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Knott’s Merry Farm has returned from now through January 7th, and the park has transformed into a dazzling winter wonderland! Knott's own vocal quartet, the Calico Carolers, transports guests back in time to a Victorian Christmas as they perform the season's songs throughout the streets of Ghost Town. Christmas in Calico continues as the Snow and Glow experience fills the buildings and paths with thousands of lights dancing to the beat of Christmas music while “snow” gently falls throughout Ghost Town. Over at the Walter Knott Theater, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang take to the ice in Snoopy's Night Before Christmas. This guest favorite returns with the Knott’s Ice-Skating Ensemble and Snoopy retelling the classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” re-imagined Peanuts style. It’s not a holiday celebration without festive food. Throughout the park, guests can indulge in traditional holiday classics with a twist! Below are four of the items we tried. We loved the Classic Turkey Sandwich with all the Trimmings (all inside the bun)! Chicken Tamales Fries Rudolph's Chicken, Artichoke, and Spinach Dip Pizza Garlic Truffle Mayo and Mushroom Burger Be sure to visit knotts.com to plan your visit to Knott's Merry Farm! Thank you to the Knott's PR Team for once again inviting us to ring the the merriest season of them all!

With 50 years of frights to be celebrated, let's raise a bottle of the Devil's Elixir to Knott's Scary Farm! To every Scare Actor who has inhabited a house or roamed the streets, to all the Technicians, to all the designers, and to everyone who has helped bring Halloween Haunt alive over the past 50 years, congratulations and thank you! Theme Park Review attended opening night of Halloween Haunt, and it was quite honestly one of the most enjoyable opening nights for the event in recent memory. A reminder that if your priority is to go through all 10 mazes, the Fright Lane (Front of the Line pass for mazes) is the only way you will be able to accomplish this. There are a few ticket package options that include Fright Lane, so find the one one that works best for the date of your visit and your interests. Read the comments sprinkled throughout the pictures below for more tips and tricks! This year, we will post our thoughts on each of the 10 mazes, ranked in order from "you can skip it" to "you can't miss it"! Welcome back into the fog, for the 50th time! Room 13 expands on the story from the Gore-ing '20s Scare Zone that has been popular over the past few years. The maze itself had a great Art Deco scenic look. What fell flat for us was the perception that almost all the scare actors were wearing the same latex creature mask throughout the maze. It was hard for the scare actors to help "tell the story". Dark Entities continues to lack "heart". In a maze that is full of animatronics, it feels like you don't see a scare actor until you are 1/4 of the way through the maze. With the maze feeling like it has the fewest number of scare actors at the event, it isn't much more than a walk-through. Although, this nurse was one of our favorite characters of the event! She went crazy over trying to find bandages, and it was hysterical! Wax Works is back. It continues to be a "fine" maze for us. The Grimoire is also "fine". We appreciate a gag of seemingly returning to the same "scene" within the maze, which is inventive and playful! Bloodline 1842 is one of those mazes that makes sense and you would say is perfectly executed...if you had read the creative treatment before going into the maze. Although it is hard for the average person to understand the whole plot, the Scare Actors encourage you along your way through the town during a battle between Vampires and other creatures. Origins The Curse of Calico returns for another year and is a nice staple for the event, focusing on the backstory of the Green Witch. It is a classic maze, and is simply "enjoyable". This is the final year for The Depths. It had a great run over the years. We remember the first time we saw this laser field technique with fog in a maze, and had our minds blown. This of course is now a standard haunt effect throughout the world. Oh there you are Mr. Creature! Mesmer Sideshow of the Mind was fun for us! As theme park/carnival/side show people, it is a fun and nuanced theme that allows for a good amount of variety in the storyline. Okay. So, let's talk about Cinema Slasher. This is one of the new mazes this year, and it was a blast! This maze celebrates the slasher movies from the 80s and perfectly captures the horror and the sometimes campy/over-the-top nature of those films. You will see references to many familiar movies and classic horror film tropes, and we were all for it! Best scenic effect for the event this year (as seen in 3 pictures below): 1. A totally normal lobby snack shop. 2. A somewhat irregular looking lobby snack shop.... 3. A totally demented lobby snack shop! Fun reference to a past maze: Let's go into the film, and see what happens! ...not what we had in mind, but what do you expect from a slasher film?! And for our favorite maze at this year's event, The Chilling Chambers. Although we aren't normally fans of mash-ups mazes, or relying on the nostalgia factor, this maze was a fantastic maze mash-up and we totally fell for the nostalgia factor when walking through some of the most iconic maze scenes from the past. The creative team conceived the perfect way to find a cohesive backstory in how the mazes have been preserved over time, where they went for their eternal slumber, and why we get to see these scenes again. Oh hey Joey! This one's for you. Scenes like this throughout, representing mazes from the past. It's The Amazing Thingy! Yes...nostalgia clearly works. Finally, a quick mention of the shows. First is Dr. Cleaver Returns. From past videos, it looks like it used to be an irreverent comedy show. This version of the show seems to rely on what the Birdcage Theater is know for, Melodrama. This just didn't work for what we expect for a Haunt event, so if you need to skip something, we recommend this. Second is The Hanging: Uncancelled. After a few year hiatus, the park is giving it another try, and is smartly having it in a completely enclosed venue where guests with a low tolerance for...anything... can't just "hear it as they walk by". The show has steered away from as much political satire as possible, and focuses on self-deprecating humor, pop culture references, and theme park woes. Navigational note: There is a bonus for getting to now sit down for this show, since it is being presented at the Wagon Camp Theater! The downside is that there is only a fraction of the viewing area that was previously available at the Calico Stage. Priority entrance to this show goes to patrons with Fright Lane. It was suggested that we line up 45-minutes before the show. At 20 minutes to the show start, the audience was full with what appeared to be entirely folks with Fright Lane. If this show is a priority for you, you may not get into the theater if you don't have Fright Lane. ...hey Jeff Tucker, we love you! And finally, in the Walter Knott Theater is a dance revue and comedy show called Music, Monsters, and Mayhem. It is a high-energy show with good production value. This show is not for the average Halloween Haunt guest. In general if you are a "theater person", you will find something within the show to enjoy! Be sure to plan your visit to this historic year of Knott's Scary Farm! https://www.knotts.com/events/scary-farm/tickets Thank you to the Knott's PR team for once again inviting Theme Park Review to the opening night; here is to a great haunt season!

