Knott's Scary Farm is an annual event held every year in the weeks leading up to Halloween. This year it was held Sept 17, 2019 - November 2, 2019 on select days. Tickets start at $45. On Fridays and Saturdays it runs 7pm - 2am. The other days it is open it closes at 1am. Here is a short blurb from Knott's Berry Farm on what exactly this event is:
"Knott’s Scary Farm is the largest
and most haunting Halloween experience in Southern California, with
unimaginable scares and innovative thrills that can’t be found anywhere
else. The fully transformed theme park features uniquely haunted mazes
and attractions, sinister shows and more than 1,000 horrifying creatures
lurking in the fog and hiding in every corner of the park. This
Halloween event has all the ingredients of a truly terrifying nightmare.
But unlike most dreams, Knott’s Scary Farm is a nightmare you can’t
wake up from -- which makes it the thing to do for Halloween."
Knott's is very clear: this event is not recommended for children under 13. But you might be wondering, how hard and fast is that rule? Would my 5 year old who loves scares enjoy this? What about my 10 year old?
I am here to share my opinion on how we dealt with this event with the 6
kids in our group who went. The age range was 2, 6, 9, 9, 11, and 13.
Our youngest was not a fan. He was in his stroller the entire event,
and when he got scared, he would pull his shade down to cover his face
so he couldn't see. He never cried, or acted like he was terrified. He
would just stare, and if an employee in costume came up, they were
always very nice. They would wave, he might wave back if they were not
that scary, or he would just pull down his shade on the stroller. If
you plan it right, this age can also take their nap during a portion of
the event.
To start off, Knott's does not sit there screening how old you are when you enter. So any age is allowed to go. Also, you should know that the employees are very tactful. If they see you are a group with a bunch of smaller children, they don't come up and try to scare you. We had one person even apologize because they didn't realize we had younger kids with us when they were trying to give a little scare. They usually do the creepy things, where they stare at you, or maybe follow you, ask you a couple of questions and just act creepy. The most "terrifying" employees are the ones who slide on their knees and try to come up quickly behind you to scare you. It's the noise that startles you, not anything else. Our kids really enjoyed watching other guests be scared by these employees.
One of the features our kids loved best was the fog that was in a lot of different places very thick. In the Old West part of Knott's (GhostTown), there is a LOT of fog. It can be very difficult to see, and employees do walk through dressed in costumes and scare people. Even the 2 year old was enjoying the fog and how the lights played in it. There was nothing gory in this area on the outside. None of the employees who scare people while roaming the park actually have gory costumes. It's things like clowns, grungy, prison outfits, ghosts, etc. The Knott's website has good pictures of these. Sadly it was so dark my cellphone took mostly blurry photos.
The biggest concern I would have for this event and children is inside the mazes. That's where it's bloody, gory, and where the 13 and older suggestion comes in. The mazes aren't true mazes; there really is only 1 way to go. There are employees in themed costumes trying to scare you as you walk through, but they do their best to notice ages and avoided our kids for the most part. The first maze we went in, our 6 year old got startled pretty good, but after that first one I think he realized it's a little bit fun getting scared. He had a death grip on my hand, but as the night wore on he loosened up and was fine running by himself towards the end.
Inside the mazes, you will see blood. Not all of them are as gruesome as the last, so if you are concerned, pay the $90 for the fright and fast lane, leave your child outside and go through yourself first. You will see some mazes are more creepy and less bloody than others. The fright and fast lane saved us hours of line standing. You can see in some of these pictures how crazy long the lines get.
I am also going to show a few photos here that give a better idea of some of the bloody things you might see:
There were a fair amount of people "hanging" inside some of the mazes, or bloody with exposed "guts", but our kids mostly ignored this more bloody stuff and instead focused on looking for employees trying to scare them. Our kids knew before seeing any of this that it's all very fake, none of it is real.
There are some mazes our kids really liked, such as the underwater themed one called "The Depths". It had some really cool features, like a giant octopus, green laser light on fog that was really cool looking, and a spot where the floor moved back and forth. The "monsters" would hide under this fog and you could not see them. That's how they would jump out and scare you. Some of the costumes are very elaborate, like the one that's blurry of the monster on the left. And the mazes usually have employees in black on the inside, gesturing where to go in spots that might be more confusing. The Pumpkin Eater Maze is also a less bloody maze that is a good one for beginners to try out.
Overall, you know your child best. Are they afraid of dark rides or spaces regardless of if they are scary? That type of child might not enjoy this. Do they like thrills? Is laser tag fun for them? Is hide and seek and night an exciting game to play? If so, this might be a better fit for them. The 6-13 year olds in our group loved going to this event, and can't wait for next year to go again. In fact, the adults who were also with us were more scared than the children, and more worried about being scared than the children. If you let your kid watch PG-13 movies, they can probably handle Knott's Scary Farm. There is no sex, no profanity (except maybe from overly terrified guests, but all the screams tend to cover that up!) and no nudity. There is pretend violence in the shows, and lots of gore in some areas, but not really out in the open. So you can also avoid all the mazes and just go ride rides and possibly get scared walking through Scare Zones.
I hope this article helped you plan accordingly for your family. If you have any questions, please ask! Comment and let me know if it was helpful to you.
Happy Halloween!
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