General Chat / Knott's Scary Farm TR

I should note that this was copied from my TR at Westcoasters, so the monsters I refer to also visit that site.


Got back from Haunt, and man, what an awesome time I had!!! I got to meet some of my old coworkers from last year at KBF, experienced some great mazes, saw two pretty funny shows, and had a blast.

Oh, and nearly got killed... stay tuned for that at the end.

This will go in general order of how we did things (this'll be detailed and will contain spoilers)

The Asylum
Our first maze was also the best maze hands down. Everything was top notch and on their game. Even though it was early, the talent was full of life and energy. The set is magnficent, and it's really the fog and dark places and hiding spots that are really taken advantage of here. This is your Haunt Maze Utopia. Anyone in that maze should give himself a hand, because we got plenty of great scares and had a blast.
10/10

Hatchet High
We hit this maze twice, the second time because I missed Angel the first time. Overall, it's a pretty good maze, though definitely not as conducive to great scares as the Asylum. Crowd control was horrible the first time around, and the second time was a bit better. Seeing Angel all decked out the second time was pretty awesome. My friends were kinda amused at how she came at us with a knife, then I give her candy, and then we're walking along like two old friends. Anyway, you looked awesome, Angel, and hoped you enjoyed the candy!
First time: 6/10 Second time: 7.5/10

Red Moon Massacre
Pretty standard stuff. We had my friend Steve, who's a pretty large man, in the back, so our log was just flying through those chutes! The ride was the same as last year, with some nice scares, though nothing incredibly thrilling. Still, it was pretty cool.
6.5/10

The Hanging
We caught the 8:00 showing. I personally think last year's was better, with a more concise storyline and a greater density of comedy, but this year's had some great stuff too. Mr. Six was hilarious, as was Michael Jackson. Having Blade come out to battle Van Helsing was sweet, and the Bride killing the pulley guy was hilarious. I think they prolly should have centered the main plot to spoof Van Helsing, but that's just my opinion. Spiderman was really nice and athletic too... reminded me of capoera stuff. Overall, a great show, but not as hilarious as last year.
8/10

Terrorvision
In 3D!!!! We hit this maze after the Hanging and then again later at 11:30. On the second time, I gave who I think was Amy a Nerds Rope. I really have no idea if it was her, but it fit the description in the candy thread (Springer Room, no mustache). If it was Amy, then hope you enjoyed the candy. If it wasn't... whoops! Hope however it was liked Nerds Rope and wasn't weirded out.

Anyway, back to the maze... I was really hopeful, but the maze wasn't as good as most of the reviews I'd read, even both times. It wasn't bad though. The talent really saved it, as the set was obviously rushed. I liked how it's built on the lake though. It took me a second time around to notice that. I didn't get as much scares here though.

And at this time, I'd also like to say how incredibly awesome Silver Bullet looks up close. It's a tangled mass of metallic beauty and will be amazingly photogenic when it opens.
6.5/10 (Both times)

Curse of the Spider
Well, they took out the intro with the dropping room and the part where you go inside the spider... ah well. Still a great maze, nice and dark, with plenty of hiding spots and some great scares. I got freaked a few times, and so did my friends. There's something just really conducive to the atmosphere there. I really enjoyed this maze, as I did last year.
8.5/10

Jaguar + Temple
Better than last year, but not by much. This had the fewest monsters of all, and didn't make for much of a maze. A few scares for other people, but the setup just doesn't work too well. Credit goes to the monsters for great effort though.
5.5/10

We did a quick ride on Supreme Scream. Fun as always, though I don't know anyone there anymore. Ah well.

CCC
Pretty quirky maze. I'm not afraid of clowns, so this was more amusing and fun for me. Talent seemed just as enthusiastic as last year, though I think maybe they took out the room with monsters blended into the walls? Or maybe that was Malice. Malice had it this year... Anyway, the maze was pretty fun. Nothing too special, but it was anything but lackluster.
7.5/10

Malice in Wonderland
This was our quickie before the Psycho Circus. This maze was definitely better than last year, which was basically empty in the first half. The trick rooms and hiding talent were pretty cool, though I was bummed that the Alice skirt was gone... The 3D also seemed to lose its novelty this year. Oh well... still a nice average maze.
7.5/10

Dr. Cleaver's Psycho Circus
What can I say? Great raunchiness, hilarious puns and double ententres, and Mary Kate Olsen. That was hilarious. The girls were pretty damn hot too, and the whole water thing was pretty nifty at the end, with them getting wet. I actually enjoyed this more than the Hanging. Funnier show IMO.
9/10

Blood Bayou
This seemed a little shorter this year, but then again, I could have just imagined it. It was nice a spooky and very promising in the first half, then sort of dropped off at the end, which hurt it. Great scares, with some tag team action going on too, and chainsaw guys! Unfortunately, the second half kinda lagged, so that was a bummer.
7/10

For the second time in a row, I came out of the maze to find a monster hilariously terrorizing an innocent guest, freaking them out by stalking them. It was great though, because the girl freaked everytime she saw the female monster return, and the monster was croaking: "Run to the restroom! What can I do there???"

