 With Bay Area schools back in session, we thought it would be a great time to check out some of our local parks. With the news of Patriot coming to California’s Great America in 2017, we decided to check out the final week of Vortex’s operation and to make my first visit to Gilroy Gardens for their Lumination festival. Check it out! Written by Andrew Cunningham  We started the day at California’s Great America to say our (not so tearful) farewells to Vortex!  You have until the end of operating day on September 5th (Labor Day) to get your last ride on Vortex. Clearly I will not be missing the standup trains.  : Vortex actually has a really compact, snappy layout. Hopefully the floorless conversion will make the ride smoother while keeping the fun transitions and intensity.  With one week of operation left for Vortex, there were no noticeable signs that things were changing. There was nothing posted in the park to indicate that the ride was closing, or that Patriot was coming in 2017.  The ride itself actually has some pretty scenic spots throughout the park! Can’t wait to see this thing shine with some much needed paint.  One last shot of the standup trains before moving on!  We took a quick spin around the park before leaving. I gotta say, the double down log flume is still a favorite mine!  After wrapping up at California’s Great America, we took a trip down to the Garlic Capitol of the World: Gilroy, CA!  Gold Passes for California’s Great America also act a season pass for Gilroy Gardens. This is a fun little bonus from Cedar Fair, since you usually need Platinum Passes to jump between Cedar Fair parks.   Gilroy Gardens is owned by the City of Gilroy, but is operated by Cedar Fair. While the park is definitely geared more towards families, the scenery and theming is all very nicely done and warrants a visit.  New for 2016, Gilroy Gardens debuted Lumination! This is a separate ticket nighttime event with Chinese lanterns and scenic displays throughout the park. Check out this amazing dragon that is made entirely of plates!   For a $20 upgrade, you can add on a dinner show to your Lumination visit. The show included a few different entertainers that performed right next to your tables  The food itself was a pretty basic Chinese buffet. Definitely not the most authentic Chinese food you can find in the Bay Area, but not terrible for a $20 theme park buffet that includes entertainment.   After dinner we had time to wander the park and check out the displays before the nighttime entertainment begins.   Gilroy Garden’s greenhouse was converted into a bamboo forest filled with glowing baby pandas. This was definitely a favorite!   Once the sun went down, the park puts on a Lumination show that includes various acrobats and choreographed routines. The face changing routine was really cool!  After some final wandering throughout the park, we decided to call it a night. It’s worth noting that the park’s train is the only ride that operates during the Luminations festival. We definitely recommend night rides on the train, as certain portions of the ride become pitch black and spooky!  Goodnight Gilroy Gardens! Thank you for such a fun evening! Be sure to check out the full press release for The Patriot coming to California's Great America in 2017.  Related Updates:  Last night was the annual Knott's Scary Farm preview event. After going through the scariest part of the day (3 1/2 hours in traffic to get to Knott's) we spent some time in the park (that will be a separate update) prior to the event. After checking in we made our way to the Ghoul Time Theater to see what's awaiting us all in the fog this year. Written by Gregg Condon  It's not quite dark or foggy enough yet  The Season Passholders waiting to get in. Seriously, is there a more dedicated fanbase anywhere?
What's in the box?  Fog slowly fills the theater as the monsters come out to play    As the clock struck midnight, err, 8pm, it was time to see what horror was awaiting us in the box.  To the horror of all it was none other than the master of scaremonies, Jeff Tucker.   With that it was time to get on with the show. First up, the two shows coming to Scary Farm 2016. Elvira is back as well as the Hanging in it's all new location. Just the name of the Hanging made us want to see it. "Finding Gory". Perfect.
Next up was the scare zones, and what would Scary Farm be without these 3 amazing area's. But could there be another Skywalker, err, scare zone? We'll have to wait and see.
Mazes First up was the returning mazes. We've also included our maze video's from last year to get you familiar with what's waiting for you in the fog. First up, the fan favorite "The Toothfairy".
