Knotts Berry Farm Halloween Haunt

KNOTT’S BERRY FARM
8039 Beach Boulevard
Buena Park, CA 90620
Haunt line: 714-220-500o
Websites: Knott’s Berry Farm - Halloween Haunt (url redirects to the Knott’s Berry Farm homepage)

Knotts Scary Farm is the longest running and most popular Halloween event in the Southland – well worth the trip for horror fans living in Los Angeles. With over a dozen walk-through attractions, plus scare zones and shows, it provides more Halloween entertainment than any of the competition.

Can’t decide how to spend Halloween in Los Angeles? Click here for “2012 Halloween Recommendations: The Best Haunted Theme Park Events in Los Angeles.” Or click here our Knotts Scary Farm 2012 Review.

Halloween Haunt Article Archive: Click here

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT DATES: September 21-22, 27-30, October 4-7, 11-14, 25-28, 30-31

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT HOURS: 7:00pm to 1:00am weeknights and Sundays, 7:00pm to 2:00am Fridays and Saturdays.

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT PARKING: Single-day parking at Knott’s Berry Farm is $15.00 for “Preferred Parking” (which was not bad but not particularly close, either).

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT TICKET INFORMATION: Knott’s Scary Farm requires a special ticket for admission; your regular Knott’s Berry Farm admission will not get you into the Halloween Haunt. Tickets are available at the Knott’s Berry Farm Guest Relations box office (most days do not sell out, so you can purchase them on the night of the event). Tickets may be purchased online (you can save shipping costs on pre-sales by using the Print@Home function on the Knott’s website) or by phone (call the Ticketmaster Haunt Lines at 213-365-3535 or 714- 703-2555). Service charges apply to all phone orders.

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT TICKET PRICES: Starting at $36 in advance ($24 off day-of purchases). There is also an admission-and-meal combo ticket for $50.99 in advance. The reservation-only Trapped maze requires a separate charge for groups up to six: $60 in advance, $75 on the day of the event.

HALLOWEEN HAUNT BARGAINS: Each year, coupons available at Burger King will save you up to $21 (depending on how early in the season you go). Usually, these coupons become available after Labor Day. Group discounts for 24 or more are available at 714-220-5163.

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT ADD-ON PACKAGES: TO BE ANNOUNCED. Knott’s Scary Farm also offers several “Add-On” packages that can expand your stay. Here are typical deals from previous years:

V.I.M. (Very Important Monster) Tours: You can get haunt admission, preferred seating at select shows, an escort for the entire evening, and back door access to the attractions, but the price is not cheap: $2,000 for up to six guests. Reserve one week in advance by calling 714-220-5298.
PRE-SCARE DINNER SPECIALS: This gives you a chance to enjoy a buffet and enter Knotts Scary Farm before the park opens for the nightly haunt. Cost is $28. Due to seating limitaions, this offer is available only to ticket holders with advance dinner reservations. NOTE: Once you’re inside the park, your dining selections are mostly limited to fast food and snacks.
POST-SCARE BREAKEFAST SPECIALS: A midnight breakfast buffet at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant – from Midnight to 3:00am. This is a walk-in offer; no reservations required. (NOTE: There is no mention of this offer on the 2011 website, but we assume it will be available.)
THREE COMPLETE HOTEL PACKAGES: Gruesome Getawa6, Haunted Dreams, or Bare Bones – ranging from $399 to $149. Call 714-995-1111 or 866-752-2444 for details.

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT FEATURES: All the usual Knott’s Berry Farm rides and attractions are open for business, but the park is redecorated for its Halloween Haunt in grand ghoulish style: 160 acres with 13 mazes or rides, 7 shows, and 3 scare zones. The scares start the minute you walk in the gate, with 1,000 wandering ghouls lunging at you out of the fog.

HALLOWEEN HAUNT DRAWBACKS: The crowds. Inevitably, you have to wait in long lines for each attraction at Knott’s Scary Farm, unless you arrive as soon as the gates open or attend on an off-night. For some reason, the park’s appeal skews young, so expect to find yourself surrounded by teeny-boppers. Also, the level of performance among the monsters sometimes seems to drop off near the end of the season, as if the actors are growing weary of their roles.

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT MAZES: There are four new mazes for this year; plus, some old favorites return.

