CALIFORNIA FOCUS / EVENT RECAP: Knott's Scary Farm

Knotts Scary Farm is exactly what you think it is, how ‘scary’ does a maze get, is it gruesome, does it create a bunch of jump scares, etc. The Set Rating looks specifically at the job done regarding the theming of the maze, how immersive were the sets, how many different scenes, etc. And then last, but not least…

Which is mainly based off the overall feel of the maze, was it an extreme, did it leave you breathless, etc. The overall experience, combined with the other three factors creates a thought for the maze.

Pinocchio Unstrung

Pinocchio Unstrung features a Skeleton Key Room. To keep Skeleton Key rooms a surprise, we will not be talking about what happens in the Skeleton Key room.Pinocchio Unstrung, though a tad different from last year, is an average maze for the event. It’s not among the best, but it’s not the worst either. Due to its length, this maze is very enjoyable, theme is clearly established, and though staying in the realm of the Pinocchio story, there are plenty of scenes, and a great finale!

Black Magic

This year, that room was part of the maze, immediately establishing the theme. I’ve always been a big fan of Black Magic, it’s a solid maze, with a perfect mix of scenes, length, and theme. Cannot be missed when at Scary Farm! Black Magic was a very solid maze again this year. Feeling VERY like last year, the maze features plenty of different scenes, different ways of scaring guests, and very elaborate theming.

Forevermore

The maze itself greatly improved though. With several strobe-light scenes, plenty of darker scenes, and seemingly more actor involvement, Forever more has improved. Nonetheless, I’m not a very big fan of this maze, due to it’s layout. There are huge sections of just long straight hallways and ramps, and it gets a tad boring, and you see the scares coming ahead of time.

Voodoo:

This maze is back, and I still love it to death! Besides an all new Skeleton Key Room, the maze has also undergone plenty of other changes. Guests can no longer choose their own path, but that does make for a longer maze experience. The sets are by far the best of any maze at Knott’s Scary Farm due to swamps. Walking over wooden planks in and out of huts, and over water.

The Toothfairy

Toothfairy is back by popular demand! Now in all honesty, when it was first introduced in 2014, it failed to exceed my expectations. This year, I loved it! Knott’s added a lot of scenes, including a feel-your-way out scene, and just overall the maze was way better!

Gunslinger’s Grave:

A Blood Moon Rises where as the Gunslinger’s Grave was the hidden-gem maze in 2014, that I personally had in my top 3, it scored lowest in this year’s ratings. The Gunslinger’s Grave: A Blood Moon Rises is a spin on the original Gunslinger’s Grave, with pretty much an invasion of werewolves.

Paranormal Inc.

And here we’ve got a maze that blew all of us away! Receiving the highest ratings in this year’s Knott’s Scary Farm Maze Ratings and Reviews is the brand new Paranormal Inc! This maze is themed after the ghost-hunting practices of Paranormal Inc. as they’re at the Hayden Hill Sanitarium. The maze starts with a pre-show, which was incredibly well done, and include some stunts, great theming, and acting.

Trick Or Treat

This maze, standing out more last year, is now overshadowed by way better mazes at the event. Nonetheless, I love Trick or Treat! This maze features a general Halloween theme, and throws in the Knott’s Scary Farm’s distinctive Green Witch character, for a short but very fun maze. In this maze as well, some of the scenes were changed from last year, and overall the maze has improved.

The Dead of Winter

There are people who love it, and then there are people who don’t… I personally am a big fan of this maze. I looked forward to the Dead of Winter for a while, and was definitely not disappointed. I must say, my first impression was from going through the maze alone, without other guests near-by, and upon my second visit realized a bit of the scare factor is gone when guests are being surprised right in front of you. Nonetheless, this was definitely my hidden-gem love of this year’s event.

My Bloody Clementine

Now this is what I call a ride transformation done right! The Calico Mine Ride is transformed into My Bloody Clementine for this year’s event, and it was fantastic! Guests board the ore-cars and go off into the mines where a bunch of new light effect are utilized. In addition there’s a crazy amount of fog, special audio, image mapping on screens and rocks… and… LIVE ACTORS.

Specials Ops:

Infected- Patient Zero Last but not least… Special Ops: Infected – Patient Zero. This year the live zombie warfare interactive game featured more scare actor zombies than ever before! In addition, unlike last year, the entire course is one large circle now, rather than two courses in the same space. Guests will use upgraded laser guns to shoot at the zombies and gain points, if zombies come near you, you will lose lives on your gun, in addition, you need to digitally reload the gun!