Today marks the start of another haunting season for Knott’s Scary Farm. I was joined tonight by MiceChat veterans DisneybySteph and Scott Attula, and two newcomers to the Scary Farm, Nathan Villamor and Erika Kurzawa. With nine mazes, four scare zones, and three different shows, there was more for us to see than we had time for. Since we had a sizable group, I decided to ask my tribe of haunt survivors to rate each maze on three criteria: Theming, Scares, and Overall Entertainment Value, I would put up the average of the group’s scores. It’s definitely interesting to see how each of us experienced the same mazes and events through such different lenses. Along the way we also sure an insider’s view for getting the most out of your play time with the monsters.
We are listing the mazes by the collective rank our crew gave. You’ll have a chance to rank them yourselves at the bottom of this article.
Now . . . into the fog . . .
Pumpkin Eater
(Theme 90, Scare 83, Entertainment 90 = 88)
I’ve got to say, this surprised me. Pumpkin Eater was a new maze last year. It wasn’t my personal favorite then, and it isn’t now, but collectively, our crew rated its elements the highest. It’s a solid maze on every account, it’s well constructed, visceral, employs clever technology, is legitimately scary, and has a theme that is distinctly appropriate for the season.
“Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater. Had a wife and couldn’t keep her. He put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well.”
A nursery rhyme as the theme for a maze? Yes indeed. Turns out that little ditty you learned in childhood was the murderous tale of a man who got tired of dealing with his wife’s extra-marital dalliances and shoved her remains into a pumpkin.
And that’s exactly what the maze is about. Dark!
Dark Ride
(Theme 90, Scare 85, Entertainment 84 = Composite Score: 86)
A once pleasant, now abandoned, dark ride becomes home to murderous sideshow freaks hellbent on causing terror. This ride has the perfect feel for the Haunt and for a park like Knott’s. Even more so because it is located in the CarnEVIL scare zone. If only it was a real dark ride! This maze is returning for its 2nd year and is every bit as fun as last year. Unfortunately, not everyone in our group agreed about the score. While two of us rated it the best maze of the night, one rates it the 2nd worst. Just goes to show you that one woman’s tonic is another man’s poison.
The Depths (New for 2018)
(Theme 95, Scare 64, Entertainment 91 = 83)
What a wonderful surprise this new maze was. Headed into the event I wasn’t sure it sounded like a winner. Something about miners in a cave being killed off by mystical sea-creature-people. The sum of its parts is much better than that. Animatronic kraken, great costumes and masks, detailed sets, and fun acting make this maze a really engaging experience. in fact, this maze rated the 2nd highest on our crew’s “Entertainment” rating, beaten only by this next entry . . .
Dark Entities (New for 2018)
(Theme 90, Scare 64, Entertainment 92 = 82)
Both of this year’s new mazes are fantastic. Dark Entities is a space themed attraction with an elaborate set, mutilated crew, tense staging, and good acting. What it didn’t have was a very high scare level. While that made the attraction more entertaining for me personally, for the purposes of our rating system, that dragged it down a bit.
Paranormal Inc.
76, 73, 84 = 78
Paranormal is a MiceChat favorite which I was thrilled to see return. It also received a pretty big update to the end of the attraction. One part Ghostbusters and one part American Horror Stories, Paranormal takes us on an adventure filled with ghosts, aerial stunts, and digital effects! It’s also ambitious with its opening theatrical element. This year’s ending has been reworked with a short pause in the action and some bright lights, before a thrilling finale which should prove very satisfying to most guests.
Shadow Lands
81, 74, 80 = 78
Shadow Lands depicts demon samurai whose souls are cursed to rot within the depths of an ancient Japanese temple and into the midst of the Shadowlands. This is a gorgeous maze with perhaps the most satisfying set of all the attractions. Unfortunately, it feels a bit scaled back this year with the removal of the opening show scene and a simplification of the ending. It’s interesting to note that our two Scary Farm novices loved this maze and rated it much higher than the other three of us.
