Knott’s Scary Farm: Is It Worth It? (2023)
Want to know if Knott’s Scary Farm is worth it? We’ve got you covered with everything you need to know!
Knott’s Scary Farm is the longest running Halloween theme park event in Southern California, celebrating it’s 50th season this year.
This special event takes place on select nights from September 21st – October 31st from 7 pm – 1 am (open til 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays).
The best way to make sure you can see and do it all is to download the Knott’s Berry Farm app.
This app will give you all the show times, ride wait times, and maps of the food, scare zones, and mazes.
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What Is Knott’s Scary Farm?
Knott’s Scary Farm is a Halloween themed event that takes place each year at Knott’s Berry Farm.
This year Knott’s Scary Farm is celebrating it’s 50th year.
This special ticketed event includes haunted mazes, haunted attractions, spooky shows, and scare zones all throughout the park.
Where Is Knott’s Scary Farm?
Knott’s Scary Farm is inside of the Knott’s Berry Farm theme park in Buena Park, California, which is right along the border of Orange County and LA County.
Is Knott’s Scary Farm Worth It?
If you enjoy being scared, then absolutely Knott’s Scary Farm is worth it.
It is literally impossible to do it all in one night, so if you’re able to, the season pass is a great deal.
With so many haunted mazes, shows, scare zones, rides, and food, I think about 3 visits or so would be enough to do everything at least once.
It’s not recommended for anyone under the age of 13, so for that demographic, I don’t suggest going.
For those that don’t totally love being on high alert all night long, they have an option where you can purchase these blue glow in the dark necklaces and this tells the scare actors to leave you alone.
Depending on the kid, if they’re maybe in the 8-12 age range or so and you get them the necklace, don’t take them to the shows, and just let them go on rides, they would probably have a good time without getting too scared.
We both personally prefer the tamer side of Halloween fun and still found plenty of fun things to do throughout our visit at the event.
How To Navigate Knott’s Scary Farm If You Don’t Like Getting Scared
We spent the night not going through any of the mazes, but instead checking out the shows, the specialty foods, the attraction overlays, and the various photo ops.
So if that’s more your speed too, then I recommend the following itinerary.
Since the event begins at 7 pm, we started off our night grabbing dinner at Prop Shop Pizza where we tried the Spookghetti Pie with Bolognese Sauce and the Mutant Turtle Philly Cheese Steak Pizza.
Just above the pizza shop is the Walter Knott Theater where they were performing Music, Monsters, & Mayhem, which is a new show that highlights the most famous acts in Knott’s Scary Farm history.
Again, since this event as a whole is not recommended for anyone under the age of 13, this definitely applies to the shows too due to the adult language and themes.
After the show we shared the Cinema Slasher Funnel Cake while heading to the next show, Le Magnifique Carnaval du Grotesque.
This show is outside and is like a Halloween themed Cirque du Soleil.
Then we rode the Calico Candy Mine Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny since those are the 2 rides that get Halloween themed overlays.
All of these things are in the same area which isn’t one of the scare zones, so it’s a safe space for those that don’t want the scare actor interaction.
Before we left, we caught a late showing of Dr. Cleaver Returns at the Bird Cage Theater.
By then it was midnight, so we took a few more photos and then headed home.
Things To Do At Knott’s Scary Farm
Knott’s Scary Farm consists of haunted mazes, scare zones, spooky shows, attraction overlays, and more.
👻 10 Haunted Mazes
- The Chilling Chambers
- Room 13
- Cinema Slasher
- Bloodline 1842
- The Grimoire
- Mesmer
- Origins: The Curse of Calico
- The Depths
- Dark Entities
- Wax Works
The lines for each of these were pretty long, so if these are the main thing you want to do when you’re here and you can only go once, then I highly recommend splurging for the Fright & Fast Lane.
It’s pricey though at $175 and does not include park admission which starts at $59.99.
Another option is the Nightly All Inclusive ticket for $199.99 which includes admission, an entree, side, fountain drink, the Fright & Fast Lane, and parking.
If you look at the individual pricing for admission, food, Fast Lane, and parking then this is a steal!
👻 5 Scare Zones
- The Gauntlet (Camp Snoopy)
- Ghost Town Streets
- Gore-ing 20s
- CarnEVIL
- Forsaken Lake (underneath Silver Bullet)
👻 4 Shows
- Dr. Cleaver Returns (Bird Cage Theatre)
- Le Magnifique Carnaval du Grotesque (Calico Mine Stage)
- Music, Monsters, & Mayhem (Walter Knott Theater)
- The Hanging: Uncancelled (Wagon Camp)
You’ll want to download the Knott’s Berry Farm app for show times each night.
Music, Monsters, & Mayhem is about 45 minutes long and is a tribute show to the popular Scary Farm acts of the past like Dr. Cleaver, Wolfman Jack, Elvira, and others.
Le Magnifique Carnaval du Grotesque is on the outdoor stage, so it’s great for grabbing dinner or a snack while you enjoy the show or plan out your next steps.
Dr. Cleaver Returns is only a 15 minute show inside the Bird Cage Theater, which is pretty small.
We unfortunately didn’t catch The Hanging since the last showing was at the same time as Dr. Cleaver Returns.
👻 Attraction Overlays
- Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny
- Calico Candy Mine Ride
Many of the other attractions remain open throughout the night.
It’s best to use the app to check wait times and down times.