Knott’s Berry Farm invited Theme Park Review to their preview event for the historic 50th year of Knott’s Scary Farm! “It all started in 1973 as a fun three-day Halloween Haunt. With five decades of never-ending nightmares, unimaginable scares, and innovative thrills, Knott's Scary Farm has left no tomb unearthed, no crypt unrattled, and no fear untouched.” The event features: 10 mazes (3 new), 5 scare zones, 4 shows, and runs on select nights from September 21 through October 31. New: Cinema Slasher (Maze) – Venturing through the mystical Midnight Theater, guests travel through the silver screen and into a trilogy of slasher movies. As they are swallowed into the world of gothic horror, they become the movie characters who try to escape the wrath of the dangerous Slasher. Will everyone survive, or will they become forever ensnared in the decaying reality from a bygone era? The conniving Midnight Theater wickedly opens its doors, daring those brave enough to buy a ticket to Cinema Slasher! The Chilling Chambers (Maze) – In honor of the first maze in Knott's Scary Farm's prestigious history, the "10 Chilling Chambers" is a ghastly new attraction that gives a nostalgic nod to Scary Farm's past while terrorizing the audience of today. Guided by The Keeper, the sinister caretaker of the conservatory of horrors, guests are thrust beyond the threshold of an ominous towering cathedral that leads to terrifying classic maze themes from Knott's Scary Farm's infamous history. Scream from countless fears of seasons gone by as 50 years of terror are unleashed in The Chilling Chambers. Room 13 (Maze) – Violent murders at The Blind Tiger interrupt the Prohibition-era revelry on Memory Lane. A dangerously delicious new cocktail named The Devil’s Elixir seems to be at the root of the mayhem, but where did the mysterious green aperitif come from? The answers may lie at the heart of the extravagant Argive Hotel, where many have checked in to Room 13… but none have checked out. The Gauntlet (Scare Zone) – In this reimagined version of the fan favorite, classic characters return to invade Camp Snoopy, but with an updated twist. Guests will again encounter the King and Queen of the realm, maniacal jesters, brutal barbarians, wicked wizards, and lawless peasants. They’ve all returned with an onslaught of fresh terror. All Hail the King or suffer the wrath of The Gauntlet! Dr. Cleaver Returns (Show) – Your favorite demented doctor is back for more Halloween hijinks! Grab a seat at the world-famous Bird Cage Theatre for a wicked journey into the great beyond. The Hanging: Uncancelled (Show) – The Lawman has returned to track down the vilest villains of the past year in this pop culture parody stunt extravaganza. No one is safe when the gates of the Wagon Camp swing open. (This announcement had the most positive fan reaction at the preview event!) Music, Monsters & Mayhem (Show) – “Music, Monsters and Mayhem” takes you on a scintillating and provocative musical journey celebrating 50 years of terror and frights. Featuring a rockin’ score, wild laughs, and a cast of singing and dancing monstrosities bound to get your heart racing with screams of delight! Returning Mazes: Bloodline 1842, The Grimoire, Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind, Wax Works, Origins: The Curse of Calico, The Depths, Dark Entities Returning Scare Zones: Ghost Town Streets, The Gore-ing 20's, CARNEVIL, Forsaken Lake Returning Favorites: Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny (Attraction Overlay), Into The Fog: A Scary Farm Tribute Art Show, Le Magnifique Carnaval du Grotesque (Show) Visit Knott's Website to plan your visit! Thank you to the Knott’s PR Team for inviting us; we can’t wait to celebrate 50 years of screams with you!

Theme Park Review was invited to preview the return of Knott's Summer nights, which runs through the summer season! As described by Knott's: "A summer favorite continues after the sun goes down, with a nighttime summer party that extends the fun into the evening. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy bands from the local music scene that rotate throughout the event on two stages. Knott's Summer Nights transforms Calico Park into a neighborhood party like no other with a hub of live music, relaxing atmosphere, Instagram-able photo opportunities and family-friendly games. A summer party is not complete without an abundance of food and drinks, and no theme park does food quite like Knott’s. The Knott’s culinary team creates tasty twists to classic summer dishes, from Sea Salt Caramel Iced Coffee, BLTA Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps and Mexican Pineapple Pork Sandwiches. A great way to indulge in all the flavors of Summer is by purchasing a tasting card that allows guests to choose from a selection of over four dozen seasonal-inspired dishes and drinks." We highly recommend the Summer Tasting Card, which is $55 for 6 items. Some items are moderate portions, and others can be considered full portions, so some dishes are highly recommended to maximize the value of the tasting card! Let's take a look at the festivities: Calico Park features several food booths and a main stage: Many of the cold/chilled items, like the Chicken Spring Roll, are going to be a great choice during the warm summer season: Rice, beans, and andouille sausage: Chicken, Pesto, and Sundried Tomato Flatbread: Big portion alert; highly recommended! Summer Pasta and Steak Salad: Beef Nachos with Avocado Crema: Big portion alert, because of the fries. Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit Sandwich with Pickles and Garlic Aioli: Boysenberry Dippin' Dots: S'mores Bar: Pro tip: If you get a tasting card, and find yourself "too full to eat anything else", despite having unused items, go to the Calico Bakery and take a Mom's Chocolate Cake to go: The smaller stage near Calico Park features Ghost Town Alive activities earlier in the day, and stays active into the evening during Knott's Summer Nights: The main stage features a contracted band that plays a great mix of songs from the past and present: Between band sets, a DJ keeps families entertained with a dance party in Charleston Circle: Thank you to the Knott's PR team for inviting us to help welcome back the popular Knott's Summer Nights! Be sure to plan your visit at knotts.com!

Theme Park Review was invited to preview the reimagined Fiesta Village at Knott's Berry Farm, ahead of the reopening on Friday, May 25th! As described by Knott's: "Fiesta Village comes alive both day and night to celebrate the Hispanic influences in Southern California. Guests can enjoy the sounds of Mariachi music, encounter a storyteller spinning whimsical tales of the alebrijes, experience performances of the traditional dance Folklorico and be entertained by interactive puppets and their playful antics. Those who venture through the newly landscaped alebrije gardens can meet Fiesta Village’s very own spirit animal friends. As the sun goes down, the fun heats up with an immersive nighttime street party, Calle Celebración, spanning the entire village, celebrating Mexican traditions of family, love and community through color, music, dancing and giant colorful puppets. Guests can savor the flavors of Fiesta at the new restaurant Casa California with burritos, birria quesadillas and signature tamales. At Cantina Del Sur, plenty of thirst-quenching bebidas will be served. These cold refreshments pair nicely with the delicious fish tacos at the new Baja Taqueria. Papas Mexicanas brings back a wide variety of toppings for crispy french fries, including a park favorite, the carne asada fries. Not only can guests enjoy all these delicious food options in the area, but this summer’s tasting card, Flavors of Summer, has expanded to include Sabor de Fiesta with food festival booths in Fiesta Village serving items such as potato and chorizo tacos, micheladas and elotes. Guests can stroll down Fiesta Mercado, inspired by Los Angeles’ Olvera Street, and find a variety of merchants with unique and authentic items. New merchandise items inspired by the area include a selection of Chamoy candies, hot sauces and queso. Other additions include carts throughout the village selling wares such as personalized parasols and colorful zarapes. Those looking for a thrill can enjoy the seven refreshed rides reopening in this area. Take a swing on Los Voladores and fly through the air, similar to the Flyers of Mexico. Climb aboard one of the 48 hand-carved animals in the Carrousel de California and enjoy this timeless ride. Due to construction delays, MonteZOOMa: The Forbidden Fortress will not open with Fiesta Village this summer. An opening date has not been scheduled at this time. Welcome back to Fiesta Village! Here is a look at the concept art as seen from above: The former arcade and shopping mall have been converted into a Chipotle-like "build-your-own burrito/bowl" restaurant. One of the best parts of the full refresh, for sure! Plenty of indoor seating, after a really great refresh! The center stage area has been refreshed, and features marionette shows, and storytelling performances throughout the day. The Alebrije Gardens: Here is a closer look at the food options that will be available: New Jaguar merchandise: Although MonteZooma: The Forbidden Fortress is not reopening any time soon (with two large track sections not onsite), there is new merchandise: ...including hot sauce! The nighttime entertainment "Calle Celebracion", is a great way to end the night! It takes place throughout the village on small stages. We recommend watching at the small stage located in front of the Jaguar pyramid, as light pyrotechnics are used. Sally is dressed up in her fiesta finest, and can't wait to see you in Fiesta Village! Thank you to the Knott's PR team for inviting to join them for their re-opening celebration!

