VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE MAZE OF 2011
After attending Knott’s Halloween Haunt for 6 years in a row, each year it seems to be less scary. I don’t believe that it is because I’ve become used to the scares, but I do believe that the overall quality of the Haunt is decreasing each year.
Favorite Mazes
Lockdown: The inmates really are running the asylum in this nightmare prison, “Lockdown: The Asylum,” and insanity reigns supreme. The inmates are out of their cells and their minds. And don’t scream for help, this hostile takeover has the authorities running for cover!
This maze had to be the best one of the year. This is the first attraction we visited. The monsters energy was high, and they made me jump quite a few times. The lighting, or the lack of lighting (a good thing), added suspense and unease throughout the maze with its use of dim, and strobe lights which were very disorienting. I was impressed with the sound design of the maze, the loud heavy metal, the sirens, the sound effects in each scene, which which felt disturbing, and gave the maze a sense of ciaos.
I do have to say, that the second and third time we visited this maze, the quality in scares significantly decreased, which left me disappointed.
Overall Score 8/10
Fallout Shelter: Locked in a cement grave for decades, hidden deep below the depths of the lake, an abandoned Fallout Shelter (in 3D) is crawling with human /genetic hybrids, toxic mutants, and a host of nuclear freaks all hungry for carnage. Grab your Geiger Counters and put on your radiation suits residents are ravenous.
This maze never fails to impress me. This was my favorite from last year, and it held up to its name. The darkness and claustrophobia, and overall creepiness of this maze really helps with the scares.
Delirium: In the deep recesses of the mind, on the clouded brink of insanity, lies the hellish wasteland of delirium; a place so gruesome that your imagination fails to comprehend the horrors. Illusion and paranoia are your only anchors to reality. Welcome to your worst nightmare!
This maze was the one I was looking forward to the most. As you first walk in, you are greeted by a blanket of heavy fog, and chilling music. The overall scares of the maze were ok. But what really won me over was the use of different scare tactics. Such as giant inflated bag type things on each side of you, that you had to walk through, letting the victims experience extreme claustrophobia. The use of creepy insects throughout the maze was also creepy. The overall design and look of the maze was like I have never seen before.
Overall Score 8/10
Terror of London: Step back in time and into the fog-filled streets of London where a host of infamous characters are on the prowl terrorizing city dwellers. Step lively or you may fall victim to Jack the Ripper’s blade or Dr. Jekyll’s twisted experiments as Big Ben rings out in “Terror of London.” God save the Queen…and you!
This maze has never really scared me. I do enjoy the set design of it though. I was really impressed with the sewer scene. The designers made it feel like you were going underground, even adding water dripping from the ceiling.
Overall Score 7/10
Least Favorite Mazes
The Slaughterhouse
I walked into this maze hoping it would be better than its previous years, only to be disappointed yet again. Although it was my favorite maze when it came out in 2007, this maze has long overstayed its welcome. Horrible maze layout, with large open spaces that really ruin the scariness. The ceilings were open, so you can see the rides and sky, ruining the eeriness. The actors were very lazy, barely attempting to get a scare, either sitting, or standing around waiting for the night to end. an overall disappointment.
Overall Rating: 4/10
The Doll Factory
I am very sad to say that this maze was a complete disappointment. The maze has long overstayed its welcome. It has always been a disappointment since its debut in 2007, but this year had to be the worse. When I first walked into the maze, I was disappointed with the sound. The music was barely audible, the sound effects were quiet, this got better as the maze went on, but it was a bad first impression. Never in my haunt experiences had I seen so many unprofessional actors and staff in a single maze. Actors were off to the side having casual conversations with the knotts staff. I saw this at least 4 times in the maze, which completely ruined the feeling of the maze. I just felt like I was taking a tour through a cheesy movie set. All of the attempted scares did not even make me blink. The lighting was too much. Half of the maze was very brightly lit, which eliminated the creepiness of what it could have been.
Overall Score: 2/10
Things That Should Be Changed
I am and have been a big fan of Knott’s Haunt for 6 years now. But I do think some big changes would really bring back the quality that Knott’s used to have.
1. Stricter on hiring actors
I’m tired of seeing lazy actors in the mazes sitting down, having conversations with each other, and not even trying. Since this is the case, auditioning is simply not enough to choose the actors. Only actors that enjoy, and work hard at scaring should be hired. More training should be involved, those who stand around and stare at their watches should be fired.
2. Maze Design
The maze design seems to be very inconsistent. It seems as though the designers put 1000% into two or three mazes, and just put the others together because they have too. Darker lighting should be used, so the maze feels creepier. Also, when the mazes don’t have roofs, it takes away from the scariness because you can see the rides of the park when you look up. More roofs should be put on the mazes for a feel of claustrophobia.
Maze Security
I’ve seen a few instances where people walking through the maze harass the actors, and there is no staff around to see it, or they just ignore it and let the monster be harassed. More security should be placed throughout the mazes to protect both the people, and actors. Also, there should be someone in the front of each maze, stopping the line once and a while. That way you don’t have to stop in the middle of the maze and stand there to wait for the crowd to move. Too much people in the maze is a big problem, and is not fun for either the people in the maze, or the actors. When there are traffic jams within a maze, the scariness disappears, and you can see where all the monsters are hiding as they scare people in front of you. I would rather wait in a longer line that wait in a short line to get stuck in another line within the maze.
Overall Haunt Experience
Overall all, my 6th experience at Knott’s Haunt is rated at a 6/10, due to the unprofessional conduct of the security and actors.