Trick-or-Treat: Lights Out
Theme 76, Scare 78, Entertainment 76 = 76.5
This was the first maze of the night that we did. It’s a long-returning maze (though this is only the 2nd year of it being in the dark) and is a frightful delight with lots of details and secrets lurking in the darkness. Armed with an interactive “faulty flashlight,” and your wits, you enter the Green Witch’s home to face her wrath. This maze is a personal favorite and I hope it never leaves. One trick of the night was to do this as soon as the park opens because this is definitely a popular maze, and will only get busier throughout the night due to a limited number of flashlights. It’s pretty far down the list here, but high in entertainment value, don’t let that fool you.
Special Ops: Infected
58, 30, 59 = 49
And here’s where I start to lose interest. Special Ops: Infected is still laser tag against the undead. It’s a highly interactive experience which has evolved and moved over the years. It was fun the first few years we did it. But this low capacity attraction takes up a lot of space that a new maze could take. It gets my vote to be kicked off the island for next year.
The Red Barn
49, 40, 36 = 42
But lowest on our list is the relatively recent Red Barn. You’ve seen Knott’s do this one before, and better. Cannibals, carnivorous animals, and blood soaked hay bales. Everyone in our group voted this one the lowest of the evening. Ouch!
Scare Zones
You might think you are safe once you exit a maze . . . but you’d be wrong. Almost all of Knott’s Scary Farm is a giant outdoor haunted experience. There’s really nowhere to hide. So if the line for the mazes gets too long, you can still have a great time just wandering around.
New for 2018: Forsaken Lake
The lake underneath Silver Bullet reveals the horrors and creatures it’s kept hidden, until now. Forsaken Lake unleashes gothic creatures, which have been ravaged by the dark and murky waters, as they wander their crypts preying on unsuspecting visitors, looking for victims to drag back to their watery graves. It’s atmospheric with lots of great monsters, and the interaction between the talent and the guests is worthy enough of a show of its own. There isn’t a lot of set decoration here, but the lighting, background music, and wonderful new monsters is a delight.
Ghost Town Streets
Ghost Town Streets is the original and largest of all the scare zones. Bands of half-human, half-animal monsters prowl the streets and inhabit the fog. Beware the notoriously startling Sliders who lunge from every fog-filled corner of the land. This may be the best scare zone any park has this year (or any year). THIS is the classic scare. I could spend the whole night here.
At last year’s MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm VIP event (more info below), I joked about the ghosts of the millions of chickens from Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant who roam the farm looking for revenge. At this year’s Haunt, there they were!!!
CarnEvil
The Boardwalk clowns are a terrifying and funny classic, almost as famous as Ghost Town Streets. This is one area where it’s fun to find a place to sit and watch the clowns scare, trick, and entertain other guests. Amazing.
The clowns are such a creepy delight. They banter with guests and each other.
The Hollow
The Hollow scare zone is a war between three covens of witches and their armies of the undead. The fog-filled streets, along with the army of the undead, treacherously blend into the shadowy night as they frighten all whom they encounter.
Shows
While Elvira will not be returning this year, Knott’s has expanded the number of shows they’ll be featuring.
The Hanging
The Hanging returns this year to help drag out all the people and things worth hanging from the last year. It’s cringeworthy, tasteless and offensive . . . just as you’d expect. This year’s show is a bit slow compared to recent efforts, but it’s still worth your time.
The fighting is violent, but less of it this year.
The acrobatics is impressive, but less of it this year.
The cultural comedy is the real reason for this show, but it’s been toned down this year under the lens of our bitter partisan social divide. Yes, even the Hanging has been negatively impacted by our current political situation. Although there was enough material for a million Trump jokes, there weren’t any in the show – rather, you’ll find jokes about how the Hanging has been neutered, and it has been. If they can’t get back to real social commentary, perhaps it’s time for this show to end. Universal has ended their Bill and Ted shows for similar reasons. America just can’t take a joke right now, everyone is too sensitive about everything.
HACKS – Cutting Room Floor
We did not have time for the other two shows.
The antics of “Hacks” returns to Knott’s Scary Farm with a brand new show in the Charles M. Schulz Theatre. This time around, they have taken over a run-down movie theater and with the help of the audience and lots of “B” horror films, they create on the spot, a Halloween show that will have you screaming with laughter.
