If Rodney Dangerfield were a Haunt maze, he would have been Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice, because this little number gets no respect at all, year after year!

Nestled within the already semi-creepy queue of Jaguar, in Fiesta Village, lies the Temple of Sacrifice.  Haunt designers have created a small walk-through scare attraction that hangs in limbo somewhere between being a maze and a weird little sidebar attraction.  Most come away disappointed, because Temple is listed as a Haunt maze, so they automatically (and rightfully so) have huge expectations.  What guests get instead, is a brief, intense scare attraction as they walk the Jag queue toward the coaster's station.

While Temple of Sacrifice does have its problems, it also has some great talent that unfortunately, goes ignored mostly, because everyone is too busy moaning about the shortness of this "maze."

There is no memorable soundtrack in this walk-through, nor are there any elaborate sets to draw energy from when you're a monster.  Instead, the talent within Temple rely on close-quarter scares and do the best they can with what they've been given.  Folks have to remember that a monster can only be so good - without the support of great props, sets, area music and general surroundings, he or she has to bust that ass harder than a monster working in Lore of the Vampire, let's say.  For that alone, we give huge props to the guys and gals of Temple who worked it night after night, doing their very best - and in some case, really delivering the Knott's scare, in full!

Temple of Sacrifice is the single most difficult attraction to document that we've ever come across at Knott's.  The fog hangs heavy in the queue of Jaguar, so taking pictures is a lost cause 99% of the time.  Video is very difficult because of the closeness of everything; you're literally within touching distance of each wall and when there is fog billowing through, it's impossible to see anything through the camera.  We lucked out and hit up Temple while the fog machines were taking a break one night and found some kick-ass talent to play with.

The problem we have with Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice is that if Knott's wants to continue to pawn it off as a Haunt maze, they need to step up and truly pour some more effort and cash into this production.  The talent deserves it.  The fans deserve it.

When you submerge guests into this type of hostile, scary environment and then suddenly it's over as quickly as it started, you lose credibility and the attraction becomes a weak link in an otherwise strong lineup of mazes.  The first part of the Jaguar queue is dark, fogged and teaming with monsters.  Suddenly, you find yourself in a well-lit hall with no fog, no sets and perhaps a monster or two that's wandered too far from the themed portion of the maze looking for a new area to haunt.  It doesn't work.

Turn out the damn lights, add some more hanging cloth, throw in a couple more fog machines and have the walk-through scares last all the way to the coaster station, for the love of God!  Is that too much to ask?  Fans would appreciate it, monsters working Temple would appreciate it and it would be a plus all the way around for a minimal investment of effort on the part of Knott's.  There is no valid reason we can think of not to theme the entire queue of Jaguar up to the station.  If anyone has a different opinion or reason, we'd love to hear it.

In the meantime, we continue to enjoy and respect Jaguar Temple of Sacrifice and those who work it each year at Haunt.  You should be proud of your team and know that your efforts are appreciated in the fan community.

We'd just like to see the walk-through themed out a bit more; that lies on Knott's, not the monsters.  Make that change in 2005!

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