Written by Robert Niles
Published: September 29, 2004 at 10:22 PM
| | The Inside ScoopWhat you need to know about Knott's Scary Farm's 2004 Halloween Haunt. When: Sept. 30, Oct. 1-3, 6–10, 13–17, 20–24, 26–31, 2004. Knott's Berry Farm closes at 5:30 p.m. each evening and reopens at 7 p.m. as Knott's Scary Farm for Halloween Haunt. The park stays open until 1 a.m. (2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.) Cost: $46 at the gate. $41 in advance. Tickets available through Ticketmaster or online via www.halloweenhaunt.com. Children under 13 are strongly discouraged from attending. Shows: (Descriptions provided by Knott's) "Dr. Cleaver's Psycho Circus" (Ghoul Time Theatre) – The resident mad scientist brings down the house with an original big-stage extravaganza. "The Hanging" (Calico Scare) - An irreverent look back at the year's pop culture. "Festival of Freaks" (Camp Spooky Theatre) – Eating light bulbs and swallowing needles are just a few of the things these freaks never learned not to do. "Tommy Tomb in the Terror Tiki Lounge" (Boardwalk Ballroom) - With the sharpest of tongues, beware the quick witted comedian or you may be his insult ammunition. "Ed Alonzo's Magic and Mayhem" (Birdcage Theatre) - This TV veteran actor amazes crowds with his unique concoction of hilarious illusions and eccentric style. Haunted Hypnotist (Wagon Camp) - Knott's Haunted Hypnotist rocks the farm with real hypnosis and hysterical scenarios. Mazes: "Malice In Wunderland in 3-D" (Bumper Cars) |
"We start the planning and design phase in January," Knott's Director of Entertainment Charles Bradshaw said. "We do most everything in house, and draw upon the experience of what we've done in the past to decide what changes we want to make each year."
Bradshaw and his team of about 30 writers and directors must make over the park from the family-friendly home of Snoopy and Charlie Brown to a ghoul-invested scare zone with more than 1,000 monsters roaming the streets.
"It's a very adult and dark event. A high-gore, high-scare, intense atmosphere is the goal of the whole event," Bradshaw said. "We want there to be nowhere a guest can get away from some scare."
"We could do all mazes the same – darken the lights, put monsters in and call it all good," he said. "But there's a lot of thought and planning in making sure each maze has its own theme and a different style of scare."
This year, Knott's has added Red Beard's Revenge, a pirate-themed maze near the main gate, and Terror Vision 3-D, a knife-in-cheek salute to Nick at Nite-style TV shows.
While the mazes elicit the screams, shows inject some laughs into Halloween Haunt, led by The Hanging, a Haunt fixture where pop icons gleefully dispose of each other in gruesome fashion.
"If we just stayed with heavy, heavy scares, it could get not only monotonous, but disturbing," Bradshaw explained. "The shows provide a place to lighten the tone of what people are getting out in the streets."
A team of writers start brainstorming ideas for The Hanging in April, he said, devising an outline for the show and revising the script throughout the summer.
The writers look for targets popular with people in the late teens and early 20s. Last year, they found an easy target in Disney's hit movie "Pirates of the Caribbean." This year, without any stand-out blockbuster, they've had to look harder for a theme.
"We're basing it loosely on 'The Village,'" Bradshaw revealed, adding that the show will revolve around a group of villagers fighting off the evil influences of Hollywood. With a high celebrity body count, of course.
So what makes a Haunt event a success? Bradshaw said that he and his team look for immediate feedback.
"We're out there on the street, listening to people. We're in the mazes with people as they go through them. We listen for screams and laughs and whether they say something sucks, which we don't hear that often, thankfully."
Knott's managers also go online to gauge reaction after the event.
"We read that feedback religiously," Bradshaw said. "Someone who is that interested that they'd go to a website and write something -- they're usually fairly knowledgeable observers."
So... Knott's fans, what do you think of this year's Haunt?
Overall Haunted Houses/Mazes: Edge Universal
Detailed themeing.
Shows/Entertainment: Edge Knotts by far! The Hanging Rocks!
Talent All Around : Edge Knott's
All Around Themeing: Universal
Haunted Attractions: Knotts
Red Moon and Underground are a nice change for Halloween.
Scare Zones: Tie Knott's /Universal
The Worst Lines: Universal, however Knotts attractions during the haunt can have rather large lines.
Best Web Site: Universal
All Around Experience: Knott's
Knott's just better puts together their event so well. Very organized. Gory and gruesome, but can still be family orientated. Does sell mass amounts of liquior to their customers. Plus, Ghostridder and Accelerator are awesome during the evening. Universal is king of a great parade and very detailed theming in their mazes and scare zones. But their talent is just no where near what Knott's have. Their actors are normal people during the year. During haunt they change into total different characters. each character has a story written about them. They have a true purpose. The characters live in the park year round and are unleashed every fall for the haunt. Both our fun events and I would go to both if I could. Have fun and enjoy the Haunt! Look out for the parking guy cuz I hope to have a trip report for this event!
Also, Knott's opened their newest ride just in time for Haunt, The newest S&S product Screamin' Swing. An up-charge ride ($5), it takes you over 90 degrees, and lasts about a minute. A good rush, while nice and smooth.
Also, yesterday morning, they placed the last piece of track for Silver Bullet, here is a press release...
Knott's Berry Farm Right on Track with New Coaster
BUENA PARK, Calif.--Sept. 30, 2004--Knott's Berry Farm was one step closer to pulling the trigger on their newest coaster Silver Bullet today as it slipped the last piece of steel into the 3,125-ft. track. The $16 million western-themed roller coaster is set to debut Dec. 7, and will take riders climbing to a height of 146 feet and then soaring them back down an initial drop of 109 feet. Riders will spiral, corkscrew, fly into a cobra roll, and experience overbanked curves during the two-and-a-half-minute ride.
The Silver Bullet, designed and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) of Monthey, Switzerland, continues Knott's Berry Farm's transformation into Southern California's leading thrill ride adventure park.
Knott's Berry Farm is known worldwide for its exciting thrill rides and is owned and operated by Cedar Fair, L.P., a publicly traded partnership that is listed for trading on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FUN." In addition to Knott's Berry Farm, Cedar Fair owns and operates six other amusement parks and five water parks, and operates an eighth amusement park under a management contract. For media information, please call Knott's Public Relations at 714-220-5130 or log on to knotts.com.
They made fun of that old man who dances in that "Six Flags" commercial, Reno 911, Anchorman, CSI, Disney, Donald Trump, Napoleon Dynamite, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, Usher, and The Governator! Boy, I wish I had come up with something like that.!
Here is my personal target list for next year's hanging:
1.8 Simple Rules
2.Eminem
3.Limp Bizkit
4.Cheech and Chong
5.Jack Black
6.Team America:World Police
7.Bill O'reilly
I've never been, Robert, but plan on attending this year. I'm also flying back to Orlando to do Halloween Horror nights. How do you think they compare?