ILoveRides

When I think of my favorite places to celebrate the holidays, the Disneyland Resort always tops my list. Every year during the Holidays the resort undergoes a Winter transformation, adding tons of Holiday themed decorations, food, shows, and rides. This year there’s almost too much to list. Among this year’s offerings at the resort are Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink, Viva Navidad, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Small World Holiday, Jingle Cruise, A Christmas Fantasy Parade, Believe... In Holiday Magic fireworks, and World of Color - Winter Dreams. And newly announced “Frozen Fun” will be bringing the Frozen movie to life, adding new experiences such as a “Freeze the Night” dance party (replacing the Mad T Party), “Olaf’s Snow Fest!” with real snow and a chance to meet Olaf, “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration,” and an all new Anna and Elsa meet-and-greet area at Disney California Adventure. The Disneyland Resort Holiday offerings run November 13 - January 6, and Frozen Fun opens at California Adventure on January 7 (with previews of most of the experiences beginning December 20th). Check out our trip report below to learn all about this year’s offerings! Here's a video from our visit that tells you everything you need to know: We’re at the Disneyland Resort where the holidays are now in full swing! First up, Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink, where you can break out of the So Cal heat with some ice cold skating. The ice rink is located in Downtown Disney between ESPN Zone and Earl of Sandwich. Andrae Gill told us all about what Downtown Disney, Disneyland, and California Adventure have in store for us this Holiday Season. Be sure to watch the video at the top of this report to see the full interview! You can do some Holiday shopping at the many little shops set up around the ice rink. Next we headed to Disney California Adventure. Here’s the Christmas Tree at DCA. Carla Carlile told us all about Viva Navidad, a Latino-inspired Holiday celebration at DCA. The Mariachi band then played “Feliz Navidad” for us! I even got to go up on the float with the Three Caballeros. How fun! The Three Caballeros say “Come check out Viva Navidad!” Next we learned about the holiday food offerings with Christina Orejel. She tested my on-camera cookie decorating skills. I've seen worse! Next up, Disneyland! Main Street is looking very festive. Poinsettias surround the Partners statue in front of the snow covered castle. We got a peek at some of the Holiday merchandise. Look at all that awesome stuff! Something for everyone! Lots of Xmas gift possibilities! We then interviewed Kristen Lagerlof who told us all about Frozen Fun. They surprised Spears and I with a photo op with Anna and Elsa! Then we headed over to my absolute favorite holiday attraction in the entire world, Haunted Mansion Holiday! Jack Skellington has decked the halls! There’s spooky holiday decor all around the mansion. Jack-o-Lanterns everywhere. Bows adorn the tombstones in the cemetery . At night these jack-o-lanterns glow with candlelight. Spooky! Inside, the changing portraits are Nightmare Before Christmas themed. Even the spiders are making Holiday themed webs these days. Speaking of webs, do you think they ever have to remove spider webs from the spider webs? Just a thought. This moving backdrop stands behind the boarding area. Zero gets just what he wanted for Christmas! Madame Leota floats in a large Christmas ornament. Every year Disneyland makes an elaborate real gingerbread house for the table in the ballroom scene. This year’s may be their best ever! Keep an eye out for Zero flying in the ballroom too! The attic is filled with creepy toys that are on the attack! It looks like Robb made the naughty list this year... again! This glowing Jack-o-lantern covered mountain is stunning. It wouldn’t be Haunted Mansion Holiday without Jack Skellington! The singing busts are replaced with singing pumpkins. Holiday decorations are everywhere! Oogie Boogie offers up some Holiday Tricks and Treats. Each “sleigh” gets its own trick or treat. Watch our full Haunted Mansion POV below: Next we headed to Main Street for A Christmas Fantasy Parade. Before the parade, several high school marching bands marched by. This must be such a neat experience for these kids, getting to march down Main Street at Disneyland! Here comes the parade! There are nutcrackers... Snowmen... Poor Eeyore! I love the “skiers.” Hey Pluto! Ooooh, lights! This parade is the perfect thing to get you in the holiday spirit! After the parade, we checked out the Christmas tree on Main Street. The only thing more impressive than the tree is Sleeping Beauty Castle covered in glowing snow! We then headed to It’s a Small World Holiday. The facade is covered in colored holiday lights. Every 15 minutes a show is projected onto the facade. The projection mapping effects are really neat! Check out our video of the Small World projection show below: And of course, don’t forget to don your holiday hats and ride Small World Holiday! Back over to DCA, Carthay Circle is keeping it classy with a simple lighted wreath hung near the top of the theater. Cars Land once again goes all-out for the Holidays. There are Holiday lights and decorations all down Route 66. Sarge’s Surplus Hut is covered in festive lights. The Cozy Cone has a Conetastic tree out front. The Holiday lights at Flo’s complement the gorgeous neon. Stanley has a sack full of gifts. Mater is totally ready for Christmas! Everywhere you look there are decorations and little details. There it is! Finally, we rounded out our day with World of Color - Winter Dreams. This holiday version of World of Color is hosted by Olaf from Frozen. Check out the video below to see some highlights from World of Color - Winter Dreams: Thanks to Disney for inviting us to this great event, and thanks to you for checking out our report! In our opinion, Holidays at The Disneyland Resort is the best it has ever been... There’s no better time to check it out! And we can’t wait to experience Frozen Fun beginning January 7th!

Here are some more photos from yesterday's announcement... We're at Legoland to see what new additions will be added in 2015! I am totally that camera dude on the right. Legoland California Resort General Manager Peter Ronchetti came on stage to make the announcement. Along with Lego R2D2... They announced a Star Wars Miniland Death Star! Opening March 5, 2015, the Death Star will be over 6 feet wide and feature iconic scenes from Star Wars such as the famous X-wing trench run scene. Next up the Lego Friends came on stage and did a short dance to introduce Lego Friends Heartlake City, opening Summer 2015! Heartlake City will be a new area inspired by the Lego Friends toy line. In the new area guests can sing along with Andrea at her tour bus, stroll through LEGO horse stables, enjoy a building activity at one of the LEGO brick tables, and go for a horseback ride on the carousel in Mia’s family ranch. Here's the concept image that was shown. The new carousel will be the centerpiece of this new area. Peter posed with R2D2 for some photos and interviews after the press conference. I got to hang out with the Lego Friends! They even gave us some Lego gifts for attending. How cool! We can't wait to see the new Lego Death Star and Lego Friends Heartlake City when they open next year! Thanks for checking out this announcement!

Great news! This year’s Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded, so Mystic Motel will be returning bigger and better than last year! In the last couple weeks, Scott and his family have been hard at work completing a new walk-through portion of the motel, as well as making improvements to the ride portion. On Tuesday we met up with Scott to get a preview of what to expect this year. Keep in mind, everything was still very much a work in progress when we were there. If you want to see the finished motel, you’ll be happy to know that Mystic Motel opens TONIGHT! Check out MysticMotel.com for all the details. If you don’t live in Southern California, don’t fear! We’ll be back after Halloween to shoot a POV video of the completed walk-through and ride. But for now, here’s a quick preview of what to expect this year... Mystic Motel is back for 2014! Ashton and Scott would like to welcome you to the new walk-through portion of the motel! There’s a check-in area where you’ll be greeted and introduced to the story of the motel. After that, you’re free to explore. This is one of the motel rooms. If you’re lucky, you may encounter some of the motel guests who have never left. And if you’re really lucky, you may encounter Spears in the shower! Here’s a behind-the-scenes shot from above the walk-through portion. An outdoor courtyard was fully enclosed to create the motel walk-through. After exploring the motel, you descend to the basement where the ride begins. The ride vehicle takes you on a basement tour of the run-down motel. The motel’s maintenance worker, Charlie, still roams the basement. Sadly, he has gone insane from years of isolation in the motel, and from the looks of it, motel maintenance has been indefinitely deferred. This boiler scene improves on the finale from last year, and it was moved earlier in the ride to allow for some other new effects later on in the ride. Note: work lighting is on in this photo. The boiler looks great under show lighting. But watch out, hot steam may erupt from it! We’ll leave the rest as a surprise for now! If you live in Southern California, we totally recommend checking out Mystic Motel. It’s one of the most inventive and impressive home haunts we’ve seen. The operating dates, hours, and address can be found at MysticMotel.com. Also, be sure to check back after Halloween for our POV of the complete experience!

