Halloweentravel

The Complete Guide To Knott’s Scary Farm 2016

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Hi! It’s Maddie again! Last Thursday I was invited by Knott’s Berry Farm to attend Knott’s Scary Farm with my dad for their opening night! Anyone who knows me will tell you how much Knott’s Scary Farm means to me. From the minute I leave one year, to when I walk through the gates the next, I am looking forward to it. It’s consistently one of my favorite events, and each year tops the last in a big way!

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You may be wondering what Knott’s Scary Farm is, and if so, I’m glad I get to tell you!

Knott’s Scary Farm is a Halloween event that typically takes place throughout late September to early November. It takes place at Knott’s Berry Farm at night (during the day Knott’s Berry Farm operates as per usual) when 160 acres are transformed in a terrifying way, and themed “mazes” pop up for you to make your way through. If that isn’t enough for you, most rides remain open too!

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There are a number of recurring mazes every year, and also some new ones.

New this year are:

Shadow Lands: A fulfilling life ensures a soul safe passage into eternity, but what happens to the souls of soldiers slain in battle? Enter the hair-raising Shadow Lands maze and fight off demon samurais whose souls are cursed to rot within the depths of purgatory. Guests will embark on a quest through a sacred shrine, an ancient Japanese temple and into the midst of the shadow lands.

Sounds spooky, right? Shadow Lands was my favorite maze of this year’s event, and I’ve heard I’m not alone!

Also new is Red Barn: Take a trip to a blood-soaked barn filled with carnivorous animals seeking to prey on human flesh in the Red Barn gore maze. Legend has it the farmer who owns the barn was transformed into a heinous creature that sends his sadistic sons to ensure his legacy. None dare enter the barn, for those who enter never escape.

I also really loved Red Barn. Doesn’t it just sound like a good time?

PARANORMAL, INC. – The Haunting of Hayden Hill: Last year’s groundbreaking Paranormal Inc. maze will return to Knott’s Scary Farm this year. Featuring high-flying aerial stunts and scares, guests investigate a haunted hospital where the patients were tortured for decades by deranged doctors and nurses. Demonic spirits of the murdered victims have been detected throughout the mysterious halls, while evil medical staff prowl for new patients to torture.

Paranormal Inc. is said to be groundbreaking, and I can confirm that. Every year Knott’s raises the bar with the standards of their mazes, and Paranormal Inc. is a true testament to that!

The Dead of Winter: Wendigo’s Revenge – Deep in the frozen tundra, the realm of a treacherous snow queen has been usurped by her evil minion, the horrific wendigo. She may be dead, but her evil spell hasn’t been lifted: The dead cannibals have risen
from their snowy graves as hungry creatures feast on the surrounding villages. During the chaos, the queen’s prized possession, the horrific wendigo, has seized control of her throne, ready to prey upon any unsuspecting visitors who enter the borders of its icy domain.

The Dead of Winter: Wendigo’s Revenge is a really beautiful maze, and worth going through just because of it!

Trick-or-Treat: Take a brave step forward and ring the witch’s doorbell…trick or treat, which will it be? After surviving her grisly welcome, wander into the Green Witch’s never before seen potion room and bewitched attic. But don’t leave too soon; you’re the special guest at the Green Witch’s deadly dinner party where she and her menacing Tricksters await your arrival.

Trick-or-Treat is another one of my favorites! Comparatively, it is pretty tame. There’s little to no gore, and it reminds you of classic Halloween movies, perhaps with a bit of a scarier twist!

The Tooth Fairy: 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!”

The Tooth Fairy plays into one of the most common fears: going to the dentist, and it does it well! When you leave, you’ll certainly be glad you’ve already lost all your baby teeth!

Voodoo – Order of the Serpent: The haunting legend of Papa Legba continues as guests follow him on his foreboding journey to conjure the serpent demon goddess in the outskirts of New Orleans. 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 who are brave enough to venture through the Skeleton Key room may fall prey to a defiled ritual.

