This light show was so flippin gorgeous! I don’t even know how to start this rant. For me, Corona Haunt ranks high on every level with what they do.
We saw witches, ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, bats, skeletons, and a bloody house all come to life with the Ghostbusters theme. Some people find Disneyland magical. A good Halloween show is my taste of magic. I don’t know how they did it.. the ghost and skeletons were gliding around — and you almost forgot you were staring at a house.
The show ran about 10 minutes, which I was not expecting at all. Oh, and let’s not forget all the fog to add to the spookiness and the lawn covered in jack-o-lanterns. What a treat!
Fingers crossed for a frightful Christmas show of some sorts. Looking forward to the upcoming Shadow Mountain haunt! I’m actually kind of scared — because it looks like it’s going to be super dark in there — but I’m ready for the hike! Do yourself a favor this Halloween season and check out Corona Haunt. Reservations are sold out for time slots but they’re still going to run a virtual stand by line. You’ll scan the QR code at the entrance, head back to your car, and you’ll receive a text when it’s your turn to come back — EASY!
Corona Haunt’s – Shadow Mountain will run Oct 22 & 25 from 7:00 – 9:00. Oct 23, 24, 29 from 6:30 – 9:30 and Oct 30 & 31 from 6:30 – 10:30 coronahaunt.com
We were so excited Seaworld reopened for Halloween. I had a pass years ago. When the only rides were Wild Arctic and Atlantis. Way before Sesame Street were ruling the Seaworld scene. Now, Wild Arctic is gone and one of the main reasons for getting a pass is — Sesame Street! We were really looking forward to all the Sesame Street action that was going to happen starting in spring. Luckily Giuseppe still has one more year to enjoy that Preschool Fun Card.
I reserved tickets before it was even announced to the public that they were available. I may have been obsessively checking.
When we arrived we went through the temperature check that’s a little off the path then what we’re used to. There wasn’t a line so we breezed right in. We saw a few of the cute Sesame Street floats. Security check was easy. Now, when you’re entering the park you need your reservation ticket AND your pass. Which made the lines a little slower and people trying to find their stuff, including us, a little chaotic. Well, the chaotic part was that our passes weren’t scanning easily — even though I keep them in my pass holder at all times.
Giuseppe picked out the Halloween Knight trick-or-treat bag. Its a cute little penguin dressed as a knight. We also purchased the map for the pumpkin scavenger hunt. Trick-or-treat bags and scavenger hunt maps are 50% off for pass holders.
I made reservations online for Cookie Decorating with Cookie Monster and Elmo. We had the first reservations of the day. Elmo and Cookie walk past the line and wave to all the kids. I’d like to say we had the best seat in the house. Our table was right in front of their floats. Giuseppe was showing off his decorating skills to them and they were so happy to see it.
Whoever’s in those costumes are amazing. They were very alert and knew whenever we were taking selfies and pictures and were quick to pose.
Great assortment of toppings for the cookies. They were packed into a cute little lunchbox that you get to take home.
During the process each table were called up to take photos with the monsters in front of their floats.
Part of the package is they print up a photo for you to take home. As well as making sure to grab all of your Sesame Street merchandise. Giuseppe got a really cool Sesame Street light up necklace. Chucky really knows the meaning of fun when he’s not causing terror!
Tickets for Cookie Decorating is $25 per child. Ticket includes; Big cookie with all the toppings, milk or water, a keepsake photo, trick-or-treat bag of your choice.
Trick-or-Treating was one station near Wild Arctic. They advertised it as a Candy Garden.. but it was just one booth that you wait in line for.. and that’s it. Since opening, Seaworld have sent out emails saying that they’ve added 5 more stations.
Right after, Count and Telly came out to have a dance party on their floats. They’ve both recently celebrated their birthdays. I wish this was a little more organized and there was someone making people line up for photos instead of a free-for-all.
Also, beware when you’re playing over priced games. We payed for 3 games of throw a ball into a sideways bucket. We all know that crap is impossible — especially when your 5-year-old is playing it. Dude set up 6 balls in 3 different sections. The rules are, you need to get both balls in a row. Giuseppe threw his first ball, missed. Second ball, and it flew back out at me. I caught it and threw it back at the guy and he grabbed the remainder of the balls and said, that’s it — and that it would be impossible to win at this point and he threw 3 balls. We explained that he threw 2. Well, dude decided to count me throwing the ball back to him as one of the throws. I told him, that’s not fair. And he shook his head and said that was too bad — game is over — you lost. We wanted to know why our 5-year-old couldn’t throw all of the balls that we payed for. Even though we weren’t going to win. Why would someone lay all of those balls out and then scoop them all away. Who does that to a kid? And he sat there giggling like a madman and telling us game over. Then continued to stare at us while we walked away. Clearly, someone that doesn’t have a child. Later in the day when we walked past there was an older fella handling the booth and cheering on the kids playing and asked us if we wanted to play. We told him that we already did and it was upsetting. He totally understood why a little kid would want to throw all the balls we paid for and allowed Giuseppe to throw some balls with him.
