Do you feel that change in the air? Down at Knott’s Berry Farm, the park is transitioning from summer to fall by donning Halloween decorations in preparation for the Scary Farm fog to roll in later this week. It might feel like it’s a little soon to make the transition from Summer Nights to Spooky/Scary Farm based on current weather, but Disney and Universal have already launched their Halloween events, so it’s time for Knott’s to follow suit. Here’s a look at the pre-Halloween frights and sights for this year…
Halloween is Here
Knott’s Scary Farm is only a few days away, with the first night starting on September 16. Now that the Summer Nights event series has come to an end, the park is getting ready to scare up some good fun. With both Knott’s Scary Farm in the evenings and Spooky Farm during the day, the park will soon be in full-time Halloween mode.
If you’d like to familiarize yourself with what Knott’s has planned for Scary Farm, check out our article below.
UPDATED! Knott’s Scary Farm Mazes, Scare Zones & Entertainment 2021
With just a few days until opening night, Knott’s is hard at work on their signature event. There are several mazes located around the property that look like they’re ready to go. The ones near Ghost Rider are practically begging for some visitors.
The newest maze to join Knott’s lineup is “Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind.” It’s fittingly located along the Boardwalk section of the park and will feature circus-themed iconography. This is the only new maze this year for Scary Farm and we cannot wait to see what kinds of horrors the circus tent has to offer.
Around Ghost Town, a few stiff figures have been set up on the balconies and garden spaces. They’re fun to see by daylight and unsettling to discover by night. The transformation between the old-fashioned-fun day-version and scary nighttime-version at Knott’s for Halloween is quite incredible.
It’s not all scary for Knott’s at Halloween. Over at the Log Ride, the goofy seasonal overlay, Halloween Hootenanny, is being installed. A pair of eyes have been placed atop the first lift hill. We’re looking forward to hearing the catchy song from Krazy Kirk & the Hillbillies that plays during this overlay.
Around Reflection Lake, you’ll see some props finding a new home for the haunt season. At night, the area is turned into the Forsaken Lake scare zone. Undead denizens have come out to haunt human onlookers. Nothing quite like undead Victorians.
One of our favorite mazes from 2019, “Origin: The Curse of Calico,” is set up over at the Wilderness Dancehall. This maze gives visitors the origin story of the Green Witch character that has become iconic to Scary Farm.
If you need a refresher for this maze (or want to mentally steel yourself for the horrors that await) take a look at the article from the last Knott’s Scary Farm in 2019.
Nearby, in the Graveyard, special lighting and fog machines have been installed. During last year’s Taste of Fall-O-Ween, Knott’s debuted a series of animations featuring a handful of the residents of the Graveyard and how they met their fate. In a normal Scary Farm year, this would have been a mostly overlooked entertainment offering, but now it’s something that we’re really looking forward to seeing again.
Moving over to Camp Snoopy, The Hollow Scare Zone is coming together. Some scary-looking Jack-O-lantern Tree stumps have been placed around the area. During the day they’re a little creepy, but at night the fear factor is upped with eerie lighting and billowing fog.
The Camp Snoopy stage has added a forest scene backdrop and a cauldron.
The Snoopy meet and greet has been moved back to its usual spot. (Peanuts characters were previously meeting guests from the Camp Snoopy stage.) We’re not sure if this new stage setup is being utilized for Scary Farm or if there’s a new show headed for daytime guests/during Spooky Farm. Either way, we’re looking forward to seeing what it’s used for.
Back at Cordy’s Corner, the Into the Fog: A Scary Farm Tribute Gallery has been set up for your viewing pleasure. We always love seeing how each artist interprets Scary Farm themes and turns them into pieces of art. Originals and prints are available for purchase.
Goodbye Summer Nights
As summer comes to its end, so must Summer Nights. We have had an awesome time as we danced the night away way with a nightly rotation of bands. Let’s take a look at the last few memories of Summer Nights.
As always, we appreciated the actors in the Summer Night’s Committee as they helped keep us entertained and engaged the entire evening.
