Since we stayed the night and paid for the pre-scare buffet, we were not told that this year’s interactive zombie maze “Special Ops: Infected Patient Zero” was by reservation only. Last year’s was basically laser tag with scare actors. If you’re planning on doing this maze, please learn from our mistake and make your reservations early!
Our last maze of the night was also the most improved. Mine cart ride “My Bloody Clementine” has been a good chance to catch up on sleep in past years, but this one included strategically placed scare actors, long stretches of pitch blackness, spiderwebs that tickled your forehead, and great use of projectionthat really sold the maze’s story.
Knott’s is on the right track with this one, and I can’t wait to see what they do with it next year.
Last but certainly not least, we attended Mistress of the Dark, horror legend Elvira’s stage show, simply titled “Asylum.”
This show featured bad-good late night jokes, mainly about her boobs, which is exactly what you expect out of an Elvira show. Dance numbers featured Cirque du Soleil-worthy wire work accompanied by dubstep and Disturbed tunes — a real step up from last year’s “Carnival of Freaks.”
And of course Elvira’s takes on pop hits such as “Hey Mama” (dubbed “Hey Elvira”) closed out the performance.
This year’s haunt was a truly great time, and returning scare zones “Fiesta de los Muertos,” “Ghost Town,” and “CarnEvil” were fun. If I had to choose between Universal’s officially licensed haunts or Knott’s original mazes, I’d have to go with the latter this year. Universal had the set designs, but Knott’s had the scares.
And if you do decide to go to Knott’s Scary Farm this year, keep an eye out for the Seven Deadly Sins, featuring the best creature designs of the whole haunt. Also be sure to check out the Knott’s Scary Farm Museum of Hauntings to see everything from the attraction’s meager beginnings to the full-blown spectacle it’s become.
Until next time, Laser Timers!
Moan4Stallone is Laser Time’s horror master. Follow him on Twitter for more scares!
Great article. I love reading about Halloween haunts.
Too bad I live nowhere near Knotts Berry Farm or Universal Studios. I’d love to check out a high budget haunt at some point.
How do the VIP sections work? Is there a fork at some point in the maze for VIP to take?
Thank you for checking it out and with Knotts and Universal, they have seprate lines/entrances usually to the side of the main lines.
Good stuff man. Pinocchio Unstrung would have been my favorite maze to try.
Thanks for checking it out and you would of dug it brotha!