Knott's Berry Farm
Encyclopedia


Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California
Buena Park, California
Buena Park is a city in northwestern Orange County, California. As of Census 2010 the population was 80,530. The city is adjacent to the city of Anaheim and is 12 miles northwest of downtown Santa Ana. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Buena Park and the Orange County Area is "Santa...

, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California
Placentia, California
-Local: Placentia is a Charter city with an elected city council and professional city manager. Placentia City Council*Mayor- Scott W. Nelson*Mayor Pro Tem- Jeremy Yamaguchi*Council Member- Joe Aquirre*Council Member- Constance Underhill...

.

Starting in 1920, farmer Walter Knott
Walter Knott
Walter Marvin Knott was an American farmer who created the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California....

 and his family developed their Buena Park berry farm into a popular tourist attraction. Originally selling berries, homemade berry preserves and pies from a roadside stand, Knott built a restaurant, shops and stores onto the property by the 1930s. These were then augmented with minor attractions and curiosities until Knott gradually created Ghost Town, transforming them from a way-point to a Western themed destination in 1940. World class rides were then built and free entertainment drew crowds. Disneyland in nearby Anahiem
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

 complemented the theme park, making Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

 a tourist destination to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

 visitors. As more elaborate rides were included, and big name acts were featured in Knott's John Wayne Theater, a fence was built and admission charged, turning it into a commercial theme park.

The theme park continues to be competitive with special events such as "Halloween Haunt" and with new thrill rides.

Origin

In 1920, Walter Knott
Walter Knott
Walter Marvin Knott was an American farmer who created the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California....

 (1889–1981) and his family sold berries, berry preserves and pies from a roadside stand. beside State Route 39
California State Route 39
State Route 39 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels through Orange and Los Angeles counties. Its southern terminus is at Pacific Coast Highway , in Huntington Beach, and its northern terminus is at Islip Saddle on Angeles Crest Highway in the Angeles National...

, near the small town of Buena Park.
In 1932, on a visit to Rudolph Boysen
Rudolph Boysen
Charles Rudolph Boysen was the California horticulturist who created the boysenberry, a hybrid between several varieties of blackberries, raspberries, and loganberries.-Boysenberry:...

's farm in nearby Anaheim, Walter Knott was introduced to a new hybrid berry of blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...

, red raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

 and loganberry
Loganberry
The loganberry is an hexaploid hybrid produced from crossing an octaploid blackberry and a diploid red raspberry. The plant and the fruit resemble the blackberry more than the raspberry, but the fruit colour is a dark red, rather than black...

 cross-bred by Boysen, who gave Walter his last six wilted berry-hybrid plants. Walter planted and cultivated them, then the family sold the berries at their roadside stand. When people asked what kind they were, he called them "Boysenberry
Boysenberry
A boysenberry is a cross between a European Raspberry , a Common Blackberry , and a Loganberry ....

s".

Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant

In 1934, to make ends meet, Knott's wife Cordelia (1890–1974) reluctantly began serving fried chicken dinners on their wedding china. For dessert, Knott's signature Boysenberry Pie was also served to guests dining in the small tea room. As Southern California developed, Highway 39 became the major north-south connection between Los Angeles County and the beaches of Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

, and the restaurant's location was a popular stopping point for drivers making the two hour trip in those days before freeways. Until Interstate 605 and State Route 57 were built in the late 1960s, Highway 39 (now known in Orange County as Beach Boulevard) continued to carry the bulk of the traffic between eastern Los Angeles and Orange County. Great location and good value were the restaurant's conditions of success which developed long lines of diners.

Knott's Berry Place

As time went on, more shops and interactive displays were opened to entertain patrons waiting for a seat at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The Berry Market expanded South from Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant along Grand Ave. with the addition of wishing wells, rock gardens
with miniature waterfalls, water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...

s and a grindstone "Down by the Old Mill Stream",
near a replica of George Washington's Mount Vernon fireplace
which the Knotts had seen while on vacation and admired it so much that they replicated it behind Jams & Jellies; Lost and Found, Nursery, Preserving Kitchen and Administration Offices. Before long, the Knotts had added Virginia's Gift Shop and several more shops and attractions such as a 15 million year old petrified log,
a thirteen foot diameter cross section of coastal redwood cut at age 750 years,
a visible bee-hive and an oxcart,
with several wagons

provided additional photo opportunities. The entire operation would soon be renamed Knott's Berry Place.

Active Volcano

Walt built a 12-foot-tall volcano of lava rock trucked in from the Pisgah Mountain and equipped it with a boiler that rumbled, hissed, and spit steam at the push of a button. Two signs posted nearby read:
"Danger, keep out" and
"Only active volcano in Southern California moved in from the mojave desert complete—and has been erupting faithfully ever since."

"It's not half as fool a thing as it seems," Knott told the Farm Journal. "When the customers pile up so we can't seat them, the girls send them out to ... play with the volcano. They get so interested that I've had to install a loud speaker system to call them to their meals when the tables are ready." The volcano cost $600, and Knott figured it paid for itself the first month. At some point in the late '50s or early '60s, a fanciful mechanical contraption displayed within a 2'x2' box replaced the manual push button. A small red devil with fiery wings cranked a chain behind the glass driving a larger black drum fitted with bent sheet metal acting as cams around its edge, several turns of the demon would cause the cams to strike switches and the active volcano would illuminate, rumble, hiss and/or steam – simulating vulcan activity. The caption sign above the enclosure read "This is the apparatus that controls the volcano. It was made by Henry Legano, and is operated by the gentleman turning the crank. (Sound effect by Bob Halliard.)". The volcano became the "Cornerstone" for a real gold mine, both figuratively and literally.

The most popular genre of motion picture at the time was 'The Western,' and western themeing was quick and easy to make: slap some concrete over chicken wire and carve it into rockwork before it sets, known today as shotcrete
Shotcrete
Shotcrete is concrete conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface, as a construction technique....

. This construction technique became the basis for fabricating much of what was to become Knott's – from stairways to mountains and tunnels, even the tree stump shaped drinking fountains. Using techniques like those on the Watts Towers
Watts Towers
The Watts Towers or Towers of Simon Rodia in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California, is a collection of 17 interconnected structures, two of which reach heights of over 99 feet . The Towers were built by Italian immigrant construction worker Sabato Rodia in his spare time over a period of...

 one could set decoration in it, like the sheet of quartz containing a dark sandy vein indicating gold – as was the entrance to the gold mine/pan for gold.

Gold Mine

From the West side of the volcano, guests could enter a mine shaft following a vein of gold down into a large open pit and the Pan-for-Gold activity where customers could buy a ticket to pan for real gold to take home in a vial. Nearby the gold mine shaft entrance, the prospectors mule would haul a stone around an Arrastra
Arrastra
An Arrastra is a primitive mill for grinding and pulverizing gold or silver ore. The simplest form of the arrastra is two or more flat-bottomed drag stones placed in a circular pit paved with flat stones, and connected to a center post by a long arm...

, a circular ore grinding pit, filled with gold bearing quartz to release its gold. (In 1998 the mine entrance was converted to the entrance for the Ghost Rider rollercoaster which descended from the station into the former Gold Mine pit. Pan-for-Gold was moved West to School House Road between Boot Hill and the Miner's Bank.)

Ghost Town

Ghost Town is the oldest part of today's enclosed Knott's Berry Farm amusement park, and includes most of the buildings Walter brought to the property in the 1940s and 1950s.

Old Trails Hotel

Little by little, Walt began building a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old west towns such as Prescott, Arizona
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....

. Painted signs of Old Trails Hotel had a humorous scrawl of the letter 'G', as if to hastily change the name to Gold Trails Hotel. It was the first of many and re-built to house a salute to the hardship endured by early settlers.

The Wagon Train Panorama – a free, three minute show. Originally the entrance was through the open end of a Conestoga Wagon
Conestoga wagon
The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...

 The canvas covering of the wagon entrance did not last long and was converted to a wooden extension of the hotel which effectively 'built-in' the wagon. The enclosed Conestoga Wagon showcased several artifacts relating to the pioneers who endured the hardship of traveling to California in covered wagons. Pioneers were welcomed to sign a '49er's guest book, while waiting for the free three minute presentation in tribute to those hardy 1849 pioneers. The Covered Wagon Show featured a static diorama of a covered wagon train crossing Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...

 and ended with the voice of a little girl saying "Mommy, I want a drink of water!"

