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Knott's Berry Farm New Fiesta Village and Ghost Town Alive

6/9/2023

 
It's been a busy week for updates, but we've got one more for you today! Last weekend we headed over to Knott's Berry Farm to finally check out the redone Fiesta Village and have some fun in Ghost Town where Ghost Town Alive is going on right now. 

Overall it was a great day at the park despite the crowds and we were very impressed with Fiesta Village. Let's head right in! 

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It was a packed day at the park so we had to park in the grass on Western, so got to come in this way!
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The Chaperone Policy is back since our last visit. We'll see if there are more changes before Scary Farm.
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In addition to Fiesta Village and Ghost Town Alive, it's also Summer Nights season!
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I was on the search for Boysenberry Beer, which was surprisingly hard to find. But this Boysenberry Seltzer thing was yummy, and I'm not even a Seltzer fan.
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I did try the Hot Honey Biscuit Sandwich. It was quite messy, but very tasty. 
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FINALLY found one in Ghost Town Grill!
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Time to head into the all new Fiesta Village, which pretty much starts out here right now due to Viva La Fiesta.
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The area looks absolutely fantastic.
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Kudos to the entire Knott's team for a job well done here.
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These Rock gardens are fantastic and really bring some much needed vegetation to the area.
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Not much going on with Montezooma's Revenge right now. We don't anticipate this opening this year.
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The Fiesta Village entrance from Camp Snoopy
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La Revolucion also got a new paint job and sign and it looks great!
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Lots of statues around the area, apparently these were explained during media night, but I couldn't find anything about them.
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Signature shot?
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The longest line we saw all day. LOL!
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They've got some new Jaguar and Montezooma's Revenge shirts.
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I have to be honest, I thought the $35 price point was a bit much, I remember when all Knott's shirts were in the $20-$25 range. I would have purchased one if they still were.
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Lots of Fiesta Village merchandise!
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Let's check out Casa California!
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When I saw some pictures a few weeks back I wasn't sure how this would look, but it looks much better in person!
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Didn't head into the eatery, but will at some point.
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Papas Mexicanas was not open, weird because apparently it was on media night.
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Can't wait to try this, and I didn't notice that it was actually at Coasters until right now. LOL.
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The entrance from near Silver Bullet.
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Let's head into Ghost Town and check out Ghost Town Alive!
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Ghost Town is looking absolutely fantastic!
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We caught some of the Ghost Town Alive fun which you can see in our update video above.
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He did something bad I'm sure.
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She just showed her ankle so only had to hold onto the jail bars. =)
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Over in the Boardwalk, Xcelerator is STILL closed. No word on when it will reopen, but hopefully soon.
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And lastly, something is going on under Bear-y Tales, not sure if this is for Scary Farm or what.
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This is where Trapped was previously, so perhaps a return for the 50th. We'll see.

Are you ready haunt fanatics? The Knott’s Scary Farm Season Pass Add-On is now available! Current 2023 Season Passholders can now purchase the Scary Farm Season Pass Add-On for $149, plus taxes and fees, by visiting our website. - https://t.co/1xZ9GBkMqF pic.twitter.com/wqINw63l6m

— Knott's Scary Farm (@knottsscaryfarm) June 6, 2023
And Lastly, Scary Farm Passes are NOW ON SALE! Quantities are extremely limited, so you'd better hurry! 

See you in the Fog. 


 Related Videos

Related Updates
  • Tundra Twister Media Day at Canada's Wonderland - June 8, 2023
  • NorCal County Fair Media Night at California's Great America - June 5, 2023
  • Opening Weekend of Winterfest 2022 at Canada's Wonderland - November 26, 2022
  • Knott's Berry Farm Fiesta Village Construction Update - November 1, 2022
  • Review: Knott's Scary Farm 2022 - September 30, 2022


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Review: Knott's Scary Farm 2022

9/30/2022

 
Happy Friday everybody and welcome to our yearly review of Knott's Scary Farm. 

This years event is a bit unique in that, well, it was completely dead (pun intended) the two nights we attended the event last weekend. This is due to the new Chaperone Policy and the extremely low numbers of Knott's Scary Farm Passes. I don't personally think the bag policy has anything to do with it. 

However, they have revamped the chaperone policy a bit for this weekend, let's see if it helps bring in more guests, or we'll see some other changes next week I'm sure. 

As for this years event, we were once again not a part of the media events at the park (as last year), but to us that doesn't really matter. We like to give you our honest view of events whether we are invited or not. 
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Everybody trying to get the same opening moment
Thankfully, due to a happy accident, we were able to actually do our yearly maze videos which we'll display below. But first, let's jump right in and talk about the two new mazes, Grimoire and Bloodlines 1842. 
Bloodlines 1842
Armed with the latest Bellatorian weaponry, you can choose to heed the call to action and embark on a perilous journey with the immortal Daybreakers. Travel through the busy city streets of Valdonia while hunting the bloodthirsty Valhymphri in an all-out war. Bring light into the darkness, survive the vicious onslaught of vampires, and bring honor to your order!
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Located in the former location of Paranormal Inc, the newest vampire maze at Scary Farm is visually stunning. Maybe one of the most visually stunning mazes at Scary Farm. 

