The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[KnottsBerryMountain]

Pink's has been replaced with the Cable Car Kitchen Deli. Its not open yet.

[Jew]

Haunt review:

 

I won't focus too much on the returning mazes, since those are still the same...

 

Voodoo: definitely the most visually stunning maze Knotts has ever done. Loved that there are multiple paths, only disliked that the monsters directed you instead of letting you choose the path.

 

Tooth Fairy: A mash up of Delirium, Asylum, and some new sets to create a creepy environment.

 

No review of Special Ops, since even though I got there in time to get tickets for my group, I was denied because they weren't present. Would have been nice if that was made clear somewhere, but I understand the logic behind it. Standby line barely moved, so I didn't want to waste anymore time with it.

 

Somehow we ended up in the skeleton key room for dominion of the damned...fun little "pre-show."

 

Hanging: didn't seem like it had as many hard hitting jokes about celebrities, but overall it was still good. I liked that they made fun of themselves a lot and the overall theme of how uptight everyone is was cool.

 

One totally disappointing thing is that overall I feel like Haunt has lost its soul. I feel like now they are trying so hard to be in character that they have lost sight of what made them so good: fun and scares. The scares were all very basic and lazy because you could tell they were trying to stay in character for the show. I suppose I am bias because I was fortunate enough to work two mazes at Haunt (C3 and the Asylum) where the generic theme allowed us to do almost anything and still be in character, but still...

[inlina]

Hi all,

 

we are planning a trip to the USA next year and KBF is on the list of things to do when in LA (as is Disneyland and SFMM). At the moment the plan would have us in LA in the last wek of February (2015...duh) and we are aiming for KBF to be a weekday visit most likely on the Thursday or Friday. From what I understand their hours are likely to be 10AM-6PM around those dates. Is it advisable to have a Fastpass to make sure we hit as much as possible or would we just be wasting our money?

 

CG

[JeromyL]

We went all winter long last year and never needed a fast past. (All Saturday trips). So I would say no to a weekday visit fast pass. Lines should be pretty short for most rides

[6flagsbrad]

One totally disappointing thing is that overall I feel like Haunt has lost its soul. I feel like now they are trying so hard to be in character that they have lost sight of what made them so good: fun and scares. The scares were all very basic and lazy because you could tell they were trying to stay in character for the show. I suppose I am bias because I was fortunate enough to work two mazes at Haunt (C3 and the Asylum) where the generic theme allowed us to do almost anything and still be in character, but still...

 

I totally agree. I love Scary Farm and I had a blast going this Thursday with the light crowds. It just seems so repetitive with so much returning mazes every year, and none of them are really terrifying themes. They're more like really nice sets that I enjoy walking through just to see all the cool stuff, but it's not scary anymore. Maybe it's just me, but having cowboys, bird-people with oversized beaks, and trick-or-treaters as "monsters" in mazes just isn't scary to me.

[Jew]

^The thing is...all of that could be scary. It's just the emphasis is being placed on the show rather than the scare.

[Rotura Violenta]

Yeah, we found most of the mazes to be mediocre but with one or two nice touches. The strobe-lit dining room scene in the bird-themed maze, for example, was well done. The cowboy one and that one over by Xcelerator were pretty bad, though. Tooth Fairy was genuinely creepy—largely because of the sound of the dental drills everywhere.

 

We were there for opening weekend and just figured that they didn't have everything in working order yet as there was only one real scare zone (that we saw) and a dearth of creatures wandering around overall. It was still fun however, and Ghost Rider was running better than expected.

[Gnome]

I read on Screamscape that pinks hotdog is out. If this is true then good riddance. That place is terrible. It doesnt hold a candle to the dog food carts here in Portland. A gourmet sandwich shop sounds much better.

[Jew]

The actual pinks in Hollywood is decent. The one at Knott's had a limited menu that wasn't too exciting. That venue will probably do good business based solely on its location.

[GwaziBSRider1]

I read on Screamscape that pinks hotdog is out. If this is true then good riddance. That place is terrible. It doesnt hold a candle to the dog food carts here in Portland. A gourmet sandwich shop sounds much better.

 

The one at Cedar Point isn't that great, either. Plus, it's too expensive. When I'm at Knott's (and CP), Pinks is easily the last place I want to eat.

[cfc]

The line at the Pink's in Cedar Point moved very slowly, too. I wasn't all that thrilled with their hot dogs, either.

[thrillseeker4552]

I actually like Pink's quite a bit. It was a little expensive, but with the season pass discount it was tolerable. I'm a little bummed to see it go, especially since it is still a fairly recent addition.

[Gnome]

^ yo but ferreal, sandwhiches though lol

[StuckInSD]

I'm more into Johnny Rocket's, so no sympathy from me. Still better than cockroach-infested Knott's Chicken.

[laqueefa]

I'm more into Johnny Rocket's, so no sympathy from me. Still better than cockroach-infested Knott's Chicken.

 

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/restaurant-637213-knott-thompson.html

 

The issue was contained to utility areas and had no impact on food preparation or guest dining areas, according to a Knott’s Berry Farm statement.

“Knott’s cooperated fully with the Orange County Health Department and the restaurant reopened at approximately 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening,” company officials said in a statement.

 

but still... PROTEIN!

[fatdaddy]

Camp Spooky kinda sucked this year, been taking my kids since they were babies and this was the first year we were disappointed. Not worth going to, no trick or treat, very few decorations, a lame maze that was like 90 degrees inside. Even SFMM had more this year for kids.