Along the south side of Main Street where the line of waiting dinners wrapped around the building, he filled themed "shops" with relics set into a scene of whimsy. Starting at the corner of Gold Mine Road and Main Street, "Deadwood Dick's" grave marker showed that he died with his boots on, near Soldado José wood carving of a Mexican Soldier. The playback in the Assayer's Office pits the owner attempting to discover, and jump, the claim location against the prospector yet to stake his claim. Hop Wing Lee the proprietor of the Chinese Laundry irons endlessly, singing western tunes in Mandarin. The Barber shaves One Eye Ike and contemplates his wanted poster hanging nearby. A piano player was hired to play outside the Silver Dollar Saloon where real cups of boysenberry drink could be purchased with snacks. The Sheriff's Office hosted a crooked poker game. To interest folks and entice them to the back of the line, Gold Dust Goldie's Hotel featured a live gentleman interested in a few details about your group about to visit Sad Eye Joe back in the Town Jail – to surprise them with personal comments. Goldie's leg in fishnet stocking and high-button shoe, covered with petticoats hung out of an upstairs window of Goldie's Place would kick then return to thump the clapboarding, as if to advertise the brothel.

Pitchur Gallery

Reflecting humor in illiteracy, the establishment's name was intentionally misspelled "Pitchur Gallery". In 1940 Gus Thornrose set up shop behind the 'G'old trails hotel, with standee
Standee
A theatrical standee is a large self-standing display promoting a movie, product or event. They are typically made of cardboard, and may range from large self-standing posters to three-dimensional devices with moving parts and lights....

s, a Western saloon bar-room scene, and even a stuffed bucking bronco
Bronco
Bronco, or bronc is a term used in the United States, northern Mexico and Canada to refer to an untrained horse or one that habitually bucks. It may refer to a feral horse that has lived in the wild its entire life, but is also used to refer to domestic horses not yet fully trained to saddle, and...

 posed in mid throw. Near the cuspidor (spittoon) was a sign which was captured in many souvenir photographs "Spit on ceiling, anyone can spit on the floor." Folks could select from a wide variety of costuming and stand for a pose, or choose to put their faces through holes of humorous standees such as lifting weights, prospector dancing with a Can-can girl or sit behind painted oxen hauling a covered wagon to be captured with vintage wooden large format bellows cameras onto glass photographic plates. Digital capture has since replaced the labor intensive development process. "You'll never know how good you look, until ya gits yer pitchur took."

Blacksmith

Along the north side of Main Street were benches on the boardwalk featuring photo opportunities with fiberglass figures of the grizzled prospectors Handsome Brady with Whiskey Jim (although the sign behind the bench called him Whisky Bill, a misprint) and the dancing girls Marilyn and Cecelia Hargrave, a very popular hand pump
Hand pump
Hand pumps are manually operated pumps; they use human power and mechanical advantage to move fluids or air from one place to another. They are widely used in every country in the world for a variety of industrial, marine, irrigation and leisure activities...

 among the kids which recirculated water through a horse drinking trough, and Old Betsy the popular photo-opportunity of a small saddle-tank steam locomotive and borax train beside the Blacksmith's shop. A real live Blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 in a large leather apron would stoke the hearth with bellows
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...

. Then with a hammer, forge the red hot iron on an anvil
Anvil
An anvil is a basic tool, a block with a hard surface on which another object is struck. The inertia of the anvil allows the energy of the striking tool to be transferred to the work piece. In most cases the anvil is used as a forging tool...

 to shape souvenir horseshoes
Horseshoes
Horseshoes is an outdoor game played between two people using four horseshoes and two throwing targets set in a sandbox area. The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 feet apart...

. It still is a real working blacksmith, and much of the ironwork seen in the park was commissioned to be fabricated there. Guests can have implements made such as custom fireplace pokers and even branding iron
Branding iron
A branding iron is a tool which uses the process of pressing a heated metal shape against an object or livestock with the intention of leaving a mark....

s.

Livery Stable

Walter re-built a Windmill water pump originally from England and used here on a ranch beside the Livery Stable housing a collection of wagons, coaches, and horse drawn hearses. Walter didn't think his collection of old buildings would get much bigger, so the stable was placed across "the end" of Main St. and the Dry Gulch Pack Train and stage coach ride planned for Stage Coach Road.

Bottle House and Music Hall

The Bottle House (1948) housed a 4'x4' hundred year old oil painting of a Chief and his squaw and a collection of ancient ornate musical instruments, coin operated amusements, gambling devices, along with elaborate and rare music boxes from France, Switzerland, and Germany. The Swiss birdcages featuring whistling mechanical automaton birds were among the inspirations of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 to create Audio-Animatronics
Audio-Animatronics
Audio-Animatronics is the registered trademark for a form of robotics created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise, generally in speech or song...

.

Covered Wagon Camp

With the success of the free entertainment, another Western themed attraction was dug into a pit and terraced with concrete rockwork. Live performances of popular Western and Country bands and singers were featured, as guests gathered around a raging campfire, surrounded by a circle of Conestoga wagon
Conestoga wagon
The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...

s, humorously painted with slogans such as "California, or bust" on the Prairie Schooner canvas. Part of that installation included Sutters a fast food burger, hot dog, pizza, chilli, fries and drinks stand, served in a folding cardboard box as a box lunch for enjoyment in the Covered Wagon Camp, setting a precedent and long standing tradition of enjoying a meal purchased at Knott's to be enjoyed anywhere.

Knott's Berry Farm transitioned from a way-point into a destination as word spread.

Mark Smith Horse Show

A wild west style horse show was in an open air bleacher stadium, where Calico Mine Ride is now. It was similar to the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Butterfield Stagecoach

The Butterfield Stagecoach left every few minutes from the Stage Depot in 1949. Well trained teams of horses hauled historic equipment – 3 original Butterfield coaches, 1 Halloday coach, 1 Overland Southern coach and the Knott's Berry Farm coach that was built for the farm in 1954. Guests enjoyed a Stagecoach journey looping North around the badlands filled with bad men.

Calico Square

In 1951 Walter Knott inherited his uncle's silver mill in Calico, CA near Barstow
Barstow, California
Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 22,639 at the 2010 census, up from 21,119 at the 2000 census. Barstow is located north of San Bernardino....

 where he worked as a child, then proceeded to purchase the entire town of Calico, San Bernardino County, California and then restored the Calico Hotel there. Many structures were re-created on the ruins of their foundation. Other structures were disassembled, removed, and reassembled near the railroad depot to create the new Calico Square.

When folks wanted entertainment during the day, Walter provided several more intimate shows, more frequently.

Calico Saloon

The Calico Saloon at the west end of Main Street was the featured building fronting Calico Square. A tiny stage was located above the West end of the balcony, later it was replaced by a wide formal stage, south behind the bar. It hosted a variety show inside with a piano player, a few vaudeville routines, and dancing girls performing the Can-Can
Can-Can
The Can-can is a dance. It may also refer to:* Popularly, the Galop Infernal movement of Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, commonly associated with the dance* Can Can , a 2007 fragrance by Paris Hilton...

. A wide stairway led up to the interior and outside balconies. The inside balcony provided additional seating and tables, along with the best view of the show. A pair of baskets operated like a dumbwaiter
Dumbwaiter (elevator)
Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators intended to carry objects rather than people. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial and private buildings, are often connected between two floors...

 to lift meal orders up to the waitress there.

Outside in Calico Square Harvey Walker played Doctor I. Will Skinem performed his Medicine Show and peddled "Boysenberry Elixir" from his wagon/stage near the popcorn cart, the same wagon stage featured a young Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

 on banjo between performances at the Bird Cage Theater. Cowboys confronted the Sheriff and his posse. They performed shootouts with flips and stunts, even a high fall. To wrap it up, fifteen minutes of comedy involved the Boot Hill Undertaker trying to remove the body from the Calico Square Wild West Show. The stunt show performances are scheduled at the Covered Wagon Camp nowadays, with impromptu shootouts in front of the Blacksmith, outhouse and Calico Saloon.

Between the saloon and the general mercantile was the Post Office which was for a time a real working U.S. post office and Wells Fargo Express walk-in attraction displays. The post office featured cutting-edge 1870's postal technology and the Express office depicted activities of a gunsmith.

Ghost Town & Calico Railroad


In 1951 work began to grade and lay track for a grand circle rail route for recently acquired authentic narrow gauge C-19 engines No. 340 "Green River" (renamed Gold Nugget #40) from the Denver & Rio Grande and No. 41 "Red Cliff" from the Rio Grande Southern
Rio Grande Southern Railroad
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad which ran from Durango to Ridgway in the western part of the US state of Colorado...

