The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[MagicMountainMan]

Just got back from Haunt and had a really good time! Having done HHN for the last 7 years and having not been to Haunt since 2012 it was a fresh experience for me with the only maze that was there from my last experience being Trick or Treat (which is wildly different now anyway).

 

I don't know if this is a controversial opinion or not, but I think overall Haunt is now better than what Universal offers. For those of you that like me have become HHN regulars, I think this is the year to go to Knott's.

 

Every maze is on par with what Universal offers, and it's really refreshing to go through such a variety of mazes that are unique and not tied to any IP. (And they aren't all just gore mazes which is what I feel like Universal has turned into) The other thing I appreciate is the variety of scares. It's not just a loud noise, a strobe light, and an actor rushing you. Don't get me wrong, Knott's had it's fair share of actors who would do the default sideways stare that plagues any maze where there is no defined scare, but overall there was a variety.

 

Both shows were fun and it was really nice to see the Hanging again after having a missing part of my soul that is filled by Halloween pop culture parody.

 

Perhaps the strongest piece of the puzzle that Knott's completes that Universal missed on is scare zones and overall park atmosphere. Partially due to the small size of Knott's and partially due to Universal being almost two separate parks, Haunt just felt really complete. There are actors everywhere. Every single bit of park lighting is changed. Ghost Town is quite possibly the best scare zone of any event purely due to actually being a ghost town. The overall cohesion of the event was on point.

 

Oh, and Knott's is an excellent value for the money and Thursday was a great day with completely manageable crowds!

[anonymouscactus]

I went to hhn Hollywood last night (i got to do EVERYTHING relatively quickly and I'll write my overall opinion soon in that thread -- I'd give it a "C/C+") and am doing Knott's tonight so I'm curious how it will compare. I've only read positive things about Knott's this year and it is the haunted amusement park event I'm most looking forward to this year. I guess we'll see

[COASTERelic]

Is this going to be under the station?

The station is further back closer to the wall. I would guess this appears to be the spot that goes below ground/boardwalk level. There is a reference that this does happen twice.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Great avatar, btw.

EDIT to make the next post make sense. (o;

Edited October 1, 2017 by Nrthwnd

[JT325]

^Look who's talking! Big Jason fan here. In fact, I met "Jason 1" a few weeks ago when he came into my Trader Joe's.

[Arthur_Seaton]

Great to see all the praise for this year's Scary Farm. Looking forward to getting over there before it gets too busy.

[anonymouscactus]

I was definitely impressed at my first ever Scary Farm! WAY better than Horror Nights and the best Cedar Fair haunt hands down and some of the visuals were stunning. I'm not sure how you get early entry without the boo-fet or if it's possible (we did the boo-fet), but we did 4 mazes (or was it five?) before they even released the general public so there was no wait for any of those and often it was just us alone walking through. Also saw both shows but more on all of that later; getting ready for Magic Mountain! Oh, and the Flume is AWESOME! I think you'll definitely need early entry or Fright Lane to get through everything as it was pretty packed. We did all the rides during the day with little to no waits but at night the lines were pretty crazy. At least in my eyes -- it was a great event but not perfect and there was some duds for us overall but even the duds all had something unique/great about them. Unlike horror nights which is so 'rinse and repeat' in my eyes.

[Arthur_Seaton]

Also saw both shows but more on all of that later; getting ready for Magic Mountain!

If the past couple of years are anything to go by, bury your expectations deep in the ground and you'll have a good time! SFMM's haunt has its moments and lots of cheesy charm, but it's a very different world to Knotts and Universal. Having said that, Universal's scare zones were so lacking this year that SFMM's might have the edge. Hope it's a fun day/night!

[Nrthwnd]

So, from what I've been reading, it's....(in order as "Best of")

 

1) Knott's 2) SFMM and 3) UniversalHollywood?

 

for the Haunts they've got going right now? General agreement?

 

Just curious for opinions.

West Coast Bash'16 at night - still spooky.

[MagicMountainMan]

So, from what I've been reading, it's....(in order as "Best of")

 

1) Knott's 2) SFMM and 3) UniversalHollywood?

 

for the Haunts they've got going right now? General agreement?

 

Just curious for opinions. [emoji2]

Oh no definitely not. Both Knott's and Universal are in a different league than Magic Mountain. Magic has some fun scare zones, and that's about it. This year is the year that Knott's and Universal have traded places in my mind, but Six Flags doesn't touch either.