Interesting. I wonder what the story is behind that. I assumed it was one group that was performing at different events, but maybe there are lots of groups using the same name?

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride is a haunted attraction located in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The main centerpiece at LA Haunted Hayride is a 25 minute hayride through large sets filled with monsters and performers. Various other mazes and entertainment enhance the event, making it a great spooky place to spend a full evening. Check out our report below to see everything this event has to offer! It’s a cold, foggy, spooky night... The perfect time to check out Los Angeles Haunted Hayride! Right off the bat we were greeted (and scared) by some creepy characters. This guy would hide in the trees and then burst out at unsuspecting guests. He even walked over some people. This character is doing his best Edward Scissorhands impression. The Hayride is to the left, so lets go left! Notice the VIP line on the left with no people in it, and the general line on the right with lots of people in it. Suffice to say, we highly recommend purchasing VIP tickets if you attend Hayride! The Hayride is located in Griffith Park’s old abandoned zoo. You ride past haunted scenes in a hay-covered trailer pulled by a tractor. But before you can board the ride, you get corralled into a small cage where you get to know the people around you very well! The tractor pulls up... You’re freed from the cage and allowed to board... And once everyone is seated, you venture off into the haunted darkness! Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to film or photograph the ride, but we really liked it! It’s creepy and beautifully artistic. The scale of the sets and props is impressive - I would guess some of the sets are 30 feet tall, and there are several large animatronics that get very close to the vehicle. The ride exits through a tent where you can purchase Hayride merchandise... Like these water bottles... And these shirts. Next up, we checked out the Seven Sins Sideshow. This “maze” consists of seven different rooms where you must complete an action to view a freakish character representing one of the seven deadly sins. First up is this greedy character. He doesn’t look too happy, so lets move on! Each room is pretty random and unexpected. It’s a lot of fun not knowing quite what to expect after you complete each action. This fake mirror effect was neat. My favorite room would have to be the one with the giant turd! There were more sins, but we’ll leave them as surprises - we don’t want to spoil the fun since the unexpectedness is part of what makes this great! Once outside we took a spin on the Scary Go Round. You get to ride on a skeleton horse. And what makes it super unique and fun is that it spins backwards! How cool! It’s totally worth a ride! Here’s a dead horse joke to go with this dead horse picture: A dead horse walks into a bar and orders a whisky. “I’m sorry, sir,” says the bartender, “We don’t serve spirits!” Next up, the House of the Horsemen maze. The maze takes place in an insane asylum. So it should be no surprise that it’s filled with a bunch of crazy people. And sexy ladies! Lets hope they don’t break out of their straight jackets. Lets also hope that no one is alive under those sheets. Ugh, now we’re all going to die. Wait? We didn’t die? Sweet! Lets get some food! The owner of the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride is vegan, so the food at the event is entirely plant based. But judging by the huge food line and happy diners, people either didn’t know the food was vegan or didn’t care. (And since Spears and I are both vegan as well, we were psyched to finally be at an event where we could eat anything on the menu!) Here’s the menu. There were so many delicious sounding options, it was hard to pick what to get. We went with the Mac & Cheese Balls. (Yum!) The Chili Cheese Nachos (Yum!) And the Pumpkin Fritters (Extra super duper YUM!) The Mac & Cheese Balls and Pumpkin Fritters were our favorites. There was lots of spontaneous entertainment at the event. These dancers appeared out of nowhere. They were all tied together with a bungee cord, which made for some interesting dancing. As fast as they appeared, they carried themselves off stage and were gone. Spears made some friends while we were walking around. If haunted mazes aren’t your thing, you can partake in some other activities like psychic readings... Or pumpkin carving. We headed up to a stage near the Hayride entrance to check out Blood Drums. Blood Drums is a high energy percussion act. It gets your rhythmic juices flowing! (Yes, I did just say "rhythmic juices") You may remember Blood Drums from Knott’s Scary Farm, where they’ve performed in the past. This is their 10th anniversary. We thought their act was great. There’s lots of drumming and unique instruments. And even a special effect or two. Here’s one of the performers shooting a fog gun. The last remaining maze is In Between. For this maze, the first person in your group gets a lantern, and you’re sent off into the darkness. This is what most of the maze looks like. Using the dim lantern light and the light of an occasional strobe you must find your way out of the maze. It was tough taking photos in the darkness of this maze, but here’s a hint of what you might see lurking in the darkness. I spy someone screaming. It looks like we’re in a warehouse of some sort. All I know is I want out! We finally found our way out the maze only to be greeted by more creepy characters walking around. On her way back to the car, Spears got hit with a mallet and was eaten by monsters. Such a shame! We had a great time at Los Angeles Haunted Hayride! Thanks to LA Hayride for having us, and thanks to you for checking out our report. LA Hayride runs select nights through October 31st, don’t miss it!

^ I would argue that Scary Farm is a great value too. But especially if you've done Scary Farm or HHN before, Dark Harbor is a nice change of scenery. Spears and I enjoyed it both this year as media and last year as paying guests. It's one of the top events in So Cal for sure.