, historic Consolidation class (2-8-0)
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...

 locomotives from Colorado. They would haul a yellow combination baggage/coach
Combine car
A combine car in North American parlance, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of railroad car which combines sections for both passengers and freight....

 No. 105 "Calico" with arrows embedded near the baggage door (now renamed to original "Chama", arrows and numbers removed and painted in then-current Pullman-green livery of D&RGW) and several more vintage wooden passenger coaches filled with delighted guests on round trip excursions when the route opened on January 12, 1952. The Durango parlor car, the Silverton observation
Observation car
An observation car/carriage/coach is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the last carriage, with windows on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure...

 sleeper
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...

 and the B-20 "Edna" Business cars
Private railroad car
A private railroad car, private railway coach, private car or private varnish is a railroad passenger car which was either originally built or later converted for service as a business car for private individuals. A private car could be added to the make-up of a train or pulled by a private...

 were held with the caboose on sidings during normal operation. Whether in the heavyweight steam train or the light duty Galloping Goose
Galloping Goose
Galloping Goose is the popular name given to a series of seven railcars, built in the 1930s by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad and operated until the end of service on the line in the early 1950s....

 No. 3, the highlight most guests remember are the train robbers of the Knott's Scenic Route of the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad.

Calico Mine Train

Bud Hurlbut created this rumbling tour aboard six ore cars fitted along the sides with benches behind a fanciful representation of a small steam locomotive on a narrated journey touring the "Calico Mine". Admission could be purchased from the shack at the base of the trail up to the station. An underground lake, steam geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...

, shaft elevator, "Square-set timbering" construction techniques on the lift hill and several glimpses of the "Glory Hole" could be seen aboard this power assisted gravity coaster. A day-glow painted cavern featured several formations of stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and stalagmites building slowly from the floor, to dramatic organ music. Dead Man's Trestle was then crossed slowly before the train became a "runaway" through a blasting zone and cave-in for a thrilling climax of this enclosed, power assisted gravity roller-coaster.

Along the front was an overhang built to cover the Mule Train boarding area. The Mule Trail was relocated east across Beach Blvd, and then removed entirely when those shallow canyons were converted to the picnic grounds.

Bud Hurlbut (Wendell "Bud" Hurlbut 1918-Jan. 5, 2011)
of Hurlbut Amusement Company constructed Calico Mine Train which opened in 1960 on Walter Knott's property at a cost of $1.5 Million as a concession, and paid Walt a portion of ticket sales. When Walt visited Bud during construction he asked "Do you know what you are doing?" and even though the had invested every cent and more Bud replied "Yes." He told the story later and added "…and I never lied to him again.". Bud lived in an apartment with a cot and refrigerator, hidden inside near the train storage tracks and repair shop, a short commute to an endless task. It incorporated many innovative designs and was the first use of a switchback queue. When Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 came to ride he was astonished enough to exclaim "You old S.O.B!" because of the way the trail was hidden and appeared to be a shorter wait than actual, which is now the industry standard. Bud was also the operator of the Knott's Lagoon attractions – the merry-go-round, the row-boat and peddle-boat rental, the Cordelia K. Steamboat side-wheel steam boat, and continued to construct superior amusement park steam locomotives and trains, like the Miniature Train circling Knott's Lagoon. He would continue to create world class attractions, such as the Antique Auto Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride at Knott's and other theme parks. The Calico Mine Train remains a popular attraction.

Judge Roy Bean's Saloon

A faithful re-creation of "The Jersey Lilly" Judge Roy Bean's Saloon in Langtry, Texas opened with casks on each end of the bar disguising Boysenberry Drink fountains. Coin operated vintage gambling machines were converted to amusements where every pull was a winner and rewarded one souvenir token.

Couples could "Get Hitched" in a comedic mock matrimonial ceremony, conducted by the barkeep and justice of the peace. The wedding ring was a bent horseshoe nail, selected from a pailfull to fit. A painting of Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...

 was purported to adorn the wall, which upon further examination turned out to be the unsinkable Molly Brown. This building was later moved west from what is now the Indian Trails stage area to Calico Square.

East Side

Beach Boulevard intersected the property, but that did not halt development. A tunnel was built under the road for two way traffic, later converted to Eastbound motor traffic and pedestrian underpass. Developments on the East replaced the last orchards with Jungle Island, Knott's Lagoon, the temporary home of the Mule Train, and, eventually, Independence Hall, the Picnic Grounds, the main parking lot which replaced Knotts Lagoon, Soak City and the final relocation of the Church of Reflections.

Jungle Island

Jungle Island, home of the Woodniks, could be reached by presenting a "C" ticket from the Super Bonanza Book or purchasing a ticket from the booth at one end of a covered bridge for admission across a shallow moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

 to a forested hill where children found adventure and played hide-and-seek games all day. Woodniks were "creatures" made from strange shapes of wood with glowing googly eyes and nearby speakers to give them voice. Kids could ride a pair of Woodniks at the water's edge like a teeter-totter, which activated splashing effects. Another woodnik nearby was ridden like a rocking horse to spray a stream of water out over the moat. There were paths up the terraced hill which led to more woodniks and activities. The "Catawampus" woodnik survives beside the windmill in Ghost Town, but Jungle Island and the adjoining Burro Trail were incorporated into the private picnic grounds in the 1990s.

Knott's Lagoon

North of Jungle Island, Knott's lagoon covered more than an acre with an artificial lake, encircled by a miniature railroad with a carousel at its edge, by the ticket and boat house. Bud Hurlbut operated the amusements, and built most of them. The lake featured rental rowboats and peddle-boats and the Cordelia K. – a side-wheel riverboat excursion named for Walt's wife. Corn kernels could be purchased by the handful from gum-ball machines mounted on poles near the water's edge, and a popular activity for local residents was feeding the ducks who lived there year-round. Knott's Lagoon was bulldozed and paved over to become the main parking lot when Camp Snoopy was built on the former North parking lot. Some ducks moved to other parks and lakes, but many ducks still live and gather in the Adventure Island Moat north of Independence Hall, and many local residents still stop by regularly to feed the ducks and coot
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...

s.

More expansion

Frequent activities at what Knott called a "summer-long county fair" included – naturally – boysenberry pie eating contests. When Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...

 was built in nearby Anaheim, the two attractions were not seen as direct competitors, due to the different nature of each. Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 visited Knott's Berry Farm on a number of occasions, and hosted the Knotts at his own park (including inviting the Knotts to Disneyland's opening day). The two Walters had a cordial relationship, and worked together on a number of community causes.

As Knott's Berry Farm continued to grow in the 1950s, new displays were added.

Haunted Shack

A featured attraction of 1954 which existed at both Knott's Berry Farm and the recently acquired Calico, California was a walk through amusement purporting to demonstrate aberrations of gravity.
Tickets were sold at a window at the head of the queue which ended in a group waiting area. A tour guide would then collect the tickets as guests were seated on benches facing a fence built in forced perspective behind a level concrete slab in the shape of a cuneiform cross. A tall and short guest were selected as volunteers to demonstrate a mysterious property of the property – when they swapped places, they were perceived to change size. Guests were then led down a canyon to witness water flowing uphill. Then into the first room of a highly slanted shack containing a pool table where every shot sinks to the highest corner pocket, a shelf where a soft drink bottle was seen to roll uphill, and a broom was seen to stand unsupported at a slant.
In the next room, guests were selected to stand "off the wall" and women were challenged to rise "Lady Like" from a seat. Then moving outside, water was hand-pumped to a hanging pail but always flowed to one side and missed. To explain the water, a sliding panel was moved revealing a water faucet hanging in mid air from a wire, with a steady stream of water pouring out. Then the group moved into the bedroom to witness a scene with 'grandma' in a rocker and 'grandpa' in bed. The lights dimmed revealing spooks of luminous paint. From an outhouse at the exit words were heard complaining about the sudden queue for the potty from inside, stating they may have to wait awhile – then the door would fling open revealing the surprise of a seated human skeleton with newspaper as if reading.

Art Glow

Walter's son Russell's personal collection of fluorescent rocks that glowed under ultraviolet light;

El Camino Real – The Kings Highway

In 1956, a miniature El Camino Real was completed, running North from the end of Stage Road at the railroad depot, underneath a pedestrian underpass of the Stagecoach trail then alongside it, up to the far edge of the park at La Palma Avenue. Along the way were twenty-one adobe enclosures each displaying a miniature model accurately portraying life and activities of the next Spanish mission in California
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...

 to the north, with descriptive text beside the viewing window.