 

To put it in perspective, Magic has less than half of the budget that Knott's has for Haunt. If you keep that in mind, you'll have a good time.

[Nrthwnd]

Noted, thanks!

 

(So it's Knott's, UniversalH, and SFMM in that order, for this season? Still wanting to stir trouble.)

[Domm]

So, from what I've been reading, it's....(in order as "Best of")

 

1) Knott's 2) SFMM and 3) UniversalHollywood?

 

for the Haunts they've got going right now? General agreement?

 

Just curious for opinions.

 

Just wrapped up all three. Did knotts last thursday, universal this thursday and sfmm last night. The consensus around here is that knotts was better than universal this year- I went to knotts first (opening night) then universal and I thought the opposite. It had been since 2015 since I went to universal, but I found it to be way better mazes and scare zones. The mazes are much longer, more elaborate with easy to follow story lines and the detail/talent are top notch. Mummy and night time jurassic park were damn fun as well. Terror tram had a great interactive set up inside the bates motel set. There was one throw away maze next to the walking dead, forgot the name as well- so pretty much totally forgettable!

 

SFMM last night on Friday was VERY quiet. Rides were 5-10 min max including X2 and who wouldn't buy the express maze pass for just $10 more? Great night on that minimal budget. Vault 666 and Reds revenge are still the best ones, but totally low expectations and it was fun. The 3d one next to vault and reds was extremely fun with awesome visuals.

 

Bang for the buck though- knotts for sure.

[anonymouscactus]

Definitely for us as a virgin to all 3 events: Knott's >> Universal >> any other park Halloween event >> Magic Mountain. Not even kidding. I moved some of my thoughts to the SFMM thread.

Edited October 1, 2017 by anonymouscactus

[Arthur_Seaton]

At SFMM we went into 4 of the mazes tonight, even with paying for express, decided not to do the rest of them and left the park... truly awful. -- definitely for us as a virgin to all 3 events: Knott's >> Universal >> any other park Halloween event >> Magic Mountain. Not even kidding.

The 3D one is really the only standout IMO because it doesn't rely on scare actors. Red's Revenge was cool a few years ago, but it's really just a Rainforest Cafe with people in wolf masks. The long one by Apocalypse is just that: long, and largely unpopulated. The one next to Ninja makes good use of the space, but the quality is jaw-droppingly low for all the mazes overall. The best thing about the event is that it's priced fairly (with a season pass, at least) for what it is. A few years ago, the scare zones were decent, but for the last few years, they've been severely neglected. The last time we visited (last year), zombie crossing had one solitary zombie, slouched against the wall, texting away on his phone. We thought it was pretty funny to be honest. My guess is that they have an extremely low budget — which is a shame as the park could really do something good.

[joshfreund]

I disagree...sorry Knotts, Fright fest is better...more scare zones, better overall ambiance, music live and pumped thru speakers, projections, fire (I don't remember ,maybe knotts had fire)...ton of actors in aftermath last night when I went thru and apocalypse in the fog...NICE! Mazes are corny everywhere so I never have much expectation for them but I though MM's were better, last and certainly least "the hanging" was dumb, I was ready to walk away from it after the 1st few minutes, entertaining but way too drawn out...plus overacting is just a petpeeve and breaking into song? Gag me with pitchfork

[edgeboy]

I disagree...sorry Knotts, Fright fest is better...more scare zones, better overall ambiance, music live and pumped thru speakers, projections, fire (I don't remember ,maybe knotts had fire)...ton of actors in aftermath last night when I went thru and apocalypse in the fog...NICE! Mazes are corny everywhere so I never have much expectation for them but I though MM's were better, last and certainly least "the hanging" was dumb, I was ready to walk away from it after the 1st few minutes, entertaining but way too drawn out...plus overacting is just a petpeeve and breaking into song? Gag me with pitchfork

 

I will give you this: I also have never thought the Hanging was any good (never understood why it has the fans it does), and I also thought Aftermath was pretty decent, and was largely populated by many scareactors all three times I went through it.

 

That said... I couldn't disagree with you more. Knott's Scare zones are basically the best in the world. Fire, while fun, does not a scarezone make. And their mazes are much more unique and varied.

 

I feel like this may be your first visit to Fright Fest. It is relatively impressive for a first time visitor (though I'd still find Knott's better even in that regard), and certainly a good bargain--it's one of the cheapest haunts in a theme park. And for the money you pay, it's not bad. But just wait until next year when you realize all the Fright Fest mazes are exactly the same as the year before. And the year before that. And the year before that...