[GwaziBSRider1]

I'm more into Johnny Rocket's, so no sympathy from me. Still better than cockroach-infested Knott's Chicken.

 

[coasterbill]

The actual pinks in Hollywood is decent. The one at Knott's had a limited menu that wasn't too exciting. That venue will probably do good business based solely on its location.

 

I actually think the Pinks in Hollywood is great but the ones at Cedar Fair parks are nothing special so I agree with you on that point.

[cfc]

I'm more into Johnny Rocket's, so no sympathy from me. Still better than cockroach-infested Knott's Chicken.

 

 

And you're assuming that Johnny Rockets is a roach-free zone?

[Hilltopper39]

A nice review of this years event was posted on Grantland.com yesterday. This author is going to a bunch of haunts in the LA area this season and writing reviews of all of them for Grantland.com. She did Hollywood Horror Nights last week and Knotts Scary Farm this week. Pretty interesting to read a detailed perspective of an event like this from someone who doesn't attend them on a regular basis and see how they compare the two events. Give it a read.

 

L.A. Haunts: I Was Stalked by a Demon Hillbilly Bear at Knott’s Scary Farm and I Liked It

[Genx24]

I just visited Knotts today for the first time. I absolutely loved it. The park was a ghost town, which meant walk-ons or station waits for each coaster. A brief run down of the coasters (in order of riding):

 

Silver Bullet- Much better than I was expecting, given what some people on here say about it. It's not in the category of B:TR (still my favourite invert) but I prefered this one to Talon at Dorney Park. Nicely paced, good inversions, and the helix over the water was nice and tight. 8/10

 

Sierra Sidewinder- Nice fun family spinning coaster. My dad rode with me and he had the time of his life. It was much faster than I expected, too. 7/10

 

Montezooma's Revenge- Long live Anton! My first ever shuttle loop, and it did not disappoint. A little rough, but that's to be expected from a Schwarzkopf. Going through the loop backwards was nice and intense. 7/10

 

Jaguar!- Nice family ride. Nothing special. I really enjoyed the themed queue line (although it was pretty dark in there) 5/10

 

Xcelerator- Best coaster in the park. Best Intamin launch I've ridden (yea, it's better than Kingda Ka.) The only ride I rode more than once because it was so worthy. It's probably in my top 10. 10/10

 

Boomerang- Ouch. 3/10

 

Pony Express- Decent family coaster, but too short. Steeplechase at Coney Island has a better layout. 4/10

 

Ghostrider- A lot of fun, with some great drops, but very painful. My dad enjoyed it more than I did. 5/10

 

For flats, I rode Supreme Scream (S&S Towers scare me far more than Zumanjaro does), Timber Mountain, Calico Mine, Bigfoot Rapids, and the stagecoach.

 

I really loved this park. I hope one day I make it back out there.

[invisibleinthedark]

On a random note, I'm visiting Knott's Scary farm on Thursday 10/23, I have a reservation for Trapped: Lock and Key at midnight, I'm the only one going in I've done it previous years. If anyone would like to join me send a PM!

[coasternate]

This is totally unrelated to anything, but in my trip report I did a while ago, I forgot to mention something funny at the end of the Wild West Stunt Show. They yelled, "And now we're going to send you where all hardened criminals go..... SIX FLAGS."

[chickenbowl]

So when can we expect the new dark ride to be announced? Both renovations the past few years have been announced after Haunt but before New Years, right?

 

I'm hoping that this new dark ride, whatever it may be, will be substantial enough to bring life into that back corner of the park, it's really the only lacking place.

 

I'm also hoping that with this new addition, Knott's management will feel like they've done enough good for the family aspect of the park to bring in some type of major thrilling attraction! The last "thrilling" ride we've gotten since Silver Bullet (which was 10 years ago from now) was Windseeker, which isn't even here anymore!

 

Please Knott's, if you want to keep improving like you have, get rid of Boomerang and Sky Tower (and move Wipeout to Windseeker's spot), and put in a B&M Mega Coaster like the size of the Goliath's @ La Ronde or SFOG, or a mini Dive Coaster, or something Intamin! If you did that and had RMC renovate GhostRider with track and trains, you'd have the best non-Disney park in California!

[DBJ]

My thoughts on my recent Haunt trip to Knotts.

 

I did eat at the new sandwhich shop that took the place of Pinks, Cable Car Kitchen. The meatball combo is actually pretty good. The only downside to the experience is tht the service was amazingly slow. From ordering at cash register to waiting for sandwhich, it took approx. 15 minutes. They also really should not be using bare hands to dish out potato chips, especially after bare handing the other sandwhich ingredients. After gets chips replaced, which did taste good, my opinion is that the new location is a fine replacement for Pinks.

 

Overall, the Haunt was ok. However, they really need to work on Elvira's Big Top. As a production, the show went a bit flat. With an obscure dance number to Michael Jackson's Scream, an contortionist, sword swallower, Elvira's rapping and stand-up, it didn't really come together. Elvira's presence saves the show, as she is quite funny and personable. The Hanging was pretty funny as always. Very grateful that they at least had entertainment options, unlike Universal HHN, although I wish they would have used the bird cage theater, and the mystery lodge theater.

 

Of the mazes, mostly well executed, a couple that are a tad stale. I appreciated being forced to duck in Toothfairy. I would not mind see them experimenting more with elevation changes in the future. I hope the creativity in presentation expands beyond the skeleton key rooms. All in all a good experience, and will return next year.