It’s time for a Halloween Hootenanny! While Knott’s acclaimed frightening Halloween event, Knotts Scary Farm, terrifies at night, Knott’s Spooky Farm takes on a more family-friendly tone during the day. With Knott’s signature focus on entertainment, Spooky Farm embraces the fun part of the holiday on Saturdays and Sundays between now and October 31st. Today we’re checking out quite a few new offerings for 2021, including new shows and an overlay for the Calico Mine Ride.
If you are interested in scary, check out what happens when the sun sets at the Farm (spoiler alert, we love it):
Knott’s Spooky Farm
Knott’s Spooky Farm is designed for younger children and their families who want to experience the spookier themes of Halloween with fewer scares. Guests under the age of 12 are encouraged to dress up in costumes and explore the park. This year, Knott’s Berry Farm has cooked a new lineup of Halloween-themed entertainment throughout the park. We’ll show you everything that’s new and noteworthy!
Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s Halloween Spooktacular
One of our favorite parts of the summer season was the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. The puppeteer troupe quickly gained a lot of new fans. For Halloween, the puppets move to the Bird Cage Theatre. This show features a retro-classic puppet show singing and dancing to seasoned Halloween songs.
We’d describe this show as saccharine sweet. Everything is either at least seventy years old or designed to look or feel that way. That definitely contributes to its charm, though.
About midway through the show, the stage is darkened and illuminated with black light. It’s a striking effect.
The whole show has a silly tone, but there are a few marionettes that err on the scarier side, like these specters below. Despite the ghostly appearance, the show remains child-friendly. While we imagine some younger children could be frightened, we suspect most everyone will find the show to be delightful and innocent.
Any older audience members who perhaps grew up when these kinds of classic children’s Halloween specials were popular will likely enjoy a little nostalgia. Bob Baker fits well with Knott’s despite being a little on the kookier side.
Great Pumpkin Palooza
Over at the Camp Snoopy Theater, you can join some of your favorite Peanut friends for a new musical tribute to Halloween, the Great Pumpkin Palooza.
Excuse us if we struggle to explain this show, it was actually quite difficult to follow. It appears that Linus and Lucy are looking for the Great Pumpkin while wandering through the woods, and with the help of what we guess is a lady wood nymph and Snoopy, they do finally discover the Great Pumpkin.
The music is very upbeat and fun, especially for the younger guests, but doesn’t help convey the story Knott’s was trying to tell here.
Overall, we felt this one was enjoyable even if fairly confusing. The Great Pumpkin Palooza replaced the fan-favorite The Monsters are Coming, Charlie Brown— the latter still being the superior show.
Día De La Muertos, Vivir!
Vivir, another new show for Spooky Farm, celebrates the Hispanic holiday of remembrance for the dead. The show features three vocalists singing in both English and Spanish, with songs representing the meaning of Día de la Muertos.
By now, we have to recognize just how awesome it is to have this much live music. Knott’s has a number of shows for Spooky Farm, including Vivir, that feature live performances instead of performing to pre-recorded music.
The show begins with a serious tone, explaining the traditional meaning of the holiday. Towards the end, the show becomes very silly, with rapping, pop songs, and there’s even a song about tacos. The silliness is tied into the holiday (traditionally, you leave the deceased family member’s favorite food on the ofrenda, and who doesn’t love tacos?), although that transition feels a bit sudden.
It’s not unusual for Fiesta Village to be a little wacky, so this really shouldn’t have come as a surprise. We were just expecting, based on the first half of the show, for it to be more traditional and conventional. With how accepted and prominent Día De La Muertos has become in recent years, Knott’s is in a position to do more than a funny, trendy interpretation of an important cultural holiday.
A fun little detail on the stage that most may miss is the little screens with dancing skeletons. They change throughout the show with different skeletons playing different instruments.
Trick or Treating
Guests under the age of 12 years old are encouraged to dress up in the best costumes and trick or treat around Ghost Town. Treat bags are handed out as you enter the park. Adults are welcome to join in the fun as well (hey, we like candy too).
Treat stations are marked by these adorable Ghost Town Halloween Society Treat Fair stands.
We were lucky to have Princess Anna join us on our candy hunt.