The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor is an annual event in Long Beach, CA that has become a staple of the Southern California haunt scene. The real-life history and ghost stories of The Queen Mary have inspired a rich set of characters and mazes that set Dark Harbor apart from other haunted attractions. The ship provides a perfect eerie backdrop for the event, with several mazes actually located in its abandoned walkways and rooms. This year, all-new mazes, entertainment, and experiences keep the event fresh and exciting. Check out our full report from media night below to see what Dark Harbor 2014 has to offer! We’re at The Queen Mary to check out Dark Harbor! This event is TPR-approved because we all know that Coke is better than Pepsi! Spears is an evil ringmaster. Once inside, we got to meet a bunch of characters. We were clowning around, waiting for night to fall. The Captain says we should grab a drink while we wait for it to get dark. Aye aye Captain! We listened to some live music... And checked out the merchandise. Here’s this year’s shirt. Some more merchandise. The sun started to set, so we headed to “Encounters,” a new up-charge attraction being offered this year. Encounters is located on the ship. In this experience you get to explore some areas of the ship that have previously been off-limits. You take a guided tour and, if you’re lucky, you may encounter some restless spirits. We encountered a dark hallway, but no restless spirits. Nevermind, restless spirits encountered. To appease the restless spirits you must crawl through this hole. The hole gets uncomfortably small in total darkness. There’s barely enough room to make it through. (Larger guests or people who get claustrophobic may want to take the detour around this!) We summoned some spirits. Mysterious messages appeared on the walls. Watch out for a ghost lurking on the walkway! Overall, (And it pains me to say this, because I went in with high hopes) Encounters wasn’t really a must-see. It’s neat getting to see some new parts of the ship, but we felt that the standard mazes at Dark Harbor were more fun. And when it comes to up-charge attractions, the Freak Show is a much better value than Encounters for . (More on the Freak Show later in the report - it’s awesome and totally worth the up-charge!) Anyhow, moving along, Spears pushes the throttle and kicks the event into high gear. The spooky atmosphere started to come to life as night fell. This new ride is a great centerpiece that anchors the event. If you’re lucky, you may even get to ride it with a monster! “Soulmate” is a new maze this year. Lets check it out! Right off the bat, Spears got scared down a hallway. I don’t think this guy will be playing much piano. Aren’t these carts supposed to be for luggage, not bodies? Nope, he says the cart is for bodies. And since he’s creepy, I’m not going to argue with him. Can anybody think of a good caption for this photo? (Get it? Any Body? Because there are a bunch of bodies!? It’s a hilarious joke!) *crickets* This guy is going to cut me for making the any body joke. This is what happened to the last person who made the any body joke. But at least they have maids to help get that mess cleaned up! Dark Harbor is really ahead of the competition when it comes to scares! (Get it? A head!? SO FUNNY!) She isn’t laughing. But he’s laughing! At least somebody thought the jokes were funny. Graceful Gale is here because it’s time for the ball! My photo doesn’t do the ballroom scene justice. It’s a great finale to the maze. Be careful, some of Gale’s suitors may be alive! It turns out Graceful Gale may not be so graceful after all. Watch your back, she may follow you out! At this point I’d say she’s really past her prime. Soulmate was our favorite of the new mazes. Check out our walkthrough video of it below: After Soulmate we headed to the VIP lounge. Here’s Spears relaxing in the VIP lounge like the VIP she is. From the VIP lounge you get a great view of the event. And a great view of all the fire effects. Spears says, “Hello Mr. Prop.” Mr. Prop says, “Hello Spears.” Voodoo Village is another new maze this year. It’s very voodoo-y. In fact, it’s voodoo-tastic. It’s borderline voodoo-tacular. But I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s voodoo-normous. It’s no secret that Knott’s also made a Voodoo maze this year. The Knott’s Voodoo maze has an extremely immersive environment, but not as many scares. The Dark Harbor Voodoo Village maze has lots of scares, but not quite the level of immersion that the Knott’s maze has. I feel like if you combined the two you’d end up with the perfect maze. That said, both of the mazes are still great as they are. Voodoo Val would like to offer you some souvenirs. After Voodoo Village, we checked out the character introduction show. One area that Dark Harbor really excels over any haunt I’ve ever been to is their characters. They’ve created a cast of striking, interesting, and memorable characters that you encounter repeatedly throughout the night. This show introduces you to the stories behind each of the main characters at the event. Here’s Graceful Gale. Scary Mary. Scary Mary with the Voodoo Priestess. If you want to learn about the characters, don’t miss this show! The Captain approves! There are lots of decorations around Dark Harbor to set the mood of the event. This is just a small sampling of what you’ll see. This guy’s favorite song is “Spiderwebs” by No Doubt. There’s also lots of entertainment at Dark Harbor. Here’s a guy hammering a nail into his nose. That looks uncomfortable! And if a nail in the nose isn’t painful enough, this lady sticks her hands in bear traps... And then walks on glass. After the show we ran into Lela Brown who appeared on America’s Got Talent as part of the rap duo 2Unique! Back to the mazes, here’s Circus, a returning maze from last year. You enter through an air vagina. After being birthed from the vagina, you find yourself in a mirror maze with a clown who mocks you for not being able to find your way out. I’ll throw knives at her any day! This guy will cut you. If you’re scared of clowns you may want to skip this maze. The whole maze is under a large circus tent. I don’t want to get hung up on this photo. (Okay, I’ll stop with the puns!) Well that looks creepy. Watch your step on the way out! The floor isn’t as sturdy as you’d imagine. Check out our walk-through video of Circus: Next up is Deadrise. This maze takes place in a sunken WWII escort ship. Watch our walk-through video of Deadrise below: B340 is another new maze this year. Samuel the Savage was a schizophrenic third-class passenger who was locked in room B340 after a violent outburst. This maze traces his descent into insanity. To get to B340 we head back onto the ship. I love that Dark Harbor has several mazes on the ship. The small ship walkways make the perfect setting for haunt mazes! Here’s our B340 walk-through: Next we checked out the up-charge Freak Show maze. This has been expanded and changed a bit since last year, but it’s still totally worth every penny! Last year there were 5 individual mini-mazes with a freak in each, and you paid 80 to see each freak. This year they’ve combined the mini-mazes together, and added some extra freaks, for one long experience. This lady with tentacle fingers greets you at the entrance. Some of the freaks returned from last year, and some are new. Here are some lovely ladies. Stay and see! Stop for the show! The White Ghost and Shadow Spirit are my two favorite freaks, and encountering them is just about the most fun you can have in a maze. The White Ghost lives in thick, endless fog. The fog is so thick you can’t see a thing. So you end up wandering around with your hands in front of you while the white ghost runs through the fog laughing at you. It’s disorienting, scary, and hilarious all at once. As the fog slowly fades to black you encounter the Shadow Spirit who lives in total darkness. You can't see it, but it can see you! Don’t do Dark Harbor without doing the Freak Show! In our opinion it’s the best part of the entire event. Hey look, it’s another monster on the swing! Or maybe it’s just the ghost of Michael Jackson. As the night came to a close we took some last pictures with the characters. Several characters were having a dance-off on stage. It’s dancey-dance time! Graceful Gale was wandering around looking for a lover. It looks like she has her eye on Spears! That could be hot! I totally approve! We had a blast at Dark Harbor! Thanks to the team at Dark Harbor for hosting us, and thanks to you for checking out our report! Dark Harbor runs select dates through November 2, don’t miss it!

I'm bringing this thread back from the dead because there's good news... Mystic Motel is returning for 2014! Here are the dates and times: Saturday, October 25 - 7PM to 9PM Thursday, October 30 - 7PM to 9:30PM HALLOWEEN Friday October 31 - 6:30PM to 10PM Saturday November 1 - 7PM to 9:30PM Minimum Admission Donation is $2 per person. There's a Kickstarter campaign right now as well to help fund a second ride vehicle and a walkthrough portion of the hotel. The rewards for helping out on Kickstarter include front of the line tickets, an unlimited ride wristband, admission to a "Behind the Scenes Tour, Sweets & Ride Night" on October 29, etc. Here's the link for that: Mystic Motel 2014 Kickstarter I'm excited to see this return!

We felt HHS's Airsoft zombie shooting worked better than the Infected laser zombie shooting at Knott's. The Knott's one had more of a plot and some acting, which in theory sounds cool, but it came off as a little fake/cliche (granted, we experienced it on the first night, so it may improve over the run). At HHS, it was simple - take a gun, shoot zombies. There wasn't really a plot other than to kill as many zombies as possible, and that simplicity worked better IMO. Plus with real bullets it's just much more satisfying.

