|
This past week was the long awaited return of Knott's Scary Farm. With our Scary Farm Passes in hand, we headed down to Buena Park to take in the first two nights of one of our all time favorite Halloween events. Despite only 1 new maze, there was lots new to see. A few mazes had some entirely new scenes, new shows were to be found at every turn, and even a new scare zone. It felt amazing to be back. Let's head into the fog. Written by Gregg Condon  If you have front of the line, you pick them up at the gates, super easy process (even though the ticket actually says Guest Services)  After 3 hours in the car, it was nice to relax in the Haunted Lounge at Amber Waves 
 Welcome back!  The crowd is ready for Scary Farm!   Of course our first stop was Fog Alley
 Lots of new food on the menu this year!   Carnevil is always a favorite!
 We LOVED the Gore'ing 20's! Think of it as Ghost Town Alive meets Knott's Scary Farm! 
 MazesBelow are our maze rankings and thoughts on each. Keep in mind, these are our first weekend rankings and are totally subject to change. Origins: The Curse of Calico Our favorite maze from 2019 definitely did not disappoint. It's basically the same maze you'll remember from 2019, but we're always happy to get more walk-through's of our favorites. The talent in here was amazing from the get-go and we fully anticipate this maze remaining solid throughout the season.  Dark Ride This is one of my top 10 ALL TIME Scary Farm mazes, and this year is amazing as always.
That said, we would LOVE to see some updates to a few scenes for 2022 as some other mazes had this year (more on that below). Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind I have to be honest, we debated on even posting this video, because this maze has to be seen to believed. It's just SO good, and not AT ALL what you expect.
 This is definitely a maze that needs to be experienced multiple times. Not really something that's going to give you "jump scares", but absolutely twisted and awesome. Pumpkin Eater I love this maze. LOVE IT! Have always loved it. But this year, the entire last 1/3 of the maze has been completely reimagined and it tells the story SO MUCH better. I love when they do things like this because it gives it entirely new life. Well done! Wax Works In it's second season, Wax Works is another maze that is pretty much identical to 2019, but that's not a bad thing at all. The cast in here is amazing, they play their roles perfectly and we can't wait to see this maze get even better in the weeks to come. The Depths Another one of our favorite mazes, the elevator is not being used this year (although they definitely cram you into the pre-shows in Paranormal and Mesmer, so don't think it's a covid thing). There seems to be a lack of fog in the areas of the maze that need it (you know which ones) but this is still an incredibly fun maze. Would love to see some new scenes in 2022 though. Paranormal Inc Now in it's final season, Paranormal Inc is still incredibly fun (although the host failed to tell my wife to step away from the door in the pre-show on Friday and it dinged her right in the back, hard). So beware of that. No new changes in here, still incredibly fun but it's definitely time for something new. Dark Entities I'm going to start with this. This maze has the potential to be amazing. I love the theme of this SO MUCH! But for some reason the execution just wasn't there opening weekend. This is a maze that could definitely use some reimagining next year. But it's still incredibly fun, it just needs some more talent in here. Not included in our maze rankings is the return of Halloween Hootenanny. We all know what this is, it's super fun and is a great overlay of the amazing Timber Mountain Log Ride.  Invitation to Terror was ... interesting. But it's great to have lots of shows this year!     Unlike the Log Ride, let's just be honest, the overlay of the Mine Train is just not good. It starts off with a fun "Rock Candy Mountain" song. And then takes a HARD left turn with the Green Witch. It's just not needed.  We love The Hollows SO much
       But of course, Ghost Town is the heart of Knott's Scary Farm
 Moo!   They should have had this open for Scary Farm TBH!    On our second night at Scary Farm we started off with the Boo-Fet.  Was very glad to see they weren't seating you with random strangers like multiple years. We got a nice patio table at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant for our 5:30 seating. Worked out perfectly.  A love story in 4 pictures
 The Moon was amazing on Friday night     We spent some time listening to live music while enjoying our late night snack. I know a lot of Knott's fans love these cover bands, and that's great, but not our thing TBH. Some bands just can't be covered.  Some amazing photo ops at the park!   We had a great 2 nights at Scary Farm, it's so amazing to be back in the fog. We will be back soon! We also have about 45 minutes of Puppet Up videos to post, we'll get those up over the next few days. Did you attend Scary Farm opening weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Related Videos
Related Updates:
0 Comments
Tuesday we got the opportunity to visit our friends at California's Great America and check out the all new South Bay Shores! We got up close and personal with the park’s newest area, and most importantly their new bar! Written by Andrew Cunningham    If you remember our visit back in early May, pictured below, there was new bar being constructed by the wave pool that was hinting at some new signature drinks, plus beer. But who is Jack Mackeral, and what is in his famous Pelican Punch? The suspense of it all   Well, if you had guessed that Jack Mackeral is a Scottish fisherman who hangs out at the bar in South Bay Shores... then please DM us some lottery numbers immediately  Beers currently on tap at Jack Mackeral’s Sand Bar - Great White by Lost Coast (4.8% abv) - Modelo (4.5% abv) - Pacifico (4.5% abv) - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5.6% abv) - Maybe we’ll see the return of the RailBlazer beer eventually, or some other new CGA beer?  Three frozen drinks round out the menu at the Sand Bar, including the signature Pelican Punch  Churro bar let’s goooooo  Pacific Surge, the new slide complex here at @CAGreatAmerica looks so fun! There are three new attractions up there: Shark Reef Plunge (the four drop capsule slides) - Feeding Frenzy (the bowl slide) - Barracuda (a twisting body slide)  And for anyone curious, the new drop slides have a maximum weight of 300 lbs per rider  Gnight I love this park Related Videos