Unfortunately, a maze that would easily be a B+ if it was a typical maze walk-through, is probably a solid D with the gun gimmick, which has no place in a Vampire maze. 

You are simply hustled through the maze far too quickly to appreciate the awesome work the set designers did here, it's confusing which Vampires you are actually supposed to shoot, as with Infected the guns don't always work, and at the end of the maze you have no idea what your score even is. 

Throw in a long pre-show that kills capacity and half of the maze talent basically telling you to hurry, and there you have it. Sadly, many of us saw this coming when they announced they were moving the guns here. 

I have to be honest, I really don't know how long the guns will last here, perhaps through the end of this season, but I would be surprised to see them back for 2023. If they felt they needed to use the Guns, they should have moved them over to Dark Entities and given that maze new life. 

The Grimoire 
​Turn the page and enter the world of an ancient relic whose dark stories exist purely to turn your greatest nightmares into a reality. Try to escape the horror of the evil creatures released by the mysterious book, or have your soul eternally trapped within the pages of the next chapter!
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The Grimoire is the second new maze of 2022 and is located in Mystery Lodge, where the final couple years of Infected were, and some classic Scary Farm Mazes like Terror of London, Blood Bayou and Forevermore called home. 

Unfortunately The Grimoire doesn't live up to the greatness of it's predecessors, but it definitely could at some point. 
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You arrive in some kind of campground in the Mystery Lodge lobby, but that's not explained much.
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Our view of the preshow
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The maze starts off with a pre-show video, but only in the stand-by line. If you are using front of the line passes, you get none of the backstory that is definitely needed with this one. 

A Bruce Campbell'esque character explains the history of the Grimoire, something that comes into play throughout the maze. 

Once you are in the Mystery Lodge lobby you head to a live pre-show, which once again explains next to nothing about the maze and is far too small for everybody to take in. This pre-show kills the capacity of yet another maze. Are you sensing the theme here? 

​Perhaps playing the queue video in the Mystery Lodge lobby would help as well? 

Once in the maze, much of it is actually visually stunning. The black and white scenes are played out to perfection, and the timeline jumps (once you realize what's actually happening) are effective. The end of the maze is a bit confusing however. 

On Friday night we did stand-by with the pre-show video and enjoyed the maze much more. There was also some voice-over narration in the maze on Friday night that we either did not hear on two trips through on Thursday, or it wasn't on Thursday. 

At the end of the day, this maze feels like they took Stranger Things and Evil Dead, put them in a blender, and this is what they spat out. 

This maze has a LOT of potential however, and some minor tweaks like showing the pre-show video to all (we heard it wasn't even on last night in the stand-by queue) and eliminating the live pre-show would help. 

Alright, let's get to the returning mazes, we'll list them in our order of preference. 
Origins: The Legend of Calico

Back this year, and great as it's been the past few years. This maze does not disappoint and is a love story to Ghost Town. This was our favorite of both nights. 
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Pumpkin Eater

This maze has REALLY grown on me the past couple of years. It had the bad luck to debut the same year as Dark Ride (which is a top 10 all time maze for me) but unlike Dark Ride, this maze has continually seen touches added to it year after year. And this year is no different. I'm really going to miss this one and there are at least 3 other mazes I would rather see them replace for the 50th. 

Mesmer: Sideshow of the Mind 

In it's second year, Mesmer does not disappoint. Just continually creepy and disturbing, in all the best ways. This maze doesn't need the boo scare or people yelling in your ear, it's high marks are earned just through the chills you feel walking through it. Something I wish some other mazes at other events would utilize. 

Dark Ride

Also in it's final year, this beloved maze still delivers. I do wish they would have changed this up a bit to give it a grand send-off, but the concept is just so fun. I hope it comes back in some form in a decade or so, just with a new dark ride. Kingdom of the Dinosaurs themed haunted maze dark ride anybody? 

The Depths

The concept of this maze is so fun and so well done. This, along with one other maze seemed to suffer from not a lot of talent, especially in the first half of the maze. I do really hope they change things up here for the 50th. 

Wax Works

I'm a big fan of Wax Works, but it just didn't work for me this year. Seemed to be a lot of effects not working on opening night (we didn't even bother on Friday) including the sign in front. Inexcusable for opening night IMO. 

Dark Entities

I've gotten some slack for defending this maze the past couple of years, but sadly I just can't any more. I think this is an amazing concept, possibly the best overall concept of any maze at Knott's Scary Farm. But the execution is just severely lacking, and I think there were maybe 4 actors in this entire maze. Bring the guns over here and let's have an alien shoot-out. 

