Today was a busy one for me. In fact, so much happened, I can barely believe it; I played matchmaker, I staked out a bank, I helped rob said bank, I captured criminals, I set criminals free, I stirred the pot, I saw a wedding, I delivered the mail, I elected a sheriff, and I attended a hoedown. And that was just a fraction of what happened.

Last year, Knott’s introduced this event to the theme park audience for a few months and it went over quite well. Now, as a continuation of last year’s story, Ghost Town Alive returns for the summer of 2017 with an even more expansive experience.

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For those who haven’t heard of it, Ghost Town Alive takes the famed Ghost Town of Calico and turns it into a living, breathing environment for guests to explore, interact, and become a real part of. Taking cues from the immersive experiences we all know and love, Ghost Town Alive casts guests in various roles to learn more about the town, its citizens, and see real stories unfold over the course of the day.

When I arrived during the opening hours of the park, I received a newspaper from a helpful resident of the town, which detailed some goings-on that morning. The headline screamed that today was Founder’s Day, with various news items about other things going on. On the back was a map of town, showing all the pertinent areas that we could come across.

It wasn’t long before I ran into the Mayor and Miss Elsie in the Town Hall. We talked a bit about the town and where we might find some fun stuff to do. As soon as we were sworn in as official citizens of Calico, we headed toward the newly Pony Express office, to hear all about their new service.

But as it turns out, there seemed to be a bit of a rivalry between them and the post office. Brett, one of the workers at the Pony Express, tasked us to find some dish out about the Post Office’s new service…the one that they were developing to put the Pony Express out of business. And that was just how the adventure started…

The beauty of Ghost Town Alive is that there seems to be a seemingly infinite number of things for you to do. The town is VERY much alive, and there are plenty of storylines that you can follow along to see how things pan out. Being tasked to find out a bit of information leads to being asked to deliver a package which leads to finding out who likes who which leads to finding out just how you get into the bank’s vault. Sure, on paper, it may sound confusing, but it plays out incredibly well in person.

You can literally walk into town, and start your adventure anywhere. Want to pan for gold, see how much it is, and bet it during a card game? You can do that. Care to figure out how to help the Mayfields escape, rob a bank, and take over the town? Sure, that can be done here too. Want to follow the messages of the mysterious ‘Raven’ to learn the secrets that are going on behind closed doors in the town? Don’t worry, that’s a mission you’ll want to go on, too.

Despite having seen things like this before, it was incredible to me to see this sort of thing accomplished on such a large scale, especially within a theme park. Despite the thousands of other people within the park, with a good portion of them also playing, it never felt like a conga line. There was always someone waiting for us to do something. Even for the ‘group’ events, it was great to see how crowd flow was handled, to make us all feel like we were part of the action. In fact, the sheer number of ‘one-on-one’ moments I had with actors was pretty impressive.

The actors themselves were top notch. The entire day was filled with wonderful characters who were at the top of the games. Improv was a huge part of this, with them having to think on their toes constantly to respond to what people would say to them.  Every single citizen of town was a standout actor, and deserves an incredible amount of kudos for the work they put in day in, day out.

Run for it, it’s the Sheriff!

To tie the strong acting, the infinite story lines, and the immersive nature of Ghost Town Alive together, let me tell you a short adventure I went on today. Early on, I happened to stop Ike Mayfield, the eldest member of the Mayfield gang, a seemingly innocent question: “Can you point me in the direction of the bank?” Instead of just pointing and sending me on our way, I spent the next twenty minutes with Ike, one-on-one, finding the bank, learning its strong points, staking it out, seeing its valuables, learning how to act inconspicuous around it, learning more about his history, his family history, how the Mayfields were going to rob it later, and (most importantly) finding out how to get free fudge from the candy store was INCREDIBLE…all because I asked one, simple question.

Needless to say, Ike very easily became my favorite character, and every time I saw him throughout the rest of the day, we would fill each other in on what was happening, and catching up like old friends. By the conclusion of the evening, during the Hoe Down, Ike handed me a penny that he had crushed under the train’s wheel. “Something to remember me by,” he said, as he handed it over. And again, this interactions where just a small portion of my day spent in Calico.

The fact that I made a connection to this character over the course of the 8 hour day, during an immersive experience at a THEME PARK is simply mind-blowing. The fact that you can make these connections with MULTIPLE characters during the day is even more incredible.

How they incorporate the guests and their actions during the course of the day really makes you feel like you are an integral part of the town, too. For example, at one point, I was stopped by Izzy Malloy, the Calico Gazette’s report, for any gossip I may have had. I told her a rumor I heard about bank robbery, and what time it was expected to happen. She wrote it down, thanked me for the tip, and headed on her way. When the afternoon edition of the paper came out, just after the bank robbery, I read the article about what had happened…and was surprise to see I was QUOTED in said article. The very thing I had said just a short while ago to the reporter made it into the newspaper.

Insert. Mind. Blowing. Gif. Here.

In the grand scheme of things, does that kind of thing really matter? How many people reading the Calico Gazette will know that the people quoted are real flesh and blood participants? Probably not many, but the fact that *I* knew was a great feeling.

A good, old fashioned Hoe Down!

In fact, seeing quests and adventures I went on pan out over the course of the day made me feel like the things I did, the people I helped, really did matter. Would the reformed criminal and the school mistress had gotten together if it wasn’t for me? Would the Pony Express and the Post Office gotten along better had I not passed the gossip between them? Would these things still have happened? More than likely. But the writing of the stories, and the expert acting, really made me feel like I had a part of how it all panned out. Seeing the stories you followed throughout the day come to fruition during the Hoe Down was an amazing pay off.

The experience can easily be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. It is definitely meant for people of ALL ages, and it is very easy to jump in on the action. That said, if Knott’s offered an adults-only version on select nights for a premium, there would be no hesitation from me to jump on that.

Look, I know I spent the last 1300 words raving about Ghost Town Alive, but you really need to see it to believe it. Knott’s has pulled off something really incredible, and fans of immersive theater really need to get to the Berry Farm to see it for themselves. You will love every moment of it, I guarantee it.

Go see Ghost Town Alive. Trust me. You will thank me later.