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Knott's Scary Farm 2021

Only one new maze? At least I skipped 2019, but wow. Can't see how anyone could complain about HHN bringing back mazes they did for one year while KSF brings back 85% of their mazes for the 3rd-6th year. Was hoping for a little more, but also understandable considering 2020.
For me it's because Knotts has more mazes in general.

HHN unless you get the pass you wait in line most the time, why the hell would I wait in line for their line up? Its either repeats or boring themes we have seen before

Also Knotts is getting "new" shows and or shows that are fun to watch over the crap Universal replaced Bill and Ted with. To me they are just different, let alone Knotts has ALL its rides open vs Universal which closes half the rides. SLOP should be open this year because its a people eater but it wont be because Universal just want's you to have like 12 things to do and thats it for the same price as knotts.
 
Only one new maze? At least I skipped 2019, but wow. Can't see how anyone could complain about HHN bringing back mazes they did for one year while KSF brings back 85% of their mazes for the 3rd-6th year. Was hoping for a little more, but also understandable considering 2020.
At least Knott's is bringing back actually good mazes...:look:
 
Knott's is really edging out Universal in recent years. Mazes like Origins, Paranormal Inc. and Dark Ride are leagues above most of what Universal has regurgitated in recent years. Plus they offer all their Haunt attractions as well as their normal rides plus plenty of shows unique to the event. Their lines are never as bad, the streets are iconic, and it's far more affordable.
 
Knott's is really edging out Universal in recent years. Mazes like Origins, Paranormal Inc. and Dark Ride are leagues above most of what Universal has regurgitated in recent years.

I completely disagree with this statement. While I do enjoy Paranormal Inc and Dark Ride was great, I still dont believe they touch the atmosphere or scares provided by Universal. Dark Ride is the closest if anything. But the rest of your sentiments do ring true for the price Knotts' is providing.
 
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Knott's is really edging out Universal in recent years. Mazes like Origins, Paranormal Inc. and Dark Ride are leagues above most of what Universal has regurgitated in recent years. Plus they offer all their Haunt attractions as well as their normal rides plus plenty of shows unique to the event. Their lines are never as bad, the streets are iconic, and it's far more affordable.
Honestly it's always felt really strange to compare the two to me, even when I barely started going. They're undeniably similar in that theyre both haunt events, with mazes and scarezones and greater than or equal to 1 show, but they both fill very different niches.
There are admittedly some years where the quality disparity is so apparent that Knotts really does blow universal out of the water, like 2017 was very much that just because of how exciting and vast all the new offerings at knotts were, but a lot of other years its kinda like comparing oranges and grapefruits. Technically very similar but your choice will likely ultimately come down to preference.
 
I completely disagree with this statement. While I do enjoy Paranormal Inc and Dark Ride was great, I still dont believe they touch the atmosphere or scares provided by Universal. Dark Ride is the closest if anything. But the rest of your sentiments do ring true for the price Knotts' is providing.
Universal many times does have better quality mazes but this year? Exorcist is the only one I see as that much better, I'm sure the others will be fine but nothing that is must see and sure from how Universal has been acting we will see more blacks than ever.

I champion any company that puts effort into their work but Universal this year is not, it feels soooo half assed, Knotts at least has new shows and hopefullt this new maze is kick ass like most their mazes have been the last few years.
If people want to go to Universal this year enjoy, I rather use 180 bucks towards something else and dont want to spend 70 bucks and wait in long lines for meh mazes.

I want someone to explain to me why Knotts can have more mazes and rides open for the same price? Like just the CM money alone Knotts must be paying has to be double
 
^Because Knott's always repeats the majority of its mazes for years on end? Which is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you're someone that wants to go every year. For this very reason, I only go to Knott's every other year, because I just don't see the point in going yearly when so many of the mazes are the same.

USH generally has all new mazes every year, with very few repeats. Obviously this year is different, but this is generally why USH gets my money every year... because there's always a lot of new mazes to experience.
 
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TBH, even if HHN did have 80% of the same mazes every year, I'd still attend every year. The quality in design and operations is so much better. I know a lot of us disagree on what that exactly means, and some will cry black walls like it's the end of the world or "repeats!" even though they never experienced the other mazes in the first place, but Universal feels like they put more money into it -- so I'm willing to give more money to it.
 
^Because Knott's always repeats the majority of its mazes for years on end? Which is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you're someone that wants to go every year. For this very reason, I only go to Knott's every other year, because I just don't see the point in going yearly when so many of the mazes are the same.

USH generally has all new mazes every year, with very few repeats. Obviously this year is different, but this is generally why USH gets my money every year... because there's always a lot of new mazes to experience.
I understand this sentiment, but I feel especially in recent years that each maze has been well upgraded each year with usually interesting, but admirably minor, changes. With the much lower price point than HHN, I personally believe it's worth going every year rather than every other, but totally understand why one would rather experience 4/5 new mazes vs 1/3 for the same price.
 
One of the reasons why I enjoy Knott's so much despite there being so many repeats is that whenever they only do two new houses, they're usually great. At least I feel like that's the case in recent years. Even if the scenic may not exactly be "movie set quality" at times, the detail makes up for it to where it can be pretty darn close to what Universal does. Also there's no way they can have the money to do five or six Paranormal Inc. or Origins-calibur houses every year, so I will gladly take one or (preferably) two mazes a year. It would also be nice if they could pick a repeat to change up or give a sequel treatment like they did for Dead of Winter along with it.

