Knott’s Scary Farm 2025

[Jerroddragon]

Kind of insane that knotts got worst but six flags fright fest improved

 

[deadbydawn]

So I came back for my second and likely final night of the year. I’m gonna post this to get this off my chest. I’m sorry but I need to rant.

The line management to get into the park is absolutely WHACK. Up until last year, the line management to enter the event has always been okay and fairly organized. You would basically just go through security like you would normally enter up to the front gates and simply wait out in front. They would if course have ops make space for more people as they entered, but there would be some overflow by the Cable Car restaurant.

Enter this year right after the merger happened. The new system demands you create a line that goes down the marketplace and the line goes all the way past Ghostrider up to Crescent Blvd. So me and my sister make our due diligence to get there early (Like 4:45 early) We see a line up to the entrance to the chicken dinner restaurant. We ask the people in the line if they were in line for Boofet or just general admission. They answer they’re in line for Knotts like everyone else seems to be. It’s now 5:15 and the ops tell us to line up against the wall and told everyone else behind us to go to the back of the line (Which is most likely by now past the Legacy store at least). Thankfully we told the ops we were with the people in front of us so they put us up against the windows. They escorted the people waiting behind us to the back and they were understandably angry. But wait! I haven’t gotten to the good part yet!

So we’re bunched up against the windows by the shops practically touching shoulders with the people around us. There was a chaotic symphony of everyone leaving the park for the day and people going the opposite direction. It was absolute gridlock. There was literally no place to go. Like at all. Literally shoulder-to-shoulder gridlock. It was at a point to where it was a literal fire hazard. If some dip decided to be funny and yell “He’s got a gun!” or some stunt like that, people would get trampled and for sure get seriously hurt. The line ops were arguing with people how they were in line and didn’t understand why they had to go all the way to the back. If they did, they would literally have to go against the flow and fight against the shoulder-to-shoulder sea of humanity.

Finally the line starts moving. I had to have my sister save my spot while I had to fight against the current to go pee real quick. Get mad at me all you want for having someone spot save but come on I got there early, I should be able to go use the restroom real fast. Thankfully I time it just right and caught up with her in line. We get pulled up to the front and the front entrance was empty. Not a single person. All of that mad circus where we were at just to have that area empty. The poor family in front of us was having a hard time because they got there presumably slightly before us and trying to flag down the father who went to house the restroom. After she was told she couldn’t wait to the side she was told that she can’t take her small back packs in so her whole family had to leave the line, put her stuff back and go all the way to the back of the line. They were understandably frustrated and angry. Oh and they were final lying the whole line past the other security gates you would normally enter and funneling everyone into ONE metal detector. ONE. On a SATURDAY NIGHT.

WTH is up with this goofy line management this year Cedar Flags??? The old entrance system was just fine. Thankfully we were able to manage it well and didn’t have to bring any bags in so we got up to the front, but even then that was frustrating. I can’t imagine the frustration of the people around us that told they had to leave the line and then get the rug pulled out from them by restructuring the line all while the front entrance was empty! They had everyone go through a serious fire hazard when all they had to do was have the front gate be a holding area?? Again there was no one at the front gates. I don’t understand this system.

Do you know where I can report this to the fire marshal? I’m dead serious. This was unsafe and awful.

That is horrible. It's only going to get worse as the season gets busier and busier.

I believe last year was when they implemented this change. I can't figure out why they think this is a good idea with no signage, no stantions, no rope, and hardly any employees. Most people coming from the Beach lot will cross the street and make a right, and either cut in line (some knowingly, some un-knowingly) or get scolded by an employee. Last week, I was waiting for a friend and arrived around 7. The line was long and hardly moving, so I just sat on the planters in front of the Marketplace and waited it out. After about 30 minutes or so, the line broke up to where there are these big gaps between groups, and I still saw confused guests either getting told to go to the back of the line by employees, or worse, getting yelled at by other guests who thought they were cutting. If they are going to keep this system, at the very least they need to break that walkway up for two lane traffic and have enough signage and employees to help people explain what is going on.

The whole entrance process is a mess though. I see people almost every time with bags that I know are going to get turned away. The parking attendants will generally bring up the bag policy when you come in, but lately I've noticed it's been really hit or miss. That doesn't even mention the fact that prior to the security check point, it feels like a lost and found for people who showed up without chaperones. The entire thing just needs to be re-worked and better communicated.