Knott's Scary Farm Press Conference 2014

[ILoveRides]

Knott’s just hosted the 2nd annual Scary Farm Press Conference to reveal the details of the upcoming 42nd Scary Farm season. Members of the media and season passholders were invited to the Charles M. Schulz Theatre on Wednesday to watch the presentation, and TPR was there with David and Spears! Check out our full report below to learn about all the new and exciting additions to Scary Farm this year...

With the 42nd season of Knott’s Scary Farm rapidly approaching, passholders lined up in droves to get the scoop on what to expect this year.

This event sure is popular!

As the 7pm presentation neared, we were let into the theater to find a seat. Even the ushers were decked out in spooky attire.

Unsuspecting guests had to watch out for monsters hiding in the shadows!

The theater filled up while monsters roamed the aisles looking for victims to scare.

*Insert creepy monster noise here*

If you weren’t paying attention the monsters would sneak up on you!

The show began with the “Creeple’s Choice Awards.”

Elvira was nominated for “breast actress” for her role in several fictional movies...

Such as The Xxxorcist

She of course won, and appeared on stage to accept her award.

Jeff Tucker, the MC for the evening, presented her the award.

While on stage, Elvira took the opportunity to announce that she would be returning to Scary Farm this year with an all new show, “Elvira’s Big Top.” The show will run twice nightly for the entire run of Knott’s Scary Farm.

The Knott’s Scary Farm Facebook page had been taunting fans all week with pictures of a box that would be opened during the press conference. Jeff brought the box on stage and promised to open it before the night was over.

A shotgun blast interrupted the show, as The Lawman appeared and asked if everyone was ready for a hanging. After some comedic banter, it was announced that The Hanging will return to Calico Square.

Jeff then asked if anyone in the room is the ultimate Scary Farm fan, to which the crowd cheered...

Then the ultimate Knott’s Scary Farm Fan Facebook Contest was announced. If you think you’re the ultimate fan, you can enter on Facebook for your chance to win 4 tickets to opening night, a private reception, fright lane tickets, a skeleton key, an overnight hotel stay, reserved seats for the Elvira show, and best of all - Jeff Tucker will personally cut your meat for you on your plate. (He may have actually been serious about that!)

The ultimate fan could be you! Jeff also announced that the Fright Lane Skeleton Key will return this year with 5 all-new Skeleton Key rooms.

Next up, the maze designers were introduced. From left to right: Gus Krueger, Daniel Miller, Brooke Walters, and Lara Hanneman. First they announced the returning mazes...

Trick or Treat returns this year. Now in its 3rd year, The Green Witch and her Tricksters will continue to kidnap unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. (Photo: Knott's)

Daniel discussed Dominion of the Damned, which is returning with an all new skeleton key room.

Also back this year is Forevermore with “more live murder scenes.” (Photo: Knott's)

Pinocchio Unstrung returns with a stronger focus on scenes from the book, and a Skeleton Key room. (Photo: Knott's)

One of my favorites from last year, Black Magic, will return with a new key room and a new wing called the Hall of Illusion. (Photo: Knott's)

The Gunslinger’s Grave returns with an all new town hall shootout finale and an enhanced key room. (Photo: Knott's)

The Witch’s Keep will also return to the newly upgraded Calico Mine Ride. (Photo: Knott's)

Moving on to the new mazes! First up is Voodoo. From the press release: “Trudge cautiously through the cursed swamps of the Deep South, where creatures search the murky bogs for their next bloody sacrifice and demons curse the innocent with Voodoo hexes. Guests must choose their path from a number of foreboding choices, resulting in a different terrifying outcome with each journey into the swamp.” This maze also has a skeleton key room where you may get buried alive, and you can choose-your-own-path a few times in the maze.