Knott's Berry Farm just held one of the most unique media previews ever for Knott's Scary Farm! 2022 is going to be an *awesome* year for Scary Farm, starting Sept. 22! TPR is ready to preview everything that Scary Farm has in store for this season! We enjoyed a pre-dinner reception featuring artwork from this year's Beyond the Fog art show, featuring artwork inspired by all generations of Halloween Haunt. Also enjoyed the "I Vant Your Blood", a syringe drink with vodka and Strawberry Lemonade. Yes please! We were then asked to find seats in the main dining space, for a legit Haunt banquet comprised of samples of a ton of the food and drinks that will be available throughout the park this year. "Kindly find your seats..." Here is what we sampled! Some of the photos were better at the preview table, so here they are! The Spooky Crabby Sushi Roll was on point! So was the Canine Candy Corn! Is "one of everything" too much? A look at some of the merchandise available this year. Haunt + Tiki = Yes, yes, yes! Take your pick! Which is your favorite maze represented? Oh hey, Snoopy! We can't wait for September 22, and seeing one of the new mazes this year: The Grimoire! Plan your visit: https://www.knotts.com/events/scary-farm/calendar

Theme Park Review was invited to experience the opening weekend of Knott's Boysenberry Festival! The tasting card has raised another $5 in price compared to the last event to now be $50 for adults, but now offers a 6th tasting item. Here are a few helpful tips for attending the event: -We recommend starting at food locations towards the back of Ghost Town instead of making an immediate left towards the booths near Ghostrider, as just like with Halloween Haunt, a large number of attendees go there first. Come back to the booths near Ghostrider at the midpoint of your visit. We very much enjoyed the "Boysenberry Lane" section of the festival which offered a large food booth with many umbrella-shaded benches to enjoy your Boysenberry overload! -If rides are a priority during your visit, we recommend you arrive right at park opening, and ride as much as you can. With a park opening of 9am, and arriving at 10am for our visit, we were surprised to see a 120-minute wait for Ghostrider, 130-minute wait for Silver Bullet, 30-minute wait for Pony Express, and a 45-minute wait for HangTime, just 1 hour into the operating period. -Many food items can be found at multiple food locations, so check to see if one of your desired items can be found at a location off the beaten path. The event is scheduled to run through April 24. To plan your Boysenberry overload, visit this link for more details: https://www.knotts.com/events/boysenberry-festival We love these continual Knott's food festivals, giving us a reason to come back again, and again. Thank you so much to the Knott’s team for your hospitality! Welcome back to the Boysenberry Festival! This suits us: First item: Boysenberry Filled Donut Open-faced Chicken Sandwich topped with a Bacon Jam and Arugula (though it seems just to be bacon bits and not a bacon jam, as a bacon jam and boysenberry seems redundant). Mini Crab Sushi Roll with a Boysenberry Aioli. Surprisingly refreshing on a warm day, and one of the seemingly best "values"! All-Beef Meatballs in a Boysenberry BBQ Sauce on Mashers. Consistently great year after year! Boysenberry BBQ Chicken Pizza. Picture=Terrible. Taste=Perfection! Trio of Sausage with Peppers and Onions on Boysenberry Polenta. Another "good value" dish, very sharable. The sausage and peppers were good, though the boysenberry polenta didn't translate for us. Boysenberry Mudslide. Yes, yes, and yes again! Now for desserts! You can (jokingly) choose between either the listed "Boysenberry Mousse Chocolate Cake", or the written out "Boysenberry Mouse Cake"! Either way, you can't go wrong! Our favorite sweet item of the day! Finishing up with a Boysenberry Pie Bar! We visited Town Hall in Ghost Town to learn a bit about Knott's history. The Blacksmith is always a great place to see the old-time charm of Knott's alive and well. Oh hey, Catawampus! A fun photo backdrop in Boysenberry Lane just beyond Ghostrider. We highly recommend this area. Finishing up with a bit of entertainment, we visited the Camp Snoopy theater and enjoyed a show with the Peanuts friends: Finally, The Bird Cage Theater in Ghost Town present a Melodrama, all centered around Boysenberry Schnapps! What could be better than that...and air conditioning! At more than 30 minutes in length, this is a great way to enjoy the shade and relax between Boysenberry courses! Thank you again to Knott's for inviting us to the opening weekend, and here is to a great Spring full of food!

Theme Park Review was invited back into the fog at Knott's Scary Farm for 2021! Although down to 8 mazes this year, the event still brings the screams with returning maze favorites and one new maze. What was most appreciated it the amount of Scare Zone monsters that were out in the street! This was most likely a reallocating of monsters that would have been in the mazes to now be in outdoor area, which was a great option. Mazes were enjoyable, several show options were scattered throughout the park to enjoy when you found maze wait times to be on the longer side or just wanted to sit for a bit. Note that the last hour of the event sees very low wait time for mazes, so to maximize the event, don't be afraid to enjoy the shows between 9-11:45pm, and then enjoy the shorter maze waits when other patrons have departed for the night. Thank you to the Knott's team for inviting us, and congratulations on the return of Knott's Scary Farm! Staring with Pumpkin Eater: Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater. Had a wife... ...but couldn't keep her! Our 2nd favorite maze of the night, is this carney catastrophe! Origins: The Curse of Calico, featuring Ghost Town friends! Catawampus!!! Wax Works has returned. Wax Works, The Depths, Dark Entities and Paranormal Inc., are all conveniently located near each other near Ghostrider! Time to travel into.... Spooky sea! Almost Laval Monster! Celebrating the final year of Paranormal Inc. "What do you mean this is the last year for Paranormal Inc.?!?!??!?" Now let's blast off into space with Dark Entities: And now, the newest maze, Mesmer! A great play on sideshow acts like hypnosis and more! The Timber Mountain Log Ride has been transformed to Halloween Hootenanny, with a fun Halloween jug band music track throughout the ride. Spooky mountain! A look at a few shows around the park. This was a drum and witch show in Camp Snoopy: An 80's show about saving the planet from "Global Cooling", and has Jeff Tucker written all over it! When you find an ancient book, of course you open it and read the incantations! What else would you do with it?! A rock band is found at the Calico Stage in the heart of the park. Scare Zones can be found in Camp Snoopy: CarnEVIL is on the Boardwalk: And Gore-ing 20's is a brand new area in Charleston Square in the back of the park! "Step back into the dark decadence of a by-gone era as the newest scare zone, The Gore-ing 20's, terrorizes even the bravest and most brutal souls. Here gangsters run illicit hooch for the ghostly revelers as the otherworldly musicians play the music of the damned. Tell the Bouncer the secret password, and you'll have the time of your life…for as long as it lasts." We loved the playfulness of this bygone era and the fun around prohibition! Outside the Walter Knott Theater was a flapper ground and swing band! Inside the theater is Puppet Up!, an adult improv puppet show, which we highly recommend! Ghost Town Streets of course come to live with plenty of fog: Knott's Scary Farm runs select nights through October 31st. https://www.knotts.com/events/scary-farm/tickets to plan your visit! Thank you again to the Knott's Berry Farm team!

On May 20th, Theme Park Review was invited to the official kick-off of the Knott’s Berry Farm 100th Anniversary Celebration! Starting May 21st, "The Knott's Family Reunion" looks to reunite family and friends in a safe and fun environment after a year-long closure due to COVID-19. Patrons can experience the brand-new Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair, meet 3 new characters, and enjoy Knott's Summer Nights with live music, DJs and food and drink specialties. In addition, the theme park is planning a nightly ceremony featuring multiple attractions lighting up the evening, ending with a special moment with the redesigned illuminated K-tower. Park décor celebrating 100 years can be found all over the park, including special photo settings that pay homage to favorite attractions from the past. The anniversary celebration runs through September 6, 2021. Visit knotts.com to plan your visit! Thank you for the Knott’s team for inviting us, and congratulations on 100 years! “100 years of history, before your very eyes, So come and join the jamboree, beneath the western skies. 100 years of history, with all the old-time charm, We’ll celebrate together at Knott’s Berry Farm!” It's great to be back at the Farm! 100th Anniversary decorations can be found all over the park. Fun photo opportunities abound, like this recently retired "K" from the top of the K-tower. Here is a look at the new K-tower, as seen in a "Welcome back" message: I know several TPR members who would *love* this photo op! A very popular photo op was of this tribute to The Haunted Shack. Whittler along with two characters from Knott's Bear-y Tales will great Guests during this family reunion. The Charles M. Schultz theater has been renamed to the Walter Knott theater in honor of the Knott's Berry Farm founder. Of course, you can't miss the new Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair attraction! And of course, it wouldn't be a Knott's event without food! Here are my two favorites from the kick-off event. Pulled pork mac and cheese... ...and the classic Cookie-wich with vanilla soft-serve between two freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies! Congratulations again to Knott's on 100 historic years, and thank you for inviting us! We'll see you at the Farm!

