Knott's Halloween Haunt 2018

Knott's Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt proves to improve every year. It wasn't perfect, but I was thoroughly impressed. I went twice this year and had a blast both times. As always, I got the Fright Lane and Fast Lane bundle to get express access to both rides and mazes. This saved my party huge amounts of time and it's definitely worth it if you don't want to wait in line.

The Good

* Trick or Treat: Lights Out

I highly recommend going on this maze first. Because of the way attendants let people inside and the dark atmosphere, it takes a very long time to get inside even for the Fright Lane. I made the mistake of going later in the day the first time and waited in line for over an hour, something that's never happened before. The maze itself is so innovative and fun with many improvements over last year. Each person (or each party if it's too crowded) is given a flashlight to go through the maze. Everything is in low light and each room gets me into the Halloween spirit: a staircase lined with jack-o-lanterns, monsters under the bed, an eerie dinner with ghostly figures, and a witch's lair. The lair was my favorite because the flashlight changed to blacklight to illuminate the neon symbols and writings on the wall. The end hallway is in the dark, but because it's not completely enclosed, the effect is lessened. There's room for improvement, but this is one of the best mazes at the park, guaranteed to get you in the Halloween spirit.

* The Depths

The Depths is a brand new nautical themed maze that has Lovecraftian supernatural elements. This was my favorite maze by far. It has a much different feel and theme to the rest and has some of the best effects I've seen. Right of the bat, an old man animatronic tells you big fish stories outside to amuse those in line. The first impressive room is a bright light filtering through wooden slats, creating a blinding, otherwordly effect. The second is a room full of mist with laser lights over the top to create a water effect, also seen in Dark Harbor's Intrepid. It's done just as well here with fish humanoids hiding in the mist. A giant octopus emerges from all corners of one room. Another room rocks back and forth like a ship, which I've never seen before. It all ends with an impressive giant shark attack. The only drawbacks were the mermaid room (which I didn't really get until the third time) and the actors with shark heads, which looked super cheesy. Everything else was so amazing that these issues didn't bother me.

* Paranormal Inc.

Paranormal Inc. has repeated for a few years, but it's always one of my favorites. I was a little disappointed that the beginning story is cut short. It makes the story less clear, but loads people into the maze faster. Most of the maze is the same as previous years, an interesting amalgamation of ghosts, a creepy abandoned mental asylum, and a passage to hell. I love the use of actors on bungee cords bouncing in and out of unexpected places. The ending of previous years was lengthy and awesome with glow in the dark blues, an alien hellscape, and gigantic monstrous creatures. The new ending merges that hellscape with the asylum in its hayday. It seems idyllic and quaintly 50's until the lighting changes, revealing that hellscape beyond the walls of the corridor. This effect is absolutely amazing, unlike any other maze I've seen.

* Pumpkin Eater

Pumpkin Eater is a fun maze that's a twisted take on the nursery rhyme. The talking jack o'lantern set the mood well and delighted me. Going inside a giant jack o' lantern looked realistic with pumpkin guts dripping from the ceiling, some of them wet for that extra realism. The dead are encased in pumpkins and other dead bodies are strewn about with pumpkin-headed people and giant bugs on the attack. The ending with the vibrating metal floor is a bit of a surprise and another unique, fun effect. The meat grinder seemed a little out of place, perhaps finding a more thematic home in the Red Barn maze.

* Special Ops: Infected

Special Ops: Infected has the viewers killing zombies and destroying their source with guns in order to save the world. Military people stop you at the end of each area to debrief you on what to do and remind you about your mission. Different varieties of zombies attack you throughout. Some wear collars with lights on them that go off with the laser gun. Unfortunately, some rooms can have few of these collared zombies, making your shots not count towards your score. Overall, the maze is fun and with dynamic areas, but more collars if that's what we need to shoot at. I would personally like to see Forevermore come back, which was in the same location years ago, or have some changes made to the maze in the future.

* Red Barn

Red Barn is in its third year at the park. Each year, it gets a little better with added details and expansion of the lore. A deranged family sees people as cattle for food, very similar to the Sawyer family from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Right from the entrance, the music is loud and oppressive, setting the mood. There are fun pieces of lore on the walls in addition to some impressive gore effects. The rooms with tortured people are the creepiest and the pig masks go a long way. However, the ending has a guy with a chainsaw who just stood there. If there is a chainsaw, I fully expect to be chased out of the maze with it.

