Since its debut several years ago, Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice has taken the brunt of jokes, negative posts online and a ton of jabs from all sides.  However, since this maze/attraction's debut, one thing has been consistent - the talent has been fantastic.

That's right; we said it.  The talent within Jaguar has been awesome each year, considering they have very little to work with inside the queue area for Knott's Berry Farm's family coaster, Jaguar.

Has the maze changed much since it first was introduced to the Scary Farm masses?  Sadly, nope.  We've begged and prayed to the Haunt gods for more design, more detail and more maze to be added to Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice.  For whatever reason, the maze has remained more of an "experience" than anything.  The down side is that people waiting in line - and oh yes, there are lines - think that Jag is a full-blown Haunt maze, when it is not.  Considering the let-down of a roller coaster waiting at the end of that long line and queue, it would be wonderful for the design team to supply Haunt fans with more bang for the buck.  The problem is, there ain't enough internal queue to add to this maze. 

So we start wondering about extending the maze outside of the actual temple?  Where would the maze go?  Not in the Curse of the Spider location; that is a prime maze site - too far from the temple to work properly.  How about next door where the annual booze zone is?  That would be a great maze location... BUT... Knott's would never give up the revenue the Buds bring in.

And of course, Theme Park Adventure has never been shy about stating our position on the beer garden during Haunt - we think it sucks.

So we're going to assume (we know, we know) that Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice is going to remain as-is.  Hell, it's a decent starter maze for rookies and a great learning experience for monsters.  Is it something we visit over and over?  No.  Are we enticed to stay in line after the maze portion and ride the coaster?  God, no.  We visit because the talent kicks ass and we feel it's very important to review this attraction just like any other Halloween Haunt maze.

The maze "design" is bare-bones.  Burlap hung with holes in it, a few "walls" to hide behind and LOTS of fog - sometimes, too much fog to get decent shots for the site!  There's nothing wrong with that, of course - we love lots-o-fog - but it can make our job very challenging!

Hands-down, the focus is the talent this maze produces and the awesome way that they work it each and every night at the Scary Farm.  Granted, the crew needed for Jag is nothing like a normal maze needs.  But the energy, enthusiasm and kick-ass job the Jaguar team produces should be noticed and respected by everyone at Knott's - management, street monsters and other maze crews alike.

First, there is rarely a dull moment.  In most mazes, it is not at all uncommon to find a monster who thinks standing there motionless as you pass is scary - or they simply nod and say, "Hey, sup?"  That is not good, but it happens all the time.  Maybe it's because the TPA crew is mostly male.  Maybe it's because our cameras confuse or frighten people.  We don't know for sure, but it happens each year and will continue to happen in 2006 and beyond.

The one thing we do count on each year is a great talent performance from this group of monsters.  And we are never let down.

Eye black or face paint?  Never a disappointment there, either - other mazes and monsters, take note.  It doesn't matter if you're a crew of 10 or 100 - there is always time to use eye black or make sure your face isn't hanging out from under your mask.  These guys and gals get it right each and every night.  The pictures don't lie - they didn't know when we were coming through with cameras.  We made the trek several times while covering Haunt 2005 - and each time, the team was on fire, made up perfectly and they were great.

As for a soundtrack - if there is one, it is forgettable.  Usually, all that you hear are the screams of people up ahead or behind you in the tight walk spaces in the queue area.  And you know what?  It works.  Having the queue fogged out to where you can't see a thing and having someone scream in front of you - it's a beautiful thing.  We've stood watching - or trying to, anyway - as couples inch forward slower than snails, knowing something spooky is in front of them in the fog.  Some even crawl on the ground!  It's awesome!  Crawling, walking, running - whatever... Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice works.  And it works because of the talent only.

The Jag talent is amazing and deserves the highest props we can give.  To go in to a maze that is barely a maze each night and continuously kick ass like they do is inspiring and makes us very, very proud of them.  They take a big ol' lemon and make the world's best damn lemonade each and every night!

In 2005, the lines were so long to get in to this maze/attraction that it actually caused a problem in our shooting schedule.  As a result of there always being too many people in the queue, Theme Park Adventure was unable to capture this maze on video.  We promise that we will during the 2006 run, as long as Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice returns - which we sincerely hope it does.

Here's to the men and women in the temple - fire it up!  We love you guys!  You are what Haunt is all about and we salute you!

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