Theme Park Review was invited to experience the Knott's Taste of Boysenberry Festival on Saturday, March 6, in what is a welcomed return to SoCal theme park food and drink events! The tasting card has raised $5 in price compared to the last event to now be $45 for adults with 5 food tastings. We have seen a $5 bump each time the event carried a new seasonal theme, and my personal hope is that $45 is the top price, at $9 per item. Junior tasting cards remain at $20 for 3 food tastings. Here are two helpful tips for attending the event: -We recommend arriving at noon for the start of the event, as the crowd level picks up throughout the day. -Many food items can be found at multiple food locations, so check to see if one of your desired items can be found at a location off the beaten path. The event is currently scheduled to run on select days through May 2, though with the newly announced restructuring of the California COVID-19 Tier system, we may see a change to these event dates as theme parks may be allowed to operate attractions as early as April 1 (no joke). To plan your Boysenberry overload, visit this link for more details: https://www.knotts.com/events/taste-of-boysenberry-festival We love these continual Knott's food festivals, giving us a reason to come back again, and again. Thank you so much to the Knott’s team for your hospitality! We are so excited to be back on the farm! It's the "berry" best time of year to visit! The Mayor of Calico officially welcomes each and every TPR member upon entry, and will personally address you by your TPR screen name! Starting off with Beyond Meatballs with a Boysenberry BBQ sauce and a Boysenberry/Cucumber/Pineapple Aqua Fresca. The Meatball dish was great, and getting to build your own stuffed pita was fun. The Aqua Fresca was incredibly refreshing. Next was my absolute favorite dish from the event, and might even be the best dish I have ever enjoyed at Knott's Berry Farm: Etouffe, Shrimp, and Boysenberry Sausage over rice. This dish had such a great variety of textures, incredible seasoning, and is the perfect portion size. This is a "must try"! Mexican Street Corn Chowder, with fun Boysenberry tortilla strips. Some sort of loaded pizza is always offered at Knott's food events, and I usually skip them for much more interesting options, but I acquiesced by trying the Boysenberry BBQ Carne Asada Pizza Slice, and I didn't regret it! The Boysenberry flavor is just barely noticeable on the carne asada, which is great, because the flavor of the onion and cilantro help you enjoy a dish that doesn't leave you with a boysenberry overload. The Philly Cheese Fires were nice, but I could only get through about half of it before the white cheese sauce congealed and caused all the fries to mound together. I very much enjoyed the flavors, but a little less cheese sauce may be in order. (I know, it's blasphemy to ever suggest *less* cheese...) Red Concha with Boysenberry Ice Cream was great! I normally get desserts which have boysenberry soft serve at these events, where the soft serve starts melting pretty quickly. But since this dessert has boysenberry ice cream, it didn't melt at all! I totally recommend anything that has the boysenberry ice cream over the soft serve. Let's take a quick break from the ingestible boysenberries to enjoy the visual boysenberries: Consider yourself educated: As day turns to night, a final few items remain to be enjoyed. Pastrami Sandwich on a Pretzel Bun. Perfection speaks for itself. A dense and rich boysenberry cheesecake. And of course, the Fun Bun! This is a deep-fried cinnamon roll covered in a boysenberry glaze. A winner every time! Thank you again to the Knott's team for inviting us to enjoy the Boysenberry overload!

Can't wait to see everyone for this awesome event!

They have background music that plays through their normal park speakers, which is themed to each area. It is set to the perfect volume to be "full and present", where we are still able to hear the performers talk to us along the route.

On Sunday, November 22, Theme Park Review was invited to experience the Knott's Taste of Merry Farm event, the next in a wonderfully endless string of events at Knott’s Berry Farm! The tasting card has raised $5 in price compared from the last event to now be $40 for adults with 5 food tastings. Junior tasting cards remain at $20 for 3 food tastings. The value of this additional bump can be seen in the plentiful park decorations, and wonderfully creative entertainment spread throughout the entire park! A few tips if you are going to attend the event: -We recommend arriving at noon for the start of the event, as the crowd level picks up throughout the day. -Many food items can be found at multiple food locations, so check to see if one of your desired items can be found at a location off the beaten path. -The food lanyard is handed to you with the hole punch at the top of the card, causing you to have to awkwardly turn the car to read it. However, there is now a secondary hole punch on the bottom of the lanyard so you can flip the card around and easily read it from your perspective. We love these continual Knott's food festivals, giving us a reason to come back again, and again. Thank you so much to Miranda and the Knott’s team for your hospitality! Plan your visit quickly if you are interested, as only a few days are still available! Visit this link for more details: https://www.knotts.com/play/events/taste-of-merry-farm We are so excited to be back on the farm! We started with Cupid's Corn Chowder Soup. Rich and hearty, with great flavor. Prancer's Pesto Chicken Pizza: The pesto flavor was loud and proud, making for a great slice of pizza. Tater Tots topped with turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Once I mixed all the toppings in with the tots, I found myself smiling when I would compose a "perfect bite"! Gyro with butternut squash slaw, tzatziki, and pickled red onions in naan bread. Loved this Indian/Middle Eastern dish. The slaw and tzatziki helped classify this as a "lighter" dish compared to many of the others, which helps you pace yourself instead of quickly giving you a feeling of "I'm entirely too full and I'm only on my second food item!" Cold Salmon Winter Salad. Another "lighter" dish, packed with a ton of flavor. Featuring a decent portion of salmon, I consider it to be the most premium ingredient at this festival. Back to Thanksgiving! Vixen's Turkey Burger with cheese, cranberry mayo, and stuffing on a pretzel bun with fries. This is it! This is the winner! Ding, ding, ding! Better than the tater tots from earlier, all these Thanksgiving ingredients just work so well on a pretzel bun. Rudolph's Winter Pear Lemonade. Totally refreshing, and the right option as the thought of having another food item after everything else at this point was too much! Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bar. Everything about this is perfection! Ending with Comet's cinnamon bun with a maple glaze and candied pecans. This was the closest thing to the famous Knott's Fun Bun, for this festival, and was a pure sweet delight! A perfected ending to the foodie feast bestowed on me by the Chefs of Knott's Berry Farm. Here is a look at the non-food highlights of the event. First, we loved dining on the bumper car platform! Up the ramp to the Charles M. Schultz theater, you can meet a few Peanuts members. This was a live 50s/60s radio broadcast that was amplified across the entire Boardwalk area of the park. So much punny holiday humor! Our absolute favorite entertainer was hanging out underneath the Hangtime coaster. Douglas Fir was trying to sell a tree with "a lot of character" to the passers-by. He had us laughing for quite some time as we sat nearby enjoying our food. We ended the day with a stroll through Camp Snoopy to enjoy the wide array of holiday decorations. This continues to be such a nice touch, as everyone seems to enjoy the playful scenic elements in this area. This looks even better at night! Snoopy hopes to see you all soon this season!