CONJURE – Magic and Mirth
Join award-winning magicians and Fox’s Masters of Illusion regulars as they take the stage to amaze and amuse. Witness magicians Dana Daniels, Taylor Hughes, and Chipper Lowell front and center as they perform on select nights in the Bird Cage Theatre.
Other Entertainment
Aside from the Mazes, shows, and scare zones, there are some additional things to enjoy this year.
Into the Fog: Art Exhibit
Artists from across the country have been invited to create works of art celebrating Knott’s Scary Farm. You can find them in the Bizarre Bazaar (located across from the Charles Schulz Theater).
Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny
Awaken The Dead
A nightly dance party in Fiesta Village offers high-energy fun, rhythmic music, performances by a live DJ, dancing and go-go dancers to help awaken the dead.
VR Experience
The VR experience in the arcade next to the Bizarre Bazaar has been updated for Halloween. It’s an overlay of the normal Showdown in Ghost Town, but it’s fun nonetheless. It’s just as solid of an arcade shooter as the original, except now you get to shoot at zombies.
There seemed to be a few different types of zombies. Some are bigger, some run at you, some explode, etc. The only complaint (besides a technical problem that plagued Scott’s partner) was that the implementation of slow motion didn’t actually slow down the game, but cut the framerate in half so it felt slower. That induced a feeling of vertigo/motion sickness that subsided when slow motion ended. The gun now has a flashlight on it, a nice touch, and the play arena is smaller, darker, and tighter, which makes it feel more scary and intimate. The flashlight is there for a reason. You’ll find out if you play. For $5 it’s a good value. The level of difficulty did seem higher than the original game and apparently the hard mode activates something very different from the easy and normal mode.
Knott’s Scary Farm 2018 is a wonderful event. High on entertainment value for the money. Our two new Scary Farm guests were blown away by how much there was to see and do. We got to the event at opening and left at 1am when it closed and didn’t see everything. That’s a good thing. You could easily divide this event up and do it over several nights. If you do want to try to see everything, get the “Freight Lane” option which gives you front of line for mazes and rides. It’s worth it if you can afford the extra $$$ (price varies).
There were two new mazes and one new scare zone this year, they were all great. The Hanging was worth the time but still a disappointment compared to its rich legacy.
We are looking forward to returning next weekend for the MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm VIP event. I could return every weekend and not run out of things to see and do. Monsters + Fog + Boysenberries = Happy Halloween. It’s scientifically proven.
Choose YOUR favorite Scary Farm mazes:
Select which mazes are ripe for replacement:
There is no better way to visit Knott’s Scary Farm than as a VIP with MiceChat. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity:
| Micechat Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt VIP Event – Saturday, September 29th |
MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm VIP Event Tickets HEREJoin us in the fog-shrouded streets of Ghost Town for the MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt 2018. We are once again working with the great folks of Knott’s Berry to bring you a magically scary event. Leave the real world behind and enter a dream-land of spooky fun with fellow MiceChat readers.
This year’s panel discussion will feature animatronic and haunt superstars Garner Holt and Bill Butler (of Garner Holt Productions). We’ll also be joined by Jeff Tucker (Knott’s Entertainment Supervisor, creative, and writer of the Hanging), and John Waite (one of the godfathers of the original theme park haunts). An epic way to launch your haunt!!!
Our VIP event is the ultimate way to experience Knott’s Scary Farm:
- Admission into Knott’s Scary Farm
- Meet and greet with maze designers
- Backstage tour of a new maze before the event
- MiceChat panel discussion with legends and creatives
- All you can eat Private Pre-scare Boo-fet dinner
- Early entry into Haunt
- Unlimited front of the line access to all mazes
- Front of line for Fastlane rides
- A bone-chilling night of MiceChat fun
Have you always wanted to go to the haunt but you were too afraid? Join 150 of your fellow readers who will help keep you safe from the monsters. Not afraid? Help Dusty lead the way through the fog!
Get your tickets now before they disappear!
We’d like to thank photographers DisneyBySteph and Scott Attula for their help with photography, and Nathan Villamor and Erika Kurzawa for help with content and social media. It was a very late night for all and we very much appreciate them!
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