* Rides

The old and new rides are all worth the Fright and Fast Lane passes. Ghostrider felt a little less harsh on my back due to more cushy seats. It's a wooden rollercoaster and feels like a very long ride, but it's not so bumpy as to be painful anymore. Silver Bullet and Xcelerator are two of my favorites, but the latter takes a long time to get on even with the pass. This was the first year I ever rode Supreme Scream and it's a definite rush. New rollercoasters like Hang Ten and Sierra Sidewinder are wonderful additions. I took so long riding rides the first time I went that I didn't get to do everything I wanted. There were just too many good ones. The best ride changed by Halloween is the Log Ride. It has a delightful Halloween Hootenanny complete with all sorts of monsters coming together for music and a good time.

The Bad

* Dark Ride

Dark Ride is basically an old carnival ride complete with rats, bugs, and evil carnies. I find the idea underdeveloped and underwhelming to walk through. The ride is intentionally shoddily made with falling apart props and animatronics. The clowns are fine, but mostly relegated to one room. It feels incomplete in some way and that there were very little changes from last year.

* The Shadowlands

Ugh. This one is the most frustrating. Shadowlands is an attempt at making a Japanese themed maze. The product has a few interesting props and one good scare with caricatures of the culture and the actors in essentially "yellow face." It's not scary or edgy; it's just annoying and infuriating. Bring back a quality maze that doesn't have to take on harmful stereotypes to function. The "sexy geishas" are particularly egregious. It's simply not needed and mars the rest of the event.

Overall, Knott's Halloween Haunt is improving by leaps and bounds. The sound design and lighting of each maze improve every single year plus there are always small details that enhance the experience. I love this event, but there are still flaws. I hope next year holds even more improvements.

Knott's Halloween Haunt 2017 Part 3

* Red Barn



Red Barn is another repeat maze, but there are a few changes from last year. It still features the redneck family worshipping horses and pigs while eating people kind of like Children of the Corn Sawyer family. The victims telling you where to go is a nice touch. Judging by the amount of severed limbs and bodies around, there would be a lot of victims running around the place. The undead horse thing never looks good. I wish they would update it with something because it looks ridiculous next to everything else. The new wooden doors and numerous cultish symbols make the rest of the maze cohesive. I was impressed by the trough in a cross shape underneath a body. It combines the cannibalism and religious aspects in one good image. The chainsaw chase at the end is good, but I didn't actually get to see it. Chainsaws always freak me out and I wish they could time it a little better. It's an overal improvement from lasty year even with the weird horse.

* Timber Mountain Log Ride Halloween Hootenany



This ride is so adorable! It's a more family friendly Halloween than the rest of the park, but I just find it delightful. Scare actors are peppered here and there, but they seem out of place with the more wholesome feel. The inside is peppered with cobwebs and black light so they glow. Projection effects have silhouettes of monsters here and there. Jack o'lanterns, aliens, bat-vampire hybrids, witches, and a band made up of horror movie monsters are added to the ride. It's all charming and adorable with fun music throughout. I love this addition to the Knott's.

* Scare Zones

The scare zones were pretty lackluster this year. The themes were fine, but there didn't seem to be enough actors. The fog is crazy as always, but the Day of the Dead themed section is never very scary. The actors were prompting people to dance and goes against the concept of the scare zone. The Carneval section wasn't as good this year and I don't even remember going through the Sleepy Hollow themed section at all. Get it together!

* Improvements!!!

Overall, Knott's Scary Farm improved so much. The makeup is on point. The sets are so much more detailed with appropriate lighting. They've started to incorporate better sound effects and soundtracks to each maze. Between rooms, they opted to have opaque barriers so what's on the other side is a true surprise. They even had those annoying strings in front of your faces that feel like spiders that Universal has used for years. The small details really make a difference. I had so much fun. In past years, the scares just wouldn't land with me. This year, almost every single one landed and there were a lot of surprises. The only downside for me was the lack of workers on the rides. It tales forever for people to put themselves in the ride on their own and it gets pretty crazy. Other than that, everything was pretty awesome. I'm so excited to go next year to see how they will change and become even better.