It wasn’t all good vibes though. As much as we loved the entertainment and atmosphere, the food options for this event just weren’t up to the standard Knott’s set for itself with their food festivals last year. We don’t want to be too harsh, but nothing really hit out of the park this time around. Here’s hoping that Knott’s is receptive to a bit of constructive criticism.
Personally, I would only have recommended the Passion Fruit Macron and the Cookie Dough Cone. Those I would have definitely gotten again. That said, there were some options that I thought were pretty terrible, like the Butter & Onion Burger and the Loaded Baked Potato Bowl. Overall, the range of food items was pretty underwhelming for this event. Thankfully the park is filled with great food at the regular establishments.
Back on Track
At the beginning of July, Knott’s reinstated service on the Calico Railroad as the Green River Engine returned to the line after an unforeseen refurbishment. It’s really nice to have the heart of the parks back. Seeing and hearing a train go by really adds to the energy of the park.
And now that off-season has arrived, the Galloping Goose is on the railroad during the weekdays.
Also returning to the farm is the Butterfield Stagecoach.
Just before the reopening of the Stagecoaches, Knott’s took the opportunity to repave the queue area for the attraction.
Around the Farm
Just outside the park, the California Shop currently sits vacant after being used as the temperature screening location last year. Temperature checks haven’t been implemented at Knott’s for months, so we’re curious what’s happening with the shop. Taking a peek inside the shop, we can see some of the original shelving and displays have reappeared but a final layout has not been laid out just yet.
Entertainment Update:
As we went around the park this summer, one thing we have to note is how strong Knott’s Entertainment Program is. Just about everywhere you turn in the park there was some sort of show ready to entertain you. Here are a few that we’d like to spotlight:
Happiness Is…
The Mayfield Gang Rides Again
Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies
and Melody Lane Melodeon.
Calico Saloon Show Update
We want to give you an update on a few shows that we missed, so let’s start off with the Calico Saloon Show. The Calico Saloon show has moved back indoors but you wouldn’t know what times the show takes place as the marquee boards have all their times blacked out. Knott’s seems to be a little hesitant on posting these times so the Saloon won’t be overrun.
The Calico Saloon Show itself has returned to a somewhat normal version. Missing from the show is Dakota Dan, Cameo Kate’s long-term boyfriend. Additionally, at about two-thirds point of the show, Cameo Kate stops the show and greets her guests by coming down the stairs to walk the ground floor and welcoming the entire room before heading back on stage to finish the show.
As a neat surprise, we have found some additional Citizens of Calico come in and watch the show at the bar top. This is a welcome change to the show as this year, due to the unique circumstances, Calico Alive was unfortunately canceled.
Bob Baker Marionette Theater
We finally had the opportunity to check out this classic marionette show on the Fiesta Village stage. It’s a fun show for everyone and features a colorful cast of characters. A Halloween version of the show will debut at the end of September for Spooky Farm.
When will Johnny Rockets Open?
For the past several weeks, Johny Rockets restaurant has been kept in mothballs. We are unsure when the restaurant is expected to reopen but it’s kind of weird to see one of the busiest locations in the park being closed throughout summer.
Refurb Round-Up
Over at Hang Time, Knott’s has had a very bad summer as the park’s newest coaster has been closed for refurbishment since the middle of July.
Next door, the Wipeout Spinner is also offline.
We can see the rider seats just backstage behind Hang Time.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Swing has also been closed for an extended amount of time. We still have no idea when it will return.
A newer refurbishment is Pig Pen’s Mud Buggies as the ride has been recently been dissembled.
And now on to a different type of refurbishment: the Ghost Town Bakery has been gutted and hopefully being completely remodeled.
This & That
And now here are a few other stories from around the Farm…
Bear-y Tales Prizes
For the past several weeks Knott’s has been releasing plush versions of the Bear-y Tales characters that can only be obtained by playing 12 times at Game booths around the park. They are very cute and would make an excellent addition to your Knott’s collection.
Western Trail Museum Reopened
A few weeks ago, Knott’s reopened the Western Trails Museum. There are so many historic objects to discover. Take your time and explore at your pleasure.
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Let’s Hear From You
And that’s it for today. We had an awesome summer at Knott’s and cannot wait to see you in the fog! Will you be attending the MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm event? Is there a maze you’re looking forward to? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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