We’ve been there a number of times in January-March before they closed down but we had never made it down to see the Orca’s. What a lovely, gorgeous, beautiful treat!!! Pure magic happened.
Giuseppe also got to touch the biggest bat ray. He loves touching the fish and bamboo sharks at Explorer’s Reef. We redeemed the map from the Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt. Spoiler: you get a mystery box containing 2 enamel pins. I was hoping for the Beluga (my favorite) but we got a penguin and a sea turtle. They’re now on our pass holder.
Seaworld have recently released Elmo and Cookie Monster Squishmallows!! Also, their Fried Green Tomato Slider is yummy!
We love you, Seaworld, can’t wait till you finally get back to normal.
We love the Marketplace at Knott’s. During our normal Knott’s visits we never have enough time to stop in and check things out — mainly because we’re burnt out. Since they were the only spot open for a while we were able to get the pins, Snoopy Squishmallow, and Snoopy cookies there. A little bit of Knott’s is better than nothing.
We decided to order his birthday cake from the bakery. I asked for a Snoopy and Charlie Brown Halloween theme. I think it came out so cute. Next time you’re thinking of Albertons, Ralphs, whatever grocery store you shop at cake — head over to Knott’s instead. Same price with all the quality of The Farm. We also ordered a bunch of Snoopy cookies but right now they have the cutest Halloween themed cookies and treats.
While all of these drive thru, up, into haunts are popping up why not get tickets to LA Haunted Hayride? A popular event during normal spooky seasons. If you’re only choosing one to to attend — this is a must! This was our first ever experience so we had no idea what to expect.
They’re at a new location — Bonelli Park, right at the Raging Waters entrance in San Dimas, close for us. Hop off the freeway and it’s easy to spot. One lane line up. They had things moving quickly. Ticket transaction was quick and then that was it — we were in!
We chose the first slot of the evening so it was still light out when our adventure started. Which was good, because we took my nephews and niece. This was my nephews first ever haunt experience. My niece did The Dreich Society walkthrough haunt with us last year, so this was going to be easy for her. Giuseppe is already at pro level. Both of my parents were also present. We had a car full!
And then we enter Midnight Falls and take a romantic drive down All Hallows Lane. The sets and scenes were great! My dad kept telling me to slow down so he could get a good look. Pretty sure this was dad’s favorite part of the evening.
Right after you pass the “Greetings From Midnight Falls” sign Monte Revolta is talking to everyone in his booth. It was sudden, we were moving, and I was driving so I didn’t get a chance to grab a picture or video. I just screamed with joy and my cold heart pitter-pattered. The view of the Midnight Theater Drive In was exciting. We had regular tickets so we were placed in the back. One right ahead of the back row. The parking was a little chaotic and unorganized but I’ll cut them some slack because it was opening weekend.
The music started and Monte Revolta hit the screen with his tunes. Out came the monsters. We had a devil spinning around on the light pole. Something that looked like The Purge popping up on the side of the car. A creature walking around with a leg — or was it a hand? And a dude with a chainsaw. We even saw a few with snacks. Giuseppe joined us in the front and was having a good ol time. The monsters really took to all the kids in the car. Sneaking along the sides, pretending to hurl body parts at them, and the best part was when they would stand at the front of the car and point at the kids.
On the way out there were a few monsters being menacing on a stand and telling us to honk the horn. The next time slot were already lined up, at Monte’s stand, waiting to come in. I yelled, thank you, to Monte and he waved.
The whole experience was 50 minutes, from the drive in until the lights came on.
There are a few Wednesdays and Thursdays left to experience LA Haunted Hayride. They’ll also be operating the whole week leading up to Halloween. Those are still available as well. All Friday-Sunday slots are sold out. www.losangeleshauntedhayride.com
Right before 2020 sunk into a hole we went to Knott’s for Charlie Brown Day. Our most favorite day of the year. Where we cheer on our favorite guy, Chuck, good grief! We went to their first food festival, Taste Of Calico, back in July. Only Ghost Town was open and we were greeted lovingly by the Mayor. I’m sure he senses we are Good Citizens of Calico. We love him.
