The “Skeleton Key” rooms were very strong in their showings. The other nice thing about opening night is the crowds were thin. The next few weekends are probably going to be the best times to visit if you are worried about crowds.  ​

However, hopefully it was opening night hiccups, there was a noticeable lack of talent in the houses. We will be back before the end of the run to see the differences compared to opening night.  Also a majority of the houses are repeat and some of them, hate to say it need to be retired.  

Rumor has it, if possible, stay for the evenings closing ceremony for possible spoilers and hints for next season.  We unfortunately couldn’t stay last night to hear for ourselves. ​

​House reviews, no spoilers- 

• Dia De Los Muertos Same as the last few years, actors and theming were spot on.
• Roadkill Roadhouse This house has been around in some form since the beginning year of halloween haunt, nothing new, nothing real stand out
• Madame Marie’s Massacre Manor Good House, once again pretty much the same as the past few years .
• Cornstalkers They somewhat shortened the length, which was a good thing because before you were walking past a bunch of nothing.  And built more more sets to add to the detail.  one of the longer lines and a very solid house with great actors.  
• Toy Factory That song is still very catchy, this house has also been around since the beginning of California’s Great America Haunt and every year still remains one of the best houses of the event.  Very strong showing, Actors are into their roles and they own it.  Once again one of the best houses of the event.  
• Zombie High One of our experiences with very few actors present.  It may have just been timing on our part, but when we went thru this house suffered from lack of talent.  Detail and atmosphere are set up wonderfully and lack of scares just sort of falls flat.
• Wax Museum Chamber of Horrors Once again we experienced the same thing here as we did in Zombie High.  Detail and ambience were great with just lack of talent.  Overall still a strong house.
• inSanitarium I believe this house was new last year.  there is a scarezone just outside this house which sets up the area up perfectly.  Very good, strong, solid house.

​New for this year was also FearVR.  Samsung Gear VR is taking over the amusement world.  It is a 4D $10 upcharge attraction.  It is also very unique.  If you decide to give it a shot, look around with the Gear on, there is so much to look at. If you missed our review of FearVR and thoughts on it's sudden closure be sure to check it out here. 

​There also also four shows during the run.  Last night we were only able to catch “Blood Drums” so on our next visit we’ll be sure to catch the other shows.  

Once again if you get a chance to come out to California’s Great America Halloween Haunt you won’t be disappointed. There were some opening night hiccups, as to be expected, but we will be back later in the run to see the differences and changes.  

We are now almost to the 3rd year of this website being in existence (wow) and this is now the 3rd time we've had to write an article about issues at a Halloween event or something being removed from an event because it "offended" somebody. In 2014 it was the Auctioneer at the Purge at HHN Hollywood, last year it was scare actor abuse (that sadly still goes on). 

This year a group of "concerned citizens" has gotten FearVR removed from Knott's Scary Farm, Halloween Haunt at California's Great America and Canada's Wonderland. We definitely have some thoughts on the closure that we're going to share below. 

But first, we want the hard work of those who created this experience to be highlighted, because they deserve it and luckily Stephen was able to check out the experience at California's Great America and Matt and Rose were able to experience Fear VR at Knott's Scary Farm. 

​Review of Fear VR at Knott's Berry Farm
​I was one of the lucky ones who experienced Fear VR at Knott's Scary Farm over opening weekend. Fear VR is an experience and not a maze. There is an up charge of $10. Much to myself and my husband Matthew Nelson's surprise they had openings for the entire night. I don't know why we didn't look for the kiosk reservations on actual opening night but I was sure glad we did on our second visit. After finding out the extra charge was $10 each I gladly paid for us both with a reservation time of 9pm. (It was 8:40pm by the time we had paid and gotten our receipt, tickets and special wristband.)

We went over to the tables and chairs to wait. Thankfully we only had to wait about 10 minutes before checking in. (You go over to the person holding the Fright Lane sign for Dead Of Winter and they let you into a second line that leads you to Fear VR.)

From there we waited a few minutes while the rest of our group who had 9pm reservation times check in. We were then led into another room (remember the first room of Trapped from the last year it was held?) There were couches, chairs, a huge flat screen tv, and signs saying "MeadowBrook Medical Institute". Of course I knew a little bit about Fear VR and of course my mind was already wondering just what would take place.

