Southern California theme park fans are now fully in the spooky swing of the Halloween season, with Knott’s Scary Farm 2023 having hosted its opening-night festivities yesterday evening at Knott’s Berry Farm.
I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the opening night of this beloved annual event, and was incredibly excited to check out all the new and returning offerings around the park.
Shows for Knott’s Scary Farm 2023 include “Dr. Cleaver Returns” in the Bird Cage Theatre, “Le Magnifique Carnaval de Grotesque” on the Calico Mine Stage, and “Music, Monsters, & Mayhem” in the Walter Knott Theater. But the show that had everyone buzzing last night was “The Hanging: Uncancelled.” This was the first time “The Hanging” was performed in any form at Knott’s since 2018, and as per tradition the writers managed to get in a few good digs at Disney.
Watch Fantasmic! & Galactic Starcruiser jokes in "The Hanging: Uncancelled" show – Knott's Scary Farm 2023:
One of the main attractions of Knott’s Scary Farm is the event's incredibly impressive walk-through mazes, of which there were three new ones this year. First up, in the spot previously occupied by Pumpkin Eater, is the 50th anniversary maze entitled Chilling Chambers, which is hosted by the new character The Keeper.
Watch Chilling Chambers NEW 50th ANNIVERSARY MAZE full walkthrough at Knott's Scary Farm 2023:
The second new maze is called Cinema Slasher, which is in the space previously occupied by Dark Ride, and I’d say that title pretty much speaks for itself.
Watch Cinema Slasher NEW MAZE full walkthrough at Knott's Scary Farm 2023:
The last (but definitely not least) of the new mazes is called Room 13, which was my personal favorite. It ties in with the surrounding Gore-ing 20s scare zone and takes place in a creepy old hotel. What more can a horror fan ask for?
Watch Room 13 NEW MAZE full walkthrough at Knott's Scary Farm 2023:
Returning mazes this year include The Grimoire, Mesmer, Origins: The Curse of Calico, The Depths, Dark Entities, and Wax Works. But one maze has been overhauled from its previous iteration– Bloodline: 1842, which has had its interactive gun element completely removed.
Watch Bloodline: 1842 (NO GUNS) full maze walkthrough at Knott's Scary Farm 2023:
Over in the Factory Store gift shop, guests can peruse the “Into the Fog” art show, which celebrates 50 years of Knott’s Scary Farm via some very cool artwork contributed by fans.
And of course, the decor around Knott’s Berry Farm is always super neat to look at during this time of year.
My one minor nitpick with Knott’s Scary Farm 2023 is the Interactive Lantern, which sells for about $40… my wife and I picked one up at the preview event a few weeks ago. Advertised as having 100 different activations throughout the park, I would say we were a bit disappointed with the reality of this technology. The lantern did change color in a few mazes and scare zones, but otherwise seemed to be doing very little. But we’ll be going back to Scary Farm in a couple weeks with friends and I’ll be sure to bring the lantern along again to see if the Knott’s creative team has gotten the bugs worked out. Fortunately I was quite happy with my purchase of the Knott’s Scary Farm 50th anniversary history book by Ted Dougherty– available now at the park.
All in all, I never have too much to complain about when it comes to Knott’s Scary Farm. It’s still my absolute favorite Halloween Haunt event in Southern California, and I look forward to it every year. The new 2023 mazes are incredibly memorable, and the atmosphere around the park always puts me right into that spooktacular Halloween mood.
Knott’s Scary Farm 2023 runs on select nights from now through Halloween in Buena Park, California. For additional information and to purchase advance tickets, be sure to visit Knott’s Berry Farm’s official website.