On Saturday 11/21, Theme Park Review was invited to see the Six Flags Magic Mountain Holiday in the Park Drive-thru Experience. It’s rare for park patrons to get to drive through a theme park, so this was such a treat! We arrived at 5:30pm, before the normal first reservation time of 6:00pm, and were directed through the Toll Plaza, through the Guest Parking Lot, and we queued in the Employee Lot. Along the way, we encountered many employees who were waiving, and joyfully greeting each car. Clearly, the SFMM team is thrilled to have patrons back at their park in any fashion. Our journey began with a short drive through a back-of-house area, and were then welcomed by a Holiday in the Park marquee as we drove into DC Universe, and passing Batman: The Ride. As you can imagine, lights of all sizes are placed through the entire park. Several uniquely themed areas throughout the park were featured, and the variety was greatly welcomed. There were an unexpected number of performers of all kinds throughout the park, contributing towards more personalized interactions to which theme park customers are accustomed. Fortunately SFMM, had a robust amount of Holiday in the Park infrastructure from past years, and from what we could tell, additional equipment and holiday décor featured this year will serve this seasonal event well into the future. Congratulations to the Six Flags Magic Mountain team on such a wonderful event, and thank you for inviting us! Event information can be found here: https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/events/holiday-in-the-park Enjoy the photos, noting that any of the photos below of excellent quality were taken by TPR member John Tanaka; thank you John! As the sun sets on quiet coasters, winter magic is ready to come to life! First heading back-of-house, here sits a remind of a time where "We like to party." We were a featured car in the longest vehicle parade ever! The Underground area featured our favorite soundtrack at the event with a more grunge take on in the holidays! Heading into the Rapids Camp area. It wouldn't be a "Six Flags day!" without these two critters! Mrs. Claus nicely lit across from Bugs Bunny World. We would have loved to see these Toy Soldiers doing some of their great routines from previous years. Holidays of the Future! The event ends with cars passing by Scream, as the reindeer seemingly pull Santa up the lift hill. Thank you again to the SFMM team, and congratulations on a great event!

On Saturday 9/26/20, Theme Park Review was invited to experience the Knott's Taste of Fall-o-ween event, the next in a wonderfully endless string of events at Knott’s Berry Farm. The event runs Fridays – Sundays until November 1. To experience the event, a tasting card must be purchased in advance at knotts.com, and includes entry into the park. The tasting card has raised $5 in price compared from the last event to now be $35 for adults with 5 food tastings, and Junior tasting cards for patrons ages 3-11 is up $5 from the last event to now be $20 with 3 food tastings, and a trip through the Camp Snoopy Trick-or-Treat Trail. A few tips if you are going to attend the event: -We recommend arriving at noon for the start of the event, as the crowd level picks up throughout the day. -Many food items can be found at multiple food locations, so check to see if one of your desired items can be found at a location off the beaten path. -The food lanyard is handed to you with the hole punch at the top of the card, causing you to have to awkwardly turn the car to read it. However, there is now a secondary hole punch on the bottom of the lanyard so you can flip the card around and easily read it from your perspective. We love this new and simple addition! We love that Knott's is bringing seasonal event to life every few months, encouraging patrons to come back every so often. Thank you so much to Miranda and the Knott’s Team for your hospitality! It's Fall-o-ween time! We have our tasting card ready to go! First was a great chicken taco from the Fiesta Village area. We highly recommend the Open-faced Reuben Sandwich! Amazing Pastrami Tots! We tried the vegetarian meatball slider with sweet potato waffle fries, and love it. The Graveyard Funnel Cake. The Ghoulish Pumpkin Bun is a must! Cookiewich with Pumpkin Soft-serve Ice Cream is another winner! Cookies and Scream Whoopie Pie. Hey Lucy! We loved seeing the Peanuts pals out! We noticed even more entertainment than the previous event. Let's take a look at the Trick-or-Treat Trail included with the Junior Tasting cards. The trail beings by Montezuma's Revenge. We loved all the decorations on the trail, including a substantial amount of scenic pieces from Halloween Haunts of past. Of course, there is candy! Thank you again to Knott's for inviting us for the wonderful fall fun!

On Sunday 8/23/20, Theme Park Review was invited to experience the Taste of Knott's event at Knott’s Berry Farm. Even with the rides closed, it felt so great to step back into a SoCal theme park again! Knott’s was ready to open their annual Boysenberry Festival back in March, but it of course came to a halt. The Knott’s Marketplace was eventually able to reopen, followed by the reopening of the Calico Ghost Town area of the park with the Taste of Calico special event. Expanding on the success of that outdoor event, Knott’s started celebrating the most popular dishes from around the park on August 21, with this new Taste of Knott's event. From Mexican-inspired cuisine in Fiesta Village, to BBQ items from Spurs and the Boardwalk, and even dishes pulled from the Knott’s Berry Farm Cookbook, there is so much to enjoy! The event runs Fridays – Sundays until September 13, with Friday/Saturday set as 12:00 – 9:00pm, and Sunday hours as 12:00 – 8:00pm. We were easily able to experience the entire park and all the food in 5 hours. You could complete everything in as short as two hours, or enjoy the entire operating day if you wish. To experience the event, a tasting card must be purchased in advance at knotts.com, and includes entry into the park. The tasting card is $30 for adults with 5 food tastings, and Junior tasting cards for patrons ages 3-11 is $15 with 3 food tastings. Tasting cards are date specific. Before we get to the pictures, we want to commend Knott’s Berry Farm for two incredible factors: Firstly, the thoughtfulness in the overwhelming number of tables placed throughout the entire park was wonderful! This directly contributed to such a relaxing way to enjoy the wonderful food and atmosphere. Secondly, we want to praise the Knott’s team for their creativity and adaptability in finding a way to bring a small part of their operation back to life (and bring Knott’s back to its roots)! The employees seemed so happy to be back at work, and went out of their way to say “welcome back” and “thank you for being here with us today”. We hope this sets the foundation and leads the way for similar SoCal parks! Thank you so much to Miranda and the Knott’s Team for your hospitality! We have our Tasting Cards in hand and are happy to back in the park! So...let's talk about tables for a minute... ...as far as the eye can see... ...and in the shade too! You can see where existing tables are being used, as well as a ton of brand new tables. Clear signage at the booth. Booths were well spread out around the park. The same item was available at multiple booths around the park, which is much more efficient than past Boysenberry Festivals. Now, on to the food! Mac and Cheese with even more cheese! Chicken slider with chips. An amazing portobello mushroom sandwich. Seriously, carnivores like me usually dismiss the veggie-friendly food items, but this is a perfect example of not counting out the veggie fun! A full ear of Corn on the Cob with boysenberry butter and cotija cheese. BBQ brisket sandwich with coleslaw. Our favorite item: Blue Velvet lemon cookiewich with Vanilla soft-serve ice cream. Boysenberry Smoothie. There are three different locations for this item, and with its popularity, it takes a while for a new batch to be ready. We recommend going to the Wheel Wagon Pizza location since it is of the beaten path, and it looked like they had the most smoothie machines. The event featured several solo performers in Calico. These performers brought such a wonderful energy to the area. DJs could also be found at stages around the park. It was also great to the Blacksmith still hard at work. Lastly, there is a Relax Zone in the outdoor queue of the defunct Mystery Lodge. No frills, but a nice half-shaded area for those who need it. A nice touch for sure. Welcome back to the farm! Thank you again to Miranda and the Knott's team! Visit knotts.com to plan your visit!

