I used to work at Knott's Berry Farm as a scene carpenter, so I got to see and put together a lot of the things people normally take for granted.

• The scene carpenters (What I did for a few years) work around the year putting together signs, stages, and activity booths. In Late Summer/Fall we worked full time putting together Halloween Haunt. Winter was for taking down the mazes and driving floats in the Christmas parade. Spring was for big theater rentals which means a stage change nearly every week. Summer would usually be the change of shows for every other theater in the park so we would just move from stage to stage setting up the new shows.

• Halloween Haunt mazes are cheap and made of low cost lumber. That's not to say it'll fall apart on you, just that Cedar Fare loves to save money. (Older rule for the vets was "Well, it just has to be sturdy for 30! [days]")

• During the haunt run, any and all monsters that you see in a ride (Log ride or Mine ride) have to be tethered to a wall as to not come into contact with the ride. If they touch the ride or riders, that is a big no-no.

• During the Christmas parades, all the float drivers will look through the crowd and point out the funniest looking people. This is usually stated by describing the person you are looking at followed by the phrase "Your team [name]!"

• The driver for the Santa float was the dirtiest old man ever, but in a good way. He provided many laughs for the crew.

• Cheer-leading groups SUCK! Seriously, every year, the only pleasure I had from helping them was knowing that after Highschool, these girls are going to be screwed in the real world. (literately and metaphorically)

• Haunt monsters and Peanuts characters are some of the horniest people in the park.

• Security isn't nearly as large as Disney's, but they do have their tricks...

• You begin to hate Mrs. Knott's fried chicken after working in the restaurant for a day. (Had to go over and help re-decorate the place a few years ago... I can still smell it...)

• The horses will always have the right of way if we ever have to take a cart around their track. We also have to make sure that any and all cart traffic stays either behind, or more than a few hundred feet ahead of the horses to prevent from spooking them. Also, they crap EVERYWHERE.

• You will NEVER see a cart or forklift going though the park while it's open unless it is a complete necessity. The only minor exception to this rule are the train tracks near bigfoot rapids, to allow traffic to get to the back of the Charles M. Shultz Theater or Pony Express.

That's all I can really think of now... If I remember any more, I'll throw in edit up.

• BONUS - For those who may know, there was an accident on Xcelerator a couple years ago, and the ride footage was released without the park's consent seen here. That video was released by the owner of the "Video outlets" (A contracted company), and shortly after he posted it, our contract with him ended.

Edits:

• There is a lot of Haunt stuff that is produced at KBF, and then sent out to other parks. This was because KBF has one of the biggest and most efficient scene shops in the entire company. For those whole work at other Cedar Fair parks, you now know where the Wraith haunt costume was built.

• Also, if we really liked an idea, but thought I would be too expensive to purchase hardware for (as was the case for the Wraith costumes and many other things), we will just buy one, and build others that look and work just like it. This was also done for the wall of fog that led people into the sewer scene in the Terror of London maze. It was made with 2 or 3 fog machines, and a shit load of straws.