Shooting Airsoft guns is fun. Shooting zombies with Airsoft guns, even better! That’s why when Haunted Hollywood Sports invited us to preview their halloween event, we knew we had to attend. The event, which is spread over 23 acres, features 5 haunted houses, 3 “killhouses” where you can shoot zombies with Airsoft guns, 3 scare zones, and various entertainers. Check out our full Haunted Hollywood Sports media night report below! We’re armed and ready for a zombie invasion at Haunted Hollywood Sports! Here’s the basic info about this event: There are 5 haunted houses, 3 killhouses, and 3 scarezones. For the media event we’ll be previewing 1 killhouse and 1 haunted house - just scratching the surface of everything that’s offered. So we’re in danger? Awesome! Once we checked in we were greeted by a sexy zombie mermaid frolicking near a pond. As much as I’d love this whole report to be about sexy zombie mermaids, sadly we were interrupted. A military vehicle pulled up and we were ordered inside. We were sprayed with ice cold anti-zombie smoke and then driven off into the darkness. After a bumpy ride to the base where the media event would be held, the vehicle stopped and we were ordered out. We were rushed into the base. Luckily there were no zombies to be seen yet! The Zombie Outbreak Response Team was on site to keep us safe. Once in the base, it was party time! Several food and dessert tables were set up to feed guests. Mmmmm! There was an open bar too with any drink you could want! The bartenders were “TPR approved!” Everyone kicked back and relaxed in the safety of the base. Did I say it was safe here? I take it back! There were lots of really cool characters roaming around. I love her costume! Giovanni D'Egidio, VP of Hollywood Sports, greeted the crowd and welcomed everyone to the event. His speech was interrupted by a burst of noise from the back of the base. Suddenly zombies started pouring into the base. Ahhh! Watch out! Notice that the zombie masks here have room for goggles. That’s because these zombies are going to get shot! After the zombies came the good guys. These guys are ready for war! Spears is ready for war too! Here she is showing off the vest you wear during the killhouses. If the zombies pull your tabs, you’re dead! (Manly pose!) We headed to the Zombie Killhouse, got suited up, and started shooting zombies with Airsoft guns. It was awesome! There’s something very satisfying about getting to shoot zombies with real ammo! Check out our video from the Zombie Killhouse: After the Zombie Killhouse Spears was in the mood for some more pain so she grabbed a staple gun... And stapled a dollar to one of the variety acts at the event! Here’s Spears’ reaction after stapling a dollar to the performer. She is half amused and half grossed out. Next we were called to check out the “Venom” maze. This is what happened to the last person who went through the maze. Venom was a great maze. It felt long, the talent was on their game, and it had one of the longest inflated-squeeze-walkthrough-tunnel-thingies I’ve seen. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the video and you will!) Here’s our video of Spears experiencing Venom for the first time: Moving on, all throughout the night there were random zombie outbreaks. Good thing these guys were there to keep us safe! Hey look! It’s the guy on the banner! Next up we watched some performers. This girl could eat fire! That fire looks good and all, but I’ll stick with the food and desserts. She even breathed fire! Very impressive! Then a magician performed. As you can see by his “F*ck Sh*t” signs, he didn’t really care much about anything. His main focus was drinking beer... And smoking. (I know some TPR members who are just the same way!) But he did some magic too! There was some balloon magic... Some magic with ping pong balls... Some magic with ping pong “balls”... Lots of beer magic... Don’t worry, none goes to waste! He makes booze appear from nowhere... He plays with fire even though he’s probably too drunk... A chicken appears... Then the magician hypnotizes the chicken... And proceeds to pull things out of its butt. Ta Da! We enjoyed all of the variety acts. Different performers will perform each night of the event, so you never know what you’ll see! As the night drew to a close, a member of the Zombie Outbreak Response Team asked if we’d like to be escorted out in his police cruiser. Sweet! The zombies will never get us in here! Spears enjoyed shining the passenger-side mirror spotlight around on the way out, making sure no zombies were hiding in the darkness. Thanks Zombie Outbreak Response Team for giving us a special ride and keeping us safe! That’s Haunted Hollywood Sports! It was a lot of fun, and we really only scratched the surface. The normal event has many more mazes, killhouses, and scare zones than were shown off at the media event. The good news is we killed all the zombies, so there’s really no need to go. Everything is safe now and you have nothing to worry about. OH NO! I take it back! They’re still alive! You MUST go to Haunted Hollywood Sports and shoot them before it’s too late! Haunted Hollywood Sports runs every Friday and Saturday in October, as well as October 26th and November 1st. Go, go, go!

Yep, it's him!

Gertrude was kind of doing her own thing that night, but I did get this one photo of her and The Green Witch striking a manly pose...

Thursday was the opening night of the 42nd annual Knott’s Scary Farm, and TPR was there with David and Spears! This year there are 10 mazes, 4 scare zones, and 2 shows to entertain and terrify guests. This year’s new mazes are Voodoo, Tooth Fairy, Special Ops: Infected, and Trapped: Lock and Key. As always, there’s so much to do at Scary Farm that it’s hard to cover everything, so this report will mainly focus on the new offerings this year. Check out our report below! We’re at Knott’s to check out the 42nd annual Knott’s Scary Farm! To mark the start of the event there was an opening moment with The Green Witch and her Tricksters. The Green Witch rose above the entrance stage while she and her tricksters taunted guests. A helicopter then appeared overhead, announcing that the zombie apocalypse was upon us. Guests were encouraged to enlist in the fight against the zombies. What a cool kickoff for Special Ops: Infected! And with that, Knott’s Scary Farm was open! We headed over to Fiesta Village for the media reception in Windseeker’s old location. There were awesome Dia de los Muertos decorations all around... An ice sculpture... Tons of food... Lots of desserts... More desserts... And of course drinks! Cheers! The Dia de los Muertos theming was great! These were the table centerpieces. After the reception we headed over to the Bravo Outpost to experience Special Ops: Infected! Infected was a lot of fun! You get a laser gun and run through Camp Snoopy shooting zombies. There is a leaderboard where the top scores will be posted. It wasn’t working opening night, but hopefully they can get this ironed out soon! Check out our full video of Special Ops: Infected! After Infected, we headed towards Trapped. On the way we spotted The Headless Horseman! Trapped: Lock and Key is all new this year (Trapped is in its third year, but the maze is completely redone from the ground up every year). As is customary for Trapped, we can’t discuss any specifics of the experience, but I will say this - they got it right this year. There was some criticism of Trapped last year, but Knott’s took that criticism, changed things up, and once again hit it out of the park this year like they did in year one. Don’t let that understated maze facade fool you, there are GREAT things happening inside! Also, the experience is long this year - I believe it was around 30 minutes for us. For those on the fence, I recommend doing it! Next up we headed to Calico Square for The Hanging. As always, there’s lots of pop culture humor. Kanye orders this guy in the wheelchair to stand up! There’s violence! Adele Dazeem I’ve seen TPR members with bigger man boobs! (No really, I have) The Ice Bucket Challenge makes an appearance... Bill and Ted... Star Wars... Jabba the Hut... Rob Ford... And of course, there’s a hanging! In fact, 2 people are hung this year! But if you want to know who you’ll have to go to Scary Farm, because I’m not spoiling it! Next we headed to the Charles Schulz Theatre... For Elvira’s Big Top! Which of course starred the legendary Elvira! And also featured some other performers like this crazy guy! He swallowed knives... And balloons! The Academy of Villains dance throughout the show. A guest from the audience gets to pick a number, and on the back is something they get to do to Elvira. You can hug Elvira, or maybe do even more! Choose your number wisely! There’s a really great contortionist in the show too! She appears on stage in a tiny box... And twists her body into all sorts of poses! How is this possible? I can barely tie my shoes! She’s really talented! She even climbs through a bunch of tennis rackets. Then she gets back in her box and it’s pulled off stage. Elvira’s Big Top was a lot of fun! Next we headed through Ghost Town Streets - the original and my personal favorite scare zone. Ghost Town Streets keeps it simple: lots of fog, and lots of monsters hiding in it. Just how it should be, if you ask me! Watch out, they’ll jump out and get you! I regret going this way! Spears regrets going this way too! We survived Ghost Town Streets and made our way to Voodoo, another one of this year’s new mazes. The level of detail on this maze is great! You really feel like you’re exploring a murky swamp. More than most mazes, it feels like you’ve entered a different world. There weren’t really many startle scares in this maze, it just feels as if you’re wandering through a haunted environment with creepy people and creatures living in it. I was a big fan of this one. It’s not your typical maze! Check out our video of Voodoo! Next we checked out Trick or Treat, one of this year’s returning mazes. You ring the doorbell and step inside. And quickly regret stepping inside! Dominion of the Damned is another returning maze. People who went to West Coast Bash this year will recognize this maze as the one we got to tour! It’s much scarier with the show lighting and monsters running through it though! Another scare that West Coast Bash attendees will probably remember! Finally, our last maze of the night is The Tooth Fairy. Who knew The Tooth Fairy was a total creep? I would’ve been so scared as a kid! Check out our video of The Tooth Fairy! Sadly, 1am rolled around before we knew it, and it was time to head home. We admired some of the decorations on the way out. Luckily there’s a Scary Farm season pass this year... So you can return and check out everything! And maybe even get some time to ride stuff. (Most rides are open during Scary Farm as well!) At Knott’s Scary Farm, you never know what’s lurking behind the door! We had such a fun time this year (as always)! Thanks to Knott’s for putting on such a great event, and thanks to you for checking out our report! Now go check out Knott’s Scary Farm - it runs select dates through November 1st!

It was a great talk! Rick West from Theme Park Adventure took video of the whole event, including the talk. I'll post a link to his video when that gets put up so you can hear everything that was said.