Related Updates:
 Last night we were invited out to Knott's Berry Farm for the kick off of their 100th Anniversary Event. To say that we had an absolute blast at the event would be an extreme understatement. Not only was it great to be back in the park, to see all of the special things the park has done for their 100th Anniversary, but we got to hang out with some people we haven't seen in FAR too long. Being fully vaccinated rocks! Let's head in for some fun at the farm! Written by Gregg Condon Pics by Scott Linder, Kristi Condon and Gregg Condon  Hi Knott's! We are definitely ready to celebrate!  So many great things to see, ride and of course, taste!   Apparently there are 26 of these QR "Moments in time" around the park. Next time we'll get pics of all of them for an update!    The Haunted Shack is back as an excellent photo op!      Next time we'll do the opposite picture  Before the opening ceremony we all went to check out Bear-Y Tales. I was the only one in our group of 7 who had ridden it.  Our dear friend Scott who is moving to Washington next week took an evening away from packing to join us!  A really great kick-off ceremony was held!   The park has some amazing photo ops with previous attractions. The Kingdom of the Dinosaurs one was a particular favorite of our group.  The Sky Jump Photo Op wasn't quite ready  Coasters all decked out for the 100th!  Soap Box Racers!  The previous K is now a photo op!  Kristi with the K   Knott's is definitely picturesque, even more at night. We don't visit the park at night enough, in non-Scary Farm form. =)  Expect lots of "K" pictures this year!  Great to see Summer Nights back!   Lucy and Pigpen  WHITTLES!!!    If I still surfed I'd love a Knott's 100 surfboard. Who am I kidding, I'd love it now!  A few more night pics around the park on our way out     We see you hiding back there "K"  Thanks again to Knott's for having us out, we had a blast and can't wait to head back! Related Videos
Related Updates:
 Last weekend I headed up to the Bay Area for a crazy impromptu road trip, and found myself at California's Great America for their passholder preview. This park is very quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite parks, not just in CA, but overall. Had an absolutely amazing day as you can see below! Written by Gregg Condon  Welcome back to California's Great America  Lots of signs inside and outside the park  Reservations required ... for now  One of the most beautiful park entrances ... don't @ me  Chuck says welcome back!  I was the only rider on the first Gold Striker Train of 2021, well, first public train  Social distancing markers in the queue, they weren't needed last weekend. They probably will be this weekend.  Whew, no football  The new starbucks looks great!     Mmmm, Railblazer   CGA has one of the best collections of flat rides of any park   Looks like it could reopen any time, hopefully this weekend   LOVE what they did to Psycho Mouse! Looks great!   There's a story here ... lol  The only open coaster we didn't ride  Can't wait to come back for South Bay Shores     Hello Flyers!  The Orbit is getting an extensive rehab and should be back around July, or so we hear    New coaster confirmed! (probably just paving)  I missed just sitting in the park, enjoying a snack. Patriot photobomed me!  The buckets are in there and ready to go!  A few more random pics around the park     It was so nice to meet up with Andrew, and see some other friends around the park!  The Demon was running great, and has added some new effects! Can't wait for some night rides!  Not generally a fan of IPA's, but this was quite good  Lots of space for ... something. As long as Kings Island doesn't steal it again. =)  Even Sally was out enjoying the day!  Last ride of the day was Flight Deck. I know they've said they didn't shorten the belts, but they totally did. Still, there are "Big Boy Seats" on pretty much every row now.  We had a great day at the park!  Hope you enjoyed, it's so great doing updates like this again! Related Videos
Related Updates:  Last Thursday we headed out to Knott's Berry Farm for the long awaited reopening day for the park. We had of course been at the park for the various food festivals, but it was great being back for some of our favorite rides and more at one of our favorite parks. In this update we'll share our thoughts on the reopening, and what you should expect when you visit. Enjoy! Written by Gregg Condon  Good Morning Ghostrider!  It looks like the banner finally fits! (this always bothered us tbh)  It's great to be back!  First stop was a ride on the amazing Ghostrider!  Missed this view  Social distancing in the queue. For the most part, Knott's was using every-other switchback to enforce social distancing.  Fog here soon?   Social distancing markers are everywhere!     So glad this is back!   Plexiglass in the queue   Nice tribute to the original Bear-y tales!  LOVE THIS!  A look at the station. It looks fantastic! Do wish they would have replaced the ride vehicles. They apparently are still having issues and the ride was closed a lot of the weekend.  Let's go for a ride!  Love the Boardwalk! Hi Xcelerator!   This was our wait for HangTime!   What do we have here?  Did you get your Scary Farm pass yet?   More social distancing markers  Obligatory Theme Park Panda Express Selfie!  Moo!  Time for a ride on Silver Bullet!  Every Other Row for distancing!   Hello Beautiful!    So fun to listen to KNOT radio! Knott's has put together another amazing art show showcasing some great art pieces from some talented artists. This is something that is uniquely Knott's and we love it! Check out a slideshow of some of the great pieces!  Some really great retro merch is also available at the park!      Do you need to stock up on your pins?     Spirit Jerseys have now invaded Knott's  More merchandise is at the Factory Store     They have different merch in each store   Another blast from the past    Aww, miss the Sky Jump.  It was so great taking a stroll down memory lane during our visit. we look forward to visiting much more over the next few months as the park gets it's proper 100 year celebration! Related Videos
Related Updates:
|
Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|
RSS Feed