Knott's Scary Farm 2021

[deadbydawn]

I was able to go back last Thursday and checked out the theater shows. I really liked Invitation to Terror. It's short, but it makes great use of the Mystery Lodge space and tells a fun story. Puppet Up! is always enjoyable as well. I think for now that is a decent use of the big theater space and every time I've seen it the audience seems really engaged.

I already secured our Scary Farm passes for 2022. I'm hoping this level of entertainment carries through to next year, too!

 

[Freak]

I was able to go back last Thursday and checked out the theater shows. I really liked Invitation to Terror. It's short, but it makes great use of the Mystery Lodge space and tells a fun story. Puppet Up! is always enjoyable as well. I think for now that is a decent use of the big theater space and every time I've seen it the audience seems really engaged.

I already secured our Scary Farm passes for 2022. I'm hoping this level of entertainment carries through to next year, too!

Wait, they’re already selling KSF passes for next year!?

 

[deadbydawn]

Wait, they’re already selling KSF passes for next year!?

Yeah, they went on sale as soon this year's tickets went up which is usually the norm. Right now they are only offering add-ons for Season Passes and you more than likely will encounter an error if you try to purchase one with a pass that was a 2020 roll over since those expire in May.

I had to renew my pass first and then purchased the Scary Farm pass that way. They claim they are offering some kind of renewal incentive in early 2022 but I didn't want to wait considering what happened this year.

 

[kingcooger]

Yeah, they went on sale as soon this year's tickets went up which is usually the norm. Right now they are only offering add-ons for Season Passes and you more than likely will encounter an error if you try to purchase one with a pass that was a 2020 roll over since those expire in May.

I had to renew my pass first and then purchased the Scary Farm pass that way. They claim they are offering some kind of renewal incentive in early 2022 but I didn't want to wait considering what happened this year.

From what I have heard, the cap this year was lower due to COVID considerations. They are currently calling a sold out night those with attendance at about 25,000-30,000 whereas in previous years a sold out night was about 40,000-45,000

Hopefully that means more Scary Farm passes will be on offer for sale this year.

 

[wutisgood]

From what I have heard, the cap this year was lower due to COVID considerations. They are currently calling a sold out night those with attendance at about 25,000-30,000 whereas in previous years a sold out night was about 40,000-45,000

Hopefully that means more Scary Farm passes will be on offer for sale this year.

hold up. 120 min waits for rides were at LOWER attendance limits? That seems impossible given the crowds I saw unless operations really are that bad.

I was able to go back last Thursday and checked out the theater shows. I really liked Invitation to Terror. It's short, but it makes great use of the Mystery Lodge space and tells a fun story. Puppet Up! is always enjoyable as well. I think for now that is a decent use of the big theater space and every time I've seen it the audience seems really engaged.

I would honestly pay $60 just to see puppet up (I love improv) and some of the other entertainment and catch a few rides. People pay as much for less.

has anyone actually asked knotts why their operations are so bad? Like I sent them a message and asked for specifics and I was like yea pretty much everything because you need to actively manage lines. Like the locals just told me ghostrider is just bad on opps and it is how it is. If I took video of the ops at cedar point that were that bad it would be a serious event.

 

[kingcooger]

hold up. 120 min waits for rides were at LOWER attendance limits? That seems impossible given the crowds I saw unless operations really are that bad.


I would honestly pay $60 just to see puppet up (I love improv) and some of the other entertainment and catch a few rides. People pay as much for less.

has anyone actually asked knotts why their operations are so bad? Like I sent them a message and asked for specifics and I was like yea pretty much everything because you need to actively manage lines. Like the locals just told me ghostrider is just bad on opps and it is how it is. If I took video of the ops at cedar point that were that bad it would be a serious event.

Before Scary Farm even happened this year, COVID really messed with their ride ops. Having to run Scary Farm has made them pull people in all different directions just to provide the minimal amount of coverage. The last few months I have been noticing them training lots of people to run the Calico Mine Ride. If you go first thing in the morning, there are less people manning that one at opening than there used to be (same with the log flume), so I think they were hurting for coverage pre-Scary Farm, and now they are trying to run daytime and nighttime ops with a lot less people

 

[deadbydawn]

From what I have heard, the cap this year was lower due to COVID considerations. They are currently calling a sold out night those with attendance at about 25,000-30,000 whereas in previous years a sold out night was about 40,000-45,000

Hopefully that means more Scary Farm passes will be on offer for sale this year.

I heard the same thing. It sure doesn't feel any less crowded than a regular year. I'm sure more passes will be sold for next year, but I was just securing ours now.

hold up. 120 min waits for rides were at LOWER attendance limits? That seems impossible given the crowds I saw unless operations really are that bad.


I would honestly pay $60 just to see puppet up (I love improv) and some of the other entertainment and catch a few rides. People pay as much for less.

has anyone actually asked knotts why their operations are so bad? Like I sent them a message and asked for specifics and I was like yea pretty much everything because you need to actively manage lines. Like the locals just told me ghostrider is just bad on opps and it is how it is. If I took video of the ops at cedar point that were that bad it would be a serious event.