Knott's Halloween Haunt 2017 Part 2

* Voodoo



While much is the same from last year, the route of the maze is backwards with the swamp first and then the buildings. This one has a very unexpected scare with lighting, sound, and a good scare actor making an excellent jump scare. I'm used to seeing that at Universal, not at Knott's, so it's a sign of them changing their game and creating higher quality scares. The lighting is much more mysterious and creepy, filtering through the trees. The insde of the houses are basically the same. It's a basic culturally insensitive maze other than that. the scare actors on bungeeds are the only other impressive stunt. The snake at the end is pretty cheesy.

* Pumpkin Eater



Pumpkin Eater is a brand new maze that takes the traditional nursery rhyme and makes it creepy and murderous. He seems to skin people's faces or carve their faces like jack o'lanterns. Going inside pumpkin is an experience. The first couple encounters with the pumpkin guts hanging down from the ceiling are dry, but the last one is wet, making it feel just like real pumpkin guts. Very startling when you aren't expecting it. The pumpkin has tortured and dead people along its walls with projection effects to make it seem real. Afterwards is a creepy corn maze, a grinder full of people, and people filled pies in a smoky oven. It's the most unique concept I've seen in a while and it offered quite a few scares.

* Dark Ride



Dark Ride is also a new maze that takes you into a defunct carnival ride where something obviously went wrong what with the dead bodies. It's a fun mixture of obviously fake cheesy scares and something that feels truly wrong. The scary tree scene is pretty much stolen from the Snow White Ride. Other rooms include a haunted library, weird neon electrocultions, and a pretty impress (but damaged) giant dragon. The Danny Elfman-esque soundtrack helps as does the effect when the power briefly goes out, stalling the animatronics, the lights, and the music. It seems that ex-workers have turned it into their torture chamber. It's an interesting concept, but it's missing something.

* Shadow Lands



This lackluster maze is back as another culturally insensitive installment. Samurai aren't really scary even when they're dead. Neither are geishas with loud fans. The only interesting part is the stuttery spider walk (which is missed in the video) of a long haired ghost woman. Everything else is painfully awkward and simply not scary. It's just a step above from the cowboy mazes.

Knott's Halloween Haunt 2017 Part 1

It's that time of year again! I go to Knott's Halloween Haunt every year and it gets better and better. I always get the front of the line Fright Lane for the mazes because waiting hours in line isn't on my agenda for the night, but this time it's bundled with the Fast Lane, front of the line for rides. This year was better than ever with very few flaws.

* Trick or Treat: Lights Out



This maze was the longest to get into because people tend to walk slow when lights are low. You are handed a flashlight to go through the very low lit maze. It has a lot in common with previous incarnations of the maze, but it has an added element because it's so dark. I was more anxious going through the maze and eager to shine my flashlight on everything. The 80's inspired music truly set the stage. The first room is Halloween to me with flashing Jack o'lanterns and a spooky apparition. The room with the masks and lit eyes is so much more effective in the lower light. It's a traditional haunted house with floating books, creepy dolls, and a bathtub full of rot. The chained basement door with something pushing to get out is a particularly good touch. The music inside is right out of a movie and supports the scares. Of course the light goes out right when you need it and you walk through dark corrider. This may not seem impressive, but I haven't been anywhere else that puts anything completely in the dark. This was my favorite maze.

* The Tooth Fairy



This maze has been there for at least 3 years and it's always amazing. It starts with floss hanging from the ceiling that brushes across your face. The high pitched whine of dental drills sings through the air throughout the maze. Right after the inky black Cthulhu doorway is a pitch dark room. Subtle things like this are what strike fear in my heart. You have no idea if anyone else is in the room and I feel unease in the pit of my stomach. The set is incredibly detailed with blood spattered missing posters, children's toys, mutilated children, filthy medical equipment, and piles of teeth and coins. The room with the giant mouths is quite effective and the ending scare is awesome. This maze has a defined tone and atmosphere that I love. They layout is a bit different this year and the end scare is a bit of a surprise.

*  Parnormal Inc.