The Knott's Boysenberry Festival is back for 2020 to celebrate the park's historic roots with their annual food-inspired event that highlights the little berry that started it all! Running from March 20 through April 19, the festival will feature more than 75 new and returning boysenberry-inspirited creations. In addition to the food and drink items, the festival will also feature a variety of entertainment and activities for all to enjoy. The Tasting Card will work a bit more guest-friendly this year with the ability to choose 8 of the 26 following options: 1. Boysenberry Mimosa (New) 2. Boysenberry Basil Lemonade (New) 3. Boysenberry Beer Cheese Soup topped with a Boysenberry Drizzle and Brown Butter Croutons (New) 4. Brussel Sprouts topped with a Boysenberry Balsamic Dressing and Bacon (New) 5. Beef Tips with Boysenberry Mashed Potatoes (New) 6. Boysenberry Chicken Mole on Cilantro Rice (New) 7. Boysenberry Sangria 8. Boysenberry Cajun Shrimp over Grits (New) 9. Boysenberry BBQ Chick Drumsticks (New) 10. Boysenberry Steak Chili with a Boysenberry Cornbread Muffin (New) 11. Samosas with Boysenberry Chutney 12. Bork Bao Bum Dumpling with Boysenberry Kimchi and Nam Pla (New) 13. Boysenberry Shrimp Ceviche with Tortilla Chips (New) 14. Boysenberry Smoothie (New) 15. Homemade Chips with Boysenberry Onion Dip 16. Boysenberry sausage on a Bun 17. Elote with Boysenberry Mayo, Cotija Cheese, and Boysenberry Tortilla Crumbles 18. Mac and Cheese Bites with Boysenberry Ketchup (new) 19. Glazed Donut Holes with Boysenberry Ice Cream and topped with a Boysenberry Coulis (New) 20. Boysenberry Bread Pudding topped with Boysenberry Coulis and Crème Anglaise Sauce (New) 21. Pastrami Sandwich on a Pretzel Bun topped with Boysenberry Mustard (New) 22. Boysenberry Macron (New) 23. Churro rolled in Boysenberry Sugar (New) 24. Boysenberry Cookiewich (New) 25. Boysenberry Beer 26. Boysenberry Wine With such a variety of options, I anticipate a much more successful spreading out of guests around the festival instead of the pre-fixe menu which had longer lines. The Tasting Card is $40 ($38 if you have a 2020 Season Pass). Make sure the items you select have an individual price of higher than $5, or a value of what you perceive to be higher than $5 so you get your moneys worth. Although we took our own food photos at the Boysenberry Festival media preview this past week, the provided images look much better than our night photos. We will feature the provided photos of the food items so you can get a better sense of the high-quality food items. Let's eat! Welcome back to the farm! The Knott's family is ready to show off their boysenberry-inspired items for this year's festival! We made our way through Ghost Town towards the Wilderness Dance Hall for the festivities. Cordelia Knott was busy making her famous pies alongside the park's culinary team. Snoopy was also ready to bake some pies! Boysenberry Mimosa & Sangria Boysenberry Beer & Wine (The beer is Shock Top with boysenberry instead of orange. The wine has a much more present boysenberry flavor than then beer.) Boysenberry Shrimp Ceviche with Tortilla Chips (Very refreshing, especially if you go on a warmer day.) Boysenberry Elote Brussel Sprouts with Bacon Samosas with Boysenberry Chutney Mac and Cheese Bites with Boysenberry Ketchup Boysenberry BBQ Chicken Drumsticks Boysenberry Beer Cheese Soup (A favorite amongst those in attendance.) Pastrami Sandwich on a Pretzel Bum topped with Boysenberry Mustard. Pork Bao Bun Dumpling with Boysenberry Kimchi (The kimchi is very spicy.) Boysenberry Chick Mole on Cilantro Rice Boysenberry Sausage on a Bun (One of our favorites from last year.) Boysenberry Steak Chili with Boysenberry Cornbread Muffin (The chili is good, but the Cornbread Muffin was amazing!) Boysenberry Cajun Shrimp over Grits (This was our absolute favorite item at the preview! The shrimp was flavorful and tender and the grits were buttery and just perfect!) Boysenberry Macarons Boysenberry Cannoli Boysenberry Cookiewich Boysenberry Bread Pudding Glazed Donut Holes with Boysenberry Ice Cream These are about 1/3 of the festival offerings, so be sure to check out the event yourself from March 20 to April 19. See you at the farm!

Totally agree, it was such a fun night! I had totally forgotten about the dead rat!

Oh, that Eagle....

When my friend and I went to Japan in 2017, he loved the toilets so much that he ordered a bidet attachment kit for his home throne via Amazon while we were still on the trip. It was waiting for him when we got back to the states. A rather common story you hear from travelers to Japan.

I can't decide between Chocolate or Strawberry, so I will just have to try both! How about one on the way into the park, and another one on the way out of the park?

Theme Park Review was invited to the opening day of Knott's Scary Farm 2019, and we were thrilled to return "into the fog"! This year the event highlights include 9 mazes, 4 Scare Zones, The Hanging, and Puppet Up! Uncensored. Two mazes are retiring this year (Special Ops - Infected & Shadowlands), with two others that debuted (Wax Works & Origins - The Curse of Calico). Nine mazes is down from the numbers we have seen in past years, but we believe that the quality of those nine mazes has greatly increased in the scenic quality and possibly the length of several mazes as well. We greatly appreciate the "less mazes, but higher quality" formula! The Scare Zones are enjoyable paths to travel between mazes, and offer a somewhat more personalized interactions. The Hanging is of course a Scary Farm staple, and we look forward to the show settling in a bit more after the opening weekend. The pop-culture references are vast and so varied, that each person can expect to "get" at least half the references. Some references were from news stories that broke three days before Scary Farm kicked-off, so it is really impressive that the writing and show changes happen up until opening night! Puppet Up! Uncensored is housed in the Schultz Theater, and was a really enjoyable way for our group to end the night! After traversing the park for several hours, it was great to sit and relax, and enjoy a wildly irreverent shows. This show features the adult side of the puppeteers of the Jim Henson Company. Combining puppetry skills, adult themes, and improvisation, this 30 minutes show left us laughing the entire time. Even if puppetry and improv are of no interest to you, there is plenty in the show that you may still find *very* enjoyable; we highly recommend it! Thank you to the wonderful Knott's Team for inviting us to another wonderful event, we wish you a great Halloween Season! Knott's Scary Farm runs on select nights through Saturday, November 2. https://www.knotts.com/play/scary-farm We are ready to head back "Into the Fog"! Our rating: 5/10 - There are many nice scenes, but a few of the scenes with characters on rigging were unnecessary and not well utilized. "In its final year: Enter the hair-raising maze and fight off demon samurais whose souls are cursed to rot within the depths of purgatory." Our rating: 9/10 - This maze has lived a long and happy life through different incarnations, we are sad to see this interactive maze sink into the abyss, but understand it is operationally difficult getting enough patrons through the maze. "In its final year: Enlist and arm yourself and your squad with specially designed laser guns to embark on a mission through the city to find the zombie infection cure. The last stand is now!" Our rating: 6/10 - We enjoyed the story line, but found many hallways to be void of characters. Those that we did encounter did a great job driving the story. "A realm where the darkness is absolute. A space station faces terror beyond all imagination as an extraterrestrial mutation is on the hunt for new hosts." Our rating: 6/10 - Some elements were a hit, and some were a miss. There is a great "creep" factor compared to other mazes where if you are "on the path of the dark ride" you can hear the dark ride music, and when you are in a "backstage area" of the dark ride, it is silent. That was a great level of detail that we appreciated. "Journey through an abandoned carnival ride where cruel carny folk still linger. Venture down a treacherous path of sinister shadows and horrifying scenes." Our rating: 8/10 - The first room (though greatly shortened from past years to help with efficiency) is worth the wait on its own! "Demonic spirits of the murdered victims have been detected throughout the mysterious halls while evil medical staff prowl for new patients to torture." Our rating: 6/10 - We appreciated the cohesiveness of the scenic and costume design for this maze. The story line is straight forward with no real surprises. "Escape the Pumpkin Eater's wrath by navigating your way through a cave of crawling insects and solving the labyrinth of thorns." Our ratings: 8/10 - With a nice story line from start to finish and a few great effects, this maze is one of the stronger of the event. "Find your way around ominous caverns to discover if the superstitions are true or not. But be warned, all who have entered have never resurfaced." Our rating: 7/10 - This reminded us of one of our favorite mazes "Doll Factory". The costumes and performers really make this maze inventive and enjoyable. "Blood curdling screams can be heard echoing the halls as victims are submerged into a scorching hot cauldron of wax. Escape or become the newest masterpiece." Our rating: 10/10 - This maze pays homage to the most famous monsters of Scary Farm lore. As the title suggests we learn the backstory of these monsters, in what we believe is one of the best mazes in recent Scary Farm history. We love that the experiences starts before you even enter the maze. "Doomed to roam Ghost Town every Halloween season, discover the birth of the legendary Knott's Scary Farm monsters in this terrifying new maze." Puppet up! in the Schultz Theater. Here are the real stars of the show! The monsters of the Ghost Town Streets are quite a group of characters. The "other" ghost bride. Thank you again to the Knott's team! If you enjoy the Origins maze, you may enjoy The Hanging even more this year.

