Knott's Scary Farm Opening Weekend Review
On Thursday, September 19th, 2019, the gates opened for the 47th annual Knott’s Scary Farm. This will be our review on the opening weekend instead of our normal opening night review since we attended both Thursday and Saturday night.
We were definitely excited going into this year with two new mazes, some additions to returning mazes, an extension of Forsaken Lake and a brand new show in the Charles M. Schulz Theater called Puppet Up Uncensored. One thing we noticed right away as we made our way to the backlot Thursday night was the buzz surrounding Wax Works. It appeared as though a lot of people wanted to see this maze first and for good reason. We will go more into detail about this maze a little later. Another thing we noticed is that the talent was already in sync from the get go. Usually it takes a full weekend for the talent to find their rhythm, but not this year. I don’t know if Knott’s employed a different training technique this year, but from mazes to scare zones, the talent was on fire both nights we went. And the detail of the mazes has reached new heights. Knott’s no longer takes a back seat to Halloween Horror Nights as far as detail goes. The detail in the mazes is now every bit as good as Universal. We are looking forward to a very successful year at Knott’s Scary Farm. Continue on to read our individual maze reviews.
2019 Mazes
Wax Works
Wax Works has replaced the popular Trick or Treat on the backlot. We have been saying that Trick or Treat was past its prime for several years now but I can say that Wax Works was worth the wait. The detail in this maze starting with the old brick building facade is tremendous. Daniel Miller has created another sick and twisted maze full of fright, fear, and gory detail. This might be his best designed maze since the original Asylum several years ago. The characters in this maze are creepy, the sets are realistic, the attention to detail is as high as ever in a Scary Farm maze and the atmosphere he has created with Wax Works puts you on edge the entire time. This is a must see this year and will have a home at the Farm for many, many years to come. We highly recommend seeing this maze first as the line gets long very quickly. This is one of our favorite mazes of the year for sure.
Origins: The Curse of Calico
The other new maze this year, Origins, was designed by someone who is very familiar with the history of Knott’s Scary Farm. Ted Dougherty, who used to operate the Ultimate Haunt website, wrote the historical book on Knott’s Scary Farm called “Knott’s Halloween Haunt: A Picture History“ and previously worked 10 years on the streets of Ghost Town, has put all his knowledge of the event into this maze and it is stunning. This is probably the most detailed maze Knott’s has ever had in their history. Housed in the Wilderness Dance Hall, this is the first maze in that location that we can remember where no matter where in the dance hall you are, you have no clue that you’re in the dance hall. Major props to the construction crew, paint team, props department and design team that brought this maze and story to life. If there is any negative to give to this maze on opening weekend is some of the talent didn’t seem very comfortable with their space that they had to work in. Some of the areas are pretty tight and will take some time for the talent to get used to. But overall, this is one of the biggest hits to debut at Knott’s in years.
Dark Entities
Dark Entities returns for its 2nd year at Knott’s Scary Farm and as good as it was last year, it is even better this year. It is darker, grittier, and a little less refined, which is a great thing. This was our favorite maze of the year last year and we have to say it is making a strong case for our favorite maze of this year as well. Gone are the oversized aliens that only took up room in the maze last year. That was a great decision. The lights in this maze are the best at the Farm. One of our favorite hallways is the one that has the grates on the floor and lights and fog come up through the grates at various times. It is an excellent effect. The only negative for this maze is its location. It is hidden behind Paranormal Inc. and guests seem to have a hard time finding it, even though the queue is right across from the exit of The Depths. But we have already seen longer queues this year than we saw all of last year so hopefully that means word is getting out how great this maze is. Looking forward to seeing this maze continue to evolve over the next several weeks.
The Depths
The Depths was the other new maze last year and the first time through we loved it. However over the course of the 2018 season this maze seemed to go downhill very quickly. This year is no better and has possibly gotten worse. They added an elevator show scene to the beginning of the maze which does nothing for the story and only causes the queue to backup fairly quickly in the night. On Saturday September 21st, the queue was at an hour by 7:30 although with the amount of people that were in the queue, the wait time should have been no longer than maybe 25 minutes. The only redeeming part of this maze is the last couple of rooms, but even the giant octopus doesn’t work when there is no fog in the room because you can see all the technical aspects of the creature on the floor underneath it, which really takes away from the impressive nature of this monster. This is our least favorite maze this year and in our opinion, if the queue is longer than 20 minutes, you can skip it and spend your time elsewhere.
Dark Ride
Dark Ride is now in its third year and is strong as ever. They have added a control room and a gift shop scene to the end of the maze. Both are small scenes but both are done very well and definitely add a little something new to the maze. The talent in this maze is strong especially in the room with the monkeys and in the finale room. There really has been no decline in this maze since year one and we can see this maze spending another few successful year’s at the Farm.
