Lizzy Tsuang
Staff Writer
With Halloween coming up in the near future, Mira Costa students are utilizing the nearby theme parks’ specialized Halloween Horror Nights. As Universal Studio’s Fright Night and Knott’s Scary Farm compete for the ultimate scare, students debate which theme park is more worth while.
Senior Drew Dates ruled that Universal Studios is superior in their scare, possibly due to the fact that they are a movie production based theme park. According to Dates, Universal’s overall costumes and special effects, like fire, lights, and music are more appealing and impressive than those of Knott’s.
“Universal Studios was a great place to go for a Halloween scare fest because the monsters had the same makeup, sets, props, and clothes as actual monsters in real horror movies,” Dates said. “It was very realistic, full of funny and scary monsters, and just fun.”
According to freshman Maddie Hoye, Knotts’ is more centered around their amusement park base than they are with the Halloween Horror theme, utilizing their advantage of roller coasters. Therefore, people have more non-Halloween related options while attending Knott’s.
“The roller coasters at Knott’s are definitely a plus,” Hoye said. “You get to go on rides like a normal amusement park, but also experience the Halloween fright fest-like atmosphere. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Universal has a total of six mazes, all centered around the most recent popular horror movies or television shows, like Insidious and The Walking Dead. The ten mazes at Knott’s have random Halloween based themes like Pinocchio Unstrung and Endgames.
“The Insidious Maze was my favorite part of Universal’s Fright Night,” freshman Maddy Otto said. “It didn’t scare me, but I thought it portrayed Insidious well and made it seem like I was in the movie.”
Universal has an additional featured attraction that Knott’s fails to compete with, The Terror Tram. This year, the attraction is based off of “The Walking Dead” by American Movie Classics, a popular TV series. People on this attraction are dropped off in a Walker-infested wilderness and have to find their way through the clearing of zombies.
“My favorite part aboutUniversal Fright Night is the Terror Tram,” sophomore Steve Sandoval said. “You get to walk around and interact with zombies from the Walking Dead. The line is usually between one to two hours, but it’s worth the wait.”
Knott’s Scary Farm’s tickets, are between $30 and $60, cheaper than Universal’s tickets that range from $69 to $229. Universal and Knott’s are open from 7 PM – 2 AM on only Friday through Sunday, Knott’s is open additionally on Thursday.
“Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year, and these theme parks make it even more fun, ConsideringUniversal is only once a year, it was worth every penny,” Dates said.
Knott’s, located in Buena Park, is around a 55 minute drive from Manhattan Beach, and Universal, located in Universal City, is just over an hour from Manhattan Beach. With the similar travel times, the surroundings of the parks are very different. Universal is located on City Walk, which is a higher end array of restaurants, stores, and other entertainment related buildings. Compared to Universal, there are few retail districts outside of Knott’s and not much to do nearby.
“Universal Studios is situated in a much nicer location than Knott’s because of the adjacent collection of restaurants, movie theaters, iFly indoor skydiving, and candy shops, the restaurants are very tasty,” John Wood said. “I enjoyed the Pizza Palor and Starbucks in Citywalk.”
According to freshman John Wood, Universal Studio’s Fright Night is has a scarier atmosphere and overall better experience than Knott’s Scary Farm. It is worth while to attend, and will impact your Halloween experience, creating unforgettable memories.
“Universal Studios is a great experience, the Fright Night is fun to be a little spooked, but be with all your friends while doing it,” Wood said.
Leave a Reply