The Candy Parlor anchored the South end of Gold Mine Road, rose garden featuring an antique four-face pedestal clock, past the Steak House with its Bakery, Garden Room and Rock and Book Shop across from Gold mine. Across Main Street, the Hangman's Tree stood ominously beside the adobe Fire Station providing little shade to the ore grindstone pulling burro circling the arrastra
Arrastra
An Arrastra is a primitive mill for grinding and pulverizing gold or silver ore. The simplest form of the arrastra is two or more flat-bottomed drag stones placed in a circular pit paved with flat stones, and connected to a center post by a long arm...

, and one could view the Covered Wagon Show Wagon Train Panorama in the 'G'Old Trails Hotel.

Across Market Street and to the East guests were entertained while circled around the bonfire in the Covered Wagon Camp. The path split as "The Trail to the Chapel" and "Trail to Indian Post and Art Glow" which went North across the Cable Car tracks, between the Seal Pool and Old MacDonald's Farm, under the Stagecoach path to the Merry-Go-Round, Children's Model T Ride – glorified coin operated kiddie-rides set into pavement near miniaturized city street facades, and Antique Auto Ride – a car ride built by Bud Hurlbut electrically powered and guided by a center rail, which was later renamed Tijuana Taxi.

Calico Square expanded South as well. In 1958, Mott's Miniatures opened at the West end of Museum Lane in Jeffries Barn with the Boxing Museum. Next door to the East, the Western Trails Museum, then the School House and at the junction of School road – The Bird Cage Theater, which was the starting place for many small-time actors, as well as that of Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

, is a reproduction of the famous Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...

 landmark. Across Museum Lane to the North, Antique Pianos, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Supply House Miniature Train store and the Gun Shop.

California Street Cable R.R. Cable Cars

In the early to mid-1960s, the park was visited more by "locals" than tourists. Children fortunate enough to have grown up in the area may still recall taking a battery-electric powered San Francisco Cable Car
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...

 to the South end of the parking lot to drive a Model-T at Henry's Auto Livery on the Northwest corner of Beach Blvd. and Crescent Ave.

Boot Hill

Between the blown-up Miner's Bank and the Grist Mill with its water-wheel grindstone bagging corn meal or wheat flour was a collection of mining equipment, shafts, and shacks playing fanciful recordings of their activity. A few steps beyond, in Boot Hill Cemetery, headstones and grave markers gave macabre humor to the fate of the deceased – Hiram McTavish even invited bystanders to good luck by feeling the heartbeat by standing on his mound.

Organ Grinder – Stepping out onto Market Street kids of all ages would surround the circle of yellow paint on the ground under the pepper trees near the adobe arches and wait for the organ grinder to arrive. Turning the crank on the brightly painted music box, his trained monkey "Shorty" would hop around the edge of the circle, snatching your pennies and tipping his hat by way of thanks.

North past the Church of Reflections and Our Little Chapel by the Lake, was the Indian Trading Post on an island in the lake, Inspiration House, Art Glow and Flamingo Pond, towards the area which would soon become home to Fiesta Village, one would cross the Cable Car tracks and walk past Old MacDonald's Farm to get to the Seal Pool.

Old MacDonald's Farm, an elaborate petting zoo was an animal attraction that lasted longer than the Burro Train and Seal Pool, replaced in 1978 with Montezooma's Revenge and a restaurant. In Old MacDonald's Party Garden there were a handful of themed areas where parents could host their children’s birthday party for a nominal rental fee. The coveted spot was the birdcage, an actual metal framework built up on stilts.
North, across the Cable Car tracks, was Old MacDonald's Farm – a petting zoo with: goats, bunnies, and chickens, even a pair of hundred year old Galapagos tortoise, and for a short while, a baby elephant. A goat could climb the wall to a cage high atop the corner and becon folks into the enclave, for 25 cents. Parents cautioned their children to keep a tight hold on their shirt tails and bags of candy, for nothing was safe from the curious nibblings of the wandering goats. A nickel cranked in nearby converted gumball machines would buy a handful of alfalfa pellets to feed them.
Henrietta – the piano-playing chicken could be found within a wooden coop surrounded by glass. Pushing a nickel in the coin slide would illuminate a red lamp atop her toy piano and signal her to peck out a song; when she’d hit enough keys, a sprinkling of corn would be released into her food tray. The petting zoo was also home to a unique riding attraction – a one horse powered carousel swing. The Knott’s had ingeniously converted a hot walker into a kiddie ride. Pairs or trios of children would sit on wooden seats suspended from the end of eight poles radiating from a central axis where a mule patiently waited under the canvas shade. The handler, wearing overalls with a bandanna around the neck, would sit on the rig behind the mule and start the swings circling by walking the mule.

Seal Pool. Park goers were delighted by the sights and sounds (and smells) of the Seal Pool. Perhaps nothing was more exciting than holding the rapt attention of the seals as guests dangled one of a half dozen sardines, sold nearby in small paper bags – 15¢ or two for a quarter.

Independence Hall

All visitors to Buena Park are encouraged to enjoy complementary admission to this patriotic attraction – re-created brick-for-brick on the east property in 1966. Independence Hall continues to feature an audio presentation, with speakers located at appropriate tables, which recalls the debate which led to the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

, and is frequented by "Adventures in Education" student groups. Displays have included a replica of the Liberty Bell
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...

 and a replica of the original Star Spangled Banner Flag
Star Spangled Banner Flag
The Star-Spangled Banner Flag or the Great Garrison Flag was the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812...

 which flew over Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...

 through a British attack during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, which influenced Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the lyrics to the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".-Life:...

 to pen the poem that became the National Anthem of the United States. This replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall was so accurately re-created that it was used in the 2004 film National Treasure
National Treasure (film)
National Treasure is a 2004 mystery adventure heist film from the Walt Disney Studios under Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub...

, and the blueprints of the replica were requested to reference during the restoration of the original Independence Hall
Independence Hall
Independence Hall is the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets...

 in Philadelphia, PA.

By 1967 the property, with access from all directions, became very attractive to locals and visitors from near and far – as well as to squatters and vandals.

Enclosure

In 1968, 25 cents admission
Admission to an event or establishment
Admission to a journey or other event or establishment may be subject to paying an entrance fee / buying a ticket. A pass may give admittance without a ticket for a given time period, or give the right to obtain free tickets. A discount pass allows buying tickets at a reduced price...

 was charged for the first time, after the Knott family rerouted the Cable Car and circled the property in a tall fence. The fence enclosed three themed areas:
  • Calico Ghost Town as originally built. Handstamp viewing lamps were added behind the new entrance gate starting north of the volcano. Exit turnstiles and the re-entry gates were added across Gold Mine Road, allowing ready access to the Steakhouse, dining and shops.
  • Fiesta Village portraying Spanish California, a re-theme of the North property starting at the Church of Reflection.
  • Gypsy Camp A new expansion in the former West parking lot, with Thieves Den a large amusement machine arcade (which is still present, but diminished by the world's largest Johnny Rocket's) an outdoor stage with the world's largest water curtain, 'caves' with a magic shop, air bazooka game, and featuring the immense John Wayne Theater, later the water curtain would be moved into the theater, and the entrance thru the John Wayne Museum would be incorporated into the Cordy's Corner shop when the Roaring 20's conversion built an elevated railway themed ramp spiraling up around Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars up to a wide outdoor balcony along the back wall of the theater.


After the fence went up, construction and development began energetically at a rapid pace.

Timber Mountain Log Ride

After a year of design and fabrication, Bud Hurlbut opened the sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 themed Log Flume
Log flume (attraction)
Log flumes originally referred to a special construct used to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain to a sawmill by using flowing water. Today, however, the term is also used to refer to an amusement ride consisting of a water flume and artificial hollow logs or boats...

 in 1969 – under the original name of Calico Log Ride. The first official public riders were John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...

 and Ethan, his son. Arguably the best log ride in the world, it features vintage logging equipment including a small steam train on display within interior pine scented woodland forest scenes detailed with taxidermy forest animals, a dark interior drop, and a twin flume split passenger loading station. A lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...

s logrolling competition
Logrolling (sport)
Logrolling , is a sport that originated in the lumberjack/log driver tradition of the northeastern United States and Canada, involving logs in a river or other body of water...

 show was featured for several years on the pond between the final plunge and the station.

1970's and beyond.

On April 12, 1974 Cordelia Knott died. Walter turned his attention toward political causes,

Roaring Twenties re-themed Gypsy Camp in the 1970s with the addition of a nostalgic traditional amusement area, Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars, Knott's Bear-y Tales. Then with the northward expansion of a 1920s-era Knott's Airfield themed area featuring the Studio-K Dance Hall, Sky Cabin/Parachute Sky Jump and Motorcycle Chase steeple chase roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 above the electric guided rail Gasoline Alley car ride. The expansion was keystoned by the innovative new roller coaster Corkscrew.