Also new for 2014 is The Tooth Fairy. “The joy of hiding a lost tooth under the pillow becomes a nightmare of pain and blood in this new maze that will leave teeth chattering. This twisted tooth fairy steals more than just baby teeth as he drags his victims out their bedroom window and into a world of deranged dentistry. Unbelievable special effects include a blackout room through which guests must feel their way out, a disorienting x-ray strobe light room, and a final encounter with the massive tooth fairy, himself. Say aahhh.”

Trapped returns this year as the all new Trapped: Lock and Key. “This year Trapped returns with more rooms, more intricate puzzles and a shocking finale more extreme than any experience ever presented at Knott’s Scary Farm. You become part of the terror and are forced to face your darkest fears, confront your inner terrors and descend into the madness of a maze with no way out. Trapped is not for the squeamish as the challenges are darker and more terrifying than any that have come before. (Additional fee and reservation required.)”

This year’s Scare Zones are Ghost Town Streets, Gypsy Camp, Carnevil, and Fiesta de los Muertos.

Yay! It’s finally time to open the box!

Inside the box was an envelope!

And inside the envelope was a ticket... but not just any ticket, it’s a Knott’s Scary Farm Season Pass! Never before offered, the season pass lets you come any night of Scary Farm with no blackout dates. The passes are on sale now, are only available to season passholders, and cost $65.

Suddenly men in military clothing burst into the theater and surrounded the stage.

A squad leader came forward and announced that everyone needed to enlist and take part in order to save the world from infected zombies.

John Cook then came on stage to announce Special Ops: Infected, a free-with-admission interactive battle where you hunt zombies in an all-out war. From the press release, “This ambitious new attraction is the first of its kind in North America and will challenge guests to exterminate the infestation of zombies who threaten mankind’s existence. Armed with specially designed laser guns, brave groups of Knott’s Scary Farm guests will embark on missions, led by their Squad Leader – a loud mouthed, take-no-prisoners commander charged with turning guests into soldiers. Groups must work together to fend off zombies and complete various missions before time runs out. If zombies drag their bodies too close, the un-infected’s guns temporarily deactivate, compromising the safety of the entire team. Soldiers with the deadliest aim will be celebrated with a tally of the number of zombies killed on a display board for other survivors to see each night in base camp.

 

Special Ops: Infected seamlessly integrates interactive gaming technology with an immersive mountainous landscape, delivering a breakthrough interactive haunted experience that is as terrifying as it is challenging. Missions will take guests through a variety of wilderness terrains, including the unpredictable barrel bridges across the rushing river, through the dark caverns, and through mysterious backwoods. Six acres of the beloved theme park is now home to mutinous, scream-inducing zombies, and the time has come for a harrowing Special Ops survival mission.”

And with that, the press conference was over.

Following the press conference there was a reception for members of the media on the upstairs balcony.

There were heaping trays of delicious food...

An ice sculpture...

Fancy desserts...

Scary monsters...

And of course, drinks!

Cheers!

Spears turned into a zombie and was shot dead by a special ops team while I begged for my life.

Jeff and Spears decided to see if there was anything else in the box.

Hey, Gertrude was in there too! Hi Gertrude!

Spears somehow managed to score the very first Scary Farm season pass.

No! Don’t eat it Spears!

These Knott’s parties are always a blast. Here’s Spears hanging out with the Scary Farm VIPs!

Spears even got to meet Elvira! I’m so jealous!

Knott’s Scary Farm is always a “must visit” Halloween event, and this year looks no different. With tons of returning mazes, several all-new mazes, new entertainment, a first-ever season pass, and an interactive zombie war, this year looks like it’s shaping up to be another huge success! Scary Farm starts September 25th, and tickets are on sale now. I don’t know about you, but we can’t wait! Thanks to Knott’s for hosting this awesome event, and thanks to you for checking out our report!

Edited August 8, 2014 by robbalvey

[robbalvey]

Thanks for that great report! I do wonder what happened to make them change their mind about offering a season pass this year. Curious to see how that all goes!

[cfc]

^Same here. The passes could lead to the park being more slammed than usual; then again, with a pass, you don't have to do everything in one night (and theoretically spend more money in the park over multiple nights).

