Review time. This weekend included the first two themepark haunts for us and The Girls fist themepark haunts ever. We have a new addict! so lets begin.
Day 1:
This weekend the base of operations was the Candy Cane Inn located just in the corner of the DLR adjacent to the Timon parking lot, beside the convenience to access the park the hotel is just wonderful with its breakfast, which in a premium room is delivered to you, to the quality of the rooms themselves. Day 1 started with Halloween Time at Disneyland. Again parts of the park are covered in orange and yellow bunting and banners with pumpkins everywhere. The highlight still being the return of Haunted Mansion Holiday featuring Jack Skeleton and his Nightmare before Christmas pals. To me it did not seem that Disney did much in the way of additions to this years decorations, but to us it was just still good fun to fill the time till Mickey's Halloween Treat. Speaking of which... The DCA special ticketed event was again a lot of fun with festive music and lighting abound. I have 2 complaints though. The fist is that there was, like Disneyland, very little in the way of anything new, mainly the same as the last few years sans what seamed like more photo ops with disney characters, but even a removal of some of what had been a great addition to the event. what was misssing? The additional TOT thememing such as the large bat arch over the entrance to the classic (vintage) halloween decorations in the tower lobby itself. I do have to say that we got a whole lot more candy than ever before and it was even making my arm ache by the end of the night. (that part is not a complaint, seriously a lot of candy).
The Girl and I getting some ERT on A Flick's Fun Fair ride
Day 2:
Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Haunt 2008
Like I had said this was The Girls first year to ever go to a theme park haunt and oh what a year. This years haunt featured 13 haunted mazes and of the 13 there were 6 brand new mazes. The event itself was great, not too crowed and the weather was just perfect maybe a bit windy at times but nothing to complain about.
Now for the reviews, I will rate using a scale of 1 is bad to 10 is what I really like :-P this list is not in any order at all.
Labyrinth: This maze is a new for 2008 and replaced Lore of the Vampire. For the two of us it was our favorite. The maze is not scary and does not offer much in the shape of thrills, it is just beautiful. If you grew up watching movies like Labyrinth, the dark crystal, the last unicorn, etc. this maze is for you with its Gothic fantasy feel. The maze even featured fauns, one of which is rather short and makes the scene. As a side, I so really wanted to just spend some time in the last room waltzing to the music all night. We did after going through the maze a couple of times waltz just outside the exit and for some reason really creeped out some of the park guests who thought that we were a couple of the talent that escaped the maze.
Scariness: 5
Visual Theme: 10
Sound: 10
Talent: 9
Overall: 10 (it just had style) :-)
Slaughterhouse: Again another new house. I had expected the worse from this one, a gore fest i was expecting. It was actually good. The talent at this years haunt was at its top and made what could of just been gross and boring rather entertaining. When you first enter the queue there are guys holding signs protesting the slaughter and eating of people much like PETA protesters (i mean no offense to animal rights). This automatically put a novel spin on the mood of the maze and it continued throughout. The sets were mainly narrow halls with mainly gore type details but there were hidden gems such as one room where bones were glued all over the walls in what appeared to be random locations there was some arranged in pretty pictures of fish and stuff. The talent here was so good that they even creeped out The Girl.
Scariness: 7 (the layout makes it hard to get a good scare on, the halls are just too narrow)
Visual Theme: 5
Sound: 8 (what does metal have to do with a human slaughterhouse?)
Talent: 9
Overall: 8
Cornstalkers: This was a gem of a maze. There are people out there who said that it was killed by the fact that you could see out side the park cars driving by and the rides inside the park over the low walls. Yea, this did knock the total imersion but the layout of the maze and the talent were tops. The maze, new for 2008, is in a location where past mazes and scare zones suffered this one rocked! The fact that you were wandering through a corn feild that had more twists and turns, nooks and cranies, etc. than any maze I have ever been throught made me hesitant on every steep i took.
Scariness: 10
Visual Theme: 8 (the outside interferance did hurt what was otherwise gorgous American Gothic)
Sound: 10
Talent: 10 (this maze had some of the best skilled tallent ever, the setups even got me, alot...)