This maze has such a large story for one maze. It starts in the videos outside with a charlatan medium who breaks character to scream at a creditor. Everything about it seems like the ghosts are fake and the equipment will never work. It's weird to have an insane asylum of abused people paired with demons and hell, but it somehow works so well here. There are two slightly different routes and everyone meets where hell opens up. It can have a bit of traffic there, but the rest of the maze is well done. The room with blinding red light has scare actors in it, which isn't usually done. You can't see anything in the room, so the people could be anywhere and it's unnerving. The giant creatures look amazing and the last scare is epic. I love turning around and seeing other people's reactions to it. Not a lot changed since last year, but the small details make a big difference.

* Special Ops: Infected



It's back! I love this maze because it's the only one where you fight the monsters. You get a gun with unlimited ammo and try to hit the collar around the zombies neck. I'm terrible at this because I panic and I have terrible aim. It's fun anyway. Where else do I get to shoot zombies outside of a video game? Military people guide you through the maze and tell you what to look for, where to aim, and where to stop. I go through each section faster than I really should. The room with zombies tearing into it surprised me and I didn't know where to shoot. The subway sation is even worse with disorienting light. The big monster is pretty cool. The maze is like playing real life Resident Evil. If it's still there in a year, I should go on it more than once so I can actually hit some zombies.

Knott's Halloween Haunt 2016 Part 2

Now for the things I didn't like so much about Knott's Scary Farm.

Note: The videos are not mine, but the work of ThemeParkHD on Youtube who takes the highest quality videos of theme park attractions.

The Underwhelming

* Shadowlands

This is a brand new maze of undead samurai and vengeful spirits. The music is eerie and well done. The beginning is actually pretty cool as it illustrates the story in an unexpected way. Some parts are interesting. A woman runs down a hallway like Samara from the Ring with a strobe light to make her movements look unnatural. There are too many evil/dead geishas. They don't look too much different than regular geishas and either move suggestively or scream. The final room is supposed to hold the biggest scare, but this one only has a samurai jumping around beheading someone like in the initial room. Disappointing.

* The Dead of Winter: Wendigo's Revenge

Last year, this maze was home to an evil snow queen and now it's a yeti/wendigo. Most of the maze is the same. The blood looks vibrant next to the ice and snow. The torture and death tableau were unique with their use of ice. The giant snow beast is well done and so is the wendigo when it moves. It was broken when I saw it and didn't have the same effect. The mirror maze aspect doesn't really fit with the theme. Overall, not great.

The Bad

* Gunslinger's Grave: A Blood Moon Rises

I've never liked this maze and this is its third year at the park. This maze bores me to tears. Absolutely nothing is scary. It used to be cowboys and then werewolves were added last year. Some scare actor tried to scare me with corn. Corn. It was pathetic and sad. Why is this maze still here but Forevermore is gone? It baffles me and I hope they'll get rid of it next year.

* The Skeleton Key Rooms

With the Fright Pass, we had access to separate, stand alone experiences that took place in one room. These included Zozo about a Ouija board demon, Slasher about a sadistic serial killer, Prey where we were chased through a hay maze by half human animals, and Visions where patrons ghost hunt with historical objects. These attractions are slow to load. Each line was at least a half hour long. Visions was consistently an hour and a half, so we just skipped it. All of that waiting for a 3-5 minute "experience." It's not worth the wait and the experiences themselves aren't very exciting. Avoid these if you go unless you have a lot of extra time on your hands.

Overall, I had fun as always, but Knott's had a bit of a dip in quality compared to last year. 

Knott's Halloween Haunt 2016 Part 1

It's that time of year again! I go to Knott's Halloween Haunt every year and it gets better and better. I always get the front of the line Fright Pass for the mazes because waiting hours in line isn't on my agenda for the night. This year was better than ever, but had some flaws.

Note: The videos are not mine, but the work of ThemeParkHD on Youtube who takes the highest quality videos of theme park attractions.

The Good

* The Tooth Fairy



This maze has been there for at least 3 years and it's always amazing. It starts with floss hanging from the ceiling that brushes across your face. The high pitched whine of dental drills sings through the air throughout the maze. Right after the inky black Cthulhu doorway is a pitch dark room. Subtle things like this are what strike fear in my heart. You have no idea if anyone else is in the room and I feel unease in the pit of my stomach. The set is incredibly detailed with blood spattered missing posters, children's toys, mutilated children, filthy medical equipment, and piles of teeth and coins. The room with the giant mouths is quite effective and the ending scare is awesome. This maze has a defined tone and atmosphere that I love. This is my favorite maze at Knott's and I hope it stays for many more years.