Pumpkin Eater
Courtesy of Knott’s Scary Farm
Pumpkin Eater is also in its 3rd year and seems to be doing well. The talent in this maze so far this year has been hit and miss. It seems the 2nd half of the maze is a bit stronger than the beginning, especially in the area that resembles the old Cornstalkers maze. Hopefully the talent will find their groove because with this maze, the story is there, the detail is there and as long as the talent pulls their weight, this could be another fantastic year at Knott’s Scary Farm for Pumpkin Eater.
Paranormal Inc.
Still one of our favorite mazes at Knott’s Scary Farm even after all these year’s is Paranormal Inc. This was the first maze that really started proving that Knott’s could make a maze every bit as detailed as Universal. The façade is lifelike and really makes you feel like you are entering an old asylum. We are normally not fans of show scenes in a maze but this one still works. It isn’t as long as it was in year 1 which helps the queue a bit. The talent is still very good and the ending they added last year really freshened up this maze. It is probably nearing its end, maybe even as early as next year, but we feel this maze is just about as strong as ever and one of our favorites again in 2019.
Shadow Lands
Shadow Lands is officially ending this year and while it has had a great run, it appears to be time to put down the sword and walk away with its Samurai head held high. Another highly detailed maze, the talent this year seems a little flat so far. Nothing has changed as far as scenes go. The maze has the same rooms as it did last year so there is nothing fresh to make this a must see. If you enjoyed this maze last year, you’ll probably enjoy it again this year. If you didn’t enjoy it last year, there is nothing that is going to change your opinion this year. Overall this is a good but not great maze. We have enjoyed this maze the last several years but we are excited to see what replaces it next year.
Special Ops: Infected
The shoot em’ up zombie maze has been popular at the Farm since 2014 and enters its final year in 2019. This is always a fun maze, especially when the guns are working properly and you can actually hit the zombies. The detail is pretty good although not as great as some of the newer ones. If you love first person shooter games you will enjoy this maze again this year as it is basically the same as it was last year. This maze location is fantastic and has a long history of excellent mazes, (Forevermore was not one of them), so we are excited to see what replaces Special Ops next year.
2019 Scare Zones
We have not spent a lot of time in any of the scare zones yet this year but we have walked through them all a couple of times and so far all 4 of the scare zones are on fire. The energy has been up, the talent has been engaging and creepy and they seem to be in a groove already which is great to see. Usually it takes an entire weekend or two to hit their stride but so far in 2019, they have all hit their stride and are running full speed ahead. Looking forward to spending some time in each scare zone this coming weekend and really watching the talent work. One thing we did notice was the added set pieces to Forsaken Lake and the additional lights that were added as well. This is what the scare zone should have had last year. It really helps build atmosphere.
2019 Shows
The only show we have seen so far this year is Puppet Up and if we don’t see any of the other shows this year that will be quite alright with us because we will probably be spending all our free time watching this one. When they announced this show was coming to Scary Farm this year we were excited even though we had never seen the show before. But when you mention uncensored puppets, what could be better or funnier than that. Brian Henson has created a masterpiece with this show. On opening night we attended the last show of the evening and left 45 minutes later with our sides hurting, and tears running down our face. Hosted by the hilarious Patrick Bristow, Puppet Up is a non-stop gut buster of a show that includes improv, old skits from the past and an audience member coming up on stage to act as a puppeteer that might just be the funniest part of the entire show. The group of puppeteers that perform nightly are some of the best you will ever see. They are quick witted, funny and certainly know how to handle their puppets. Even the naked ones. This show is not to be missed. If you are going to Scary Farm this year, make sure you find time to see Puppet Up. You will not be sorry. Just be warned, because it is uncensored and they do not hold anything back. They use foul language and adult themes throughout the entire show so it is not for the younger members of your group. We cannot recommend this show enough. Go see it. You will not be sorry. And remember one thing: Puppet Up!
Conclusion
Just a brief conclusion on opening weekend. This year is off to a great start. The maze lineup is probably the strongest from top to bottom as it has ever been. The two new mazes are not to be missed and neither is Puppet Up. The talent is on fire all over the Farm. The scare zones are in peak form, most of the returning mazes are as good as ever and this could go down as the single greatest year that Knott’s has ever put together. If you are a fan of Knott’s Scary Farm or even if you are new to the event, you will not be disappointed. We do feel that there will be no more slow nights so make sure to arrive early and head to the new mazes first or you will be waiting awhile. But it is an exciting time to be a Knott’s Scary Farm enthusiast. We will be attending several more nights throughout the run and will be providing an updated review as Halloween draws closer. Until then, enjoy the rest of our photos from opening weekend. More to come soon. And if you’ve enjoyed this review, please comment and share.