Knott's Scary Farm 2008

[Lane]

Not neccessarily people who have gone before but people who understand haunts in general
(though it wouldnt help if they were a little informed before going)
If your going to be going again try going in the beginning. The second and third week gets busy then dies down toward the end.
Yes, Blood bayou was exactly like that.. And one of my favorites including the inquisitor starring the crypt keeper. I think 2002 was its last year?? or was it '03?

[elly]

Blood Bayou's last year had to be 2002 since 13AMM took over that space in 2003

[Professortango]

Originally Posted by Lane

I agree.. doll factory is not "showing age". I dont even know what that would apply to. 13 axe is "showing its age" compared to doll factory.
A haunt experience really depends on who you go with. If you go with someone who understands how it works then your get the ultimate haunt experience.

I've gone to Knott's plenty and this year we had the perfect group. Two cute girls who the monsters loved to attack. We had incredible times in most of the mazes, especially in Asylum, but Doll Factory was a huge let down. There were several areas where it looked like the foam heads and set had been hurt by guests and the talent was almost non existant. Then the few dolls we did see just stood there while an escort shouted for everyone to keep moving. She was creepy and playing it well, but having the blackshirts rush you by without even being able to be affected was a crime. Also, the maze wasn't executed very well in my opinion. Too many bare rooms and halls.

And it wasn't just me. I tend to be a little critical of things, not in a bad way, but my catchphrease is often "I really liked it but..." I guess it comes from being a creator myself, and asking myself what I would have done differently. Anyways, my point is I know this about myself so I try to keep my mouth shut when with a group as to not influence their opinions or sound like a critic. However, with this maze my group was in agreement that it didn't work. Their big dissapointments were Doll Factory, Klown Kollege, and especially Lost Vegas.

[Kritter]

Originally Posted by elly

Blood Bayou's last year had to be 2002 since 13AMM took over that space in 2003

Blood Bayou's last year was Asylum's first year, 2003.

[POiSON]

awe...my two favorite-est mazes...

[elly]

i <3 random Poison postings

[tamasurvivor]

So... we are in February... how many more months until Haunt? Have we at least hit the halfway mark yet?

Seriously I had such a blast getting all scared in Quarantine and the Asylum and Pyromaniax... plus enjoying the scare zones and the hanging.... October is way too far away... LOL! October needs to start coming sooner!

On the plus my sister and I already agreed to spend more than one night at Haunt this coming year and do the VIP buffet because this time we are going to see it all including the alien and slaughterhouse maze even if I have to come out of those mazes traumatized and in tears... Yes... chainsaws and aliens will do that to me... especially the aliens because I have a huge fear of aliens... Huge fear like the people on the Maury show type of fear... I know, I was traumatized as a young child by having my prents force me to watch "Fire in the Sky"... ironically I live in the same state that story happened... LOL! But either way we are doing everything at Haunt in 09 and going on a weekday!

Plus theres way too much to do and cram in one night so why not two

2 nights to Double the pleasure and double the run!! [from those gang up monster encounters in the scare zones... LOL]

[elly]

^ yay for you and your sister! the VIP buffet is truly (imho) the best way to start a night at Haunt. once we get closer maybe we'll have some overlapping days and we can meet up to go thru a maze together

[Rex Dopey24]

Originally Posted by tamasurvivor

So... we are in February... how many more months until Haunt? Have we at least hit the halfway mark yet?

Seriously I had such a blast getting all scared in Quarantine and the Asylum and Pyromaniax... plus enjoying the scare zones and the hanging.... October is way too far away... LOL! October needs to start coming sooner!

On the plus my sister and I already agreed to spend more than one night at Haunt this coming year and do the VIP buffet because this time we are going to see it all including the alien and slaughterhouse maze even if I have to come out of those mazes traumatized and in tears... Yes... chainsaws and aliens will do that to me... especially the aliens because I have a huge fear of aliens... Huge fear like the people on the Maury show type of fear... I know, I was traumatized as a young child by having my prents force me to watch "Fire in the Sky"... ironically I live in the same state that story happened... LOL! But either way we are doing everything at Haunt in 09 and going on a weekday!

Plus theres way too much to do and cram in one night so why not two

2 nights to Double the pleasure and double the run!! [from those gang up monster encounters in the scare zones... LOL]

we are only 8 months until halloween haunt 2009. my how time flies.

[tamasurvivor]

Originally Posted by elly

^ yay for you and your sister! the VIP buffet is truly (imho) the best way to start a night at Haunt. once we get closer maybe we'll have some overlapping days and we can meet up to go thru a maze together

Thank you Rexdopey24... so we are 1/3 of the way though.... still not one half yet but oh well... come Gumball Rally time [I am hoping its a go... we will be saving for both that and Haunt for our big things this year] we will be closer to Haunt and then 2/3 of the way

And Elly, that would be fun... seriously for us its like a 6 hour drive but the drive to Cali is half the fun so I am sure we could find overlapping dates or something... Plus after just one year we have been hooked on Haunt... Even despite me getting a little wussy through some of the mazes *cough* Quarantine *cough* Asylum *Cough* it was all part of the fun and seriously all in good fun... not to mention I could imagine some of the monsters were probably laughing in their head at my reactions... and in addition to being fun it was very scary at the same time which is probably why I am now hooked on Haunt... its seriously the best and most cost effective value you can get for any halloween event [especially compared to stuff we have here in Phoenix], and especially for what and how much they offer

