All things Knotts Berry Farm

[Nirya]

Anyway, for those who didn't watch the video, here's a list of everything at Scary Farm this year:

Rides
Timber Mountain Halloween Hootenanny
Calico Mine Ride (Candy Mountain)

Scare Zones
Ghost Town Streets
Forsaken Lake
The Gore-ing 20s
Carn-EVIL
The Gauntlet

Returning Mazes
Origins: Curse of Calico
Mesmer
The Grimoire
Cinema Slasher
Room 13
The Chilling Chambers
Wax Works (last year)
Bloodlines (last year)

New Mazes
Eight Fingers Nine: The Boogeyman (likely going behind Ghostrider in the old spot for the Depths) - Set around colonial times, the maze features a creature that utilizes sleep paralysis to kill its victims. Gus Krueger, the maze designer, said the maze is designed to take advantage of multiple go-throughs and filled with a ton of details.
Widows (likely going in the back maze spot where Dark Entities was) - Set in a convalescent home where spiders have taken over the bodies of the elderly folks inside. It's a Daniel Miller maze, you can imagine there are some inventive gore scenes in this one.

Shows
Conjurors - Birdcage Theater
Le Magnifique Carnival de Grotesque - Calico Mines Stage
It the Fog(?) Art Show - No location given
Elvira XXPerience - Walter Knott Theater (appears to be a museum of sorts to Elvira, with them playing her final 2017 show at midnight each night. Cassandra Petersen will show up three different nights to do a Q&A and autographs.)
The Hanging: The Errors Tour - Wagon Camp

 

[AJFireman]

Scare Zones
Ghost Town Shrieks

Elvira XXPerience - Walter Knott Theater (appears to be a museum of sorts to Elvira, with them playing her final 2017 show at midnight each night. Elvira will show up three different nights to do a Q&A and autographs.)
The Hanging: The Errors Tour - Wagon Camp

Only thing I would add is that Cassandra Petersen is appearing for three nights. She will not be dressing as Elvira.

And Ghost Town Streets which creates shrieks.

Great recap

 

[Nirya]

Yeah the audio for the live stream was not great, which is why I was so confused by the Ghost Town name change. Will fix it.

 

[Professortango1]

A disappointing year for me. No big show, I don't find the wagon camp as functional for The Hanging as the other stage's, and some weaker mazes returning.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I'm just happy that Origins is staying and am fine with Bloodlines (and Waxworks-loved it the first year, but it didn't work nearly as well for me last year) getting the heave-ho. Personally hoping that Room 13 and Grimoire get some work done to make them work more effectively as mazes.

I had thought about coming out this year for the very last weekend, but I think next year will do just fine instead. As much as I loved Chilling Chambers and Cinema Slasher, nothing Knott's or USH is doing this year is grabbing me at the moment, and if I delay to next year I'll be able to add in that Sherman Oaks haunt too.

 

[Professortango1]

I'm just happy that Origins is staying and am fine with Bloodlines (and Waxworks-loved it the first year, but it didn't work nearly as well for me last year) getting the heave-ho. Personally hoping that Room 13 and Grimoire get some work done to make them work more effectively as mazes.

I had thought about coming out this year for the very last weekend, but I think next year will do just fine instead. As much as I loved Chilling Chambers and Cinema Slasher, nothing Knott's or USH is doing this year is grabbing me at the moment, and if I delay to next year I'll be able to add in that Sherman Oaks haunt too.

Yeah, I wanted to like Room 13, but it got way too repetitive and lackluster as it went on. Grimoire needs that opening scene which they sadly cut. Cinema Slasher's mask is cringe for me and the concept left me cold as it felt like any generic Jason maze without even the benefit of being a Jason maze. Knotts was like, let's take the mazes people like least from USH and do it without the IP and budget.

If the 50th maze was coming back with different past mazes represented, it might be a fun idea, but the same anniversary maze 2 years in a row doesn't work for me. Especially as I enjoyed seeing Doll House and Carnivorous Clowns, but the rest didn't land with me.

They just need some hits because I haven't felt like they've had a slam dunk celeb maze since Paranormal Inc. Maybe Voodoo after the reworking. I'd love to see them do a return of Malice in Wonderland as we haven't had a good 3-D maze in a very long time.

 

[Phroobar]

I assume Origins and Mesmer will have their final season next year.

I'm disappointed that we aren't getting a big show but last year's "hand job" jokes got repetitive. However, the final wet dance number in hell was a great payoff. Puppet Up stayed way too long and never changed. A new raunchy dance should would be nice.

I assume @Professortango1 will be there again first night. I'll be there too. We should meet up.

 

[Professortango1]

I assume Origins and Mesmer will have their final season next year.