Sky Tower was built to support two attractions, the Parachute Sky Jump (now closed) and the Sky Cabin. Parachute Sky Jump boarded one or two standing riders anticipating the thrill of the drop into baskets beneath a faux parachute canopy. From the top, eight arms supported the vertical cable tracks of wire rope which lifted the baskets. The Sky Cabin ringed the support pole with a single floor of seats that are enclosed behind windows. The Sky Cabin ring revolves slowly as it rises to the top and back offering a pleasantly changing vista. Sky Cabin is very sensitive to weather and passenger motion, such as walking, which is prohibited during the trip. During winds 25 mph+ or rain it is closed. When built, Sky Tower was the tallest structure in Orange County (a distinction now held by nearby WindSeeker
WindSeeker
WindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...

.) The illuminated "K" in logo script atop the Sky Tower was designated a landmark which prevented Knott's plan of converting the foundation to support WindSeeker
WindSeeker
WindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...

.

Corkscrew
Corkscrew (Silverwood)
Corkscrew is the name of an Arrow Dynamics roller coaster formerly located at Knott's Berry Farm and currently located at Silverwood. Developed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, a Utah based design firm, the "Corkscrew" was the first steel inverting roller coaster open to the public.Many identical...

 debuted in 1975 as the first modern-day roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 to perform a 360-degree inverting element, twice! It was designed by Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

 of Utah.

Motorcycle Chase – A modernized steepelchase rollercoaster
Steeplechase (roller coaster)
A Steeplechase roller coaster has several side-by-side tracks in a dueling "racing" arrangement. Riders straddle horse-shaped single cars and launch simultaneously, as from a horse-race starting line....

 built in 1976 featured single motorbike themed vehicles racing side-by-side, each on one of four parallel tracks, launched together. One or two riders straddled each "Indian motorcycle" attraction vehicle. The tubular steel monorail track closely followed dips and bumps in "the road" and tilted to lean riders about the curves. Gasoline Alley, an electric steel-guiderail car ride below, was built together and intimately intertwined, which enhanced ride-to-ride interaction thrill value. Rider safety concerns of the high center of gravity coupled with the method of rider restraints caused it to be re-themed Wacky Soap Box Racers with vehicles now attached in four car trains, each car seated two riders, strapped in low (nearly straddling the track), surrounded by the close fitting car sides, and the dips and bumps of the track were straightened flat in 1980.
Motorcycle Chase/Wacky Soap Box Racers was removed 1996 for a dueling loop coaster Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

 and now a vertical, launch coaster takes its place Xcelerator
Xcelerator
Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

.

December 3, 1981 Walter Knott
Walter Knott
Walter Marvin Knott was an American farmer who created the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California....

 died, survived by his children who would continue to operate Knott's as a family business for another fourteen years.

In the 1980s, Knott's built the Barn Dance featured Bobbi & Clyde as the house band. It was during the height of the "Urban Cowboy
Urban Cowboy
Released as a 2× vinyl record album, re-released on CD in 1995.Side A:#Hello Texas – Jimmy Buffett #All Night Long – Joe Walsh #Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg #Nine Tonight – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band...

" era. The "Barn Dance" was featured in Knott's TV Commercials.

Wild Water Wilderness

During the 1980s, Knott's met the competition in Southern California theme parks by themeing a new land, and building two massive attractions:
  • Kingdom of the Dinosaurs (1987) (primeval re-theme of Knott's Bear-y Tales)
  • Bigfoot Rapids (1988), a whitewater river rafting ride
    River rafting ride
    A river rafting ride is an amusement ride that simulates whitewater rafting.-History:The river rapids ride concept was proposed by Bill Crandall and developed by Intamin AG...

     as the centerpiece of the new themed area Wild Water Wilderness.


Boomerang roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 replaced the Corkscrew in 1990 with a lift shuttle train passing to and fro through a cobra roll and a vertical loop, for six inversions each trip.

Mystery Lodge (1994) Inspired by General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 "Spirit Lodge" pavilion, a live show augmented with Peppers Ghost and other special effects, which was among the most popular exhibits at Expo 86
Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...

 in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia, Canada which was produced by Bob Rogers and created with the assistance of the Kwagulth Native reserve in Alert Bay, British Columbia
Alert Bay, British Columbia
Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, British Columbia, Canada. According to the 2006 census, 556 people live within the village.-Population:Slightly more than half of the village's 556 residents are First Nations people...

. Mystery Lodge recreates a quiet summer night in the village of Alert Bay, British Columbia
Alert Bay, British Columbia
Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, British Columbia, Canada. According to the 2006 census, 556 people live within the village.-Population:Slightly more than half of the village's 556 residents are First Nations people...

 then guests "move inside" the longhouse and listen to the storyteller weave a tale of the importance of family from the smoke of the bonfire.

New Owners

In the 1990s, after Walter and Cordelia died, their children decided to sell off their businesses:

In 1995, the Knott family sold the food specialty business to ConAgra, which later re-sold the brand to The J. M. Smucker Co. in 2008. Smucker's continues to sell jellies, jams, preserves and syrups under the Knott's Berry Farms brand name.

In 1997, the Knott family sold the amusement park operations to Cedar Fair. Initially, the Knotts were given an opportunity to sell the park to The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

. The park would have been amalgamated into the Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...

 and converted into Disney's America
Disney's America
Disney's America was a planned theme park that was to have been built by The Walt Disney Company in Haymarket, Virginia in the early 1990s. The park was to have been dedicated to the history of the United States; however, amid opposition from citizen's groups, the project was canceled in 1994.The...

, which had previously failed to be built near Washington, D.C. The Knotts refused to sell the park to Disney out of fear that most of what Walter Knott had built would be eliminated. Ironically, Cedar Fair tore down more of what Walter Knott had originally built than what Disney was planning to.

Present Day Knott's Berry Farm – Amusement Park

In modern times, the vicinity of the park has been heavily suburbanized. The landscape and skyline of the park is now dominated by the roller coasters, overwhelming much of the original theming and atmosphere of the park. The park serves as an anchor for other tourist-oriented businesses such as Medieval Times
Medieval Times
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament is a family dinner theater featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting performed by a cast of 75 actors and 20 horses. Each location is housed in a replica 11th-century castle, with the exception of the Toronto location, which is housed...

 and Pirate's Dinner Adventure, and the Movieland Wax Museum
Movieland Wax Museum
Movieland Wax Museum, with over 300 wax figures in 150 sets, was the largest wax museum in the United States. Located in Buena Park, California, it was one of the most popular wax museums in United States for decades...

 which was located nearby until it closed in 2005. Buena Park Downtown
Buena Park Downtown
Buena Park Downtown, formerly Buena Park Mall, is an enclosed shopping mall located on La Palma Avenue in Buena Park, California, near the Knott's Berry Farm theme park. Currently managed by Developers Diversified Realty, the mall is anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, DSW Shoe Warehouse, Ross Dress For...

, a series of shopping centers containing Walmart, Sears and Kohl's
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...

 stores, plus a few eateries, such as Portillo's, is located near Knott's Berry Farm.

Since being acquired by Cedar Fair, the park has seen an aggressive shift towards thrill rides
Amusement ride
Amusement rides are large mechanical devices that move people to create enjoyment. They are frequently found at amusement parks, traveling carnivals, and funfairs.-Notable types:*Afterburner*Ali Baba*Balloon Race*Booster...

, with the construction of a number of large roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

s and the addition of a high-performance Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume, a Shoot-the-Chutes generally has larger boats and one single drop....

 ride Perilous Plunge
Perilous plunge
Perilous Plunge is a Shoot-the-Chutes style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.-Overview:The attraction is based on the pleasure piers of the past along Southern California's famed beaches such as Huntington Beach...

.

In the late 1990s Cedar Fair acquired the Buena Park Hotel at the corner of Grand Ave. and Crescent. It was then brought up to Radisson Standards and branded Radisson Resort Hotel as a franchise. In 2004, the park renamed the Radisson Resort Hotel the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel.

Two of Knott's Berry Farm's most recent areas of concern are that its largest parking lot, located across Beach Blvd., is landlocked and cannot be expanded, and the closest train station was several miles away in Fullerton. Both have made travel to the park something of an inconvenience. That problem is expected to be solved in part by Buena Park's new Metrolink
Metrolink (Southern California)
Metrolink is a commuter rail system serving Los Angeles and the surrounding area of Southern California; it currently consists of six lines and 55 stations using of track....

 station which was completed in 2007.