Scare Zones

The Scare Zones at Knott's are just amazing, couple that with the lack of unsupervised kids running around trying to scare the monsters, or walking through the scare zones with their phone flashlight on, and that makes them even better. 

We spent A LOT of time in the Goring 20's and we definitely love the vibe of this area. The Hollows is also a favorite, although we're a bit sad it's going away after this year. 


Shows

We're not big show people, but we're Puppet Up people. So that's the only show we saw, and we loved it. You can see all of our Puppet Up videos for 2022 below.

Overall, I have to say, it feels like a down year for Scary Farm. I realize it was opening weekend, but it just felt weird TBH. I thought it might have just been me due to my recent experiences with the park, but it's not. A lot of people I talked with opening night and since feel the same way. I'm not sure what it is, but I have every confidence the Knott's team will figure it out and this years event will be amazing as always.  

One thing I almost don't want to even mention ... with the current direction of both Knott's and Cedar Fair as a whole, as they're moving away from scary Halloween events and towards more interactive "Ghost Town Alive" type experiences, while also taking into account recent issues at a variety of parks, I really start to wonder what the viability of Knott's Scary Farm is after the 50th. 

The rumor is that the Scary Farm pass is not coming back in any form, and you just have to wonder if they may just call it a day after the 50th and do a more family friendly nighttime event moving forward. 

I hope not ... 

 Related Videos

Related Updates
  • First Visit to Cedar Point: Is it the Ultimate Coaster Park? - September 7, 2022
  • Knott's Berry Farm Update - Fiesta Village, New Pizza Restaurant, Scary Farm, Summer Nights and More - July 9, 2022
  • Season Pass Preview at Canada's Wonderland - April 24, 2022
  • Knott's Peanuts Celebration 2022 at Knott's Berry Farm - January 26, 2022
  • Knott's Merry Farm Update: Merry Christmas Snoopy, Food, Xcelerator and More - December 7, 2021


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Knott's Berry Farm Update - Fiesta Village, New Pizza Restaurant, Scary Farm, Summer Nights and More!

7/9/2022

 
Happy Saturday everybody and welcome to our first update from Knott's Berry Farm since February. That's right, we even skipped the Boysenberry Festival this year. Just been busy with life and haven't had a chance to get down to the park. 

Made a quick stop on my way home from San Diego as we noticed we were having some issues with our Season Passes, and I had to get it addressed before our trip to Cedar Point, Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland next month. Happy to say we're all good!! 

But before that epic trip, let's see what's going on at Knott's. There is a lot! 


Written by Gregg Condon
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Always remember where you parked
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Montezooma's is obviously closed, Xcelerator being closed is a bummer.
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As of yesterday, lots of walls all around Fiesta Village. Still not quite sure what they're doing here, but we can't wait to find out!
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The walls extend all the way around the Arcade, Shop, Stage and La Papa Loca.
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They've been nice enough to let everybody know where the entertainment is.
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Get your Carne Asada Fries fix at Wilderness Broiler!
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Not much visible work going on with Montezooma's Revenge.
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Pizza for dinner sounded good! Let's check out Prop Shop Pizzeria!
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They've added a refreshments booth outside of the restaurant. Although it's hard to tell where the line is.
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A look at what's available.
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They've also included a Refreshments Entrance to the main restaurant if you aren't getting food! Nice!
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A look at the Pizza menu.
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Beverages and Dessert.
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The Pasta Bar. I'd suggest they swap the location of the Pizza and Pasta. The Pasta takes longer to dish out and the line backs up.
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Yummy Pizza and Beer!
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Enjoying Dinner with an old friend!
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Summer Nights is in Full Swing!!
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If you missed out on your Paranormal Inc. Final Season mugs last year, you can get them in Toy Junction in Ghost Town. I also spotted a couple of Scary Farm shirts I don't remember from last year.
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Speaking of Scary Farm, no surprise, Mesmer is coming back!
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Xcelerator's Red Train is on the track, Purple train is in pieces.
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Knottsopoly has a shirt now too!
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Instead of flipping your table over when playing Knottsopoly, you can just have a throw. =)
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The new fruit and veggie shirts!
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These things
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Cups and Mugs!
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Really curious to see if these are selling. Didn't notice anybody at the park wearing them.
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Some other "new to me" Knott's merch. I like these!
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Cheers everybody! Have a great weekend!

 Related Videos

Related Updates: ​
  • Season Pass Preview at Canada's Wonderland - April 24, 2022
  • Knott's Peanuts Celebration 2022 at Knott's Berry Farm - January 26, 2022
  • Knott's Merry Farm Update: Merry Christmas Snoopy, Food, Xcelerator and More - December 7, 2021
  • Knott's Scary Farm Opening Weekend 2021 - September 20, 2021
  • South Bay Shores Event at California's Great America - June 16, 2021


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If you have any comments, please share them below
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