I just havent been to a haunted event before that incorporated anything to the level Knotts had... Most of our stuff out here in Phoenix is overpriced or corn maze type of stuff, and then theres the generic stuff that throws together a bunch of different themes that dont mix well and happens to be the same thing year after year [scream park in Scottsdale being one of them thats been around year after year with the same 4 haunted houses every year]... Now there was the Twisted Big Top this year at Westgate but that one fell on the overpriced category, and Fear Farm rebuilt their haunt for this year but its going to pretty much be the same thing until the stuff gets old and it gets rebuilt again... Knotts and its themes and different themed mazes was so different to what I have been to and the mazes actually had one consistent theme and some dark humor, actors who acted like zombies, mental patients, scarecrows, etc. through the whole thing, not to mention a variety of scares from the actors... not just the typical chase you, then another monster chase you some more, then another monster chase you some more through the cornfield... there was actually personality from a majority fo the actors.

I know it sounds kinda wild to say but you might be able to answer this Elly... how many consecutive years do you have to go to Haunt before you become an actual Haunt fan?

Is it something like 2 or 3... or what qualifies you to be a haunt fan? I find myself still watching those amazing detailed videos on youtube and its already February! Yeah I still have my own memorable video I took to remember the trip we took but theres some good maze videos on youtube I find myself watching... really good ones... some of them are very detailed.

[Rex Dopey24]

for this year, i am hoping that the mazes can be more darker and spookier.

[elly]

Originally Posted by tamasurvivor

I know it sounds kinda wild to say but you might be able to answer this Elly... how many consecutive years do you have to go to Haunt before you become an actual Haunt fan?

Is it something like 2 or 3... or what qualifies you to be a haunt fan? I find myself still watching those amazing detailed videos on youtube and its already February! Yeah I still have my own memorable video I took to remember the trip we took but theres some good maze videos on youtube I find myself watching... really good ones... some of them are very detailed.

personally i think you're a Haunt fan from the time you go and fall in love with it, and that can easily happen in that first trip. Haunt for me is the biggest vacation of the year, and i look forward to it every year. i can't wait to see the costumes, the set design of the mazes, and of course the friends we've made there over the last few years. luckily some of those friends that work Haunt have also become people we hang out with throughout the year when we're in town, but there's lots of people who work there we only really get to see AT Haunt.

what seperates a Haunt fan from a Haunt guest is (imho) the fans go to Haunt for the love of the event, horror, being scared, the talent etc. Guests are the people who just to see who in their group they can out drink and who treat the talent and mazes (some people think its "cool" to tear the mazes up while going thru them) like crap...or just really dont' want to be there and went becuase their friends were going.

for me, one of the best things to do at Haunt is to sit in one of the scare zones and just watch the street talent work their magic in the crowds..there's something very satisfying about watching an 18 year old guy get dropped to the ground in fear by them and there's so much more than ever to do at Haunt now between streets (and their shows, like the one Carnevil started doing last year, and the weekly sliding show in The Gauntlet), and the mazes and the stage shows that a true Haunt enthusiast can't experience it all in one night (again imho)


ugh, i could go on and on and on about Haunt but i'm at work so i'll have to leave it here, but trust me, i'll more to say at one point or another

[tamasurvivor]

well... I love Horror and I am a nut for all the behind the scenes stuff like those youtube compilations I watched numerous times before going for my first time last year... So I guess I am a haunt fan

What makes me so enthusiastic about it is the fact its like "Live theater" that you walk through, are a part of, and get scared by... and seriously the way the sets are built, the costumes, make up, and the other stuff, its all like the stuff I did in high school theater class, only instead of watching stuff infold you as the guest get to walk through the action and get scared, entertained, shocked, and sometimes mortified by the actors who play their roles... that probably explains why I loved it so much.

If I ever had my way though I would someday love to help build or design the sets... be it for haunt, or just movies or theater productions in general... that was my favorite thing to do in high school theater class since it involved painting, building, and all that hands on stuff not to mention my skills from Woodshop class... but in theater class the acting wasnt really my thing but the techie stuff was where I had the most fun... I think when I look at Haunt from that behind the scenes perspective I saw prior to going it kinda made the event all the more enjoyable.

Especially because Knotts used the willing suspension of disbelief to every advantage... as in the case of the area that housed Quarantine... it may have been a short maze and everything was housed in such a small area, yet when the maze was up and you walked through it, it seemed a lot larger than it actually was... I was surprised when Juli and I were walking to Jaguar and we looked at the area that housed Quarantine and had to take a double take because I said word for word... "Hey, this is tiny, am I even sure the whole Quarantine maze was housed here in this small little area... it seemed so much larger when I walking through it"

anyhow... enjoy working late tonight I remember when I used to work late nights [the random callers we would get trying to make reservations at that late hour blew my mind]... I have tomorrow off but I am off to bed since I need sleep... LOL!