The park gates now enclose six themed areas:
  • Ghost Town
  • Fiesta Village
  • The Boardwalk
  • Camp Snoopy
  • Wild Water Wilderness
  • Indian Trails

Ghost Town today

GhostRider
GhostRider
GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm, a theme park in Buena Park, California. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. It is the longest wooden coaster on the West Coast.-Ride experience:...

 (1998), a wooden roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

, was added to Ghost Town. Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)
Silver Bullet is a Bolliger and Mabillard inverted roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California. Currently, it is the longest inverted coaster on the west coast with of track. The ride lasts 2 minutes and 9 seconds. It features 6 inversions including a...

 (2004) still is the longest inverted roller coaster
Inverted roller coaster
An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the...

 on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

. The first Screamin' Swing (a newer version of the Banshee) replaced another upcharge attraction
Upcharge attraction
An upcharge ride or attraction at an amusement park is a ride that is not included with paid admission. These are commonly found at a number of park chains, including Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and Paramount Parks.Some examples of upcharge rides include:...

 VertiGo on the former spot of Haunted Shack.

Craftsmen in Ghost Town demonstrate the arts of the blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

, woodcarver, glass-blower, sign cutter and spinner. Demonstrations of narrow gauge railroading and farm equipment hobbyists accompany additional merchant stalls of cottage-craft fairs seasonally at discounted admission which is restricted to Ghost Town only.

Western Trails Museum, relocated between the candy store and the General Store to accommodate Bigfoot Rapids, still features historical western artifacts large and small, from a hand powered horse drawn fire engine to miniature replica of a borax hauling "Twenty Mule Team" and utensils necessary to survive the prairie and wilderness.

The Ghost Town area has a few other notable historical structures. Knott's Nature Center exhibiting their insect mini-zoo, once the one-room school house of Rivera, California
Pico Rivera, California
Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is situated approximately 11 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the San Gabriel Valley...

, was relocated from the Wild Water Wilderness to Ghost Town in the summer of 2007. The Bird Cage Theatre only hosts two seasonal entertainments – during "Knott's Merry Farm," two small productions of "The Gift of the Magi
The Gift of the Magi
"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry , about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money...

" and "A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...

," and a Halloween Haunt thrill show. The Calico Stage, a large open-air stage in Calico Square, hosts a variety of shows and acts, big and small, from those of elementary school students, Gallagher a local band, and the summer-spectacular All Wheels Extreme stunt show featuring youthful performers demonstrating aerial tricks with acrobatics, trampolines and riding ramps with skates, scooters, skateboards & freestyle bikes to popular music. Calico Saloon recreates the revelry of music, singing and dancing, with Calico Kate hosting a variety of acts. Jersey Lily, Judge Roy Bean's combination courthouse/saloon, offers certified comical "genuine illegal hitchin'" alongside pickles, candy, sports/soft drinks. Calico Saloon and Jersey Lily both sell beer with food purchase to adults (valid ID – 21 and over) which must remain within the building.

Many parts of Ghost Town are forever lost to progress. The conversion of the Silver Dollar Saloon to a shooting gallery, Hunters Paradise shooting gallery to Panda Express and the original Berry Stand, moved several times with its last location now occupied by the Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)
Silver Bullet is a Bolliger and Mabillard inverted roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California. Currently, it is the longest inverted coaster on the west coast with of track. The ride lasts 2 minutes and 9 seconds. It features 6 inversions including a...

 station, demolished much of what the family sought to preserve by not selling to Disney.

What is left of Ghost Town today was based on Calico ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 and other real ghost towns in the Western United States such as Prescott, Arizona
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....

. Walter Knott inherited his uncle's silver mill and land, then bought more of the actual Calico ghost town in 1951 and developed it. In 1966 he "donated" that property to the corporate-municipal County of San Bernardino which then made the town of Calico, California into a public historic park, for which it charged an entrance/parking fee. See 'History – Ghost Town – Calico' section above.

Fiesta Village

Fiesta Village was built in 1969 with a pop-culture Mexican theme. It features two roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

s – the intense Schwarzkopf designed, launched shuttle coaster Montezooma's Revenge
Montezooma's Revenge
Montezooma's Revenge is a steel shuttle roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It opened on May 21, 1978. Designed by Anton Schwarzkopf, it is one of eight flywheel-launched units manufactured for theme parks around the world...

 and the mild family coaster Jaguar!
Jaguar! (Knott's Berry Farm)
Jaguar is a themedsteel kiddie roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, built by Zierer GmBH.-Queue:Riders approach the ride through the temple in the Fiesta Village section of the park. The queue winds through a series of rooms and tunnels. You can sometimes hear...

.

WindSeeker
WindSeeker
WindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...

 (Mondial August 18, 2011)
Mondial (amusement ride manufacturer)
Mondial is a Dutch company specialising in the manufacture of amusement rides. The company was founded in 1987 and has installations throughout the world....

) is a new 301 feet (91.7 m) tall rotating swing with 64 seats on 32 swing-arms which rotate at 26 mi/h for a three minute trip and two full rotations at the top. Riders must be a minimum height of 52 inches (1,320.8 mm) tall. WindSeeker opened Thur. August 18, 2011 replaced Fiesta BBQ near the Merry-Go-Round where it was installed over the course the summer of 2011. It is the tallest among three Knott's features (Sky Tower & Supreme Scream,) which are also the three tallest structures in all of Orange County.

Fiesta Village is also the home of La Revolución and the funfair
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...

 flat rides Dragon Swing, Merry-Go-Round, Mexican Hat Dance and Wave Swinger.

The Boardwalk

Originally themed as Gypsy Camp, and later re-themed to the "Roaring '20s", "Knott's Airfield", then "The Boardwalk", (see History, above) this area is home to the most of Knott's major thrill rides
Amusement ride
Amusement rides are large mechanical devices that move people to create enjoyment. They are frequently found at amusement parks, traveling carnivals, and funfairs.-Notable types:*Afterburner*Ali Baba*Balloon Race*Booster...

.

Current Boardwalk attractions include:
  • Boomerang (roller coaster)
    Boomerang (roller coaster)
    Boomerang is a model of roller coaster built by Vekoma, and named after the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians...

     a launch shuttle of one vertical loop and two halves of dragon curve which, with forward and return trips, invert riders six times. Boomerang replaced the 1975 "Roaring '20s" Corkscrew
    Corkscrew (Silverwood)
    Corkscrew is the name of an Arrow Dynamics roller coaster formerly located at Knott's Berry Farm and currently located at Silverwood. Developed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, a Utah based design firm, the "Corkscrew" was the first steel inverting roller coaster open to the public.Many identical...

     roller coaster
    Roller coaster
    The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

     (currently located at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho,) which was notable for being the first modern-day roller coaster to perform a 720-degree inverting element with two barrel rolls.
  • Perilous Plunge
    Perilous plunge
    Perilous Plunge is a Shoot-the-Chutes style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.-Overview:The attraction is based on the pleasure piers of the past along Southern California's famed beaches such as Huntington Beach...

  • Riptide (which replaced Hammerhead)
  • Sky Cabin (sky cabin will remain, as WindSeeker
    WindSeeker
    WindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...

     has been erected in Fiesta Village)
  • Supreme Scream
    Supreme Scream
    Supreme Scream is a vertical ascending and descending amusement thrill ride located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, USA and was designed and manufactured by S&S Power, Inc...

     collection of three drop towers, at 312 feet (95.1 m) in height is the tallest free-standing structure in Orange County.
  • Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars
  • Wipeout
  • Xcelerator
    Xcelerator
    Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

     (which replaced Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

    )


Boardwalk Games include physical challenges such as a rock wall, soccer, basketball and a rope ladder crawl. A variety of traditional pitch three balls and win a prize type games, such as squirt gun into clowns mouth, knock off milk bottles, pitch a quarter onto a plate are pitched by hawkers along the Boardwalk Games midway.

The world's largest Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets is an American restaurant franchise whose concept is to create a classic American restaurant atmosphere. The theme is the diner-style restaurant that had become a common sight by the 1950s...

 restaurant franchise is located at Knott's Boardwalk, featuring over 5900 square feet (548.1 m²) of indoor dining space for more than 260 guests.

Camp Snoopy

Camp Snoopy is targeted towards younger visitors, with many of the rides and attractions being built specifically for children. Its theme is Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...

