By Rick West

There comes a moment when everyone stands around staring at each other outside of Warehouse P in the backstage area of Knott's Berry Farm and says, "Holy crap.  I can't believe it's here."

From the moment the veil falls on Knott's Halloween Haunt until the First Night of Halloween Haunt rolls around again, monsters and fans wait for a year through winter rain, sizzling summer heat (we're still waiting through that and it sucks hard - much love to everyone in heavy costumes and masks) and endless discussions on website fan forums.  They all wait for the cry of, "FIRE IT UP!" to be heard once again and the doors to Warehouse P to swing wide open, welcoming all inside.

After Build is done and everything is ready to go, Scare School has been completed and fire marshal inspections are clear, the men and women of Knott's Scary Farm take to their mazes one final time as co-workers from different areas file through their twisted halls to see what the talent can bring.  And it's a tough crowd - many of the "guests" on Dress Rehearsal nights are veteran street monsters and maze monsters that have been part of the Haunt family for a long, long time.  They're jaded, they are harsh critics and they are there to support the rest of the Scary Farm team.

And then there are a lot of new hires as well that seem like awkward freshmen trying to navigate high school for the first time.  As we walked through the backstage, a young lady repeatedly asked where Cornstalkers was to be found inside the park.  She had her costume and bag with her, but had absolutely no idea where to go.  We told her Cornstalkers was next to Supreme Scream and pointed at the looming tower across the Farm.  Off she went, focused and rushed.  It was a funny moment, but we're sure she'll be just fine.

There were others, too - talent wandering seemingly aimlessly around the backstage area, asking where they were supposed to go once they'd checked in.  There was wardrobe to be tried on, masks to be worn and eye black to be applied.  Yes, some wore eye black for Dress Rehearsal, and we give those people extra props!  Good job!

As everyone made their way across the Farm and took to their mazes, a massive group of Haunt employees was escorted in through Western Gate and made their way to the queue of Cornstalkers.  Once in line, everyone was let in to the maze; it was show time!

It has to be hard to scare in broad daylight, and since Cornstalkers is an outdoor maze, that is exactly what the talent was up against.  However, most of them worked it out and a few really hit the ground running, screaming and shouting at the passers-by.  Others seemed to be shy, trying to blend in with the tall corn stalks, unsure of what to do, say or when to pounce.  That is totally expected - especially from rookies with the jitters.  By the end of the first hour of Opening Night, they'll all be finding their groove and they''ll have it worked out for the most part.  We have no doubt of this.

Overall, the Cornstalkers crew did a good job - we'll see how fired up they are once the darkness comes and the fog rolls in!  Should be good fun!

Next, the group pretty much stayed in a large line and made its way to the next destination - Quarantine.

Wow... I don't think there was anyone present that wasn't slightly horrified by the complete lack of a facade on Quarantine this year.  Nothing.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada.  Just the maze name and a black box.

Yeah.

Love those studio-sponsored mazes.

It's a GOOD thing that the Quarantine crew inside absolutely ROCKED it!  They absolutely did.  To be honest, we figured it would be pretty touch-and-go, since returning "movie mazes" are usually fairly weak, talent-wise.  It just happens.  However, we were VERY impressed with the energy level and enthusiasm of most everyone in the maze - guests to this year's Haunt shouldn't miss this one; the indicators are that this crew is ready and waiting.  Can't wait to see them all in action for real!

After Quarantine, we made our way with the group back through Camp Snoopy to the entrance of Labyrinth.  And very quickly, the line started flowing through the doors and into the maze.

Labyrinth is such a... strange maze.  It's gorgeous, but not terribly frightening.  Therefore, how do you coach people to act in the maze?  Some are charming, others are sexy and some go for the scare.  It's a weird mix, but everyone seemed to work it out all right.  The Nymphs really stood out as a group that was on their game and ready to bring it.  We hope that enthusiasm continues to build, because they were great for Rehearsal.

The maze itself is stunning again, and is ready for Haunt guests.  It looks to be yet another very good season for everyone at Labyrinth!

Slaughterhouse was up next and the line of Haunt workers lined up under the entrance archway of The Gauntlet, waiting to enter the maze.  This needs to be said right now and we will talk about it in much more detail again... the entry sign for The Gauntlet is an AMAZING arch made of sinister-looking Jack-O-Lanterns that flicker and glow and then are "blown out" by two huge "jester Jack-O-Lanterns" sitting high above.  This absolutely is one of the most kick-ass visuals we have ever seen at Knott's Halloween Haunt and we're VERY excited about it.  So was the entire crowd of Haunt folks - everyone was admiring it, which speaks volumes.  If you can capture this group's appreciation and attention, you've done something special.  And the entrance to The Gauntlet this year is possibly the most special thing at Haunt this season in the way of design/decorations.

Slaughterhouse was the strongest of the mazes.  The crew was ON FIRE and the intensity level was brilliant.  There were a few awkward folks, but that is no worry - the crew is strong and everyone seemed very impressed by the effort and level of scaring going on.  Theme Park Adventure certainly was.  We love this maze, we absolutely admire the crew and we have NO doubts that the 2009 Slaughter team will be just as good - if not better - than last year's amazing cast.  That's a lot to predict, but after seeing the Dress Rehearsal for this - in the most oppressive heat conditions you can imagine - this group is rock-solid and READY to own everyone that comes through!  Bravo!

Alien Annihilation was the final maze of the evening for us and I need to reiterate that I am not sure at all why this maze got such an immediate bad rap in 2008 - hell, even before Haunt started, people were bad-mouthing it.  But I personally thought it was just fine.  And this year, I think it's even better.

The maze itself is much darker - it was a tad bright last year, and that seems to have been corrected for the 2009 run.  There is new techno music added - which normally, I would hate because it is out of theme.  However, considering this is a shoot-em-up arcade game kind of maze, we felt it actually works well!  The monsters were in to it, the "guests" all seemed to have a great time and in all fairness, we thought this experience was stronger than Cornstalkers and just as good, if not better, than Labyrinth.  Don't discount the guys and gals of Alien... they were in good shape last night and I think it will be a very strong year for them!

And that was that.  The first time ever that TPA has attended a Dress Rehearsal night.  I can remember years ago when cell phones were brand spanking new - people would call me after each maze and tell me what they thought and I would quickly relay it however I could to our fans online.  It was great to finally be there for a Dress Rehearsal night and witness it ourselves.  Of course, with the advent of Twitter technology, we were able to keep in real-time touch with our readers as well throughout the evening, which was neat.

There is no doubt that the monsters of Knott's Scary Farm are absolutely ready to rock and roll.  The rookies are fired up and anxious and the vets are also coming out of their hibernation and dusting off the cobwebs.  With the massive influx of new talent this year at Knott's, all eyes are on the vets to take these people into the fold and really mentor them and bring them up to speed.  It doesn't matter whether you're working Haunt for the first time or the 31st time - everyone is on the same team and everyone needs to work together to make it happen night after night.

Fire it up!  This is not a drill!  Repeat: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

It's time.

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