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Voodoo- Order of the Serpent is also extremely innovative! There’s a fair amount of forced perspective; you really think you’re outside when really you’re inside! Voodoo is a maze you’ll want to experience over and over because there are multiple different paths to explore!

The Gunslinger’s Grave: A Blood Moon Rises: Deadly howls and a full blood moon mark your impending doom as werewolves overrun the crime stricken old west town. Walk in the bloody footsteps of a betrayed and left for dead gunslinger on his path of retribution against the Skinwalkers.

The Gunslinger’s Grave: A Blood Moon Rises is a definite favorite in our family, and this year it involves werewolves! What more could you want?

Besides the mazes, this year there are four new Skeleton Key (a separate pass that allows you special access to experiences, and allows you to skip a large portion of lines) rooms!

Visions: Guests must investigate the Green Witch Museum in Ghost Town where it is not the building that is haunted, but the various items contained within. Using a Phantom Finder augmented reality device, guests will be able to identify and witness paranormal activity connected to items from the Sarah Marshall Witch Trial.

ZOZO: People from all over the world claim to have been visited by the demon ZOZO after a spirit board session. Is the demonic entity known as ZOZO real or are spirit boards just a myth?

Slasher: Guests are invited to step into an 80s’ slasher horror film. The masked Angel Maker-Killer is on the loose. Every lead has run cold, and that’s when you step into the picture. Will you become his next victim?

We loved Slasher! It’s short and “sweet,” with plenty of scares packed in!

Prey: Navigate a hay maze full of dead ends with only a faulty lantern as your guide. You are not alone. Mutant beasts are lurking around every corner.

Then we have the scare zones! Scare zones are areas of the park in which different themed monsters run free!

Ghost Town Streets is the original and largest, most terrifying scare zone that started it all. Bands of Half-human, half-animal monsters prowl the streets and inhabit the fog, while the notoriously startling sliders, lunge from every fog-filled corner of the land.  

Fiesta De Los Muertos fuses dance music, colorful costumes, and larger than life stilt walkers in a dance party scare zone. It’s the ultimate late night celebration of Dia de Los Muertos.

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On the Boardwalk, clowns crave your undying attention in the CarnEVIL scare zone.

CarnEVIL is hands down my favorite scare zone! The clowns are all hilariously evil, and it has a clever name!

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New this season, the Hollow scare zone will terrorize guests as the ominous Headless Horseman prowls the fog-filled streets along with his army of the undead, treacherously blending into the shadowy night as they frighten all whom they encounter.

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Last, but certainly not least, are the stage shows!

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark Back by popular demand, Elvira, the legendary Mistress of the Dark, returns to Knott’s Scary Farm in a spectacular all new show, Elvira’s Danse Macabre, featuring insane dance and comedy performances. The one of a kind performance from the Queen of Halloween will transport guests to a masquerade ball full of music, dance, and humor. Knott’s Scary Farm will be the exclusive home of Elvira this Halloween season.

If you’re a fan of Elvira, you need to see this show! She’s just like you remember her: hilariously spooky!

The Hanging®: Finding Gory – A live stage show in Calico Square irreverently looks back at the year’s pop culture with killer comedy. Notorious for its special effects, pyrotechnics, and high-flying stunts, The Hanging is a no-holds-barred assault on pop culture’s most infamous moments of the past year. A must-see parody!

The Hanging®: Finding Gory is a bonafide trial for all your favorite pop culture miscreants – a must see!

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There’s so much to do at Knott’s Scary Farm; it’s a wonder anyone can get it all done in one night! If you can’t, you can always go back again, and not regret a single second! I had the most amazing time this year, and every year I’ve gone (six years – since I was eleven). I hope you’ll come down and check out this amazing event!

Here is our video recap: 

You can also see the recording of our live coverage on Facebook here.

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Have you been to Knott’s Scary Farm?

Maddie Reese
the authorMaddie Reese

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