* Special Ops Infected



In previous years, this maze was only available as an extra purchase. This year, it was opened up to anyone at the park and I'm glad it was. It's like laser tag with zombies. You're given a gun with unlimited ammo and instructed to shoot the zombies and destroy the cause of the infection that has gotten into the water. This maze features zombies, which I love, and lets you fight back against the monsters of the maze. In every other one, you passively walk through mazes and let the monsters come at you. In this one, you can kill them and save people. The maze is well constructed and the zombie makeup is fine. I enjoyed the military leaders hyping us up and giving us instructions periodically through the maze. The room with the zombies reaching through the walls made me scream the first time. I also liked the room with the dance music as a fun little interlude. I'm apparently a horrible aim because I got 3 or less kills each time. I still had fun and I hope this stays next year as well.

* Paranormal Inc.



This is another maze from last year. It's the grandest maze they have in scope and probably the longest as well. A paranormal team wants to have spirits appear, but they end up opening a gate of hell instead. It has two sides that merge after a few minutes that go through the insane asylum with its gruesome history of abusive, murderous nurses. Then you descend into hell with demons taunting you and giant monsters coming at you. The blue and gray theme with glowing lights is unexpected and eerie as opposed the typical red and fiery one. It doesn't look great in the video because it's day time, but the room where there's a bright red light in a dark room is really effective. You can't see anything but red and you blindly walk toward it hoping you're going the right way. The giant creatures look amazing and the last scare is epic. I love turning around and seeing other people's reactions to it.

* Red Barn



This is a brand new maze this year that has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe. Hillbillies kill people and put them on the menu with an added dose of religious zealotry. The tableaus are horrific with people being butchered in creative ways. I was impressed with much of the set pieces and the creepy atmosphere. The bodies tied on crosses, the alter near the end, and the prayer on the wall give an added took it beyond Texas Chainsaw. The only parts that were kind of cheesy were the man-eating animals with the red eyes. Not sure why eating people causes them to become zombies or demonic.

* Trick or Treat



This maze has been here every year I've gone and it always give a classic Halloween vibe. It has deranged trick or treaters, sinister witches, monsters under the bed, and lots of jack o'lanterns. I always go through this one first because it sets the tone of the Halloween season for me. I love the wall with the Halloween masks lit up as well as the dinner scene with the jack o-lanterns. Both give an eerie atmosphere. The end was underwhelming this year and I wish there was a story with the witches.

More to come!

Knott's Halloween Haunt 2015

This is my third year attending Knott's Halloween Haunt and it's better than ever. The production value doesn't rival Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, but the innovative mazes and impressive makeup elevates it from past years. The only drawback to this park is that I don't feel that gut dread that I feel at Universal because they create a total experience. I still think it's fun of course and I will continue to attend.

The Good

* Paranormal Inc.



This is by far the best maze I have ever experienced at Knott's. It's so much larger than any other I've seen there and there are two different ways through the maze that meet up near the end. It starts out as one of those cheesy ghost hunter shows and then their experiment releases hell in an old abandoned mental hospital. Ghosts and demons are flying through the air, suspending from wires to drop in front of people, and giant demon creatures pop out to scare the crap out of you. The hallways are eerie and everything works together to create a cool, scary experience. I love the beginning performance that tells the story of why it's all happening. I didn't expect anything like this from Knott's and I hope it's a staple that will stay for at least a few years.

* Trick or Treat



This is the third year I've seen the maze and it's better than ever. It captures the Halloween spirit in a classic way with witches, creatures under the bed, and demented children. I also liked the creepy dinner party with the awesome pumpkins. The final room was a little lacking compared to previous years, but it's still a decent maze.

* Forevermore



This one is also always a pleasure. I love Edgar Allan Poe's works and seeing them enacted in gruesome ways is amazing. It's a particularly nice touch that lines of stories and poetry are incorporated into the decor as well as the soundtrack. The Raven room is my personal favorite with the gruesome, feather covered tableau of the dead complete with creepy flickering lights. This one is also the only maze that had a remotely interesting Skeleton Key room. The only really cheesy part is the Masque of the Red Death, but that's part of its charm.