Theme Park Review was invited this past week to experience a brand new and unique addition to the highest-ranked escape room company in Southern California. Cross Roads Escape Games sits a few miles east of the Disneyland Resort and now features three rooms with three completely different experiences. “The Fun House” is a traditional escape room, but is described as self-aware and pokes-fun at itself and other traditional escape rooms. “The Hex Room” is what put Cross Roads Escape Games on the map, having players take on one of six specific characters in the story. In addition, “The Hex Room” requires each player to fully participate, as everyone starts in an individual room. The creators ask: “Can you survive a horror film?” If you are thinking this sounds like they are rewriting what an escape room can be, you’re right. We were invited to experience the newest addition to the Cross Roads Escape Games portfolio, The Psych Ward. We were told that The Psych Ward wasn’t an escape room, and we didn’t ask more questions as we wanted to be surprised. The five people in our group were comically institutionalized to get into the experience, complete with outer-layer hospital gowns and patient wristbands. The basics of the game: After a brief talk down with our Orderly, we were privately given our individual diagnosis of “sane” or “insane”. We were lead into a room with walls consisting of endless puzzles and tasks like those which would be administered in a psychiatric institution. It was explained that our group was comprised of both sane and insane individuals. The individual’s goal was to complete as many tasks as possible to earn points. The group goal for those who were “insane” was to convincingly infiltrate the “sane” patients. The group goal for those who were “sane”, was to determine who the “insane” patients were, and prevent them from collecting points. Layers: Wow, the layers of strategy for this seemingly simple experience are endless. Even with an hour of game time, it is nearly impossible to experience and complete all of the activities in the room, which is totally fine, because unlike traditional escape rooms, the “them vs. us” game play is more important than the actual completion of puzzles. Surprises: 1. Just when we thought we had settled into a rhythm about 10 minutes into the game, another element was introduced which made us question each other and caused doubt of sanity between our group members. This lead to a game-within-a-game, which brilliantly triggered a funny emotional rollercoaster. 2. A rather freaky mystery contraption. 3. An awesome “meltdown” finale. Back to Reality: After our hour in The Psych Ward was complete, our group was in disbelief of what we had just experienced. They were right, this was *not* an escape room. It was something between immersive theater, an escape room, and something out of a SAW movie. One aspect that was blatantly obvious was how incredibly hard-working the game master (the Orderly) has to be, to create an environment where we can successfully complete puzzles, as well as focusing on the primary objective of determining each other’s sanity. The game master is there to offer hints but also to help you get secret points within the game. This helps to create doubt amongst the players. All the game master can do is nudge you in the right direction, but it is up to the players to actually complete the tasks. The game master has some way to influence the game and send players in a helpful direction, but it is ultimately in the players' hands. The Creators: Cross Roads Escape Games owners/operators/designers Luke and Madison Rhoades, sat down with us after we experienced their most recent addition and we talked at length. When asked what sets Cross Roads Escape Games apart they identified set design. They both come from a theater background, and when they played escape rooms early on, those rooms had almost no production value. Their lackluster experiences inspired them to open up their own rooms; they knew they could create rooms with high production value and incredibly immersive experiences. They explained why The Psych Room isn’t a traditional escape room: The Psych Room combines the best elements of each of the following - o Board Games – Strategy: Werewolf / Mafia game with the “who is who” trust/betrayal o Immersive Theater – In-game actor and the Meltdown finale o Escape Room – Puzzles, and your team’s ability to complete the tasks and feel accomplish as you move through the game. How to succeed: They are seeing that if participants “fight for their side” and do a great job of convincing others that you are sane, your side does well. People who are passive tend to lose. Occasionally you will have assertive “king pins” on each side, which will result in a close game. Other times you will have only one assertive person, and everyone else in the room will say “okay”, and that side will win. Sometimes that one assertive person will be controlling the game so long that everyone else turns against them in the last few minutes of the game. They say that so many variables exist which makes each game unique. You are the star: Madison says: “We are trying to make people feel like the star of their own movie. Escape rooms can touch on, when 1 person may solve only one puzzle during the game, and they get excited with that solve, but it’s just not enough. When you are in the Hex Room, you have your own character, and you are the star. The Psych Ward is similar, where each person gets their own gown and diagnosis. There are choice to be made, it’s up to each player to decide what they want to do. Each time the game is played it’s totally different, because it depends on the type of people you have in your group.” Plan your experience: Visit https://crossroadsescapegames.com/ , and pick the experience best for you! Thank you to Luke and Madison for inviting us to experience their newest hit! We can't wait to see what the future has in store at Cross Roads Escape Games! Welcome to Cross Roads Escape Games! Final Count: Insane - 2 patients, Sane - 3 patients, Survived Dr. Griffin's experiments - 5 patients! Like lab rats, he has put you inside his twisted experiment of paranoia and challenges you to figure out who to trust and who to betray. Dr. Griffin has created a social experiment for a select group of patients. Some of these patients he believes are sane, others, completely insane.

Theme Park Review was invited to attend opening day for Dark Harbor at The Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. With six mazes and creepy entertainment on the ship and in the sprawling shipyard, The Queen Mary serves as a fun backdrop for this Haunt Event. Thank you to The Queen Mary Team for having us attend opening day! Welcome to Dark Harbor! The Captain himself welcomes everyone as the event starts. The complex has quite a unique feel compared to the theme park haunt events. It feels like a mix of a traditional haunt and a County or State Fair. Chop-chop! It’s time to report for duty as the new line cook on board the world famous Queen Mary. All is not what it seems as the kitchens have gone dark and the smell of rank, rotting meat fills the air. From dinner service to the kitchens, the angry spirit of an evil Chef washes back from a watery grave to serve the high-class Queen Mary passengers of 1948. Face the souls of poisoned travelers, gruesome ship staff and of course, the horrific Chef now serving the living to the dead. Let The Feast begin. A series of inhuman crimes tormented the Queen Mary passengers during a routine cross-Atlantic voyage in October of 1948. Follow the lead detective on the scene as he uncovers the evil truth behind one of the most notorious criminals to ever invade the luxury liner: Samuel the Savage. The investigation follows a sinister journey filled with terrifying twists and turns that point to the most infamous stateroom on the ship: B340. It has been long rumored that Mary, the little girl who drowned in the Queen Mary First Class Swimming Pool in 1952, has haunted the dark corners of the luxury liner since her untimely demise. Many experts theorize the haunting derives from Mary’s spirit attaching itself to the little girl’s stuffed toy bear. Perhaps the bear holds the gloomy secrets behind the wicked ghost of Scary Mary and why she still sings her eternal Lullaby. The Grey Ghost rises once again, set out on its annual ghastly voyage damned to its eternal battle on the living. With the fearless captain at the helm, guests will walk among the rusted carcass of the Grey Ghost as its full steam ahead into the flames of war. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the ships warpath may either salute the captain or like an anchor, sink to the depths of the watery tombs. It’s the night before a dust-covered, rickety old circus opens to the public. Sneak beyond the curtains to unveil the horrors lurking within the shadows of the big top. Hosting a menagerie of monsters and sinister creatures, the one and only Ringmaster returns with unadulterated and unbelievable horrors for all who step inside Circus! All Aboard! A phantom coach forces the Queen Mary’s original ship builder to relive his wicked wrongdoings to shipyard mates, Scottish brethren and plagued family that led to the Iron Hell his soul rots away in. Follow the spine-chilling path to an evil sea witch where a deadly pact was made spawning the horrific half-metal, half-creature known as the Iron Master. In addition to the mazes, several variety acts were scattered throughout the shipyard. Walk-around characters were also in large supply. The most unique offering was a "slider" show, which showcased this unique ability in an incredibly entertaining way! Not sure if that smell in the air is fish or fear... The Captain extends a formal invitation to visit from now through November 2nd on select nights! https://www.queenmary.com/calendar-of-events/dark-harbor/home/