I'm disappointed that we aren't getting a big show but last year's "hand job" jokes got repetitive. However, the final wet dance number in hell was a great payoff. Puppet Up stayed way too long and never changed. A new raunchy dance should would be nice.

I assume @Professortango1 will be there again first night. I'll be there too. We should meet up.

I'll be there opening night again for any live show. Last year's show wasn't as good as Ed Alonzo or Dr Cleaver's shows in the space, but I still enjoyed it A LOT more than any of the Elvira shows.

Puppet Up would play great in the Birdcage or a smaller theatre. It needs that smaller improv club setting to really fire.

 

[Nirya]

Yeah, I wanted to like Room 13, but it got way too repetitive and lackluster as it went on. Grimoire needs that opening scene which they sadly cut. Cinema Slasher's mask is cringe for me and the concept left me cold as it felt like any generic Jason maze without even the benefit of being a Jason maze. Knotts was like, let's take the mazes people like least from USH and do it without the IP and budget.

If the 50th maze was coming back with different past mazes represented, it might be a fun idea, but the same anniversary maze 2 years in a row doesn't work for me. Especially as I enjoyed seeing Doll House and Carnivorous Clowns, but the rest didn't land with me.

They just need some hits because I haven't felt like they've had a slam dunk celeb maze since Paranormal Inc. Maybe Voodoo after the reworking. I'd love to see them do a return of Malice in Wonderland as we haven't had a good 3-D maze in a very long time.

I don't think we know exactly what will be in Chilling Chambers this year. While I assume they'll just be lazy and won't change anything, the concept can be different each year, which would allow them to have three new mazes a year essentially. Also, I have to imagine Room 13 is getting a rework of some kind to fix the various problems there (think Paranormal Inc which had the entire ending redone after a season or two of being lackluster).

I think they've had some absolute hits in recent years. Even outside Origins, Dark Ride and Mesmer are/were consistently winners. And I think if Knotts nails these two new mazes along with fixing some of the problems with a few others, this might be one of their strongest lineups in years. There's still some space they can operate in to add more mazes (bring back Cornstalkers!) so I don't even know if some mazes are on the chopping block.

 

[Professortango1]

I don't think we know exactly what will be in Chilling Chambers this year. While I assume they'll just be lazy and won't change anything, the concept can be different each year, which would allow them to have three new mazes a year essentially. Also, I have to imagine Room 13 is getting a rework of some kind to fix the various problems there (think Paranormal Inc which had the entire ending redone after a season or two of being lackluster).

I think they've had some absolute hits in recent years. Even outside Origins, Dark Ride and Mesmer are/were consistently winners. And I think if Knotts nails these two new mazes along with fixing some of the problems with a few others, this might be one of their strongest lineups in years. There's still some space they can operate in to add more mazes (bring back Cornstalkers!) so I don't even know if some mazes are on the chopping block.

Dark Ride was decent, but not a grand slam maze like Paranormal Inc, Malice, or Doll Factory. I enjoy Mesmer, though I wish the opening scene still occurred as that's how the maze was designed to make sense. Its essentially Black Magic 2.0 and I loved Black Magic.

For my friends and I, nothing truly "wow"ed us last year. Waxworks was my favourite by far of the lineup as it reminded me of Tooth Fairy. I'm hoping the Boogeyman themed one this year pulls off a lot of the same successes as Delirium.

 

[D.Silentu]

I wanted to like Room 13, but it got way too repetitive and lackluster as it went on.

I liked Room 13 but repetitive is an unfortunately apt descriptor. Last year I also felt like too many mazes, present company included, ended with a giant head. The Cinema Slasher noggin was kind of interesting at least. Speaking of, I find it interesting that two mazes, Cinema Slasher and Chilling Chambers, are essentially a Haunt greatest hits montage. Chambers was fun last year, but they ought to choose one or the other. Tip of the hat to Depths, it was time to say goodbye, but it will be fondly remembered.

 

[Phroobar]

I don't think we know exactly what will be in Chilling Chambers this year. While I assume they'll just be lazy and won't change anything, the concept can be different each year, which would allow them to have three new mazes a year essentially. Also, I have to imagine Room 13 is getting a rework of some kind to fix the various problems there (think Paranormal Inc which had the entire ending redone after a season or two of being lackluster).

I think they've had some absolute hits in recent years. Even outside Origins, Dark Ride and Mesmer are/were consistently winners. And I think if Knotts nails these two new mazes along with fixing some of the problems with a few others, this might be one of their strongest lineups in years. There's still some space they can operate in to add more mazes (bring back Cornstalkers!) so I don't even know if some mazes are on the chopping block.