[Nrthwnd]

...But just wait until next year when you realize all the Fright Fest mazes are exactly the same as the year before. And the year after that. And the year after that...

 

Fixed. (it works better this way, for myself.)

[laqueefa]

I disagree...sorry Knotts, Fright fest is better...more scare zones, better overall ambiance, music live and pumped thru speakers, projections, fire (I don't remember ,maybe knotts had fire)...ton of actors in aftermath last night when I went thru and apocalypse in the fog...NICE! Mazes are corny everywhere so I never have much expectation for them but I though MM's were better, last and certainly least "the hanging" was dumb, I was ready to walk away from it after the 1st few minutes, entertaining but way too drawn out...plus overacting is just a petpeeve and breaking into song? Gag me with pitchfork

 

That said... I couldn't disagree with you more. Knott's Scare zones are basically the best in the world. Fire, while fun, does not a scarezone make. And their mazes are much more unique and varied.

 

I feel like this may be your first visit to Fright Fest. It is relatively impressive for a first time visitor (though I'd still find Knott's better even in that regard), and certainly a good bargain--it's one of the cheapest haunts in a theme park. And for the money you pay, it's not bad. But just wait until next year when you realize all the Fright Fest mazes are exactly the same as the year before. And the year before that. And the year before that...

Couldn't have said it better.

[susie zueck]

Just got back from KSF last night and can definitely say that this was one of their stronger years. Almost every maze was spectacular! The only exceptions to this were Voodoo and Halloween Hootenanny. However, I must say that the scare zones at KSF this year were a major letdown. Probably the worst that they've ever been. For starters, both "carnevil" and "Fiesta de Los muertos" were both awful. Neither scarezone had any fog, were generally brighter than Disneyland during Christmas, and were lacking any type of actual Halloween decorations. Even Ghost town, which is known for its thick fog and dark alleys, was light on fog this year and brighter than ever. KSF definitely dropped the ball on their scare zones this year. Honestly felt like Fright Fest had better scarezones than Knotts this year.

[thebbgwlt]

Anyone been to Scary Farm on a Sunday this year? How are the crowds? Want to go with friends on Sunday Oct 15 and I'm just wondering what type of wait times to expect. We can't afford to have the Fast Lane or go the the early entry buffet.

 

I went on a Thursday last year and it was packed (Oct 6), I imagine it would be worse on a Sunday but it's the only day we can all go together.

[sxexaxn]

I must say that the scare zones at KSF this year were a major letdown. Probably the worst that they've ever been. For starters, both "carnevil" and "Fiesta de Los muertos" were both awful. Neither scarezone had any fog, were generally brighter than Disneyland during Christmas, and were lacking any type of actual Halloween decorations. Even Ghost town, which is known for its thick fog and dark alleys, was light on fog this year and brighter than ever. KSF definitely dropped the ball on their scare zones this year. Honestly felt like Fright Fest had better scarezones than Knotts this year.

 

Carnevil and Fiesta never have fog. I work on Ghost Town streets and it still has the same fog as it always does, which is mainly found in fog alley and in front of the birdcage theater. Maybe you came thru when one of our machines was out of fluid? I've seen that a couple times this season already but it usually gets fixed within like 15 mins.

[sxexaxn]

Anyone been to Scary Farm on a Sunday this year? How are the crowds? Want to go with friends on Sunday Oct 15 and I'm just wondering what type of wait times to expect. We can't afford to have the Fast Lane or go the the early entry buffet.

 

I went on a Thursday last year and it was packed (Oct 6), I imagine it would be worse on a Sunday but it's the only day we can all go together.

 

Our Thursday's and Sundays so far haven't been too bad and I believe they've been in the ballpark of 5,000-8,000 presale tickets those days (they typically let us know our expected attendance at the beginning of each night) but our Fridays and Saturdays are already pretty busy, busier than last year during the first two weeks.

[WestCoasterKing]

This appears to be the spot that goes below ground/boardwalk level. There is a reference that this does happen twice.

I hadn't heard that. Hope it's true. Sounds cool. Would be cool too.

[ZeroG001]

Does anyone know if the mobile app lists wait times for mazes during Haunt?

[The Cheat]

It does, it's just horribly inaccurate. I used it on Sunday and all the backstage mazes were listed at 0 min waits. Nope, most were around 30 with the exception of Trick or Treat which was about an hour and a half.