Knott’s Scary Farm has been around for 42 years and they raised it to a new level this year. The past couple of years for Scary Farm has been lackluster with “monsters” talking to each other and brightly lit mazes. Those are all gone this year and the attention to detail is superb. My favorite experience was Special Ops: Infected. I’ve never felt an adrenaline rush with a Halloween attraction.
Breakdown of Special Ops: Infected
I was handed a recoiled gun from 2 funny, bad ass military personnel as we make our escape from a Zombiepocalypse. What makes this experience so great is that it’s outdoors and you don’t know where you’re going. The military personnel will guide you but it’s up to you how to get from point A to point B. The zombies attacked us from all sides, so our group had to work as a team. I was watching the back as the others were watching our sides and the front. The zombies fall once they’re shot. They wear sensors so they know where you’re hit.
There’s different scenarios based on where your starting point and if you’re in the front or behind. One girl tripped and fell as we were running hard for the finish line. Before we finished, we encountered other zombie survivors and got locked up in a shed. We had to shoot our way out, probably my favorite part. This attraction alone is worth the admission. I loved the craziness and the surprises. I truly felt I was in danger while being a badass and taking down the undead.
Other mazes:
Knott’s definitely redid their traditional mazes. I enjoyed it more than previous years because each one tells a story from beginning to end. Before, it was just random scenes and I wasn’t emotionally invested. This year also had at least one big impressive piece The cast of monsters and creatures were into it and they had a lot of fun, which makes it more enjoyable for the guests. If you get the Skeleton Key admission, you’ll get front pass lines and an interactive intro for most of the mazes not available with regular ticket. Below are my top 3 favorite mazes:
1) Pinocchio Unstrung – The wooden puppet gets a little psycho and starts tearing everyone in the mythology. They included most of the characters which I loved and some of the scenes were sad, while most were gruesome. The interactive intro (Skeleton Key) was funny as well.
2) Tooth Fairy – A magical journey through the Tooth Fairy universe as we experience there bloody work. The maze transitioned effectively from fairy tale to a Clive Barker inspired ending with hooks and chains.
3) Bayou – This one is really short but I loved the Louisiana setting with black magic. There were some zombies as well.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Knott’s intentionally decided to make “fairy tale” mazes to make fun of its neighbor, Disneyland. Even Bayou reminded me of Princess and the Frog.
Conclusion:
I was surprised how much fun I had at Knott’s Scary Farm. It was innovative, scary and more importantly, it was fun! Most of the Halloween attractions are predictable but I’m glad I was scared to hell again because of its creativity!
Grade: A
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