager, Raffi Kaprelyan, is very concerned with how the Haunt affects the general guests in the park during the day. He is so concerned with preservation of the Knott’s experience that he has ordered temporary theming built to hide the scarier elements from day visitors. Thats a big but very welcome change for the family crowd.
HAUNT MUSEUM
In Ghost Town, the old Sticks and Stones location is being converted into a retrospective Haunt museum and ticket center. It is set to open on August 31st, but the windows are already dressed.
UNCLE BOBO’S
Those insipid clowns are back this year and the maze is now growing behind Xcelerator.
CLOWNS!
THE EVIL DEAD
In a surprise announcement, it was revealed that the Timber Mountain Log Ride will take on an EVIL DEAD overlay this year ( a remake of the classic film is coming next year).
VIRUS Z
With the new emphasis little impact to the day guest, the walls outside of Virus Z have been themed to Fiesta Village. The effort is nice. While the murals are a simple pastiche of flats and scenes, it is commendable to see them putting forth the effort to keep separate day and night show for Haunt.
SLAUGHTER HOUSE
A more compact version of Slaughterhouse is coming along under the stagecoach route in Camp Snoopy.
PINOCCHIO UNSTRUNG
Meanwhile, in the Wilderness Dance Hall, the nightmarish retelling of Pinocchio by maze designer Daniel Miller (Delirium, Asylum, Lockdown) is now being installed.
As you can see, they are now setting up the walls. There are very high expectations for this maze already among Haunt fans. We love this creative idea.
GHOST TOWN
Enough of Haunt for the moment. There are some wonderful things happening in Ghost Town that are kinda nice, and one a little scary.
Passerby are casually strolling through Ghost Town, enjoying the atmosphere when suddenly, they hear, “HEY! Wanna go to Catalina?”. It was a huge improvement when Knott’s fixed the music in Ghost Town, it would be a wonderful next step if they would remove the obnoxious Catilina Island Getaway booth or at least train them not to approach guests (but rather wait for guests to approach them).
Despite that, the new Ghost Town citizens continue to charm and entertain the guests in the park.
This is SO GOOD TO SEE!
This one’s a real charmer!
Another thing to keep in mind is the delightful the new menu at Ghost Town Grill. Definitely worth a try.
More set dressing has appeared on the store fronts. In particular, this set of rocking chairs in front of the sheriff’s office is a nice touch and makes the area feel lived in.
We have also notice some lighting appearing on the roof tops throughout the area. Most likely for Haunt.
JEFF TUCKER SIGNS THE SIXTH KEY
Author, and c-writer of the annual Hanging at Halloween Haunt, Jeff Tucker was in Virgina’s Gift Shop over the weekend signing copies of his new book. Folks got there early and hundreds of adoring fans lined up to meet the man behind the book.
PERILOUS PLUNGE TO CLOSE
Go get your last rites, er, rides in on Perilous Plunge. This killer attraction will close on Sept 3rd. Our thoughts? Good riddance. A big space has just opened upafor Knott’s future enhancement.
SNOOPY BOUNCE HOUSE
Over in Camp Snoopy, the Bounce House finally has a canopy, but it doesn’t look like Snoopy is returning. Time for this attraction to be replaced as well?
And that about rounds things up from Knott’s Berry Farm this week. If you haven’t gotten them yet we do suggest buying your Haunt meet tickets right away. We sell out every year, and this year is drawing extra attention due to the 40th anniversary and new VIP maze. It’s a blast, at an excellent price with lots of special perks and some pretty unbelievable surprises. We hope you’ll join us.
See you at Knott’s!