* My Bloody Clementine



The Calico Mine Ride is overlaid with horror for Halloween Haunt, but it's always been a boring disappointment with random figures and lights. Now, there are scare actors in the ride plus a way better overarching theme than some random witch. Clementine and her father were brutally murdered and Clementine has come back as a vengeful spirit to kill the culprits. It's a bit creepy and the changeup built the suspense. I had no idea what to expect and it was very enjoyable.

* The Tooth Fairy

This maze was one of my favorites from last year and it's still awesome. Everything dental is made to be as creepy, dirty, and bloody as possible. Parts of it are artful and Hannibal-esque and other parts are just gross. The disconcerting whining of drills is everywhere. The facade and the giant floss pieces draped through that first hallway  really set the tone for the rest of the maze. I especially love when the visitors are made to crouch down in this big cage. It's like willingly putting yourself into a very creepy scene from a horror film. Not a lot of changes from last year, but enjoyable nonetheless.

* Fright Lane and Fast Lane

These front of the line passes for both mazes and rides were a bit pricey but well worth the cost. My sister and I went on every maze at least once plus every ride and made it home by 11pm.

The Meh

* Pinocchio Unstrung



This one is also the same as last year. It's not terrible, but it's not amazing. Pinocchio snapping, killing, and stealing people's skin to make himself human should be amazing, but the execution is still off. Most of the maze is just Pinocchios doing random stuff instead of showing a coherent story line. The best part is the giant animatronic at the end.

* Dead of Winter



I guarantee this maze was made because of Frozen's popularity. It's pretty much the mirror maze from a few years ago pumped with lots of air conditioning and themed to an evil snow queen. The makeup and costumes were quite pretty, but the maze wasn't really all that scary.

* Voodoo: Order of the Serpent and Black Magic





Also pretty much the same as last year, even Voodoo which changed its name. I expected some improvements, but if anything both were a bit lacking in comparison.

The Bad

* Gunslinger's Grave



Why is this maze still here? It's been the worst maze for years running. It usually features run of the mill cowboys and bandits, but this year's twist is werewolves. If anything, the addition just makes it hilarious and kills any fear it could have had. So many of the tableaus are ridiculous like a werewolf being electrocuted to death. How does that make sense in any way?

* Skeleton Key Rooms

All of them except the Forevermore one were not worth the wait and didn't add anything to the maze or the story behind the maze.

Overall, this was Knott's Scary Farms best year and I look forward to next years.

Knott's Scary Farm 2014

This is the second year in a row that I've been to Knott's Halloween Haunt and it was a mixed bag this year. I went with my sister and we got the Fright Lane passes that allow you to bypass the lines for the mazes and the Skeleton Key pass that allows access to an extra scare room at the beginning of some of the mazes.

The Good

* The Tooth Fairy



This was my favorite maze of the night. The concept is freaky and that drill whine throughout the maze gets to you. The actors were much better when I saw it. The child's room with the giant mout door is genius. The room with the mouths lining the walls was different than anything I've seen there. Everything passed the children's room was rusty and dirty looking and deliciously creepy. There were figures on the wall with wings made of their own flesh and bone. Before the room with the cage, one of the characters was screaming at us to turn back and save ourselves, but of course we went forward anyway. I felt like a typical horror movie character ignoring warnings and running towards danger. Good maze all around.

* Forevermore



This is a repeat from last year. A murderer kills people inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe. It was good last year and it's good this year. The image of the nurse chained to giant raven wings with a bird mask is very striking and one of the most memorable of the night. The bird masks are way better than last year and evoke more discomfort in the viewer because they are victims instead of attackers. The tableau right inside the psychiatric hospital was well done and more eerie with the blinding lights. I love the recitation of the tales based on them. The only ones lacking were the Cask of Amontillo and The Masque of the Red Death.

* Black Magic



Infinitely better than last year! The Skeleton Key room is much creepier with an actual Houdini actor. The room with the women's faces all over was really creepy and well done. There was even an actor with her face removed in the room with impressively realistic makeup. The mirror maze is disorienting. The giant rabbit was weird, but not horrible. So many better choices were made to make the maze much scarier than last year.

* Voodoo

This one is brand new and had the best Skeleton Key room. You are led into coffins for a spell to protect you from demons. It's a little freaky and not for the claustrophobic. The atmosphere captures the hot Louisiana weather and vibe. This maze is actually a little bit longer than the others because of the trip through the cemetery. Most of the maze is outside, which is different than the others. The waters are filled with the dead and crocodiles that were a subtle touch that you really had to look for. One of the best of the night.