They are definitely struggling right now post-COVID with staffing I think, but Knott's has struggled with their operations department for as long as I can remember. I recall going to the park as a teenager in the early 00's and having the same issues.

 

[Water Bottle]

Alright, this is definitely an odd request i know but if anyone could get the FULL audio sequence for the front of wax works recorded on audio that would be really awesome. Im making a tribute video and won't be able to record that audio so if someone here could record the full audio for the facade either while being in the cue or getting creative with it, then let me know through here, that would be really awesome and i'd owe you one!

 

[DTH]

Operations I feel are mainly due to two things: the cubby system and the restraints. Six Flags has delays because of their cubby system too (they also offer more lockers throughout the park in general) but their restraints are better, in my experience. Between Disneyland, Knotts, Six Flags, and Universal, I'd say Knotts is the worst for big people. Like, I'm husky, but there are many people much bigger than me, and I can barely get on MOST Knotts rides, usually having to finagle with the lap bar to push down so it can click one time just by adjusting how I sit. Meanwhile, I can get on everything at Disneyland, Six Flags, and Universal with ease. So why are 8 out of 10 rides at Knotts a problem? So that means on at least every train, there's maybe one or two people like me they have to hassle with trying to make the lap bar click.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

It’s really a good thing that the tickets to this event are so cheap. The terrible operations aren’t a unique issue this year; they’ve been bad for as long as I’ve been going to KSF and Knott’s in general.

Between that, the lack of actors in the mazes and the shoddy state of the mazes in general after years of usage (when you can actually see them, that is; I swear it’s darker this year to cover that stuff up) and it’s just… yikes.

My biggest memory of going this year is walking through the entire middle chunk of Dark Entities without encountering a single actor after bailing on a beer line because it literally never moved once.

The crowds at HHN are brutal but at least things move.

 

[Rideguy70]

Yeah, it's really a trade off. To me, there's not much question that Knott's has the better and much more original scenic design, with many very unique ideas. And is also much better balanced out with multiple offerings of scare zones and a variety of shows.

But the ride and food operations have always been overwhelmed for Haunt even pre-covid, and I can also echo many, many times over many, many years that I have gone through mazes and maybe seen a total of 1-2 scareactors for the entire maze--and they didn't even try to scare me, it was like they were on break in the maze. The maze talent has always been super inconsistent, and has been an ongoing problem for decades.

HHN may lack the originality, and have black walls (and virtually no entertainment options), but the mazes are nearly always well populated and very consistently run. Even with current staffing issues, you'll never see a maze down to literally 2 people.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

HHN may lack the originality, and have black walls (and virtually no entertainment options), but the mazes are nearly always well populated and very consistently run. Even with current staffing issues, you'll never see a maze down to literally 2 people.

HHN doesn’t lack originality, IMO. Maybe literally in the sense that it’s mostly IP mazes. I get that. But when there’s only one (sometimes two) new mazes a year and the rest are just identical repeats, I don’t see that as Knott’s being original. It’s kind of the definition of unoriginal.

I mean, it’s how they’ve always done their event and obviously it really doesn’t bother anyone (myself included — I still went this year after saying I wouldn’t lol), but there’s just a lot of fatigue with KSF that has more to do than just operations.

 

[Rideguy70]

In terms of originality, I'm talking concepts. Lack of IPs. Let be real, HHN would never do a maze like Mesmer, Trick or Treat, Waxworks, The Depths, Shadowlands, etc.

And even when HHN has ventured into non-IP territory, the look of the mazes still feels very similar to their IP mazes. At Knott's the mazes are for the most part, very distinct from each other.

 

[zto8411]

In terms of originality, I'm talking concepts. Lack of IPs. Let be real, HHN would never do a maze like Mesmer, Trick or Treat, Waxworks, The Depths, Shadowlands, etc.

Which is disappointing because Universal COULD absolutely duplicate these effects with no problem. Having new IP’s every year doesn’t mean much when they feel and have the exact same layout as whatever was there previously. M

This was my first year going to Knotts in almost a decade and I thought it was by far the best event. Especially for the $54 admission price. We’ll see how I feel a few years down the line when there’s maybe 1-2 new mazes. But given my fatigue with the current state of HHN Hollywood it was such a nice change.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

In terms of originality, I'm talking concepts. Lack of IPs. Let be real, HHN would never do a maze like Mesmer, Trick or Treat, Waxworks, The Depths, Shadowlands, etc.

And even when HHN has ventured into non-IP territory, the look of the mazes still feels very similar to their IP mazes. At Knott's the mazes are for the most part, very distinct from each other.

Well, I wouldn't say HHN would never do a maze like Mesmer or Wax Works. HHN has done original mazes, and it sounds like they want to -- and maybe need to, based on IP availability -- start doing more. I think Pandora's is a very Knott's-y concept/premise.