Like everyone else who adores Halloween we were spending the past few months wishing for things to get back to normal so we could visit Scary Farm. Then it turned into hoping for “Taste Of Spooky Farm”. They always have those crazy Halloween dishes. Then it happened — Taste Of Fall-o-Ween. I jumped at getting tickets for the first day. I love starting spooky season in September. Plus, it landed on Giuseppe’s 5th birthday.
We arrived an hour after opening and it was a breeze to park and a breeze to get in. From temperature screening, security, and entry. BUT we did go on a Friday in September so that may have helped. Not very crowded throughout the day but the entire park is open to roam.
Now, our main reason for going was the trick-or-treating through Camp Snoopy. Hoping to catch a glimpse of our dear friends, The Peanuts Gang. What a beautiful sight! They did SUCH an amazing job. I felt like I was in the most amazing Halloween setting. Sprinkle in all of those little Peanuts Gang cutouts. They had skeletons on every ride. I gotta say, I think Giuseppe was a little jealous seeing all those bones on his rides. He wanted to know what happened to ride operator, Kevin, who was still dressed in his Camp Snoopy outfit. I told him that when everything got shut down — Kevin got trapped in the park — and this is what happened. Snoopy looked great in his Dracula costume. We yelled that we missed them. Lots of kisses were blown our way. Such a tease seeing them from a distance but it was a lovely surprise. Plenty of trick-or-treat stations. Way more than what they offer during Spooky Farm in Calico during normal operations. I hope they keep it like this because I prefer it more. I love all the ghosts in Calico but this experience was just above and beyond.
It’s obvious that Knott’s are the kings of Halloween decorations and props. If we couldn’t have the full thing I’m glad we got a taste. A really good taste.
Best food item I tried: butternut squash soup in bread bowl. Giuseppe’s nana says: Headless Meatball Sandwich.
Also, if you’re looking to grab a birthday pin, those super special 100th Anniversary ones, ask the person at the exit. Both guest services locations were closed and we were finally directed to the exit. They have them locked closely away and are very happy to provide you with one.
I’ve said this many times — our library is amazing! They threw a Stranger Things party last year and we asked them if they were going to throw another one — and they did! After the awesomeness of Season 3 who doesn’t want a Stranger Things party??
Laney put on her best Eleven shirt and Seppe went for his Bowie shirt and Jack Tripper shorts. His cousin Devin just had a Stranger Things themed birthday party and Seppe dressed up in his best Hopper attire.
The decorations were wonderful
There were photo-ops. Like Steve and a demogorgon
Photo booth with props
The kids went to the Star Court Mall where they could bowl, hula hoop, skip-it, hopscotch, ping pong toss for classic vintage candy. Giuseppe let me choose Wacky Wafers and Laney chose a crystal rock lollipop for their prizes.
After the fun the kids headed over to Scoops Ahoy for waffles and ice cream. During the summer they offer free lunch at the library so their mini cafeteria was turned into Scoops Ahoy. The staff were in full costume. So cute. Giuseppe had a little bit of ice cream but went back a couple of times for only waffles. I said, that’s my kid, the weird one! They were super sweet and let him keep coming back. They had a bunch left over and told everyone to come back for another round. They even had a sprinkles bar along with Swedish Fish and Pop Rocks.
Want in on the fun? Check out Glen Avon library in Jurupa Valley. There’s always something going on.
This was a full weekend of fun but I only attended Saturday’s events. I found out about this event from Night Of The Demons. As soon as I heard cast reunion and showing — I knew I had to go!
Night Of The Demons was a childhood classic. When cousins would come over for the weekend, or summer vacation, sleepovers with girlfriends — this was on the watch list. I mean, this is my favorite Halloween movie. Plus, there’s a TSOL sticker on the boombox during Angela’s iconic dance scene.
I didn’t rush to get tickets right away because I’ve never been to one of these horror events and I wasn’t really sure how they worked. Plus, I was going alone. Then, I get an email from LifeStream about receiving a ticket to Darkside In Riverside if you donate blood. I’ve been donating blood with them since 2016 so I jumped at the opportunity.
The day came and I couldn’t believe I was going to be a part of Night Of Demons. Arrived early to pick up my pass. I turned in my LifeStream ticket and was given a VIP wristband and VIP lanyard. What?! Nobody filled me in on this. I see people talking to Tony Todd (Candyman), John Kassir (voice of the Crypt Keeper), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes), Ari Lehman (Friday The 13th), Harry Manfredini (Friday The 13th composer), Ann Robinson (War Of The Worlds), Robert Mukes (House Of 1000 Corpses), Linda Blair was also one of the guests but I didn’t see her. I made my way through some of the vendors.