' "Peanuts" comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....

 characters. Snoopy
Snoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...

 has been the mascot of Knott's Berry Farm since 1983, and the characters can now be seen at all of Cedar Fair's parks, except Gilroy Gardens
Gilroy Gardens
Gilroy Gardens is a garden-themed family theme park in Gilroy, California and current location of the world-famous Circus Trees created by Axel Erlandson. It was founded by Michael and Claudia Bonfante after selling their Nob Hill Foods supermarket chain to build the park. The park was constructed...

, which is only managed by Cedar Fair. The 14 rides include a mini roller coaster called the Timberline Twister, a mini-scrambler called the Log Peeler, and a Zamperla Rockin' Tug
Rockin' Tug
Rockin' Tug is a flat ride manufactured by Zamperla. The ride is manufactured in both traveling and park versions. It is the first of a line of new "halfpiperides". Zamperla's Disk-O is another popular ride from that "family". The difference is that the Tug has a friction wheel, while the Disk-O is...

 called Lucy's Tugboat.

Knott's Berry Farm also built the Mall of America
Mall of America
The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the...

's indoor theme park, which itself was originally called Camp Snoopy. (In fact, Charles M. Schulz hailed from St. Paul.) However, save for some relics, today the park is no longer affiliated with Knott's or Cedar Fair, and is now called Nickelodeon Universe.

Wild Water Wilderness

Wild Water Wilderness is a small area that features two major rides: the Bigfoot Rapids river rafting adventure, and Pony Express, a horse themed family roller coaster installed in 2008. Nearby Bigfoot Rapids is Rapids Trader, a small merchandise stand. It is also home to Mystery Lodge, a multimedia show based on an Expo 86
Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...

 pavilion featuring a Native American storyteller.

Indian Trails

Located near Reflection Lake, Indian Trails is a small area sandwiched between Camp Snoopy, Ghost Town, and Fiesta Village which showcases Native American art, crafts, and dance.

Public Area

Many of the popular original attractions are outside the gates of the current-day theme park along Grand Ave. at the California Marketplace, mostly things which would no longer be considered interesting to today's audience, or things which were merely there for decoration. Near the restrooms behind Berry Place are the waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 overshooting the water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...

 and historic gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

 grindstone
Grindstone (tool)
A grindstone is a round sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools. They are usually made from sandstone.Grindstone machines usually have pedals in which to speed and slow the stone to sharpen metal to the point of perfection....

, a replica of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

's Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...

 estate fireplace hearth, and what remains of the visible beehive. Some attractions still exist, but have been incorporated into backstage areas, such as the Rock Garden, now a castmember smoking area. Other attractions have been removed, such as the historic volcano, and the cross-section of giant sequoia
Sequoiadendron
Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...

 with age rings denoting historic events such as Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...

 visiting America.

East property

The East side of the property, divided by Beach Blvd., features the main parking lot, Knott's Soak City
Knott's Soak City
Knott's Soak City is a chain of three seasonal water parks owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and located in Southern California.Soak City U.S.A in Orange County opened in 1999. Located East across Beach Blvd...

 a seasonal water park which requires separate admission, the picnic grounds rental areas, complementary admission to Independence Hall and gift shop, and the Church of Reflections which was moved outside the theme park in 2004 and continues to hold non-denominational Sunday services. A tunnel and pedestrian underpass beneath Beach Blvd. connects the main parking lot to the shops, restaurants and theme park.

Annual park events

The park's annual Knott's Halloween Haunt has drawn crowds since 1973. The idea for this event was presented at one of the regularly scheduled round table meetings for managers by Patricia Pawson. The actual event was created by Bill Hollingshead, Gary Salisbury, Martha Boyd and Gene Witham, along with other members of the Knott's Berry Farm Entertainment Department as documented in the DVD Season of Screams. During this special ticketed event, the entire park (or major portions of it) re-themes itself into a "haunted house" style attraction in the form of "mazes" and "scare zones" in the evening. Over a thousand specially employed monsters are also scattered – often hidden out of view – throughout the park at this time. Some of the characters have become well-known, such as the green witch, which has been portrayed by Charlene Parker since 1983, the longest of any performer. Several attractions are decorated for the event including the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mine Train and there are 13 mazes of various themes. Elvira (actress Cassandra Peterson
Cassandra Peterson
Cassandra Peterson is an American actress best known for her on-screen horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ wearing a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation...

) was introduced into the Halloween Event in 1982 and was prominently featured in many Halloween Haunt events until 2001. According to postings on her My Space page, Cassandra was released from her contract by the park's new owners due to their wanting a more family friendly appeal. Interesting fact: During the month of October, Knott's Scary Farm generates half the revenue for Knott's Berry Farm's fiscal year.

Season of Screams is a DVD produced by an independent company which traces the beginnings of Halloween Haunt and the story behind how it all got started back in 1973. Season of Screams also highlights recent Halloween Haunts.

Also the Halloween Haunt now has YouTube Updaters on the event. They promote the event by telling their viewers what is to come, their opinion, and reviews. The top 3 updaters are KnottsScaryFarmRuler, HauntHorror, and Oregonducksrock1

Winter Coaster Solace is an event that takes place in the first or second weekend of March every year when roller coaster enthusiasts can come before the park opens and stay after the park closes to ride the rides and eat at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant. It is intended to provide "solace" to visitors from other parts of the country where theme parks and roller coasters are seasonal, not year-round operations like the Southern California parks. Knott's Berry Farm also used to give attendees behind the scenes tours of the rides.

Every year since 1991, Knott's has offered free admission to veterans and their families during the month of November. Originally started as a tribute to returning Gulf War veterans, they subsequently expanded it to include all Veterans and have run it every year since.

A Christmas event known as "Knott's Merry Farm" also happens annually. Previous "Merry Farm" events have included manufactured snow, handcrafts exhibits, and a "visit with Santa Claus." This event was originally created by Gary Salisbury in the Fall of 1985.

Praise (festival) has been a Christian themed celebration presented many years as a mix-in special event of music and comedy on New Year's Eve.

Current Roller Coasters

# Coaster Year Opened Manufacturer Location in Park Description
1 Boomerang
Boomerang (roller coaster)
Boomerang is a model of roller coaster built by Vekoma, and named after the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians...

1990 Vekoma
Vekoma
Vekoma Rides Manufacturing B.V. is a roller coaster and thrill ride designer with its facilities based in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld under the name "Veld Koning Machinefabriek" and had first manufactured agricultural machinery and mining equipment...

The Boardwalk Riders turn head-over-heels six times in less than a minute.
2 Calico Mine Train 1960 Bud Hurlbut Ghost Town Powered gravity coaster. Riders board ore cars and journey deep into a faux mining excavation site.
3 GhostRider
GhostRider
GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm, a theme park in Buena Park, California. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. It is the longest wooden coaster on the West Coast.-Ride experience:...

1998 Custom Coasters International
Custom Coasters International
Custom Coasters International was one of the premier wooden roller coaster manufacturers in the world and produced more wooden coasters in recent times than any other company...

Ghost Town Wooden roller coaster featuring multiple banked turns.
4 Jaguar!
Jaguar! (Knott's Berry Farm)
Jaguar is a themedsteel kiddie roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, built by Zierer GmBH.-Queue:Riders approach the ride through the temple in the Fiesta Village section of the park. The queue winds through a series of rooms and tunnels. You can sometimes hear...

1995 Zierer GmbH
Zierer
Zierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...

Fiesta Village Steel roller coaster designed specifically for families with young children.
5 Montezooma's Revenge
Montezooma's Revenge
Montezooma's Revenge is a steel shuttle roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It opened on May 21, 1978. Designed by Anton Schwarzkopf, it is one of eight flywheel-launched units manufactured for theme parks around the world...

1978 Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries company, which built numerous rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and travelling funfairs....

Fiesta Village Riders accelerate from 0 to 55 mi/h within seven seconds.
6 Pony Express
The Pony Express (roller coaster)
Pony Express is a steel motorbike roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It features sweeping turns and sudden drops in an "out-and-back" configuration...

2008 Zamperla
Zamperla
Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....

Ghost Town Riders dip, turn and dive while harnessed in vehicles intended to simulate equestrianism.
7 Sierra Sidewinder
Sierra Sidewinder
Sierra Sidewinder is a steel spinning roller coaster located in the Camp Snoopy section of Knott's Berry Farm. It is the first ever roller coaster to feature multiple free spinning cars on a train, rather than several individual spinning cars. The only other spinning train coaster is Euro-Mir at...