Yes, I agree that the sets for HHN do look better, at least when it's at it's best (Crimson Peak, Insidious 2015, AVP, Us, etc.) . Ash Vs Evil Dead and Trick r Treat are prime examples of having some nice-looking set design where they have it, but being completely ruined by the countless hallways of black walls. Imagine going on the Snow White ride at Disneyland where between each scene you go through a bunch of black hallways. Imagine your ride car going through Snow White's cottage, then through the next door, you go through a black hallway for ten seconds. Then the doors open and you enter the Dwarf's mine. At the end of the Dwarf's mine is an abrupt transition to a black hallway that goes on for another five or ten seconds then you reach the Queen's Lair. Then the pattern continues but the finale is an out-of-place AA in a black hallway of the wicked witch. If you see where I'm going with this illustration, my point is, the exact same scenes as they are would be in place for the Snow White ride, but if they were to be separated by long, black hallways, it REALLY would detract from the experience and diminish the quality of the scenes. All of that because immersion of the ride would be ruined with cheap, lazy black hallways. Same with the houses at HHNH.

Contract that with Knott's and you'd be hard-pressed to find a single random black wall in their mazes. Origins is probably the magnum opus of KSF houses to me. The "exterior" scene is incredible. Even where they could've gotten away with putting a black wall by the side, they didn't! They put a mirror in front of some hanging vines to sell the illusion of a massive exterior space! It really feels like I'm outside when I'm not. The detail and effort they put into it rivals that with a house you'd find at HHNO! There's different kinds of scares; there's roaming ones, there's audio triggers, there's aerial stunts, there's great SFX....there are just so many awesome things in that house. Contrast that at HHN and, while the audio trigger does work as a scare, they get lazy and only use it for one kind of scare. At least Knott's changes it up.

To keep this post from getting too long, I'll sum it up with this: HHN used to be top-tier for me. I still like it....at least the new mazes they put out, but it's obvious they feel too comfortable. I feel less inclined to give HHN my money while I get more excited for Knott's as, while they offer fewer new mazes, the few they offer have usually "wow'd" me with their set design, effects, and variety of scares. They clearly have less bureaucracy and creative hindrances to deal with. HHN could literally be better than the new mazes Knott's does and be up their with HHNO quality, but choose not to. It's very frustrating. All USH has to do is prioritize, consolidate their resources, and get more creative with what they have to work with. If HHN would just do less mazes but no black walls at all, I'd be happy. But man, I really wish they would cut the black walls, but use the kind of scares Knott's has with an HHN-twist.

But c'mon. You cannot tell me that mazes like Pandora's Box, HoTC 2019, TiTE, Ash Vs Evil Dead, Blumhouse, or First Purge compare with any of the mazes at Knott's from the past few years.
 
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Knott's actors also have A LOT more freedom than HHN actors.

In 2019 on a slow night we were hanging out in The Hollows when one of the actors in asked if we wanted to see the Pumpkin Eater. Having nothing else to do, we said "Yes" and he proceeded to walk through the ENTIRE house with us, walking just ahead enough so that he could tip off his fellow performers or hide just around a bend to try to get us himself.

Obviously, this is not a common thing at ANY haunt, but I have had it happen at Knott's and one other one called Sinister Valley (in Lake Elsinore) when I have been there on slower evenings.
 
Knott's actors also have A LOT more freedom than HHN actors.

In 2019 on a slow night we were hanging out in The Hollows when one of the actors in asked if we wanted to see the Pumpkin Eater. Having nothing else to do, we said "Yes" and he proceeded to walk through the ENTIRE house with us, walking just ahead enough so that he could tip off his fellow performers or hide just around a bend to try to get us himself.

Obviously, this is not a common thing at ANY haunt, but I have had it happen at Knott's and one other one called Sinister Valley (in Lake Elsinore) when I have been there on slower evenings.
I've seen many near closing just talking to guests. I love it
 
Knott's actors also have A LOT more freedom than HHN actors.

In 2019 on a slow night we were hanging out in The Hollows when one of the actors in asked if we wanted to see the Pumpkin Eater. Having nothing else to do, we said "Yes" and he proceeded to walk through the ENTIRE house with us, walking just ahead enough so that he could tip off his fellow performers or hide just around a bend to try to get us himself.

Obviously, this is not a common thing at ANY haunt, but I have had it happen at Knott's and one other one called Sinister Valley (in Lake Elsinore) when I have been there on slower evenings.

This is true, but I have also seen this go the other way, where a maze was so dead, the scareactors were just talking with each other as we passed by and completely ignored us. Or going through a maze with literally no scareactors for over half the maze (which has happened way more than it should).

Aside from Ghost Town, I very frequently find the quality of the scareactors wildly uneven. The ones that are great are great, but it can really be hit or miss.
 
This is true, but I have also seen this go the other way, where a maze was so dead, the scareactors were just talking with each other as we passed by and completely ignored us. Or going through a maze with literally no scareactors for over half the maze (which has happened way more than it should).

Aside from Ghost Town, I very frequently find the quality of the scareactors wildly uneven. The ones that are great are great, but it can really be hit or miss.

This genuinely what I see at least 80% of the time, even on busy nights. Including in Ghost Town.

So it's cool KSF monsters are more interactive and feel free with their roles, but this is a double edged sword when most of your talent isn't as serious at scaring. That's why I gotta hand to Uni scareactors for their constant professionalism. I've seen maybe less than 5% ever over the last decade break character. Honestly maybe even 1%.
 
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