Army of the Underworld
This ride really sucks when you're in the back and the scares are already announced to you. Don't worry guys, I DID NOT STEAL A SHAKER this year. However, I was in the back car again, in the very back. Not good, since when we went up the left hill, all 250+ pounds of Steve slammed into me. I guess that was payback for all of my good natured fat jokes over the years. Anyway, the talent was definitely energetic, though, and had I been in the front, I think I would have had a much better time.
My Score: 6/10 Potential Score: 8/10

At Montezooma's Revenge, I caught up with a former fellow ride op in Jason, who was at the controls. He's been there since last summer, and apparently, he's going to be on Silver Bullet's opening crew, which is really neat for him. He was the only guy last year who spieled as enthusiastically (and perhaps more so) as I.

Lore of the Vampire
I'm a sucker for vamps, so my scores for this maze will probably always be elevated a little. Actually, the set for this thing is awesome, though the talent was a tad lackluster. They were more eye candy than anything (some hot girls there ), and preferred to stare at me creepily, though I definitely got a few scares. No book throwing man this time, and when I turned to explain this to my friends, a vampire snuck up right behind me, so that when I turned around, I very nearly knocked her on the side of the head! I ended up just tapping her, but I was horrified and asked her if she was all right. She was, thankfully. And to keep the maze from being a total disappointment, the 12 foot tall wolf at the end got me really, really good. Probably the best scare of the night. That totally redeemed a much shorter than expected maze.
With wolf + hot vampires: 7.5/10 Without: 6/10

Red Beard's Revenge
This maze was pretty cool! I wasn't expecting much, as most of the reviews had it down, but I liked it a lot! There were lots of talent hidden around within nooks and crannies, and the set was pretty cool (lotsa Inquisition reuse). My favorite scare of the night occurred here, as I was passing by the plant room, brushed by a leaf, and suddenly the leaf and a body attached to it jumped up and screamed "I'M A TREE!!!!" That got me good and had my laughing my ass off from the random hilarity. I think BigMike works there, right? Anyway, send my regards to the girl who plays a tree. She was awesome.
8/10

We got in a ride on XC at the end too. It was either that or Ghostie, and my friends wanted to try XC, since they'd never been on it.

I also went ahead and bought the Haunt DVD, even if the price seems a ripoff. I know Angel's in it for like 2 seconds, so that's cool.

SCARE ZONES:
Ghost Town
Amazing as usual... this is the best scare zone in the park. Fog everywhere, sliders going crazy, nice spooks... I loved it.
8.5/10

The Gauntlet
Dim and mysterious, this was also pretty cool. The low light helped hide a lot of monsters, and the sliders were pretty nifty.
7/10

The Swamp
Other than the animatronic alien, it was kinda dead, though still a lot better than last year. There were some monsters doing some good effort and some scares.
6/10

CarnEVIL
Too damn bright to be scary... it's more just quirky and fun. Not really a scare zone.
3/10


Ah yes, and that near death experience? Well, the biggest scare of the night came for free. We were driving back up the I-5 north and noticed they were blocking off the left lane. It's only three lanes on that stretch, so we figured that be all, but suddenly, the one lane blocked off turned into two, and the car in front of us sort of made a swerve to change into the very rightmost lane, then swerved back. Brakes light all ahead and the distance between us and the SUV in front of us closing in very fast, my friend, Seth, tried to brake, but wasn't effective enough (the braking itself was a bit late). So at the last moment, he pulls the car left, into the closed off lane (technically the middle lane of the freeway), just missing the car in front of us LITERALLY by less than two inches. Seth made a pretty nice screech of tires too, and he didn't even knock over any cones. Now THAT is amazing defensive driving, and that really saved our lives, because that swerve came at the last moment. It would have been a dead-on rear ending of a still car if it weren't for that. So yeah... props to Seth!