The Night Of The Demons Q&A was hilarious! I have a few video clips of some of the funny stuff they were saying. The stories about filming, how they were cast, scaring the shit out of people in full demon makeup without even knowing it.
I went home to see my son and returned for the Night Of The Demons screening.
The cast were there to introduce the film and even stuck around to watch it while doing funny commentary throughout the whole thing.
If you’re into lipstick in the titty, booty shots, amazing demon dancing, fantastic one-liners, snapping necks, and just that classic 80s horror — this movie’s for you.
After it was over half of the cast stuck around and shook hands with everyone and took some photos. I met Billy Gallo (Sal), Hal Havins (Stooge), Lance Fenton (Jay), Amelia Kinkade (Angela) They were so nice. The rest of the cast in attendance, Cathy Podewell (Judy), Linnea Quigley (Suzanne), Phillip Tanzini (Max), Jill Terashita (Frannie), and director Kevin Tenney. Hopefully we’ll do it again one day.
Check out my favorite Halloween movie, Night Of The Demons.
If you’re interested in donating blood at LifeStream or just getting information about it visit lstream.org
I’ve never seen so many people at a library event. It looked like a great success. The crafting room was packed. We got there just in time for Giuseppe to design a trick-or-treat bag and line up for the treating.
All the kids paraded around in their costumes collecting their treats.
Seppe spotted Georgie in the children’s section
After treating Giuseppe went back to crafting and made a couple of pumpkin cups that are displayed on our mantel with the rest of our Halloween decorations.
I’ve been to Knott’s Scary Farm a handful of times throughout my life — I’m sure it’s the same for a lof of folks in Southern California. I just haven’t been since becoming a mommy. I like a lot of Halloween events and nothing compares to Knott’s Scary Farm. I’m not even talking about the scare level. I’m talking the scare actors, decorations/designs, and the atmosphere. Every corner has something going on and it’s a big bang for your buck.
Since we have passes we didn’t have to worry about getting on any rides. The amount of mazes, shows, and scare zones will keep you busy from opening til closing. This year I was more interested and excited about the shows.
We arrived an hour early. The parking was great and not many people were lined up yet. They let you in a half hour early at the entrance of Ghost Town where they do a pre-show about The Curse Of Calico. The fog becomes very thick and when the clock strikes 7 o’clock all of the monsters run into the crowd. I’m glad we were there to witness that.
We had to make it through the Ghost Town Streets Scare Zone to get to our first mazes. Ghost Town is what I always remember the most about Scary Farm because of the Sliders Of Ghost Town. You know, those crazy monsters and ghouls that appear out of the fog and slide in front of you? When you see girls running through the street of Ghost Town you know one of them is after them.
Knott’s goes big with their mazes. Long mazes with a lot of detail. I’d love to stop and check out props at times but there’s no time for that. Between other people walking through and being on the look out for creatures to pop out. That uncomfortable feeling doesn’t allow me. Speaking of creatures, they had some crazy big scares in their mazes, not even sure what I was seeing at times but they were giant, and I mean GIANT, monsters. Definitely the most amazing part that will keep me coming back.
Our first maze — Wax Works. New to Scary Farm, victims of wax, you must escape before you become one of them.
The Depths — dive right in and see some freaky sea creatures.
Paranormal Inc — Demonic spirits and evil doctors! This maze was something else! We were all brought into a room with some actors and a story-line and then CHAOS. Shocking chaos. This maze is definitely a keeper.
Dark Entities — You had me at space! Another one not to miss! I’ll be back for it next year.
We took in our first show of the night, The Hanging. Watch your favorite, or most hated pop culture figures get the shit beat out of them and killed.
We made our way through the Carnevil Scare Zone where all the clowns were waiting. We were able to walk on to HangTime.
In it’s final year, Shadow Lands — demon samurais are loose in this maze. I thought it really interesting and wish it wasn’t its final year. There’s something eerie about this one.
Everyone’s favorite bunch, The Peanuts, are hiding come night fall and Camp Snoopy is now The Hollow Scare Zone. Since I was a kid I loved the scare zones in Camp Snoopy. Something about such a happy magical land being transformed into something so scary.
With a very grand entrance, Pumpkin Eater, is an elaborate maze. It was hard to escape the Pumpin Eater when there’s so much to look at.
It was time for magic and mirth at the Birdcage Theatre with Conjurers. A lot of crowd participation magic.