A nurse enters the room telling us it will be just a little while until they are ready for us and to please watch a safety spiel. She turns on the tv and we all watch explaining how to put on and also adjust the oculus glasses focusing them as well as headphones. We would have a panic button just in case it was too intense and we needed to press it. We are told a patient named Katie has escaped possessed by a demonic force or entity. (Think any kind of movie or tv show on possession.) The nurse returns and says we weren't supposed to see that. They are ready for us.

We follow her into a hallway where each wheelchair is curtained off much like an E.R. I was hesitant about being strapped down at first. Just the fact that I wouldn't be able to move my arms freely. I sat down in a chair and put on the headphones first before the oculus glasses. I used the focus wheel on the top of the glasses to make sure everything was nice and clear. Unfortunately I had to focus twice since for some strange reason when I had my glasses in focus they came out of focus. But no big deal. I grabbed the panic button but held it by the base not near the top just in case I would "accidentally hit it". Once everyone was ready they strapped us in.

The experience starts with you being wheeled in and are asked how you feel. You look/ follow a light as a nurse checks your reflexes/eyes. Everything didn't feel CGI but was more real and super clear. If you look straight ahead I think that bed/cubicle was Katie's but i wasn't sure.  Next she administers a shot. Yes you do feel an actual pinch. Also if you look to the right there what appears to be a dead person covered up with a sheet on a gourney. But much to my surprise he comes to life but he is a zombie not human. As you are then pushed which feels as if your wheelchair is actually moving is when you're told it isn't safe that Katie has escaped. I looked to my left and saw doctors but they were like zombies.

You are pushed to the elevators as your nurse is injured. She pushes you inside the elevator all alone and I knew then that I would come across Katie. Sure enough and she gets closer and closer until she's directly in your face. The experience ends and you are unstrapped. I removed my oculus glasses and headphones. Told to gather in the middle of the room single file. And then to run. As I ran down the hallway to the exit you encountered Katie not once but twice as she tries to get you before you can escape.

In my opinion everyone in our group including myself and my husband really enjoyed and had only positive things to say. Fear VR was definitely worth the extra cost. I am very upset at hearing that Knott's removed Fear VR from Scary Farm for the remainder of the run. It was brilliant and the employees who took the time to create and make this amazing experience from start to finish deserves credit. The employees I hope are placed somewhere so they can actually work. I am so afraid that Knott's now won't try anything like this in the future which saddens me. This experience shook me. Yes afterwards my heart was racing and I was shaking. It took me awhile to actually calm down.

Commentary: 

To say we're disappointed in this is an extreme understatement. Personally I'm not a huge fan of VR but that's just me, but I would never try to take that experience away from somebody. 

I'll admit, when we posted the original story from Mercury News I was a bit upset. Then when we saw the article that came out a short time later from the LA Times I was livid. In this article we learned that the person who was one of the spearheads of this "protest" never even experienced the attraction and instead supposedly waited outside of the attraction to bug people who were leaving and used their words to get this taken down. 

Look, we're not insensitive. We all have people in our lives who have had issues with mental health. Many of us have as well. But we're able to separate the very real issues of Mental Health in this world with a fantasy (make believe) scenario in a theme park Halloween event which involved telekinetic abilities. 

And then of course it came out that Rick and Kay Warren (google them if you don't know who they are, they're a "treat") were also behind this, and that set off the Angry emotion something terrible. 

Look, from a purely business standpoint we of course understand where Cedar Fair is coming from. But the people who are upset about FearVR were NEVER going to experience it. They are using the parks for their own personal agenda against everything that the event stands for. Just look at the comments on Kay Warren's Facebook post about this.

It's filled with people who feel that Halloween is evil, is of the devil and they aren't going to rest until the entire event is shut down. And if parks and events continue to cave, that's going to be just what happens. 

(Of course, we would NEVER suggest you let your opinion be known on her page. ;) )

There are so many talented people who work on these events, and now their months and months of hard work has gone away. In an instant.

Not to mention the people who were staffing these attractions for the next month at 3 different parks. People who despite working the event for the love of the event maybe needed the extra pocket money for a school textbook, to pay some bills, buy some clothes for their kids. Are the Warren's and those who got this shut down now going to pay their salaries? 

Luckily we're already hearing from some friends who work Knott's Scary Farm that those who worked in FearVR will be moved to other roles at the event. Let's hope this also includes the line control people and those who worked the experience at CGA and Canada's Wonderland. 

There's going to come a time where these talented people are going to say forget it and leave. Everybody who does events like Scary Farm or Haunt does it for the love of the event. If you've never spent any time scaring people at an event I suggest you do it. It's exhilarating to give so many people a great time, and that's exactly what this attraction was about. 