Overall: 9
Alien Annihilation: This was not up to Knott's past alien themed mazes ie. Alien Encounter. But it was in 3D. The first time through this new for 2008 maze left something to be desired but the second time, with 3D glasses, WOW. The talent did a great job whith what they had and with the glasses on it made a lot more sence as to what they were doing and made there
Scariness: 5 with out glasses 8.5 with glasses
Visual Theme: 3 with out glasses 9 with glasses
Sound: 8
Talent: 9
Overall: 8.75
Quarantine: The 2008 movie maze was stunningly beautiful but it came down to this. The maze felt like a Universal HHN maze. This is not a bad thing per say. The entire maze looked gorgous and felt authintic, the talent played there roles perfectly. But there was just the feeling that you were walking through a horror movie and you knew how it would end.
Scariness: 6 (maybe a bit creepy but seemed campy horror to me)
Visual Theme: 10.5
Sound: 9
Talent: 8
Overall: 8
Lost Vegas: Well, it has its humor but I never have cared for it too much, I think The Girl liked it more than I. It just seemes to meh. That and I get the "Viva Las Vegas" song stuck in my head.
Scariness: 6
Visual Theme: 5 with out glasses 6 with glasses
Sound: 7 (now i have the song stuck in my head just thinking about the maze)
Talent: 7
Overall: 6
Killer Clown College: With glasses, with out glasses, it is just total fun. The sound track is just twisted fun. The art design is just twisted fun. The talent is just twisted.
Scariness: Scary...? I think so, if I was not having so much twisted fun.
Visual Theme: 9.9 (there is some blah spots)
Sound: 10 (such a great sound track)
Talent: 10
Overall: (2 x pi) + 3
Club Blood: First time through was ok second time with less people, wow. This maze is new and is located in the second warehouse behind the Asylum. To get to it you have to go through the Asylum. The fist 1/3 involves waking through the back steets of some city (the props were from the old Kingdom of the Dinosaurs intro) from there you enter Club Blood with its standard Vampire rave. Some how you end up in a hospital setting where they are harvsting blood from humans, much like in the last Blade move. Finaly you end up in the materity ward where little deamons are born. Confusing yes, fun yes, modern vampires yes.
Scariness: 7.75 (it has moments)
Visual Theme: 10 (detailed and all but felt random)
Sound: 8
Talent: 9
Overall: 8.75
Asylum: The last year for this maze and the tallent went full bore! Creepy and disorentating. This maze can not be comfortably done after Labyrinth. :-P the maze has so much chaos (the good kind) that puts you into a panic state nervous at every movement.
Scariness: 9
Visual Theme: 9
Sound: 8
Talent: 9
Overall: 9
The Doll Factory: Still creepy in every way. The sets are unnerving and so is the tallent.
Scariness: 9.5
Visual Theme: 9.5
Sound: 9.75
Talent: 10
Overall: 9.75
Black Widows Cavern: The mine ride is a hard one to scare people on, but this years talent got it right.
Scariness: 7
Visual Theme: 7 (it's a hard one to do right)
Sound: 8
Talent: 9
Overall: 8.75
Pyromanics: Everyone sing along "...were pyromainiacs, we are crazy to the max..." Oh wait that Animaniacs... oops. The themeing is minimal but at least the talent has got it down.
Scariness: 8 (they get so good scares in as you go zooming by)
Visual Theme: 3
Sound: 6 (metal for this one too?)
Talent: 9.5
Overall: 8.75
13 Axe Murder Mannor: Last year for this one too. The mannor is getting old and is starting to show its age (is that a bad thing). Well it is time for something new but the tallent was not giving up with out a fight! Way to go at making the maze still creepy and cookie. if only the second half was ever any good.
Scariness: 7.75
Visual Theme: first half 10 second half 3
Sound: 8
Talent: 9
Overall: 8.75
Well that was Knott's in a nutshell.
Sunday was a quick trip over to Disneyland and DCA to get a ride in on Midway Maina and the House of the Future before Hanna Montana turned 16 and took over the park.
Today is monday and I am beat.