Each year before Knott's Berry Farm turns into Knott's Scary Farm, Knott's hosts "Scare School" to introduce the monsters-in-training to their mazes and to teach them the terrifying tricks of the trade. Yesterday, media were given a peek behind the scenes to check out Scare School and learn about what it takes to turn Knott's into the nightmare factory it becomes each Halloween season. Check out our full report below! Gertrude is at Scare School to learn how to haunt innocent guests! The demented minds of Brooke Walters and Daniel Miller are on hand to teach the Dominion of the Damned monsters-in-training. First up, the monsters get in character and meet each other. I wish you could always just meet people by grunting at them! Next, the monsters master their evil walking. Even without makeup and costumes they are pretty scary. The monsters spent some time training in the maze, and now it’s our turn to see what they’ve learned! Ahhh! Very creepy! Did you go to the Knott’s day of West Coast Bash this year? If so, you probably recognize this as the staircase that they were letting TPR members take pictures on! I’m jealous of her fan with the current heat wave in Southern California! It’s easier to spot the monsters hiding when they aren’t in costume, but once Scary Farm rolls around these monsters will startle even the most astute guests. This is the first time the monsters have been in the maze, but already their unique personalities shine through. Lets take a moment to admire some coffins... Ahh! Ok, no more admiring! Moving along! Very creepy! West Coast Bash attendees will remember this scare! A peek at the finale of the maze. Next lets check out the new Knott’s Berry Farm food truck. This truck will attend special events in the community, and when it isn’t out in the community it will be at Knott’s or Soak City. Here’s the current menu. The menu changes depending on the event and location. When at the park, it will take on a seafood theme that compliments the existing park offerings. When out in the community it will likely serve chicken to promote Knotts’ famous chicken. The food looked and smelled delicious! There is even boysenberry soft serve ice cream made from real boysenberries. Next is the wardrobe and makeup department tour. No one under 18 is allowed in the warehouse, so Gertrude has to stay outside. (How old is Gertrude anyways? I have no idea.) Tim Barham tells us all about the Scary Farm costumes. The costumes take 3 months to design and 4 months to sew. Many are reinforced in the back and knees to help them survive the abuse they’re put through in the mazes. That costume is covered in Catawampus blood. Next Bill Meier tells us about the makeup department. Over 300 monsters get their makeup done every night. Many have prosthetic masks like these put on. Here are some of the painted prosthetics. This mask will be used in the new Voodoo maze this year. This "dentist" will stalk you in the new Tooth Fairy maze. Parts from a leather purse and metal pieces found on the farm were incorporated into the design. Some mazes use more than 1 of the same mask to make you feel like the same person is following you through the maze. They hinted that this may happen in Tooth Fairy! Ipkiss! Next we head over to Ghost Town which is literally a ghost town now that the park is closed. Scary Farm decorations are starting to go up all over. This is Gertrude’s worst nightmare. A real-life black cat shows up to oversee the spooky festivities. He approves of the spookiness level. It’s time for a Scary Farm historical tour by Ted Dougherty, author of, “Knott’s Halloween Haunt: A Picture History.” Scary Farm has sure come a long way from the themed peek-ins in Ghost Town that it started with. The Barn housed the most gruesome thing to have ever been at haunt. In 1980’s “Tomb of Terror” maze there was a real human mummified corpse! As media gather around The Wilderness Dance Hall to experience Pinocchio Unstrung, Ted explains to us that The Wilderness Dance Hall is the most significant maze location in Knott’s history. In 1977, the “Ten Chilling Chambers” maze, which wrapped around the dance hall, was the first maze ever built for Scary Farm. Every maze at every amusement park worldwide can trace its roots back to that maze! The Pinocchio Unstrung monsters have just gone through Scare School and are ready to terrorize guests. Here we go! This may be their first time in the maze, but they’re already pros at creeping you out... Staring you down... And running back and forth, lurking in the shadows! I spy a monster in a monster! There’s something about the monsters being in normal clothes that’s almost creepier than when they’re in costume. You don’t expect normal looking people to behave this way! It’s fun seeing the monsters as they’re just learning their maze, experiencing it with them for the first time. Of course Pinocchio still makes a sick and twisted appearance. Ahhh!!! Scare School is a success! Gertrude is terrifying! Now that the monsters have graduated from Scare School, they’re ready to bring your nightmares to life! Knott’s Scary Farm opens September 25th... we can’t wait! Thanks to Knott’s for giving us this behind the scenes peek at Scary Farm, and thank you for checking out our report!

There won't be shows in the Mystery Lodge or Birdcage Theatre this year. The reduction in entertainment is the one negative I see with this year's event. It'll be interesting to see how that affects the mood, as I always found it fun to wander into some of the lesser-attended shows.

To my knowledge, Scary Farm has always been ticketed separately. Traditional season passes only work during the daytime during this period.