Specialty Food And Drinks
Knott’s Scary Farm offers a special menu of food and drinks throughout the event that you can’t get in the park at any other time.
🥨 Sweet Treats
Cinema Slasher Funnel Cake comes with powdered sugar, strawberry topping, cinema candies, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce.
Cereal Killer Funnel Cake comes with powdered sugar, strawberry topping, assorted cereals, red condensed milk, edible sugar knife, and vanilla ice cream.
Ginger Snap Funnel Cake comes with cinnamon sugar, funnel cake with ginger bits, ginger snap cookies, and vanilla ice cream.
Some honorable mentions include Black Velvet Cake, Raspberry Beignets, Spider Cookie, Witches Cupcake, Jack-O’-Lantern Brownie, Zombie Skull, and Halloween Snoopy Cookie.
🥨 Boardwalk BBQ
The Swamp Gator Sausage, an alligator sausage with pesto sauce and roasted Peppers.
The Bat “Shhh” Crazy Pasta with Rabbit Tenderloin, a bowtie Pasta with rabbit tenderloin, roasted broccoli and pepitas, goat cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette.
🥨 Grizzly Creek Lodge
The Gauntlet Garlic Overlord Burger comes with alfredo garlic cream sauce, arugula and garlic bruschetta.
The Mac and Cheese Pepperoni Pizza offers up creamy cheese sauce, macaroni, and pepperoni!
These are only available on select nights.
🥨 Miner’s Mac & Spuds
Camel Stew Bread Bowl and Sweet Potato Pie with walnuts.
🥨 Prop Shop Pizza
The Spookghetti Pie is spaghetti baked in alfredo sauce and topped with mozzarella, sausage, and bacon bits served over bolognese sauce.
Prosciutto Decomposing Pizza comes with white sauce, mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto, and balsamic glaze.
Mutant Turtle Philly Cheese Steak Pizza features turtle meat, sliced Philly meat, nacho cheese, mozzarella, and peppers.
These are available on select nights only.
🥨 Papas Mexicanas
A La Diabla Fries come with yuca fries with deep fried shrimp in a spicy diabla sauce, cilantro lime rice, poblano crema, corn kernels, and green onions.
It’s available on select nights only.
🥨 Calico Tater Tots
Fingers and Toes are french fries and tater tots combined with ground beef, shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, and cilantro.
This is available only on select nights.
🥨 Dreadful Drinks From Judge Roy Bean
Pickle Hitchin’ is a whiskey and pickle juice served in a cored out pickle.
The Knotty Bean is bourbon, Nutella, Irish cream, vanilla, and coffee served over ice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are what I consider the MOST IMPORTANT answers you need to know before you visit.
✓ What Is The Chaperone Policy?
“Under this policy, all guests ages 15 years old or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years old in order to be admitted to or remain in the park after 4:00 p.m. local time to close.”
Check out the full chaperone policy guidelines before you go if you think it might apply to your group.
✓ Is There A Clear Bag Policy?
Yes!
“Clear plastic bags smaller than 12” x 12” x 6” as well as non-clear wristlets or clutches no larger than 5”x 8”x 2” are allowed at Knott’s Scary Farm.”
Check out the full clear bag policy guidelines before you go so you don’t get turned away on the night of your visit!
✓ Can I Wear A Halloween Costume?
Unfortunately, no!
When you purchase your tickets it states that costumes are not permitted, so be sure to read the check out page.
It should say something along the lines of:
“Not recommended for children under 13. All guests, regardless of age, need to have their own paid admission ticket. No re-entry. No costumes. RAIN OR SHINE“
More Fun Things To Do In Southern California In The Fall
Below are more fun things to do throughout Orange County and the rest of Southern California during the Fall and Halloween seasons.
🎃 Roger’s Gardens Halloween Boutique in Corona Del Mar
Each year, Roger’s Gardens plant nursery in Corona Del Mar transforms it’s Halloween Boutique to a specific theme.
Many of the items are for sale, so it’s a great place to shop for Halloween decor or just browse for free!
🎃 Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch In Irvine
Tanaka Farms is a fantastic pumpkin patch in Irvine.
They also have fun Fall activities like unlimited wagon rides, a corn maze, a petting zoo, and kids games and activities.
🎃 Fun Things To Do In Anaheim In September
Though it’s not officially Fall until the end of September, many Fall festivities and events run all month long.
Anaheim has a variety of theme park special events, festivals, and spooky escape rooms.
🎃 Fun Things To Do In Orange County In September
If you’re looking for something a little more broad, we’ve compiled things to do in all of Orange County all throughout September.
🎃 Fun Things To Do In Anaheim In October
October is really when the Halloween season picks up.
This is when all the haunted houses, haunted trails, haunted mazes, and Halloween festivals begin, plus Oktoberfest!
🎃 Fun Things To Do In Orange County In October
Again, if you’re looking for something broader, we’ve compiled all the best things to do in October in all of Orange County.
🎃 The Best Things To Do In The Fall In Southern California This Year
If you’re someone that wants to see and do it all, this post includes all of the best things to do in all of Southern California all season long!
Conclusion: Is Knott’s Scary Farm Worth It?
So if you’re wondering if Knott’s Scary Farm is worth visiting, no matter the type of Halloween entertainment you enjoy, there is something for almost everybody (as long as you’re 13+ years old).
If you want to be scared out of your mind, then there are so many things to do here to make that happen.
But if you want a more chill night but still enjoy the atmosphere and the season, then there’s still plenty for you too!