Back again is "The Gunslinger's Grave - A Blood Moon Rises". This was actually one of our absolute favorite mazes last year. The addition of the Werewolves was awesome.
Down on the bayou isn't just a song anymore, it's a curse waiting for you in "Voodoo - Order of the Serpent".
"Trick or Treat", you don't want to smell the feet of the Green Witch. Trust us.
The maze widely considered the best maze of Scary Farm 2015 (and pretty much from any event in Southern California") is back. Do you dare experience what "Paranormal Inc" has to show you?
Back again is "Dead of Winter" but this time the Queen is dead and the Windigo is here to have his revenge.
As announced at Midsummer Scream they are doing Skeleton Key rooms different this year with 4 separate interactive experiences - Slasher, Prey, Visions and Zozo. With Prey, you're on your own, not even the maze designers will save you, heck, they didn't even save the little girl.
Then it was on to the new mazes. First up, Black Ops Infected is no longer taking over Camp Snoopy, but now is fully backstage which allows more sets and close quarters action. No more return time, just get in line and shoot some zombies!!
 Based on Japanese folklore, "Shadow Lands" is a new maze designed by John Cooke.
  Knott's has always had a Red Barn that has mazes in it, so why not use that as a theme for the maze. Beware of the chainsaw killers in "The Red Barn".
  And lastly, since Camp Snoopy is no longer being used for Infected, an all new scare zone called "The Hollow" will be haunting you.
 We'll be in the fog in less than a month ...  After the announcement it was time to eat, and eat we did.  These guys are the real MVPs   Jeff did an amazing job as always  They are waiting for you ...   So what do you think of Knott's Scary Farm 2016? Are you ready? Let us know your thoughts on what's new and returning in the comments below. See you in the fog ... Related Updates:  August is usually a transition period for Theme Parks and nowhere is this more evident that at Knott's Berry Farm. Not only are they wrapping up the summer of the rebuilt Ghostrider, but also wrapping up the run of the WILDLY successful and amazing Ghost Town Alive (be sure to catch it before it ends). But this also means that Knott's Scary Farm is coming and so you've got the winding down of things and new things springing up all over the park. Pictures by Matthew Nelson Written by Gregg Condon We'll start off with some amazing pictures of Ghost Town and around the park. Nothing really "update" here, just enjoy.    Be sure to catch the Hoedown in Ghost Town   Knott's is still one of VERY few parks in the US with a Stagecoach attraction. Actually, off the top of my head can't think of any other ones. If you know of one let us know in the comments.  One of the most beautiful rides ever. (no, not that green thing)    Xcelerator!!  Looking at this picture it's hard to tell if Silver Bullet was going forwards or backwards. Note ... let's have Silver Bullet Backwards, that would be amazing.   From the Sky Cabin  Seriously, how about a golf clap for Matt's amazing pictures. Go ahead, do it at your desk. Nobody is looking.  The new stage, going to be quite interesting to see this decked out for The Hanging soon.   Ghostrider was running great!!   Alright, let's move on with Scary Farm stuff. A new maze is being built near Xcelerator. This is definitely not Black Magic.    At first it appeared that they were maybe building one of the Skeleton Key rooms here, but it's definitely two sides of the same maze (using the warehouse in the middle). And it looks to be a very good sized maze.   Some very tall walls here   Moving over to the Windseeker spot, something is being built here, not big enough to be a full maze, but looks like one of the Skeleton Key rooms. Considering the normal Dia De Los Muertos maze we are thinking this is maybe ZoZo? But we'll certainly have to see.  I know a little German ... he's sitting right over there  Remember, the Scary Farm preview is next Thursday and we'll be there to bring you all the news for Knott's Scary Farm 2016 including new and returning mazes. Also don't forget, Scary Farm Tickets are on sale NOW and this includes the Scare Pass which is an amazing value. Related Updates: |
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