Halloween Horror Nights 2018 - Opening Day Friday, September 14th marked the start of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, and Theme Park Review was invited to Opening Night to face our fears! This year’s maze lineup includes: Stranger Things, Poltergeist, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Universal Monsters, Trick ‘r Treat, The First Purge, The Horrors of Blumhouse: Chapter Two, and the year round AMC’s The Walking Dead. In addition, horror fans can experience Terror Tram: Dreadtime Storiez Hosted by Hollywood Harry, five new scare zones, and the Jabbawockeez live show. Visit hollywood.halloweenhorrornights.com for event dates and ticket prices. We highly recommend the Universal Express Pass for single-night front-of-line access to ensure you get to experience all the event has to offer, as stand-by lines can reach up to 180 minutes. Let’s take a look at the event! Blumhouse Productions is back again with new suspense-filled moments from Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, Unfriended and a nightmarish surprise ending that will leave you screaming for more! Fall victim to the silver screen’s most deplorable slasher with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Enter a pagan harvest festival where the dark spirit of Halloween was born! The streets are filled with strange bewitched dolls, brought to life through dark magic. Every day is Halloween in this irreverent send up of the Holidays of the year. Based on the classic 1982 film by director Tobe Hooper and producer Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist will take you inside the iconic ghost story that set the bar for paranormal thrillers ever since. Step inside the hair-raising world of Stranger Things and prepare to brave the Upside Down of this pop culture series phenomenon! Hollywood Harry, the phantom clown infamous for terrorizing the Universal Studios backlot, has returned to Terror Tram as host of an all new bloodcurdling experience. Get ready for The First Purge, a terrifying new maze that tells the story of how the blockbuster franchise all began. The New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) have instituted the inaugural Purge, a 12-hour period on Staten Island, where all crimes, including Murder, are legal. There’s been a terrible industrial accident deep inside an underground utility tunnel. The frightening characters from writer/director Michael Dougherty’s anthology horror film Trick 'R Treat have descended on the small Midwestern town of Warren Ohio during their annual Halloween celebrations. Experience Halloween night like never before with Trick ‘r Treat, the anthology horror film from writer/director Michael Dougherty that has become a modern horror cult classic! Inspired by Universal’s legendary horror films, the Universal Monsters maze—featuring an original score produced and composed by GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, SLASH—will shake horror fans to the core with a petrifying modern rendition. Moving onto the scare zones! Step into the fog-enshrouded streets of old Paris and enter “The Danse of the Dead.” This army of evil dolls are looking for the next victim for their human sacrifice…will it be you? Lurking in the fog are vampires, werewolves, zombie school children and Sam, the vengeful spirit of Halloween who will stop at nothing to ensure his rules for the season are being upheld. Brace yourself for the unspeakable horrors depicted in this demented rendition of Harry’s 1950s television show. As you journey through five spine-tingling bedtime stories, attempt to survive the chainsaw wielding monsters, bloodthirsty cannibals, rotten corpse scarecrows, homicidal clowns, and a merciless torture factory. You better get some sleep while you can because after you experience Hollywood Harry’s Dreadtime Storiez, you’ll never sleep again… Terror Tram Line closes at 11:15pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 11:45pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Plan your night accordingly so you don’t miss the Terror Tram experience. Welcome to USH Halloween Horror Nights! It is said that Halloween is the night when horrifying creatures roam free, but there are rules devised to protect us from their evil. Every year, one small town is taught a terrifying lesson: that some traditions are best not forgotten. Welcome to Warren Valley, Ohio—a sleepy suburban community that masks many dark secrets. A bloodthirsty visitor has come to uphold the sacred traditions of Halloween and is itching to punish rule-breakers with bloody acts of vengeance! When the tricks and treats of Halloween turn deadly, you must attempt to survive the scariest night of the year. You either live by the rules, or you die by them. The noxious vapors that were released have transformed the emergency workers into radioactive monsters, filled with an uncontrollable rage and hell-bent on our destruction! Encounter creepy Cupids, lecherous Leprechauns and evil Easter bunnies as you take a terrifying trip through these psychotic seasonal celebrations…screaming all the way! Try to survive the NFFA’s experiment and make it through the night. Your government thanks you for your participation! After moving to their new home in sunny Southern California, the Freeling family discovers that dreams can come true—and that nightmares can too… One stormy night, their youngest daughter, Carol Anne, begins talking to strange, ghostly voices through a dead signal on the television set. When Carol Anne disappears, the family slowly comes to realize that she has been abducted by vengeful spirits occupying the spectral plane between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. What the Freeling family doesn’t know, is that their house was built over an old cemetery and they are in mortal danger! Enter the “Horrors of Blumhouse” film festival, where horror movies come to life. Pack your bags and get ready for the spring break trip of your nightmares. A group of college kids have unwittingly unleashed an ancient curse, forcing them to play a never ending game of Truth or Dare—but this time the rules are a little different; the stakes are life or death! Next, enter the familiar world of cyberspace with Unfriended. A chatroom session amongst high school friends has turned into an endless night of terror! Exactly one year ago, fellow student, Laura Barns, committed suicide as a result of cyberbullying. When an unknown user assumes control over Laura’s online account, the group of friends attempt to expose the infiltrator’s true identity—forcing them to face their darkest secrets and lies. Soon they realize, this is no ordinary hacker. Let’s hope you make it out of cyberspace alive… Journey to small town Hawkins, Indiana—a seemingly peaceful community with dark, unnerving secrets. When a young boy goes missing near a secluded government laboratory, his faithful friends begin a quest unfolding a series of increasingly bizarre and frightening events. With the threat of flesh-eating creatures in the shadows and the help of one very strange little girl, their world is about to be turned “Upside Down”! We love that the Stranger Things maze is located in a fully contained Sound Stage on the front lot! This macabre monster masquerade ball is inspired by the original Universal Classic Monster movies The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. After decades of rot and decay as they lay mouldering in their graves, the Universal Monsters’ disdain for the living has risen to a bloodthirsty, all consuming level! Invade their eternal resting place and witness the bone-chilling resurrection of Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera and The Wolf Man, among others. As they rise from the dead, thirsty for revenge, you will fall victim to the terrifying images and stories that helped invent the horror film genre. Based on the cult-classic horror film franchise, Halloween, this new maze will truly have you on edge…of Michael Myer’s knife that is. October 30, 1988, a seemingly comatose Michael Myers is being transferred back to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. It has been a decade since his last killing spree in Haddonfield, but the townspeople know pure evil never sleeps. Michael awakens and slaughters the medical personnel transporting him, escaping into the night. Fortunately, Michael’s former psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, knows exactly where he is heading; unfortunately for you, no one is safe from Michael Myers… This event continues to be as popular as ever, so make sure to pre-purchase your tickets! Thank you to the USH team for inviting us to their opening day, and we wish you a wonderful HHN season!