Knott’s just hosted the 2nd annual Scary Farm Press Conference to reveal the details of the upcoming 42nd Scary Farm season. Members of the media and season passholders were invited to the Charles M. Schulz Theatre on Wednesday to watch the presentation, and TPR was there with David and Spears! Check out our full report below to learn about all the new and exciting additions to Scary Farm this year... With the 42nd season of Knott’s Scary Farm rapidly approaching, passholders lined up in droves to get the scoop on what to expect this year. This event sure is popular! As the 7pm presentation neared, we were let into the theater to find a seat. Even the ushers were decked out in spooky attire. Unsuspecting guests had to watch out for monsters hiding in the shadows! The theater filled up while monsters roamed the aisles looking for victims to scare. *Insert creepy monster noise here* If you weren’t paying attention the monsters would sneak up on you! The show began with the “Creeple’s Choice Awards.” Elvira was nominated for “breast actress” for her role in several fictional movies... Such as The Xxxorcist She of course won, and appeared on stage to accept her award. Jeff Tucker, the MC for the evening, presented her the award. While on stage, Elvira took the opportunity to announce that she would be returning to Scary Farm this year with an all new show, “Elvira’s Big Top.” The show will run twice nightly for the entire run of Knott’s Scary Farm. The Knott’s Scary Farm Facebook page had been taunting fans all week with pictures of a box that would be opened during the press conference. Jeff brought the box on stage and promised to open it before the night was over. A shotgun blast interrupted the show, as The Lawman appeared and asked if everyone was ready for a hanging. After some comedic banter, it was announced that The Hanging will return to Calico Square. Jeff then asked if anyone in the room is the ultimate Scary Farm fan, to which the crowd cheered... Then the ultimate Knott’s Scary Farm Fan Facebook Contest was announced. If you think you’re the ultimate fan, you can enter on Facebook for your chance to win 4 tickets to opening night, a private reception, fright lane tickets, a skeleton key, an overnight hotel stay, reserved seats for the Elvira show, and best of all - Jeff Tucker will personally cut your meat for you on your plate. (He may have actually been serious about that!) The ultimate fan could be you! Jeff also announced that the Fright Lane Skeleton Key will return this year with 5 all-new Skeleton Key rooms. Next up, the maze designers were introduced. From left to right: Gus Krueger, Daniel Miller, Brooke Walters, and Lara Hanneman. First they announced the returning mazes... Trick or Treat returns this year. Now in its 3rd year, The Green Witch and her Tricksters will continue to kidnap unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. (Photo: Knott's) Daniel discussed Dominion of the Damned, which is returning with an all new skeleton key room. Also back this year is Forevermore with “more live murder scenes.” (Photo: Knott's) Pinocchio Unstrung returns with a stronger focus on scenes from the book, and a Skeleton Key room. (Photo: Knott's) One of my favorites from last year, Black Magic, will return with a new key room and a new wing called the Hall of Illusion. (Photo: Knott's) The Gunslinger’s Grave returns with an all new town hall shootout finale and an enhanced key room. (Photo: Knott's) The Witch’s Keep will also return to the newly upgraded Calico Mine Ride. (Photo: Knott's) Moving on to the new mazes! First up is Voodoo. From the press release: “Trudge cautiously through the cursed swamps of the Deep South, where creatures search the murky bogs for their next bloody sacrifice and demons curse the innocent with Voodoo hexes. Guests must choose their path from a number of foreboding choices, resulting in a different terrifying outcome with each journey into the swamp.” This maze also has a skeleton key room where you may get buried alive, and you can choose-your-own-path a few times in the maze. Also new for 2014 is The Tooth Fairy. “The joy of hiding a lost tooth under the pillow becomes a nightmare of pain and blood in this new maze that will leave teeth chattering. This twisted tooth fairy steals more than just baby teeth as he drags his victims out their bedroom window and into a world of deranged dentistry. Unbelievable special effects include a blackout room through which guests must feel their way out, a disorienting x-ray strobe light room, and a final encounter with the massive tooth fairy, himself. Say aahhh.” Trapped returns this year as the all new Trapped: Lock and Key. “This year Trapped returns with more rooms, more intricate puzzles and a shocking finale more extreme than any experience ever presented at Knott’s Scary Farm. You become part of the terror and are forced to face your darkest fears, confront your inner terrors and descend into the madness of a maze with no way out. Trapped is not for the squeamish as the challenges are darker and more terrifying than any that have come before. (Additional fee and reservation required.)” This year’s Scare Zones are Ghost Town Streets, Gypsy Camp, Carnevil, and Fiesta de los Muertos. Yay! It’s finally time to open the box! Inside the box was an envelope! And inside the envelope was a ticket... but not just any ticket, it’s a Knott’s Scary Farm Season Pass! Never before offered, the season pass lets you come any night of Scary Farm with no blackout dates. The passes are on sale now, are only available to season passholders, and cost $65. Suddenly men in military clothing burst into the theater and surrounded the stage. A squad leader came forward and announced that everyone needed to enlist and take part in order to save the world from infected zombies. John Cook then came on stage to announce Special Ops: Infected, a free-with-admission interactive battle where you hunt zombies in an all-out war. From the press release, “This ambitious new attraction is the first of its kind in North America and will challenge guests to exterminate the infestation of zombies who threaten mankind’s existence. Armed with specially designed laser guns, brave groups of Knott’s Scary Farm guests will embark on missions, led by their Squad Leader – a loud mouthed, take-no-prisoners commander charged with turning guests into soldiers. Groups must work together to fend off zombies and complete various missions before time runs out. If zombies drag their bodies too close, the un-infected’s guns temporarily deactivate, compromising the safety of the entire team. Soldiers with the deadliest aim will be celebrated with a tally of the number of zombies killed on a display board for other survivors to see each night in base camp. Special Ops: Infected seamlessly integrates interactive gaming technology with an immersive mountainous landscape, delivering a breakthrough interactive haunted experience that is as terrifying as it is challenging. Missions will take guests through a variety of wilderness terrains, including the unpredictable barrel bridges across the rushing river, through the dark caverns, and through mysterious backwoods. Six acres of the beloved theme park is now home to mutinous, scream-inducing zombies, and the time has come for a harrowing Special Ops survival mission.” And with that, the press conference was over. Following the press conference there was a reception for members of the media on the upstairs balcony. There were heaping trays of delicious food... An ice sculpture... Fancy desserts... Scary monsters... And of course, drinks! Cheers! Spears turned into a zombie and was shot dead by a special ops team while I begged for my life. Jeff and Spears decided to see if there was anything else in the box. Hey, Gertrude was in there too! Hi Gertrude! Spears somehow managed to score the very first Scary Farm season pass. No! Don’t eat it Spears! These Knott’s parties are always a blast. Here’s Spears hanging out with the Scary Farm VIPs! Spears even got to meet Elvira! I’m so jealous! Knott’s Scary Farm is always a “must visit” Halloween event, and this year looks no different. With tons of returning mazes, several all-new mazes, new entertainment, a first-ever season pass, and an interactive zombie war, this year looks like it’s shaping up to be another huge success! Scary Farm starts September 25th, and tickets are on sale now. I don’t know about you, but we can’t wait! Thanks to Knott’s for hosting this awesome event, and thanks to you for checking out our report!

Nice meeting you too!

Today is the grand re-opening of the Calico Mine Ride and Camp Snoopy at Knott’s Berry Farm! The Mine Ride and Camp Snoopy both just underwent massive refurbishments. The Mine Ride received new animatronics, lighting, sound, and effects. Camp Snoopy received 3 new rides, new theming on the Grand Sierra Railroad, a character meet-and-greet area, and the entire area was returned to its “High Sierra” roots. Media were invited on Thursday to check out all the new improvements, and I’m happy to report that everything turned out great! Check out our full report below for all the details... We’re at Knott’s Berry Farm to check out the newly refurbished Calico Mine Ride and Camp Snoopy! We started off the day in Camp Snoopy with breakfast in the Grizzly Creek Lodge. Nom nom nom! Knott’s went the whole nine yards with breakfast. Literally, I would say there were about nine yards of food. After breakfast we headed to the Camp Snoopy Theatre for the Camp Snoopy Grand Opening Ceremony. Lots of special guests participated in the ceremony. From left to right by row, there was Jason Soyster, Knott’s Communications Manager; Raffi Kaprelyan, Vice President and General Manager of Knott’s; Miller Oh, Buena Park Mayor; Darryl Knott, Great Grandson of Walter and Cordilia Knott; Craig Schulz, President of Creative Associates and son of Charles M. Schulz; and of course, the one and only Gertrude The Goose. Lucy, Charlie Brown, and Linus then came on stage and did a cute skit to officially open Camp Snoopy. Snoopy appeared with the “official camp flag.” The flag was raised, confetti was thrown, and the brand new Camp Snoopy was officially opened! We’ll check out the area more later in the report, but next we headed straight to the Calico Mine Ride for its re-opening ceremony. When we got to the Mine Ride there were many characters there to greet us. A band played live music while the crowd filtered in. A small stage was set up in front of the entrance with some “explosives” on it. A full house of passholders, Club TPR members, and other invited guests showed up to see the re-opening ceremony. Special guests on hand to open the ride were Jason Soyster, Knott’s Communications Manager; a representative for Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva; Raffi Kaprelyan, Vice President and General Manager of Knott’s; Garner Holt, owner of Garner Holt Productions; and Bill Butler, Creative Director at Garner Holt Producitons. Gertrude decided not to speak, but stood on Garner Holt’s head to get a better view of the ride and ceremony. A mine train then pulled up carrying Clem Coldpepper, the miner who discovered the Calico Mine. Clem walked down to the stage and talked to the crowd. Here he is showing off a gold nugget he pulled from the mine. He then pushed the explosives lever, triggering several dynamite blasts on top of the mountain. There was one final large explosion, and with that the Calico Mine Ride was officially re-opened! We headed up to the station, noticing little details that were added around the mountain. Here’s a gold pan sitting in the water. New cacti and succulents are planted all over the mountain. The station got some TLC and looks nicely touched up. New gates were installed in the boarding area. The original cars were refurbished and look great! The logos are all hand painted on the cars. Lets ride! Throughout the attraction there are over 50 new animatronic figures. This shot, courtesy of Knott’s, shows the updated Glory Hole scene. This was one of my favorite new characters. He warns you that any spark could cause an explosion in the mine - a bit of foreshadowing perhaps? (Photo credit: Knott's) Characters at the start of the lift hill. A new scene with bats was added along the lift hill. The “Heaven Room” is dramatically improved. As you pull out of the lift hill the lights now slowly turn on, revealing the impressive room. The sound was also re-recorded and it sounds great! This miner is excited to have found gold! Don’t fall off the ladder! Outside there are two new animatronic figures... can you spot them? Here they are close up. Very cool! With new smoke, lighting, and projection effects, the end scene is much better than it used to be! The train pulling out of the mine. We survived! [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]Here’s a full POV of the refurbished Calico Mine Ride! Here’s a picture of the train driving through one of Robb’s farts. John Waite, former employee of Bud Hurlbut (the creator of the Mine Ride), gives the ride a big thumbs up. Here’s a shot of Garner Holt standing in front of the attraction. The Mine Ride renovation strikes that perfect mix of new and old that the Timber Mountain Log Ride renovation struck last year. The attraction has been modernized and freshened up, but has still retained all of its classic charm and feel. Everyone involved did an amazing job! Spears grabbed a pickaxe and went to work in the mine looking for gold! Knott’s summer shows start today as well. Here’s a quick look at some of their summer offerings. Boom Town is a show that mixes circus acts with gold rush fever. The performers are all very talented! They dance, twirl, and jump from high heights with no harnesses. They balance. They juggle. And they compete to find gold! Over in the Charles M. Schulz Theatre, Snoopy Unleashed returns for a second year. This ice show of course features Snoopy! Lots of talented skaters... Great costumes... More great costumes... Impressive skating jumps... Dangerous tricks... And even some aerial silks! The show is a ton of fun! Snoopy says if you’re cool like he is, then you’ll go see it! After the ice show we headed to lunch in The Boardwalk Ballroom. As always, Knott’s had tons of amazing food. And along with all the normal offerings they had plenty of vegan and gluten free options too. Go Knott’s! We then headed over to Camp Snoopy. There’s a new meet-and-greet area where you can meet the characters in front of cartoon backdrops. I’m all up in Snoopy’s dog house eating his doggy treats. Here’s Peppermint Patty hanging out with the TP girls. (Johanna from TPA and Spears from TPR) Here’s Knott’s Haunt Maze Designer Daniel Miller getting some psychiatric help. Peppermint Patty says his mind it too demented and he can’t be helped. Oh well, I guess that means more sick and twisted Haunt mazes will be coming in the future! We loved the meet-and-greet area! It’s such a better way to interact with and take pictures with the characters. Next up, The Grand Sierra Railroad. Peanuts theming was added along the ride, and a complete narration soundtrack is done by Linus. This tumbleweed gag is so simple but so effective. It was our favorite addition to the ride. Some of the new theming in the water underneath Silver Bullet. You also pass by boysenberry plants on the train ride. It’s so great seeing boysenberries growing in the park! Here’s a picture of the new Linus Launcher ride. The second new ride is Charlie Brown’s Kite Flyer. A new seating area was added in the middle of Camp Snoopy that seemed like a nice place for both adults and children to relax. The new wood signs throughout the camp are gorgeous. Pig Pen’s Mud Buggies is the third new ride, and my personal favorite. Your car bounces up and down as the ride spins. Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy. Everything in Camp Snoopy has been painted and re-themed to match the original High Sierra theme of the area. The entire area now feels more cohesive and appealing. So that’s Camp Snoopy! Thanks Knott’s for putting on this awesome event and for inviting us to attend... we had a great time! Knott’s has really been on a roll lately, and these new additions and changes are no different. The Mine Ride renovation brings the ride into the 21st century while preserving its historic look and feel, and the Camp Snoopy renovation creates a cohesive themed area with new things to see and do for all ages. We loved both projects, and highly recommend going to see them for yourself! So what are you waiting for? The Calico Mine Ride and Camp Snoopy are now open at Knott’s! Go check them out!!!