Excited for the brand new, and so true to the Knott’s Ghost Town spirit, maze, Origins The Curse Of Calico. This maze was fully interactive before you even got in. The residents of Calico were engaging with the crowd while you waited in line. This is another one that took me back to Scary Farm as a kid. Anything Ghost Town and Knott’s themed, I’m all about it.
Another one in its final year, Special Ops Infected. This interactive maze arms you and sends you in with your squad to fight off zombies. Some how I got separated from everyone and was chased by a zombie until the very end, where I was finally rescued. This was our longest wait of the night because of the small groups, the prep, and the story line. We almost missed Puppet Up!, which was the main reason for my Scary Farm visit.
Brian Henson presents Puppet Up!Uncensored. Yes, that Henson. I went into this with high hopes. The Henson family are amazing. The tagline for the show is, “as bad you want them to be”. A lot of shout out crowd participation. The crowd was yelling the nastiest shit they could think of to build up the stories. They got a guy from the crowd to come up and help and everyone was roaring with uncontrollable laughter. They redid, I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face. My favorite was their skit to the Association song, Windy. This was the last showing of the night, if we would have saw this first we would have went to another showing. After the show the cast comes into the crowd with the puppets.
Dark Ride was our last maze. An abandoned carnival ride filled with carnies and clowns! Lots and lots of clowns! I love anything clowns so the set design was amazing!
As we made our way to the exit we went through Forsaken Lake Scare Zone. Our last jump scares of the evening.
Highlight of night; watching a werewolf stop in the middle of an empty street of ghost town, in the fog, and howl. Fucking great!
There are a lot of spooky food offerings and merchandise to grab. All of it is also available during normal park hours.
We were disappointed we made a date night out of it to try it out and didn’t take the kids. Next year we are are most definitely bringing them along.
Scary farm is taking place Thursday’s – Sunday’s until November 2nd. Grab your eats, treats, goodies, and scares while you still can! knotts.com
Having a pass to Knott’s is the best! Having a pass during holiday seasons — even better!
We’ve done Spooky Farm a few years now for the trick-or-treating, the Camp Snoopy show, and the character meet-n-greets. Now that Giuseppe is bigger we’re able to take in more of the sights.
We started with trick-or-treating in Ghost Town. They provide treat bags right when you walk in at the front gate. You don’t even have to ask — as well as a map of the days events and treat locations. Treats included; Kit Kat, Hershey’s, Jolly Rancher lollipop, Junior Mints, and Twizzlers.
During our treating adventure we stopped in the Livery Stable to see the Creepy Critters Of Calico — there’s even a horse in a “skeleton costume”. We even stopped in with the Undertaker so he could measure Seppe.
We stopped in to check out Linus Van Pelt’s Great Pumpkin Patch at Calico Park. Linus wasn’t there but his place looks real fine. You can decorate your own pumpkin or cookie.
Then it was time for the reason we were there — the Spooky Farm Costume Contest and Peanuts Dance Party. Seppe was more excited about the dance party with the Peanuts gang. Giuseppe thought he was dressed for the occasion because he’s the Great Pumpkin. The place was packed! All the kids were asked to line-up and strut their stuff across the Camp Snoopy Theater. Out came Lucy, Charlie Brown, and Snoopy to help out. Seppe’s jaw dropped. He was so excited to see them and he couldn’t believe that he was going on the stage where he’s seen so many shows. So across the stage he went — in front of a way beyond packed house. As he walked off the stage he was given a Knott’s Spooky Farm Costume Party Participant ribbon. It was so sweet. A bunch of kids gathered in front of the stage for a dance party. If you know my kid, you know he lets loose. Franklin and Schroeder came out in the crowd to dance with the kids. Giuseppe had a hard time posing with Franklin because they were both too busy having the time of their lives and dancing. The Peanuts Gang look great in their Halloween costumes! A lot of bigger girls kept telling Seppe that they liked his costume. Everyone working the character meet-n-greets kept telling the characters — look, it’s the Great Pumpkin! The characters would get excited and play along.
We took A Trip To Camp Spooky on the Grand Sierra Railroad. Love it! The Monsters Are Coming, Charlie Brown is such a cute show. We’ve enjoyed the Halloween show at Camp Snoopy Theater every year.
The only thing we weren’t able to fit in our trip was the Spooky Story Time at the Bird Cage Theatre. We were bummed that we missed it — but there’s just SO MUCH TO DO!
Spooky Farm is happening every Saturday and Sunday until October 27th and Thursday October 31st. For more information visit: https://www.knotts.com/
Adventures With Candy 