We've joked about a Yeti maze for a couple years now on TPA... so if THAT happens, we're asking for a cut!

Just kidding!

Kinda.

So yeah, throw up a corn maze and everyone goes NUTS about it!  We were, to be honest, not terribly excited by the idea of a corn maze going up at Knott's.  To us, it sounded a bit cheap and kind of lame - and the mere thought of it made Rick West's allergies start acting up.  However, the more word about this maze called Cornstalkers picked up momentum, it was easy to see that the fans were REALLY into it - and that it would have big expectations to fill come Opening Night.

And what a strange, spooky mix Cornstalkers turned out to be.  There are so many positive things to say about it, we should start with the major quirk we found with it - the whole Wizard of Oz thing that was going on... what was that all about?

Theme Park Adventure spent a lot of time in this new maze, and it wasn't until probably half way through the Haunt run that the whole Wizard of Oz thing clicked.  Maybe we're slow.  Maybe the addition of that to the maze was really a down-low underscore.  Maybe both.  But literally, it was like a bolt out of the blue - we were shooting some of the still shots and it magically dawned on us like a bolt out of the blue why there was a witch and why there was a jacked-up Tin Man and why there was a creepy soundtrack whispering, "Beware of the Lion..."

Yeah.  Wizard of Oz.  Totally lost on us for half the run.  Totally lost on most everyone, period.  Our suggestion for Cornstalkers 2009... ditch the Wizard stuff and concentrate on the stalkers part.  No one cares about the underlying Wizard of Oz stuff - we want more creepy.  More scary.

And Cornstalkers is creepy.  More so than we would have imagined.  The walkways are very narrow and even though the maze is 95% outdoors, the feeling of claustrophobia is nicely achieved because the rows of corn make it seem very cramped in some places.  We like that and it freaks people out.  Good stuff!

Let's talk soundtrack - because Cornstalkers had a lot of stuff going on; lots of subtle tracks and some really amazing ambient sounds.  Dogs barking, crickets, screams, wind and miscellaneous "farm" sounds - the mix is amazing; one of the best currently as part of the Scary Farm.  Major props to the sound design work on this maze.  Everyone should give it a good listen - even on our YouTube.com video - and really pay attention to how much is going on with it.  It's what we love in a Halloween Haunt soundtrack.  Kudos and props!

The design of the maze is really interesting - and never before has Knott's relied on stalks of corn to act as "walls" for a maze.  That brings us to our next topic of discussion...

Knott's wasn't the first Haunt to have corn.  Kings Island, another Cedar Fair property, actually had a scare zone that incorporated the use of corn stalks.  So, Knott's followed suit and developed a maze with the whole corn thing going on.  Here's the killer... no one from either park communicated about what kind of corn to use, so about a week into Haunt, the corn in Cornstalkers was rotting and by the middle of the run, there was very little corn left at all in... the corn maze.  Yeah.  So while backup corn was ordered to redress the maze with, it too was rotten before it was even installed - a huge mess all the way around.  How such a huge and important detail could be left out of the design and planning process is beyond us - but hindsight is 20/20, right?

com mu ni ca tion
– noun

1. the act or process of communicating; fact of being communicated.
2. the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.

The good news, is that Knott's already has learned the hard way from this and word is that in 2009, the Scary Farm will have the right type of corn to use - as well as some new ways of creating walls out of it so that guests and monsters alike don't also destroy it within the first weekend of Halloween Haunt.  That was a big problem, too.  We have full confidence that the corn situation will be resolved the second time around for Cornstalkers.

With a kick-ass soundtrack and not holding the corn mess as a major ding against the maze, Cornstalkers' design was really good.  Simple, farm-like and just downright spooky.  That is what guests loved and that is what Cornstalkers is also going to be remembered for - just being creepy.  It's funny, because the maze literally sits between the thrill rides of Fiesta Village and the traffic on La Palma just outside of Knott's Berry Farm.  Yet, thanks to the design and soundtrack, you honestly feel cut off from civilization - like you really are on some jacked-up farm somewhere all by yourself with evil things lurking around.  That is a brilliant illusion to pull off, so major props to the design and Build teams on that in the case of this maze.  That was brilliant - and something we thought was very, very nicely pulled off.

The talent in Cornstalkers was for the most part, very good.  The monsters ranged from farm freaks to a Tin Man - and most of the time, the talent was very good and kept every guest on their toes.  The entire maze is kind of quiet, which further adds to its creepiness.  So, the monsters aren't that loud typically or banging around on things.  They lurk, they hide in the corn, they come out of the shadows - it is just what you would hope and expect you would get from a corn maze.  Some great talent has come from Cornstalkers, too - some of them will return in 2009, others will make it elsewhere across the Scary Farm.  Whatever the case, we feel confident that the Cornstalkers crew will bring it hard in 2009 and maintain the level of excellence that the first-year crew set the bar for.

While still not Theme Park Adventure's favorite maze theme, we definitely were very, very pleased with Cornstalkers.  And we look forward to the maze having a very strong presence at Halloween Haunt 2009.  The fans are expecting it, the casual guests will no doubt remember it and come looking for more of the same elements from it and fellow monsters throughout the Haunt family also have respect for Cornstalkers and everyone affiliated with it.

Kudos and props to everyone associated with Cornstalkers 2008.  You took a good maze and made it a great, spooky experience.  You dealt with major design flaws and maintained your level of Haunt excellence.  You definitely gained the respect and admiration of Theme Park Adventure.  You all set the pace in 2008 - let's see what you can do for an encore!

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