Day 1 looked great! But this is Disney, of course it's great! Can't wait to see the Mine Train and Magic Band coverage on the next 2 days.

On Thursday Knott’s gave a media construction tour of the Camp Snoopy and Mine Ride renovation projects underway at the park, and TPR was there! Check out our full report below: We’re at Knott’s to check out Camp Snoopy and The Calico Mine Ride. The event started off with a breakfast at Spurs. We were greeted outside by Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Inside Spurs several historic photographs from Camp Snoopy and The Mine Ride were on display. Old photos of The Calico Mine Ride. We were also greeted by amusement park royalty, Bill Butler and Garner Holt, from Garner Holt Productions. In typical Knott’s fashion, breakfast was amazing. They even had a yogurt fountain. Jason Soyster welcomed everyone to the event and introduced Jeff Gahagan, Lara Hanneman, Jeff Shadic, and Eric Lynxwiler who, along with Bill Butler and Garner Holt, discussed the historic significance of Camp Snoopy and The Calico Mine Ride, as well as the construction progress currently underway. First lets take a look at the Calico Mine Ride. The ride is currently undergoing a massive renovation on par with last year’s Timber Mountain Log Ride renovation. The renovation includes over 50 new animatronic figures, an all new audio and lighting system, and new special effects. Here are some of the new characters going into the ride. Shield your eyes, naked animatronics! Construction currently taking place in the Glory Hole section of the ride. The Heaven Room is being repainted and brought back to its former glory, along with a newly recorded version of the organ music. (The music will be the same, just re-made so it’s crisp and clear.) Two of the characters going into the ride (a human and a mule) were on display, and similar to what went into The Log Ride last year, they’re amazingly detailed. Wildlife is also being added to the ride. In total there will be 46 humans, plus dozens of historically accurate animals - bats, a dog, a mule, vultures, and fish. This should add a whole new layer of realism to the ride! Next lets take a look at Camp Snoopy, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Knott’s is adding 3 new rides and restoring the High Sierra mountains camp theming to the area in an effort to make it much more cohesive. A new character meet-and-greet area will bring guests into the Peanuts world. Charlie Brown’s Kite Flyer will reveal Charlie Brown tied to the tree when the ride operates. A design sketch of The Linus Launcher. A drawing of the new Pig Pen’s Mud Buggies ride. The area should look great when it’s finished! Knott’s also made a new special announcement at the event: The Grand Sierra Railroad will get Peanuts theming! There will be new scenes and animation, and there will be narration on the ride by Linus. The fiberglass figures for this attraction will be created by Garner Holt, and will have an automotive finish that will keep them looking nice for years to come. As part of the presentation they unveiled these characters who will be going into the Grand Sierra Railroad project. Next up we took a construction tour of the new projects. First up was Camp Snoopy. Jeff explained all the new additions going in, and pointed out lots of details. The new ground surface looks like a dirt path, perfect for the mountain camp theme. The new carved wood signs are gorgeous. Even the operator booths have been given the mountain camp theming. Shading has been added to the Camp Snoopy stage. There are lots of blooming flowers throughout the whole area. Another one of the new signs. Gr8 Sk8 is gone, and in its place will be the new meet-and-greet area. I can’t get over how good the signs look! They’re a huge improvement. The Grand Sierra Railroad is getting ready for its big re-theme. More construction looking towards Montezooma’s Revenge. Everything is basically one big construction site right now, but in no time at all this is all going to look really nice! Timberline Twister is much improved. The new colors and roofing on the station match the High Sierra theme perfectly. Lucy’s Tugboat didn’t make much sense with the camping theme, so they re-themed it to a river raft. It’s another great improvement to the area. Everything feels like it goes together much better now. So that’s Camp Snoopy! Next up, The Calico Mine Ride! Construction walls are still up around the ride. There are themed signs letting guests know that the ride is closed. But we were let behind the walls for a sneak peak! It’s still very much a construction site. These hollow rocks will likely be used to disguise the new lighting or speakers in the ride. Lots of tools were laying around. There’s scaffolding up in a few places around the ride. The water has all been drained out of the attraction. Pretty much everything is getting touched up, refinished, improved, or replaced. The ride vehicles are all being refurbished. Also, the logos on the ride vehicles are now hand painted and will no longer be decals. It's good to see them taking the time and spending the money to get even the small details right. Into the mine we go! Further and further into the darkness. Located just past the entrance, this will be the location of the first animatronic character. Continuing on, we got to see the new show lighting in the first room. The new LED lighting system is bright and colorful, adding a modern touch to the classic scene. Looking down the track we could see the train maintenance area ahead. They then turned on the boiler to show us the steam effect in the first room. It makes a huge amount of steam. This room should be a lot of fun to ride through, and after seeing this I can only imagine how good the rest of the ride will look! We also got a quick peek into the construction work going on in the Glory Hole. If you look closely you can see Gertrude hard at work mining the cavern for gold. Like the Log Ride last year, this renovation is looking like it will strike the perfect balance between preserving the classic attraction and updating it for modern audiences. I’m very excited to ride the finished ride this summer! Knott’s Berry Bloom is also going on right now, so I took a quick look at some of this year’s offerings. Now in its second year, Knott’s Berry Bloom is becoming a Spring tradition at the park. The event offers special decorations, food offerings, and entertainment for people of all ages. This year Ghost Town is celebrating the “Boysenberry Festival.” I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to see Knott’s boysenberry history being celebrated in the park. There were countless boysenberry decorations, foods, and treats throughout the area. Some berry products for sale in Ghost Town. The boysenberry licorice was delicious! Of course, it wouldn’t be Knott’s Berry Bloom without blooming flowers. All throughout the park there are beautiful flower displays. You can feel Spring in the air! I loved all the boysenberry decorations as well. Spears purchased some boysenberry cotton candy! She was nice and shared it with the residents of Ghost Town. A look at some of the boysenberry merchandise in Ghost Town. More of the decorations. The stores were brimming with spring themed merchandise. The are also lots of entertainment offerings as part of this event. Krazy Kirk and The Hillbillies perform in front of the Bird Cage Theatre at night. Special boysenberry food was being grilled and fried throughout Ghost Town. There are photo ops. Kids ages 3-11 can search for the Easter Beagle. The search leads kids to several interactive displays before ending at a meet-and-greet area with Snoopy. Another one of the interactive displays for kids. Each display had a button you could push to make things happen. One more of the interactive displays on the boardwalk. This one had a working roller coaster. When you push the button the roller coaster makes a lap. And then Snoopy pops out! There are also boardwalk games for the whole family to enjoy near Xcelerator. Throughout the day Sally and Peppermint Patty are there to play the games with guests. Spears played Tic Tac Toe Toss with Sally. There are also large flower decorations around the park. And even a giant hummingbird. Charleston Circle is decorated for the event, and hosts two shows: Peanuts Party In The Park, and the Bloomination Dance Party. Since this media event was focused on Camp Snoopy and The Mine Ride, we barely scratched the surface of all the Bloom offerings. But suffice to say, there is lots to do and see at Knott’s Berry Bloom! It’s no secret that Knott’s has been bringing their “A” game recently. And I’m happy to report that The Calico Mine Ride and Camp Snoopy renovation projects are looking like they’re going to be two more big steps in the right direction. Both projects are preserving and restoring the history and charm of the park, while adding new, modern touches that should keep the projects interesting to current and future audiences. We can’t wait to check out the final results when the construction walls come down this summer! Thanks to Knott’s for inviting us to this event, and thanks to you for checking out our report!