[robbalvey]

The passes also seem super cheap. I mean, $65 is nothing! I would have expected a limited pass to be even double that!

[Guy T. Koepp]

Yay! I can't wait for HAUNT this year. Everything looks great. Of all the new stuff, I think I am most excited about the lazer tag portion. Could be a lot of fun. Especially if you go with a good group of peeps. I do hope they tweak the Elvira show a bit for this year. It was poorly paced and kinda dragged on a bit long. It wasn't horrible, it just needed to be tightened up. Did they mention anything about a show in the Mystery Lodge? I really have enjoyed the shows that they have done in the past there. I'm also glad they are expanding upon the Skeleton Key scenes. Those were a lot of fun last year and a welcome addition.

 

Great TR! Thanks for taking the time to fill us all in on the event.

[JeromyL]

The passes also seem super cheap. I mean, $65 is nothing! I would have expected a limited pass to be even double that!

 

Yet again I'm loving cedar fair parks I was surprised at how cheap they were. If I lived in so cal. I would buy them

[Jew]

$65 is an incredible deal. I can't imagine they will be selling too many of those, so I would jump on them quick!

[robbalvey]

Have any of our readers bought the pass? Curious to know if they have sold out or not yet. And if they did, how quickly they sold out.

[Jew]

They were still being pitched today at scareLA, so it sounds like they haven't sold out yet.

[foss123]

I'm curious about this pass situation. Do gold/platinum passes not work for Haunt dates at Knott's? Because as far as I know, pass holders can get into Haunt at any of the other Cedar Fair parks without having to buy a special ticket.

[ILoveRides]

I'm curious about this pass situation. Do gold/platinum passes not work for Haunt dates at Knott's? Because as far as I know, pass holders can get into Haunt at any of the other Cedar Fair parks without having to buy a special ticket.

 

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

[ILoveRides]

Did they mention anything about a show in the Mystery Lodge? I really have enjoyed the shows that they have done in the past.

 

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

[Jew]

They mentioned at ScareLA they decided to focus their resources into the Special Ops thing. That's also why there is no mazes in the traditional Camp Snoopy locations: it's 100% Special Ops (though they said Sierra Sidewinder will remain open with minimal lighting).

[robbalvey]

I'm curious about this pass situation. Do gold/platinum passes not work for Haunt dates at Knott's? Because as far as I know, pass holders can get into Haunt at any of the other Cedar Fair parks without having to buy a special ticket.

No. Knott's has always operated their event very differently than the other Cedar Fair parks, and has since well before Cedar Fair bought them.

[Guy T. Koepp]

Did they mention anything about a show in the Mystery Lodge? I really have enjoyed the shows that they have done in the past.

 

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

 

Awwwww! This saddens me.

 

Hopefully the Special Ops thingy will make up for it. Speaking of, will the skeleton key give you front of line access for this area?

[Jew]

I think I remember them mentioning it would, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

[Gnome]

for some reason, I foresee the operational logistic of the special ops maze blowing up in Knott's face. I'm sure demand will exceed its capacity. But here's to that knott happening, and I wish Knott's the best of luck! Looking forward to the reviews.

[laqueefa]

Awesome report! I cant wait to see it in person at the end of September. Although, I don't think I will be spending the money on Trapped. Last years was

[singforfood]

for some reason, I foresee the operational logistic of the special ops maze blowing up in Knott's face. I'm sure demand will exceed its capacity. But here's to that knott happening, and I wish Knott's the best of luck! Looking forward to the reviews.

 

Luckily it's being run on a reservation time system, not a regular line. At the start of the night, people will sign up for a mission time and then return in groups of 15-20 to actually go through. There are also two separate trails that will run through camp snoopy, so 3-4 groups can be going through at a time. The capacity will be significantly lower than a maze, but shouldn't be quite the disaster that Mirror Mirror was last year.