The OK

* Pinnochio Unstrung



This is another repeat from last year. I think I might have missed it last year somehow. The Skeleton Key room tells how Pinnochio became a real boy, but it was taken all away by the Blue Fairy because he told a lie. Now, he wants to kill her and wear her skin to become real his own way. The concept is very cool, but the maze is OK. My favorite room was the one where we enter Monstro's mouth and walk with his skeleton above us. I liked the overall puppet and circus theme and the last room with the giant Pinnochio is impressive. Other than that, the scares were a bit lackluster and the characters underwhelming.

* Trick or Treat



This one is a little worse than last year. The gothic, classic horror mood was missing except for the very first room with all the jack o'lanterns lining the staircase. The only new part I liked was the devil coming out from under the bed. The last room and the ghosts wearing sheets were particularly disappointing.

* Witch's Keep



Much better than last year. The Calico Mine Ride is more infused with the witch's story. It's a much better integration than last year, but the ride itself is still kind of boring.

* Dominion of the Damned



A little worse than last year. The paintings I loved are still there. The final room was disappointing. The overall air of sophisticated, cultured vampires was maintained. The Skeleton Key room was interesting since I was made to feed Renfield's "plants." The best part was the walls made of human flesh. Not sure what it has to do with vampires unless it's just their kind of decor, but it looked amazing. Very Hellraiser.

The Bad

* The Boo-fet

My sister and I went to the Boo-fet buffet before the park because it came with early access to the park. The event was way, way overbooked. We didn't get to eat at our time, rendering the early access useless since we were still eating when the park opened. They wouldn't allow us to just get our passes and go into the park to eat there. The food was cold and disgusting after all the waiting. Characters are in the hall to harass you as you eat. I just want to eat my food. We won't be making that mistake again.

* Gunslinger's Grave



Again, these are just cowboy bandits. Nothing supernatural about them. It's just not scary at all. Cowboys do not incite fear and neither do saloon girls. I wish they would have kept the Apocalypse maze from last year instead of this uninspired garbage.

* The Hanging

The Hanging is an uninspired show that parodies everything pop culture over the last year. It's crass, crude, and just immature. The only part that made me laugh was the Do You Want to Have a Hanging song to the tune of Do You Want to Build a Snowman. Everything else was shoddily done, horrible costumes, and a bunch of fake blood.

* The overall quality and condition of the park

The quality of the mazes, actors, and makeup are far inferior to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. I still enjoyed the event, but I was never scared. I enjoyed the sets and storylines of the mazes, but the actors seemed annoying to me and not a part of the attraction. They favored screaming (sometimes right in my ear) and making loud noises which quickly loses effect and becomes bothersome.

The park is not well kept. No one was picking up trash and it piled up over the course of the night. Many of the attractions were shortstaffed. On Jaguar, the guests were seating themselves which was chaos and made the line infinitely longer than it should. Some mazes had multiple rooms with no actors in them when there should have been based on repeat visits or videos online. Smoking and vaping are unfortunately allowed everywhere in the park. So many people were smoking everywhere that I couldn't get away from it. The smell saturated my hair and clothing and it was just gross.

Every little thing costs extra money. To get the VIP experience at Universal, it costs $200, but includes front of the line passes for mazes and rides, the VIP lounge, the all you can eat buffet, 2 alcoholic drinks, valet parking, a special Terror Tram experience, and a tour guide for the Terror Tram and 3 mazes. The Skeleton Key and Fright Lane pass costs about $100. The horrible buffet is an extra $30; the front of the line passes for the rides costs an extra minimum $35; and the parking alone was $20. That makes Knott's cost almost the same as Universal with nothing near the same quality in general.

The overall experience is far inferior than practically any other theme park in my area, so I may not bother with Knott's anymore. Next year, my sister and I plan to try the Queen Mary Dark Harbor event instead.

Knott's Halloween Haunt

My sister convinced me to go the Knott's Halloween Haunt with her this year, which features thousands of actors dressed as monsters to provide chills and thrills plus 12 different themed mazes. This is, of course, in addition to the rides, shows, and other attractions. I don't like people jumping out and scaring me. I'm skittish and easily startled. I did surprisingly well and went through all the mazes except for one that cost extra money to go through because my sister shelled out the extra $60 to get front of the line passes. Totally worth it!