NEW FOR 2012! DOMINION OF THE DEAD. Knotts Scary Farm updates their 1990s-era vampire maze for the new millennium. Since Lore of the Vampire disappeared a few years ago, we have had to make due with Club Blood – a rather modern take on the vampire myth. Located backstage near the Ghostrider roller-coaster, Dominion of the Dead should resurrect some of the old-fashioned Gothic charm. (This replaces Lockdown: The Asylum from 2011.)
NEW! TRAPPED – THE VIP MAZE. This innovative maze hopes to up the intensity by allowing scare-seekers to enter in groups of six only, providing a more interactive and intimate fright experience. Unfortunately, this cash-sucker requires separate ticks: pre-sale price is $60; $75 the day of the event. There is an age requirement: each group must have someone 17 or older. The Laser Tag section will provide a VIP waiting area; ticket holders will be issued a start time.
NEW! THE EVIL DEAD. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood dropped the ball on this one, and we’re glad that Knotts Scary Farm was there to pick it up. Inspired by the cult 1980s horror film (subject of a 2013 remake), this maze will portray the infamous haunted cabin, where an incantation from the Necronomicon unleashes demons that turn unsuspecting victims into aggressive zombies. Located in the Log Ride at Timber Mountain.
NEW! PINOCCHIO UNSTRUNG. The fairy tale story turns deadly when the wooden puppet goes on a homicidal rampage after being denied his wish to become a human boy. This maze replaceds the Doll Factory in the Wilderness Dance Hall.
NEW! TRICK-OR-TREAT. Well, what do you know? A Halloween theme park maze that actually has something to do with Halloween! Horror hounds will experience the terror of entering a witch’s house on Halloween night. You can walk through as with any other maze, or for a small fee you can receive a mask, souvenirs, and candy at stations within the labyrinth. This is located backstage near Ghostrider, near Dominion of the Dead.
ENDGAME: WARRIORS OF THE APOCALYPSE: Introduced in 2011, this maze depicts survivors in a barren desert scavenging and fighting to rebuild society, while the rich and powerful subjugate the masses into slavery, forcing into futuristic gladiator battles to the death. For 2012, Knotts Scary Farm promises an expanded arena back stage near Ghostrider.
DELIRUM: Another 2011 debut, this maze brought your worst nightmares to life in a hellish wasteland of delirium, illusion and paranoia. Set in the Ghostrider warehouse.
VIRUS Z : Having made its debut 2010, this maze depicts a formerly idyllic 1950s town twisted into mayhem thanks to an infection that has created hordes of zombie cannibals. 2012 promises to add a finale inspired by CARRIE (the 1976 classic slated for a 2013 remake), featuring a thousand gallons of blood – enough to drench the location in the Fiesta Plaza.
TERROR OF LONDON (set in the Mystery Lodge). This venerable excursion into Victorian horror returns for another Halloween’s worth of haunting, with Jack the Ripper’s prowling the cobble-stoned streets of London. The Halloween haunt’s press release for 2012 indicates that Dr. Jekyll’s mad scientific shenanigans – missing in 2011 – will be back.
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS in 3-D. For some reason, this maze seems to rub a lot of people the wrong way, but we have always enjoyed the colorful change-of-pace it offers from other Halloween attractions. In 2012 incarnation of the Day of the Dead festival, the Chupacabra and La Llorona (the Wheeping Woman) will be joined by a new Chamber of Snakes. SSSSssss!
UNCLE BOBO’S BIG TOP OF THE BIZARRE – in 3D. Clowns – they ain’t funny, and they ain’t scary. But that doesn’t stop Knotts Scary Farm from trying. Located under the Xcelerator, this one has had its good points in the past, but the clown theme has really worn out its welcome.
THE SLAUGHERHOUSE (set in Main Gate Area): This variation on the Chainsaw Massacre theme – with backwoods butchers offering prime filet of the human variety – has been a popular hit since its inception, earning another encore appearance.
FALLOUT SHELTER: This 3-D maze first appeared in 2010, showcasing the horrors of those “lucky” survivors of a nuclear attack, living underground in tunnels infested by toxic mutants (located in the Lake area of the park).

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT RIDES: The regular roller-coasters and rides are open for business, some enhanced for the Halloween season.

The Timber Mountain Log Ride (set in the Timbermountain Log Ride): This serves as the setting for The Evil Dead (see above).
The Calico Mine Ride: In a break with Halloween tradition, this ride will note receive a full-blown thematic make-over, although there will be spooks haunting the darkened caverns.

2012 HALLOWEEN HAUNT SHOWS: There is more to Knott’s Scary Farm than just scares. There is also a variety of humorous entertainment on various stages, which is especially helpful if you want to take the weight off your feet in between talking through all those mazes. For 2012, Knotts Scary Farm promises to resurrect the Midnight Witch Hanging seen back in the 1980s. Fans of crude pop-culture comedy need not fear: the more contemporary version of The Hanging will also return.

HALLOWEEN HAUNT SCARE ZONES: These are areas of Knott’s Scary Farm haunted by free-roaming ghouls so that you get the scares even before you stand in line for the haunted mazes. These tend to be consisten from year to year, since they are based around established sections of the theme park. In 2011, there will be only three scare zones, all holdovers from 2010, including the perennial Ghost Town, the tiny seed from which the annual Halloween Haunt grew into the event we know and love today.

CAMP SNOOPY: For children too young and timid to enjoy Knott’s Berry Farm’s Halloween Haunt at night, there is usually a kid-friendly day-time alternative that runs from October 1 through 31, during regular park hours (with no extra charge for admission). The event offers a pirate treasure hunt with trick-or-treating, “Captain Jack’’s Haunted Hideaway,” and other themed entertainment for the 3 to 11-year old set. This event is listed on our page of Halloween Haunts for Children.

ALSO OF NOTE: Knott’s Scary Farm is not recommended for children under 13. No re-entries allowed. No costumes.

HALLOWEEN HAUNT HISTORY: It all started back on October 31, 1973. Since Knott’s Berry Farm is more or less modeled on a real ghost town (Calico in California), it made sense to decorate the ghost town section of the park up for Halloween, along with a few dozen monster lurking in the fog. Knott’s Scary Farm’s first walk-through maze was added the next year. Since then, the Halloween Haunt has grown into a huge annual event, with hundreds of actors in makeup and numerous mazes featuring everything from 3D lighting and to elaborate mechanical effects.

KNOTT’S SCARY FARM VIDEOS: Check out Hollywood Gothique’s various video tours of the Halloween Haunt on YouTube.