It's just funny that out of all the things at this event, FearVR is the one that they focused on. A few years ago somebody tried to get the Dia De Los Muertos maze and scare zone shut down because it was "offensive to Hispanics". The park wisely ignored that but it would be interesting if that person had gotten the backing of the Warren's if Cedar Fair would have caved on that too. 

But where does it end? There are things in EVERY maze or experience at a Halloween event that is bound to offend somebody. Voodoo, Ghosts, Kids killed by the Tooth fairy, Sexual innuendo, Graphic Violence ... so what's going to get shut down next? 

Sadly we don't have an answer but if the last 3 years of political correctness is any indication when it comes to these events, we haven't seen the last thing removed. 

Update: September 30, 2016 - While all of the attractions are still closed and any maze/attraction at any Cedar Fair park that has anything to do with mental health has been closed or had the name changed, there is a petition to bring back FearVR with over 4,000 signatures so far. While the likelihood of Cedar Fair bringing back the attraction is very small let's hope this petition lets them know that as fans of these types of events, we're not going to let people dictate how we spend our time and money and censor events like this. 

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Last week was the opening of Knott's Scary Farm 2016 which features 2 new mazes, 4 new Skeleton Key Rooms, an all new Hanging, a new scare zone and a revamped Infected that makes it much easier for fans to experience the attraction. 

​
This is the first of a few updates we'll be having from Scary Farm as we outline the mazes and share our videos. 

Welcome to Knott's Scary Farm 2016

This year in lieu of an opening ceremony they had the headless horsemen come out which totally fit The Hollow scare zone. 

After a short wait, the gates were opened and the monsters unleashed. 

Our first stop was Infected which is much improved and much easier to experience this year

We decided to try a "Gun POV" of the experience and think it turned out pretty awesome. Be sure to check it out. 

Due to time we didn't get a chance to see Elvira on opening night but we'll be sure we do on a future visit. 

Carnevil is always amazing ... more on that below. 

One of the new mazes for 2016 is Shadowlands and like Paranormal Inc last year it includes an awesome pre-show, amazing sets and a unique story that we haven't seen at any haunt. 

Highlights of Shadowlands ... we say highlights because this doesn't include the entire maze. We're going about our maze videos a bit different this year so were still working out the bugs, and unfortunately the two new mazes are the ones we had issues on. Go figure. 

We do have the bugs worked out (we think) for future events this season. 

Usually Dia De Los Muertos is kind of a quiet scare zone, but not this year. There was so much talent here it was incredibly awesome. 

One of our favorite returning mazes is Trick or Treat 

For some reason Voodoo never had a line on opening night which is great because the maze is always incredible. 

Because there were no Skeleton Key rooms attached to the mazes they've incorporated the previous ones into the mazes which is awesome. 

Toothfairy is always disturbing, especially when you need to get your wisdom teeth removed ... so this was kind of painful. 

Unfortunately the video was way too dark to get any kind of good footage in this maze, but it wouldn't be surprising if this was the last year for this particular maze. 

Last years breakout maze Paranormal Inc is back and with a few added changes that we noticed and you may too in our video below. 

No Haunted experience on the Calico Mine Train this year, but the outside always looks amazing. 

Last year was the first year for Dead of Winter ... and it was met with mixed results. It was great because it was Air Conditioned but it wasn't particularly scary. 

Fast forward to this year and they've "gored" it up a bit which makes it a bit more scary. They've also recycled some old props from some long ago mazes that work well in the maze, does that make it better? We're not sure. 

Always love walking through Ghost Town during Scary Farm 

The other new maze this year is The Red Barn and it's kind of a throwback to some other mazes that used to be at Scary Farm. 

A couple of pictures of the awesome clowns in Carnevil. 

Lastly, we had a great spot for the final show of the Hanging on opening night. The show really works well on the new stage and we're sure there will be some tweaking (there always is) as the run goes on. 

Below are some pictures of The Hanging in "slideshow" mode ... but they do contain some spoilers. 

Overall this is another amazing year for Knott's Scary Farm, the new stuff is great and is already in mid-season form which is awesome.

Some of the returning mazes like Toothfairy are probably nearing their last days while other returning mazes like Paranormal Inc, Voodoo and Gunslingers Grave are hitting on all cylinders. 

We'll have much more from Scary Farm in the days and weeks to come. 

Have you experienced Knott's Scary Farm 2016? Vote in our poll and let us know what was your favorite maze of 2016