During press preview they had a lights on for Chilling Chambers. It's the same thing as last year. No difference.

 

[Nirya]

Ah well, nevertheless its still a concept that they can and should change on a bi-annual basis at the very least.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Yeah, I wanted to like Room 13, but it got way too repetitive and lackluster as it went on. Grimoire needs that opening scene which they sadly cut. Cinema Slasher's mask is cringe for me and the concept left me cold as it felt like any generic Jason maze without even the benefit of being a Jason maze. Knotts was like, let's take the mazes people like least from USH and do it without the IP and budget.

If the 50th maze was coming back with different past mazes represented, it might be a fun idea, but the same anniversary maze 2 years in a row doesn't work for me. Especially as I enjoyed seeing Doll House and Carnivorous Clowns, but the rest didn't land with me.

They just need some hits because I haven't felt like they've had a slam dunk celeb maze since Paranormal Inc. Maybe Voodoo after the reworking. I'd love to see them do a return of Malice in Wonderland as we haven't had a good 3-D maze in a very long time.

YMMV on the quality of mazes, I suppose. There's never been a year where I liked every maze, but then I don't think I can say there's ever been a scare event ever where I thought every maze was good. Maybe HHN in Orlando for their big anniversary year a few years ago? But a bum maze or two to me is an inevitably in any Haunt event.

To me, all of them are good to great except Room 13, the Vampire one that's leaving, and Grimoire.

 

[Professortango1]

YMMV on the quality of mazes, I suppose. There's never been a year where I liked every maze, but then I don't think I can say there's ever been a scare event ever where I thought every maze was good. Maybe HHN in Orlando for their big anniversary year a few years ago? But a bum maze or two to me is an inevitably in any Haunt event.

To me, all of them are good to great except Room 13, the Vampire one that's leaving, and Grimoire.

Yeah. I don't need all to be bangers. I just feel like we don't have a star maze that everyone loves. The Depths never quite hit for me, but I appreciated the bog room and some other big swings. I just wish they had kept it Lovecraftian the whole way instead of turning to Pirates and such in the second half. Just give me a mine that leads to an underground city of fish people who worship their Interdimensional God.

The Good
Mesmer
Wax Works
The Bad (or okay mazes)
Origins: Curse of Calico
The Chilling Chambers
Room 13
The Grimoire
The Ugly
Bloodlines
Cinema Slasher

 

[Phroobar]

Yeah. I don't need all to be bangers. I just feel like we don't have a star maze that everyone loves. The Depths never quite hit for me, but I appreciated the bog room and some other big swings. I just wish they had kept it Lovecraftian the whole way instead of turning to Pirates and such in the second half. Just give me a mine that leads to an underground city of fish people who worship their Interdimensional God.

The Good
Mesmer
Wax Works
The Bad (or okay mazes)
Origins: Curse of Calico
The Chilling Chambers
Room 13
The Grimoire
The Ugly
Bloodlines
Cinema Slasher

I'd arrange it this way but that is just me.

The Good
Mesmer
Wax Works
Origins: Curse of Calico
The Chilling Chambers
The Bad (or okay mazes)
The Grimoire
Cinema Slasher
The Ugly
Bloodlines
Room 13

 

[PiratesMansion]

The Good:
Origins: Curse of Calico
Chilling Chambers
Cinema Slasher
Mesmer

The Bad/Ok:
Waxworks (not actually bad, just didn't hold up as well as I wanted it to)
Grimoire

Ugly:
Crappy Vampire maze
Room 13

Walt Disney Studios Paris Ugly:
Dark Entities (yes, it's gone. Still, that's how much I disliked that particular maze).

 

[AJFireman]

Yeah its a bummer when they remove the opening setups for these mazes. Maybe they could do something in line like they do with Origin and a character be like a narrator telling about the maze. Mesmer sometimes even has characters outside interacting with you.
I am a big fan of Elvira and was always a must see for 30 years but this whatever they want to call it taking up the big theater is not it. I probably will just pass through one of the nights she is not there just to see what its all about.
As for Haunt in general still my favorite event yes there will always be a maze or two that are good then become duds for me. I am more into creepy ghost monster type mazes so things like the Dark Entities just isnt for me after a couple of times.
I know its hard and not always Knotts fault because people quit and need days off but one of my complaints is staffing of mazes. I enjoyed Room 13 opening night seemed to have all rooms staffed but then as the event went on seemed more and more rooms lacked talent sometimes several rooms in a row. I know the one timer might not notice but you do notice where and when things should happen and becomes a let down. Hopefully they get the staffing they need.

 

[Phroobar]

New Camp Snoopy game is Huff n Puff.

 

[Phroobar]

New skeletons on Jaguar.