It’s that time of the year, for all things fear, and theme parks are no exception. It is well known that Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Knott’s Berry Farm dress up for terror during October. But what sort of experience do scare rookies get at one of these amusement parks? I had never been to one of these Halloween attractions, so I nominated myself best candidate to experience the horror of Knott’s Scary Farm to aid readers of The Point.
6:00 – Buying Tickets
As I imagined and expected, the price was higher than the average daytime ticket, which was almost deal breaker for some. Junior, Cassidy Najarian discloses that she “was very frustrated considering the high ticket prices”. This is understandable because coughing up $50 to be chased around by clowns might not be the ideal evening for some.
6:30 to 8:00 – Driving
For most PV high students driving on the freeway is not a safe or possible option that late at night. Unless you are an upperclassman and an experienced driver, finding a ride tends to be an obstacle. After finding means of transportation there is always an excessive amount traffic, making the ride longer than Google Maps predicts.
8:00 – Arrival
After an hour and half of driving, I approached an atrocious line just to enter the park. Once reaching the actual entrance, a member of our party discovered to have bought a ticket to Knott’s Berry Farm instead of the nighttime attraction. The employees refused to accept her ticket or offer a refund, forcing her to re-purchase the appropriate ticket.
8:30 to 12:30 – Terror
After all of the hardships to get into the park I saw something so terrifying, so unexplainably sadistic – enormous hoards of people. Within the horrendous crowds there were characters hobbling around causing high-pitched screams of twelve-year-olds to permeate the area. I saw a long line and I entered it, thinking it was for a ride or maze, but no. I quickly realized it was only for the bathroom. It would be a long night.
The characters walking around in each designated section to scare guests compensated for the excessively long lines for mazes. They walked around with metal attachments to their fingers that made sparks when hitting the ground as they slid in front of me unexpectedly. Tip for avoiding these creatures: Don’t. Run. Away. They will chase you and it is terrifying.
Each section had a different theme. Characters resembling Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre crept around by the entrance while in the mist near the roller coaster, Ghostrider you could find swamp monsters. Near the ride Riptide disturbing clowns infested the ‘carn-evil’ area. They walked on stilts and used their horns for jump scares. Near Montezooma’s revenge sugar skull skeletons walked around looking for vulnerable pre-teens.
The lines, as stated earlier, were awful. It takes away from the experience. Senior, Delaney Mazen claims, “I had fun going with my friends, but the lines were so long that our group barely got to do anything”. I was only able to go on three rides (one of them being bumper cars), which was a shame. At one point during the night, almost every ride and maze had at least a two hour wait. However, the rides were thrilling and almost worth the wait. The mazes had the longest lines, given that they were the special Halloween attraction. Going through the mazes, I was attached to my friend the entire time. They were scary, but none had a general theme that went with the maze. I did not see a single puppet in a Maze named “Pinocchio: Unstrung”. Each maze lasted about two minutes or less for a two hour wait.
The Final Verdict
After all my negativity you might say that I wouldn’t recommend going to Knott’s Scary Farm, but I would. As long as you are with friends or family that you like and get along with, waiting in lines can be fun. All of those cons come with any attraction or park. It’s alright to be scared every once in a while and I don’t think Knott’s is the worst place for that.
While I only attended one of the two most popular terror parks, many other Seakings have an opinion on the latter: Universal Horror Nights. Sophomore, Alana Groves experienced both Buena Park and Hollywood this year. She prefers Knott’s because “even though there are large crowds it doesn’t seem that way because there’s so much to do like rides, mazes and dance parties”. According to Groves and earlier mentioned Najarian, Horror Night at Universal is far more scary. Groves claims it terrifying from the start saying, “As soon as you enter the park you’re immediately in a scare zone”. Although Najarian dislikes Universal for “having less rides”, she prefers this scarier park. She expresses that because Universal is a movie studio, it is a no brainer that the characters, decorations, and overall ambience would be better. Najarian tells us, “There are three times as many actors at Universal that are committed to their roles and are very good at portraying their characters”. In general, Universal is the place to be genuinely scared while Knott’s has a lighter atmosphere and more roller coasters. Wherever you are this time of the year, be safe and have a happy Halloween!
