Knott's Scary Farm 2018: Classic Halloween Haunt

We just went to the first night of Knott's Scary Farm and we were spooked as we were pleased. Knott's has added some strange new mazes and a frightfully new scare zone this Halloween season. It maintains itself as the classic theme park haunt, providing scares to those in need. Returning mazes kept us up all night. We could see a non-fright lane (fast lane pass) user making it through all mazes in one night...if you passed on going on the rides. And yet, going on roller coaster at night has such an appeal.  So, it's a tough choice.

So, let's go through Knott's Scary Farm 2018 together.

Knott’s Scary Farm

Select Nights September 20 - October 31

Knott's Berry Farm

8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620
$tarts at $42 and up 

Spoilers

Mazes, they aren't just on the back of your menu at restaurant. They're also an intricate part of the ecosystem of Knott's Scary Farm, the most vital part. This year we were introduced to two new ones.

Dark Entities is for the sci-fi lover of horror. There's a mix of dread of being on a spaceship that's both invaded and infected with aliens. There's a wonderful section early on that's just a long corridor of red flashing lights. It makes you feel like you're in your own sci-fi movie.

The invading alien design is a bit silly though, they looks like they're more out of a 1950's horror film than anything modern or even from the 1980's. 

We feel there was some lost opportunity. The maze is a mix of silly sci-fi stereotypes of horror and more sinister stakes. It needs to be either really scary or tilt all the way making fun of sci-fi. A nice new attempt.

We were kind of amazed at the short line for opening night.

The Depths has you going down. Way down. At first we thought the maze was themed about mining in the earth...and then it became underwater action too? The way it's set up, you do feel like your going deeper and deeper down. We like that concept and would have rather reached Hell or gone through more layers of Earth before reaching what appeared to be Cthulu. Still, nice to meet Lovercraftian nightmare so far below. There's a great room that make you feel like your on a boat/submarine.

It would have made more sense to make two mazes out of it. One based on ocean horror and the other on going into the Earth. An, odd choice with a strange path you won't be able to predict. Who doesn't like going into a giant monster skeleton underground?

Other than that you have seven returning mazes each with their own unique themes. Special Ops: Infected, where you're given a gun that keeps score of how many zombies you take down is still a blast. Pumpkin Eater has you walking though the insides of a rotting pumpkin nightmare. We just love the pumpkin seeds hanging from the ceiling. Trick or Treat: Lights Out has me a little miffed. I like the original so much with the lights on, the colors of the haunted house were just so nice. You have the reverse with getting a flashlight and making you're way though the same house no devoid of what made the original so much fun.

There's a new scare zone in town and it's Forsaken Lake, which has some scary lost souls from the lake that might want to take you for a dip. We loved their bloated boggy look. There was group of them in a sort of cult or singing group formation that made them even more scary. We have to still give it up for the scary clowns that terrorize so many women and kids as they walk past the roller coasters.

And that's what sets Knott's apart from Universal. The roller coaster rides! GhostRider and many more whirly devils are there for you to scare the snot out of you in the dark. Don't forget the

Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny, nothing says you scare, like screaming down stream.

There's some shows to catch including the new Hacks! Cutting Room Floor. It has the audience taking on roles in B horror films with improvised comedy. They have a new magical act with the Conjurers magic show, top notch magicians are here to show you what they got. 

There's also a new VR experience called Time Zombies. We didn't have time to check it out. We've read good reviews online for it though.

Awaken the Dead is a nice set-up of  a DJ and sugar skull go-go dancers. So, there's  something entertaining around every corner and also creeps sliding on the floor who want to scare you.

We wish we could have sampled some more of the delicious food Knott's Scary Farm has. We sampled a lot from the menu. Including eating confectionery wonders like Skeleton skulls and Frankenstein heads. We so wanted their special Scary Farm churros, but couldn't find where they were offered. Be on the look out for some of the most mouth-watering treats made special for this time of year in the park. We really wanted to try that candy corn funnel cake too, sigh.

Here's our final thoughts on the park with our Bigfoot Rapids Wrap-Up.