The Good



* The Forevermore maze was one of my favorites because it was based off the magnificent and timeless works of Edgar Allan Poe. A murderer kills people in the manner of his favorite Poe stories, ranging from The Cask of Amontillado to Rue Morgue to The Telltale Heart. In the line, videos of news stories detailing the notorious actions of the murderer are on display. In some rooms, an ominous, an ominous voice recited the poems that were the focus of the room. It just added to the creepy atmosphere. Even the bird masked people were kind of creepy. One even threatened to peck my eyes out. The tableau were people are tarred, feathered, and posed on a table was the crowning moment of the maze. Some minor disappointments were the Masque of the Red Death room where zombies danced unenthusiastically with bad techno music (the video is actually much better than what I saw) and the Cask of Amontillado where no one was getting bricked up.



* The End Games maze is a cross between Hellraiser and Mad Max. The loud metal music got annoying after a while, but the gory visuals made it worth it. It's probably the bloodiest maze at the park. The giant creatures in cages plus the stone giant at the end were amazing. The detail on them and the obvious care that went into making them was unparalleled. This maze has the best ambiance. Even the metal music contributed to it and the set was probably the best crafted one.



* Trick or Treat is a fun maze that features a twisted version of childhood Halloween. There's the witches, deranged trick or treaters, creepy clowns, a macabre dinner part of corpses, and a general atmosphere of Halloween. I found it charming and fun. It was the first maze of the night and I was really tense, so this one got me to loosen up and enjoy the sights and sounds of Halloween.



* Dominion of the Damned is a vampire themed maze that shows the regal, cultured version of vampires. Although the actors mostly looked snooty and aloof, the set of the maze and the music are what made it for me. At the beginning, a charming Renfield tries to feed us to his carnivorous plants, but is foiled by his angry master. We then go into the house, adorned with beautiful paintings and playing ominous music. My favorite room is the one with the living statues. One stays still until you pass her and then lunges at you like you blinked at a weeping angel. The coffin room has a change of music from purely instrumental to mournfully operatic and had some good scares. I like when I don't know where the person is going to come from instead of seeing them coming from a mile away.



* Delirium was another well done maze. The disgusting mouth huge creature thing when you walk in sets the tone. The hallway where the walls come in on you and billow around you built suspense as to what was beyond that wall. I love the tableaus with the children and the bugs or the monster under the bed. The sounds were awesome: the buzzing flies, the garbled speaking, the discordant music, and the sinister whispers.

The Bad

* Most of the makeup and masks were just not very well done. When you get up close, it ruins the illusion. The darkness of the park and the mazes helped, but didn't obscure the fact that the masks look super fake and most of the makeup isn't very detailed. The actors tend to lose interest in you after the initial scare and that also affects the illusion. I like the actors that are in character all the time and creep after you even after the jump scare.



* Mirror Mirror is a maze entirely comprised of mirrors. It's much smaller than all of the other mazes and only has 2 actors in it. The mirrors were cool, but not very disorienting. The actors just walked around ominously and I just didn't find them scary. This video was much better in that the actors actually interacted with the public, not like when I went. Halfway through the maze, the lights turned strobe, which again looked kind of cool in the mirrors but was not in any way scary. The line was quite long because only one party goes in at a time and the walk through wasn't worth the wait. It also didn't help that the most annoying group of high schoolers were behind us pushing, shoving, and generally being extremely annoying.

* The Witch's Keep is the Calico Mine ride with a few witch themed props thrown in with narration. Boring and also not worth the wait. It was nice to sit down for a while after being on my feet all day though.



* Gunslinger's Grave wasn't scary at all. Judging by the title, I thought it was going to be outlaw zombies or some such thing. Alas, it was just random cowboys walking around and demanding my purse. I just said no and went on my way. There were no monsters and the maze as a whole was disappointing. The only part I liked was the saloon style Mad World played on the piano.



* Uncle Willy's BBQ Slaughterhouse was a maze I was excited for because I enjoy bloody stories of cannibalism. The maze didn't deliver. It wasn't bloody; it wasn't scary; and the body props looked extremely fake.

What are your favorite Halloween theme park events? Any favorite mazes or shows?