Anyway, I couldn't catch any of the other WC guys at Haunt. I think I *might* have seen Andy, but wasn't sure. And of course, I might have given candy to an Amy who wasn't really Amy... if I got it right, though, could you tell me? I gave out candy in Terrorvision at around 11:30. I know Angel got my candy... she's easy; no mask!

Anyway, if you've tired through this TR... thanks a lot. I had a blast and really wouldn't mind going again this month if I can... I'm definitely hooked on Haunt. Thanks everyone for making tonight an awesome night!

In case you don't know, Knott's Scary Farm's Halloween Haunt is what Knott's Berry Farm (located in Buena Park, California) turns into every October at night, for great screams and scares. Highly recommended for anyone in the area who has not tried it.

Thanks for posting this Corkscrewed! I'm going this Sunday night, and I now know where to go. I've never gone before (and to think, I'm 17 already and haven't gone), and I really want to get the best experience possible. It's good to hear that these people do the scares for fun and not just to be mean.

One question, are all the rides open there, like Ghostrider, SS, XC the entire night?

Hey, I had never gone before until last year. Now I'm a Haunt maniac!

The rides are open at night, though the major ones like Xcelerator and Ghostrider will probably close their lines a little early, as early as an hour before closing, so that they can cycle all the people in. Perilous Plunge might be open, but if it is, it'll inevitably close early. I think Big Foot is shut off too. Riptide is on, though, and so is that $5 ride the Screamin Swing.

Assuming you get their on time (gates open at 7 PM; park runs till 1 AM that day), you can either go ride Army of the Underworld and Red Moon Massacre first, since those are rides and lines can build quickly or you can opt for Asylum first, because it is actually WAY backstage over by Ghostrider. You enter by Ghostie's exit, and you go back toward the wardrobe department, which is pretty far.

The other suggestion is that if you want to do Asylum first, wait until the Hanging is going on (8, 9:30, 11 I think) and then hit Army and Red Moon, since those will probably have less people, due to everyone watching the show. Terrorvision is nearby too (actually built on the lakebed, as I mentioned), but on the other side of the railroad. The large calico railroad does not operate during Haunt, because it'd be impossible to close the gates in time with all those people. Same with stage coach.

Also, it's almost worth going just to see Silver Bullet at night and everything. It's amazing, and you can see it from like anywhere. Be sure to try Terrorvision just so you can see it from that point of view, because once the lake is refilled next month, you'll never be able to get it again.

If you can manage to catch me on AIM this weekend (Corkscrewed02), feel free to hit me up with any questions!


Oh yeah, and as a quick but obvious warning, exercise nice etiquette at the park. This is probably unnecessary to say, but don't try to "scare" the monsters back, as that's just lame. Don't take flash photos inside mazes unless you have permision. Don't blind monsters. Don't hit monsters. Don't act like a big shot to monsters. Again, this is all pretty obvious stuff, but you'd be surprised....

Also, are you going alone, or with friends, and what types? It's always fun to go with girls, because when they get freaked, they get FREAKED. Be sure to venture into Ghost Town too. It's an amazing scare zone, with fog everywhere and sliders galore.

I think I know who that op is on Montezooma's Revenge. I went this summer and there was this really "announcer"-sounding guy there going through all the "Stand Back, Stand Clear" stuff, and I just thought it was so funny.

lol, yeah, it doesn't suprise me that people would act like asses there. I'll just stear clear of them.

Or try to at least...

We'll be leaving from here in Riverside, CA at about 4 after our school's play rehearsal (Julius Caesar is one of the most boring plays, I swear). We should get to Knotts at about 6:30 or so, and then we can just wait. We're planning to buy our tickets online, cause I'm worried they'll sell out (I know they don't always, but it's happened before). Although, it IS a Sunday night, but that shouldn't stop people. I wouldn't be going, but my High School's got an inservice Monday, so we get teh day off.

I'm going with a few of my friends, 1 or 2 guys and 2 or 3 girls. They aren't the hottest girls you've ever met, lol, but they're real friends, so I don't mind at all =)

Are the waits especially long for the mazes?

I'll look for you on AIM too =)

I think I know who that op is on Montezooma's Revenge. I went this summer and there was this really "announcer"-sounding guy there going through all the "Stand Back, Stand Clear" stuff, and I just thought it was so funny.

Hehe... that's probably him. That was a little annoying last year, because he had the game show announcer voice. We nicknamed him Will Ferrel (actually, I did, but it was pretty obvious) and since then, some of the guests have picked up on it too.

Also, for a Sunday, the waits shouldn't be too long. I've never waited more than 10 minutes, and most mazes are either walkons or 2 minute waits. Rides on the other hand... well, go to Haunt for the mazes. Don't go on the rides at the expense of the mazes, because you can ride XC or Ghostie whenever you want.

