Knott's Scary Farm 2022 Media Preview
Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA
It feels like anything but autumn right now in Southern California, with an extended and severe heatwave gripping the area and rare monsoonal humidity joining the fray this weekend. But haunt season is coming, and today, we’ve got a look at some of the offerings coming to Knott’s Scary Farm (and Spooky Farm) in the culinary, shopping, and artwork variety. On Thursday night, we had the privilege of experiencing the media preview for this year’s event, which included sampling some of the food that will be served this seasons, taking in a preview of the Into the Fog Art Show, and getting a first look at the 2022 Scary Farm / Spooky Farm merchandise. We also got a glimpse at the new Bloodline 1842 maze, still working toward completion.
So without further ado, lets get right into it!
Into the Fog Art Show Preview
This year’s event was held inside Spurs restaurant, instead of at Charleston Circle like last year. But the space allowed a display of most of the artwork that will be featured at this year’s Into the Fog art show. The exhibit will shown at The Factory Store next to Bear-y Tales, and guests will be able to purchase reproductions of their favorite pieces. Here’s a look at the featured works and some of our favorites.
Richard Wallace, a Knott’s performing veteran, always produces fantastic and clever artwork. We’ve long loved Dr. Cleaver and appreciate this tribute to the legendary Scary Farm entertainer.
Speaking of entertainment… this classy Puppet Up portrait was amazing.
Our friend, Sam Carter, returns with yet another amazing creation that continues his coffin series started last year.
Jeff Delgado’s vivid painting of Otis captures the ferocity and terror of this longtime Ghost Town Streets monster.
We loved this retro-style Halloween Haunt poster with present-day information!
Scary Farm Food Tasting
After a cocktail hour of sorts to admire the eerie paintings and digital renderings and spooktacular creations, it was onto the next room for the food tasting portion. Knott’s actually mixed things up by having a more formal sit-down tasting with a “four-course” format starting with a salad appetizer followed by a gumbo entree and a quartet of small bites before finishing with a dessert course. These items will be part of the seasonal park menu for both Knott’s Berry Farm and Scary Farm. It was certainly a unique and more elevated experience than we were used to, but the ambiance for all of this was quite nice, and the food was tasty too! Knott’s definitely continues to improve its gourmet offerings.
As they typical do at these media events, Knott’s also had a spread of all of their seasonal items on display so that we could see the whole line-up. There’s a big mix of savories and sweets and thirst-quenching libations too!
Merchandise
Knott’s has also been following Disney’s lead and upping their game on the seasonal and limited time merchandise selections too. This year, Knott’s will once again offer a variety of apparel, souvenirs, and trinkets to celebrate their fall events. Highlights included a new spirit jersey retailing for $79.99 that will be available in limited quantities on site and online once Knott’s Scary Farm begins on September 22nd. This year’s Scary Farm shirt is available too, of course, featuring the maze and attractions line-up. For the first time ever, Knott’s has created a limited-edition tiki mug featuring carvings of some of its most famous monsters. There are only 2000 available, and they will retail for $49.99. Another novel addition to the merchandise line-up is an oversized baseball cap, available in “Knott’s Berry Farm” and “Knott’s Scary Farm” designs. It’s a bit steep at $99.99, but it is absolutely ridiculous and sure to be a favorite among some collectors.
The spirit jersey is a unique design for this year. Go to the gallery for a look at the other side.
The Scary Farm tiki mug is a new thing and has some great character carvings!
We’re not sure how many people will buy the oversized hat on the left, but it definitely makes a statement and is ostentatious in a way that we love.
Based on the design of some of the mugs and pins, we also learned that this will be the final season for the Pumpkin Eater and Dark Ride mazes. And somewhat surprisingly, The Hollow scare zone appears to be going away after this season also. Let the speculation begin for what will replace them next year for the 50th anniversary of the Halloween Haunt. Knott’s has been working to weave the mazes and scare zones with each other more and more. Perhaps the legendary Gauntlet scare zone could make a return to Camp Snoopy… maybe with a modern version of the classic Inquisition Maze? Sounds like something right up Knott’s designer Daniel Miller’s alley! And maybe Carnevil’s new maze next year could be a return to the classic clown mazes of the scare zone’s past.
Bloodline 1842 Preview
Finally, we also were able to get a very brief preview of the Bloodline 1842 maze. Located in the backstage area, where Paranormal Inc. was last year, Bloodline 1842 is set in an alternate universe realm of Valdonia, which features a Victorian steampunk aesthetic, where vampiric creatures are engaged in an all-out war with each other. Join the Daybreakers as they hunt the Valhymphri in this contemporary take on Knott’s hefty line-up of famous vampire mazes, like Lore / Lair of the Vampire, Club Blood, and Dominion of the Damned. Mixing in the format of Special Op: Infected, guests will utilize the latest in Bellatorian weaponry to help the Daybreakers hunt their enemies, though the Valhymphri are surely quite vicious themselves!
The armory in Bloodline 1842 is where guests will receive their weapons to go on the hunt.
We were able to see two rooms inside this massive maze, and photography was only permitted in a limited area in one of them. The first space was a towering, full double-height tavern brimming with theming, from the silverware and drinks on the table and bar to portraits and mounted trophy animals on the walls. There was no show lighting on, but even in ambient lighting, the room looked impressive.
The second room was the armory, where guests will presumably begin their adventure and receive their Bellatorian firearm before proceeding into the streets of Valdonia. The walls were lined with different models of the steampunk-inspired weapons, and a cutout for what we presume will be a monitor with the storyline intro spiel was visible (similar to what guests saw at the start of Special Ops: Infected. This maze, designed by Jon Asperin, represents another evolution in the storytelling and experience of Knott’s Scary Farm mazes, drawing on the aforementioned vampire subject history that Knott’s has used before and combining it with new ways to deliver thrills and scares and interaction. The team has taken notes from the operations of Infected and looks to incorporate a more efficient process for this maze—assuming that awestruck guests aren’t busy gawking at all the amazing details and theming!
That wraps up this quick preview of Knott’s Scary Farm food, souvenirs, art, and a bit of a maze. There’s still a lot to discover when Knott’s opens, and the next few weeks will be a final push to get everything ready in time, as usual. There is so much work that happens behind the scenes, and it’s truly a monumental effort to produce the grandaddy haunt event of them all. We’re definitely excited to see what’s new and enjoy returning favorites. We’ll see you in the fog…
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