One thing we didn’t see were the spooky, yet friendly shopkeepers that haunted Ghost Town in previous years.
Knott’s press release mentions them (and Stanley Scarecrow), so perhaps we just missed them.
Costume Cavalcade
At the end of the day, families are invited to the Calico Mine Stage for the Costume Cavalcade. The show features Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies playing a twangy version of the Monster Mash.
Hosting the event are Calico residents Judge Roy Bean and Cameo Kate.
Joining them, the Peanuts gang in cute retro Halloween costumes.
Everyone is invited to march in the costume cavalcade, showing off your awesome costume!
Creepy Critters of Calico
Over at the Livery Stables, creatures have taken up short-term residency, ranging from horses to turtles, spiders to lizards.
Spooky Attractions
Knott’s has overlayed three attractions, filling them with pumpkins, spooks, and candy!
Calico Candy Mine Ride
New this year, a candy overlay on the Calico Mine Ride. Instead of mining silver, the Calico mineworkers are looking for candy!
A few posters were placed around the station advertising the Calico Candy Store, ironically placed next to advertisements for dental work in Calico.
A pleasantly twangy music loop of “Big Rock Candy Mountain” plays through the entire attraction, although the song can be unintelligible due to how loud the trains are. The tone is overly silly, mixing the regular tough vibe of grueling mining work with references to bubblegum bats and pulling taffy.
The idea is that all the silver ore in the mine during the Halloween season is magically transformed into candy including chocolate, rock candy, taffy, and pop rocks. The lighting has been updated to reflect the colorful change. Additional props have been placed around the sets featuring candy and candy packaging to help represent the magical change.
We actually rode this both during Spooky Farm and Scary Farm and things change dramatically when you hit Cathedral Cavern depending on the time of day you visit. During the day, the attraction is full of upbeat music, bright colors, and fun music. However, during Scary Farm, the lights dim to reveal the whole transformation was the work of the Green Witch to draw children in to eat them…
Dusty shared an excerpt from the bone-chilling Scary Farm version of the scene, which you can watch below.
While we appreciate the work that was done to give the Calico Mine Ride a little something special for Halloween, we’re left feeling as though this overlay has more potential. Perhaps if more props were installed/swapped out and a proper replacement narration was included, it could better explain the story as to why the mine has magically changed.
Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny
Knott’s kooky band of misfits and monsters return to the Halloween Hootenanny. This seasonal overlay of the Timber Mountain Log Ride is lighthearted and fun, with an upbeat song by Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies that plays throughout.
Halloween Hootenanny has definitely shaped up to be a Knott’s classic. It’s a must for a Spooky Farm visit.
Grand Sierra Railroad: Trip to Camp Spooky
Over in Camp Snoopy, smaller guests can enjoy a Trip to Camp Spooky aboard the Grand Sierra Railroad. Along the route, not-so-spooky monsters are all making the most of the season as well as the Peanuts gang.
It’s a great little diversion to get off your feet and see some cute scenes. The railroad is also gentle for the youngest members of your party.
K-NOT Radio
You might have heard the live broadcast of K-NOT Radio playing lately… well Halloween is here, and K-NOT Radio is back with its newest “NOT-radio” program. Be sure to give it a listen while you are in the park.
Don’t miss this opportunity….
Nightmare Before Christmas LIVE
Discount Tickets and Giveaway
We’ve got something really cool for you folks. See The Nightmare Before Christmas with live performances from Danny Elfman, Ken Page, and Weird Al Yankovic! Best of all, MiceChat readers get a big discount. Be sure to USE CODE: MICE25
Nightmare Before Christmas Live: TICKETS HERE
AND… we’re giving away a pair of tickets each week between now and the event. You can enter by doing three simple things:
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- Share the link to this article on social
- tag MiceChat
- and use the hashtag #JackIsBackMC
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Let’s Hear From You
Do you like your Halloween spooky, kooky, or scary (or a combination of those elements)? We love to see Knott’s putting this much effort into their seasonal offerings, it’s what makes the park special. Are you interested in the new shows? And what do you think would make the Calico Candy Mine Ride a holiday hit? Let us know in the comments below.