Still, I get what you're saying and agree. Even if they did something similar to those, would it be as good as KSF? Probably not. Originals are not HHN's strong suit and never have been, really. That's been my stance for ages.

I guess the "distinct" argument doesn't quite land with me because the level of distinction is ultimately pretty shallow. The mazes at KSF are extremely original in and of themselves, but the overall experience of the event lacks novelty because it's only slightly different year over year. Like, I hate to be as reductive as "familiar elements/designs in brand new concepts/mazes (HHN)" versus "the exact same elements/designs in the exact same concepts/mazes (KSF)," but if that's sorta what we're looking at, I have an idea of what I find to be more original and definitely an opinion as to which one is more worthwhile.

 

[kingcooger]

Which is disappointing because Universal COULD absolutely duplicate these effects with no problem. Having new IP’s every year doesn’t mean much when they feel and have the exact same layout as whatever was there previously. M

This was my first year going to Knotts in almost a decade and I thought it was by far the best event. Especially for the $54 admission price. We’ll see how I feel a few years down the line when there’s maybe 1-2 new mazes. But given my fatigue with the current state of HHN Hollywood it was such a nice change.

As much as I enjoy the mazes at Knott's, I find myself returning to the zones and shows more than the mazes themselves.

For context, I have been attending since 2017 and I usually manage 4+ visits each season.

I think of those visits I get into each maze at least twice, and some three times if I have particularly bad runs on my first two. Once I feel I have had a good run through a maze, I usually don't bother to repeat it, but just occupy myself with the zones and the shows instead.

 

[Skipper Justin]

As a first time visitor, I loved all the mazes. So much detail and way better than I expected. Reminded me of original Orlando HHN houses. The biggest downfall were ops and lines. It definitely seemed like it was short staffed and food line control was nonexistent. Will definitely attend another year though! Sidenote: Candy Mountain mine train is one of the strangest rides I’ve ever experienced.

 

[Clive]

Sometimes I feel like everyone went to different events. Are we really going after Knott's Scary Farm for "originality" when Horror Nights effectively reused four mazes and a tram theme this year? COVID notwithstanding, how many times has Universal used some version of Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Michael, or The Purge?

I'm a huge fan of Horror Nights, but Knott's pretty indisputably offered the better bang for your buck this year. The spectrum of show offerings and quality scare zones alone - not to mention the strong showing from several of the mazes - makes it a great value at the lower price they're charging.

 

[Freak]

Sometimes I feel like everyone went to different events. Are we really going after Knott's Scary Farm for "originality" when Horror Nights effectively reused four mazes and a tram theme this year? COVID notwithstanding, how many times has Universal used some version of Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Michael, or The Purge?

I'm a huge fan of Horror Nights, but Knott's pretty indisputably offered the better bang for your buck this year. The spectrum of show offerings and quality scare zones alone - not to mention the strong showing from several of the mazes - makes it a great value at the lower price they're charging.

Thank you. This is the first year since 2010 that I didn’t buy the Frequent Fear Pass. Just not worth the value for four literally repeats, the same crappy tram, two okay mazes and one good one.

I feel like I’m one of the few people who just felt “eh” about HHN this year. It was a one and done year for me. It was good to be back at HHN just for the sake of being back at HHN, but it was a very Ho-hum year.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

Sometimes I feel like everyone went to different events. Are we really going after Knott's Scary Farm for "originality" when Horror Nights effectively reused four mazes and a tram theme this year? COVID notwithstanding, how many times has Universal used some version of Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Michael, or The Purge?

You said it yourself: "this year." Identical repeats are pretty rare for HHN, but it's SOP at Knott's. Freddy, Jason, et al, are familiar faces at HHN, no question. And I understand the exasperation. But the mazes aren't carbon copies; TCM is one of the better mazes this year despite being a "repeat."

Meanwhile, I'm so familiar with with Dark Ride, Paranormal Inc, etc., that I could probably do them with my eyes closed -- especially since I might go entire minutes without encountering an actor.

The KSF mazes, in and of themselves, are original; an average night at KSF is pretty much exactly the same year over year. So I guess it depends on how you define and what you value as "original."

I'm a huge fan of Horror Nights, but Knott's pretty indisputably offered the better bang for your buck this year. The spectrum of show offerings and quality scare zones alone - not to mention the strong showing from several of the mazes - makes it a great value at the lower price they're charging.

Yeah, the price is great. The biggest reason I ultimately decided to hit Knott's this year was the low cost -- I had a fun night despite my gripes, and the Fright and Fast Lane is just a steal. But I guess I'm the rare person who doesn't really care about the shows? They're fun, but the average person is A) At KSF for mazes and rides, and B) Probably not seeing the shows because they're waiting in KSF's long lines for mazes and rides, or food or drinks or whatever else. Even as someone with a specific interest in all this stuff, I never prioritize the shows. Just not why I'm there; there's better "spooky theater" that doesn't require theme park admission.