"That coaster scared the shit out of me!"

^ They had regular food as well!

Knott’s Berry Farm has teamed up with Susan G. Komen to raise money for breast cancer awareness, services, and research. Starting today (February 1st) through March 31, 2014, you can purchase a special “Pink Ticket” online at Knotts.com and limited edition “pink” merchandise in the park. A portion of the sales from the tickets and merchandise will benefit Susan G. Komen Orange County. Knott’s kicked off the promotion by donating $25,000 to Susan G. Komen, and hosting a press conference breakfast with 50 breast cancer survivors and co-survivors in attendance. Check out our coverage of the event below: We’re at Knott’s Berry Farm with David and Gertrude! Outside the park there are “Knott’s Berry Farm for the Cure” logos advertising the promotion. Once inside you’re greeted with a photo op under Silver Bullet. The big pink circle is magnetic - more on that later! Gertrude loves raising breast cancer awareness! It was a lovely morning to be at Knott’s! There were clear blue skies (and roller coasters) as far as the eye could see. Inside the Boardwalk Ballroom I was greeted by Snoopy and Lucy, both dressed up in pink! And in true Knott’s fashion, there was an amazing feast. But they had a special surprise in store! Lots of the food was vegan and/or gluten free! As a vegan, this was basically a dream come true. I never thought I’d see “tempeh bacon” at an amusement park! Not to mention at a park that’s famous for serving chicken. So cool! They totally went out of their way to make sure there were healthy options and food for everyone! Way to go Knott’s! For people on a gluten free diet there were lots of things as well, such as gluten free pancakes and bagels. And for more traditional eaters, there were omelet stations with all the toppings you could possibly want. This may be the first time I’ve been able to eat a real “meal” at a media event. I was a happy camper! They also made a beautiful pink ribbon ice sculpture for the event. This is the first time as a vegan at an amusement park that I haven’t felt like an afterthought. Thanks so much Knott’s for being inclusive of everyone! During the breakfast Knott’s General Manager Raffi Kaprelyan came on stage to welcome everyone to the event. Raffi introduced some breast cancer survivors and co-survivors who wanted to tell their stories. The real stories were a vivid reminder of the seriousness of breast cancer and the importance of raising awareness and funds to help combat it. Hearing each person’s story was really emotional. There were also some touching moments. After breakfast things grew more lighthearted as the breast cancer survivors posed outside the Boardwalk Ballroom. We then all walked towards Pony Express for some pink shirt ERT. Gertrude began placing pink ribbons on everything to raise awareness. Pony Express warmed up as the line of survivors eagerly awaited their ride. I heard many of the women say that they were scared of roller coasters, but compared to cancer they said Pony Express should be a walk in the park. They boarded the coaster and before they knew it they were off! Whee! It’s great seeing a roller coaster used not just for fun, but also for a great cause! Away they go! And back they come! Smooooooth stop! And with that the event concluded and we were free to wander the park. I decided to take a lap around the park to see all the construction progress and also take a look at the “pink” merchandise. First up, a look at the Calico Mine Ride, which is currently undergoing a massive renovation on par with last year’s Log Ride renovation. Gertrude began placing pink ribbons around the construction site. Raising awareness is one thing, but that’s a bit ridiculous Gertrude! Clearly the renovation is well underway. I can’t wait to ride this when it re-opens! Windseeker is long gone and has now become Plantseeker. Considering how much of an eye-sore this area could have been, Knott’s did a great job of making it look nice. There’s also a new poster displayed by the railing that says “So Many Memories” below a picture of Walter and Cordelia Knott. Surrounding the photo are old ride posters and historic photos of Knott’s. It’s another neat way they’ve found to honor the park’s history. In Fiesta Village many of the generic looking red tables that you can see in the background have been replaced with wrought iron tables and chairs. My picture doesn’t do them justice, but the new tables and chairs were a nice improvement throughout the area. Over in Camp Snoopy work has begun on the Camp Snoopy High Sierra Renovation. Timberline Twister is getting re-themed. Sierra Sidewinder is still open, but the old entrance is blocked off while the pathway outside is being enhanced. Sierra Sidewinder also just got a fresh coat of paint and looks as good as new. Shiny new paint hotness. Guess who else got some love? Yep, Silver Bullet has been almost completely re-painted as well. New hotness vs. old and busted. There’s only a small bit more left to paint - I’d say it’s 98% complete. It looks great! Over in ghost town Valentine’s Day / Pink decorations are up. Looking good! The photo machine from Santa’s Christmas Cabin is out in Ghost Town now and has been themed for the “Knott’s Berry Farm for the Cure” promotion. Don’t forget to stop by and get a picture of yourself. Or if that’s too technologically advanced for you, you could always buy a disposable film camera. I had no idea they still made these! Pink flowers abound throughout Ghost Town. These flowers say “We are raising breast cancer awareness!” Gertrude would be proud. Here’s a look at some of the “pink” merchandise that’s available. These magnets can be purchased and placed on the display at the front of the park. You can write a name on the magnet of a loved one who has been affected by breast cancer to honor them. Some more of the limited edition merchandise. There’s lots of stuff that you can buy to help out the good cause! Blankets. Pins. There are even hats for cancer & chemotherapy patients. Back at the front of the park people have already begun placing their magnets up. But the board is still pretty empty - it needs you! Show your support by purchasing a “pink” admission ticket, “pink” merchandise, or a “pink” magnet. Hopefully this board is completely filled up by March 31! Thanks Knott’s for throwing such a great event and for inviting TPR to attend! We were blown away not just by your generosity in support of Susan G. Komen, but also your inclusiveness of all diets in the food served at the event, your upkeep of the park, and the continual honoring of the parks history - from a little-noticed poster to another multi-million dollar renovation of a star attraction. Everything just keeps getting better and better!