Hello.


Frightfest AT SFGAdv was ok this year.
Atleast they changed the Hayride finally.

I wish I had a park that did stuff like Knott's for Halloween...



Raven-SDI
§

i think the best haunt is still ghost rider. *hail ghost rider*

Thanks for the heads up Corky. I'm heading up there soon. It sounds pretty good.

i think the best haunt is still ghost rider. *hail ghost rider*

Thanks for making sense....

If you're saying Ghostie is the best thing at Haunt... you don't understand the concept. And if you say Ghostie is Haunt... you don't understand much of anything else.

actually, he thinks the coaster is better than all the shows and mazes, and would rather take the ride

oh yeah, corky...

my family went without me... and said it sucked... =(

I was glad though, that the reasons for that were "it rained, and there were too many people"

actually, he thinks the coaster is better than all the shows and mazes, and would rather take the ride 

oh yeah, corky...

my family went without me... and said it sucked... =(

I was glad though, that the reasons for that were "it rained, and there were too many people"

Yeah... it's raining right now. I wouldn't really want to go out in the rain.. I wonder if they're still doing The Hanging. Rain certainly adds to the atmosphere.

And no offense, Blitz, but your family sucks. Haunt is the ultimate Halloween Party.

Ok, my TR. I went last night.

It ended up being me and a friend from school. She and I got there at about 6:15 or so, and we waited around in front of the entrance to the Swamp before they opened. We laugh when we're nervous, and man, did we laugh during that time. Luckily though, they were kind enough to open the park at 6:30 last night. Awesomeness...

So we walked right past the maze since we figured that we should hit a couple rides before the lines got long.

The Swamp

My friend and I are not too composed at times, and man, already I was freaking out. We kinda ran through here, lol. Overall though, it didn't really make much of a scare zone from what I saw though. When we first got there, there weren't many monsters, and even later on, about 4-5 hours later, we still didn't see many monsters there. Dunno why.

6/10

We then ran over to Xcelerator. Damn that ride is awesome. The launch is such a freakin rush! I loved it. We also got to stay on for a second time. So yeah, we loved it. Then we went on Supreme Scream. For some reason, I didn't get a rush from it...

CarnEVIL

I saw less monsters here than anywhere else... The music was freaking awesome though. The Martian Hop or something like that was just cool. We were dancing to it for about 5 minutes.

5/10

Red Moon Massacre

Our first "maze" so to speak. Ugh, every warewolf there went for my friend and I. There was a couple in front of us. But no, they only jumped out at US. Needless to say, very fun, and it had it's share of good scares.

7.5/10

Hatchet High

It took me forever to work up the courage to do another maze, lol. But this one was ok. More funny than scary, but it had its fair share to make it cool. I saw Corkscrewed's friend there, since we were all laughing at some guy that was singing "I've Had The Time of My Life" in a very funny voice. There was a cheerleader that didn't even make an attempt though. She was skipping with pom poms and saying, "oooooooh my gooooooooodness, are you scareeeeeeed?" It was kinda funny though.

8/10

Ghost Town

ARG! These guys were freaking me out. We luckily got away and went into Ghostrider's queue. Bad move. Damn line was an hour long, and when we finally got to the gate, they closed the ride cause of the rain. We waited for about 15 more minutes though, and they finally reopened it. Quite painful considering that the track was still wet.

8/10

The Gauntlet

Bagpipes rule. We sorta snuck through while they were playing and dancing. Good amounts of fog though.

8/10

Red Beard's Revenge

The tree Cork was talking about must've been on break when we passed through there, cause I never saw anyone. Overall this was a short and kinda boring maze. The moving ground was kinda cool though.

6/10

Jaguar

Man these people were freaking me out. Popping out of holes and such. Not nice at all, lol. Quite fun though.

8/10

Terrorvision

Hillarious, and the guy that blended into the wall, so cool. I enjoyed this one more for its comedic purpose more than the scares though.

7/10


So 5 mazes, and a bunch of rides. The new swing ride they have is fun, but not worth 5 bucks a person. WAY too short.

The new RipTide also was uneventful and kind of a let down.

Everything else was great though.

Lots of fun, and I think I'll be able to handle more of it next year!

EDIT: The rain wasn't too bad. It was off and on for a bit, but didn't prevent me from having fun. Got my feet a bit soggy though =P

YOU MISSED THE ASYLUM?

Tsk tsk. That's the best maze in the park.