2007 Mack Rides
MACK Rides
Mack Rides is a German company that designs and constructs roller coasters. The family that owns the company also owns Europa Park.-History:The creation of the Mack company goes back to 1780, by Paul Mack, when he started building carriages. The Mack company started to design roller coasters in 1920....

Camp Snoopy Riders navigate banking turns and dips while strapped within vehicles that spin freely on a turn-table chassis.
8 Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)
Silver Bullet is a Bolliger and Mabillard inverted roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California. Currently, it is the longest inverted coaster on the west coast with of track. The ride lasts 2 minutes and 9 seconds. It features 6 inversions including a...

2004 Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...

Ghost Town Floorless coaches suspended beneath an overhead track whip around steeply banked turns and six inversions.
9 Timberline Twister
Timberline Twister
The Timberline Twister is a steel roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It was built in 1983 and is mainly aimed at younger kids, as well as adults under 5'9" tall who do not wish to go on the park's wilder roller coasters. This ride is still in operation, but is...

1983 Bradley and Kaye Camp Snoopy Junior roller coaster.
10 Xcelerator
Xcelerator
Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

2002 Intamin AG
Intamin AG
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...

The Boardwalk Riders accelerate from 0 – 82 mi/h in 2.3 seconds and climb 20 stories into the air.

Other Current Attractions

Attraction Year Opened Manufacturer Location in Park Description
Balloon Race 1983 Chance-Morgan
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

Camp Snoopy Balloon Race
Balloon Race (ride)
The Zamperla Balloon Race is a tilting, circular motion amusement park ride manufactured by Antonio Zamperla S.P.A. The ride makes its way up a structure, and at a certain height, it starts tilting.-Car designs:...

of 8 suspended "baskets" each seating 4 riders circle as they lift then tilt.
Bigfoot Rapids 1988 Intamin AG
Intamin AG
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...

Wild Water Wilderness of Ghost Town River rafting ride
River rafting ride
A river rafting ride is an amusement ride that simulates whitewater rafting.-History:The river rapids ride concept was proposed by Bill Crandall and developed by Intamin AG...

Riders board circular watercraft and journey down a faux white water river.
Charlie Brown's Speedway Camp Snoopy Kiddie-ride version of The Whip (ride)
The Whip (ride)
The Whip was a ride originally designed and built by W.F. Mangels Company of Coney Island, New York, USA. William F. Mangels patented the ride in 1914 and it soon became an extremely popular ride....

.
Dragon Swing Chance-Morgan
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

Fiesta Village Pirate ship
Pirate ship (ride)
A pirate ship is a type of amusement ride, consisting of an open, seated gondola which swings back and forth, subjecting the rider to various levels of angular momentum....

type swinging gondola.
Hat Dance Fiesta Village Teacups
Teacups
Teacups is an amusement ride characterized by cup-style spinning vehicles atop a turntable-like floor.-Operation:Typically, each set of four teacup vehicles has a circular floor or a motor capable of turning 360 degrees. The circular floor or motor sits within a larger, turntable-like floor...

Riders spin sombrero themed cuencos as they rotate on counterrevolutionary turntables.
High Sierra Ferris Wheel Camp Snoopy Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...

, 12 cars.
Joe Cool's Gr8 Sk8 2003 Interactive Rides Camp Snoopy Sky Skater ride modified for children. Also see X-Scream
X-Scream
X-Scream is, at a height of approximately , the world's third highest amusement ride, located on top of the Stratosphere Las Vegas.- Ride Experience :...

.
La Revolución 2003 Chance-Morgan
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

Fiesta Village Revolution 32 Riders rotate 360-degrees while simultaneously swinging back and forth in a pendulum motion.
Laser Zone Boardwalk Laser tag
Laser tag
Laser tag is a team or individual sport or recreational activity where players attempt to score points by tagging targets, typically with a hand-held infrared-emitting targeting device. Infrared-sensitive targets are commonly worn by each player and are sometimes integrated within the arena in...

upcharge attraction
Upcharge attraction
An upcharge ride or attraction at an amusement park is a ride that is not included with paid admission. These are commonly found at a number of park chains, including Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and Paramount Parks.Some examples of upcharge rides include:...

Lucy's Tugboat 2004 Zamperla
Zamperla
Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....

Camp Snoopy Rockin' Tug
Rockin' Tug
Rockin' Tug is a flat ride manufactured by Zamperla. The ride is manufactured in both traveling and park versions. It is the first of a line of new "halfpiperides". Zamperla's Disk-O is another popular ride from that "family". The difference is that the Tug has a friction wheel, while the Disk-O is...

ride.
Mystery Lodge 1994 Wild Water Wilderness of Ghost Town Mystical, multi-sensory Native North American entertainment.
Perilous Plunge
Perilous plunge
Perilous Plunge is a Shoot-the-Chutes style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.-Overview:The attraction is based on the pleasure piers of the past along Southern California's famed beaches such as Huntington Beach...

2000 Intamin AG
Intamin AG
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...

The Boardwalk Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume, a Shoot-the-Chutes generally has larger boats and one single drop....

featuring a steep 15-story chute.
RipTide 2004 Huss Park Attractions
HUSS Park Attractions
HUSS Park Attractions is a company specialising in the development and manufacture of amusement rides, and is based in Bremen, Germany. HUSS have designed over 35 different types of amusement rides installed worldwide.-History :...

The Boardwalk Top Spin 56 Theater Gondola riders somersault forwards and backwards suspended on rotating lift arms.
Screamin' Swing 2004 S&S Power
S&S Power
S&S Worldwide is a company known for its pneumatically powered amusement rides and roller coaster designing.-History:S&S Worldwide was founded by Stan Checketts as S&S Sports, Inc. S&S Sports manufactures bungee jumping and trampoline equipment. S&S Sports was sold in 1996...

Ghost Town Screamin' Swing
Screamin' Swing
Screamin' Swing is a pneumatically powered pendulum ride designed by S&S Power. The ride was first installed and operated in 2004 at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, USA.-Design and operation:...

upcharge attraction
Upcharge attraction
An upcharge ride or attraction at an amusement park is a ride that is not included with paid admission. These are commonly found at a number of park chains, including Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and Paramount Parks.Some examples of upcharge rides include:...

 Riders are catapulted high into the air repeatedly.
Sky Cabin 1976 Intamin AG
Intamin AG
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...

The Boardwalk Circular observation cabin slowly rises 18 stories into the sky, offering riders a panoramic view of the immediate surrounding area.
Supreme Scream
Supreme Scream
Supreme Scream is a vertical ascending and descending amusement thrill ride located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, USA and was designed and manufactured by S&S Power, Inc...

1998 S&S Power
S&S Power
S&S Worldwide is a company known for its pneumatically powered amusement rides and roller coaster designing.-History:S&S Worldwide was founded by Stan Checketts as S&S Sports, Inc. S&S Sports manufactures bungee jumping and trampoline equipment. S&S Sports was sold in 1996...

The Boardwalk Turbo Drop
Turbo Drop
Turbo Drop is a type of tower-based amusement ride manufactured by S&S Power, similar to the company's Space Shot. The current tallest Turbo Drop installation in operation is the Supreme Scream at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA.-Design and operation:...

Pneumatically powered descending drop tower thrill ride.
Timber Mountain Log Ride 1969 Bud Hurlbut & Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

Ghost Town Log flume (attraction)
Log flume (attraction)
Log flumes originally referred to a special construct used to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain to a sawmill by using flowing water. Today, however, the term is also used to refer to an amusement ride consisting of a water flume and artificial hollow logs or boats...

.
WaveSwinger Zierer
Zierer
Zierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...

Fiesta Village Riders board individual swing sets before orbiting a central tower.
Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars Boardwalk Electric Bumper Cars
WindSeeker
WindSeeker
WindSeeker is a thrill ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The Mondial rides were opened for the 2011 season at Ontario's Canada's Wonderland, Ohio's Cedar Point and Kings Island, and California's Knott's Berry Farm. Charlotte's Carowinds and Doswell's Kings Dominion will open their models in 2012...

2011 Mondial
Mondial (amusement ride manufacturer)
Mondial is a Dutch company specialising in the manufacture of amusement rides. The company was founded in 1987 and has installations throughout the world....

Fiesta Village Riders orbit a central tower at heights exceeding 25 stories. Originally slated to replace Sky Tower.
WipeOut 1999 Chance-Morgan
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

The Boardwalk Riders boarded a circular ride platform which undulated and rotated simultaneously.
Woodstock's Airmail 1998 Zamperla
Zamperla
Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....

Camp Snoopy Frog Hopper ride designed specifically for children.

Former Rides & Attractions

Attraction Year Opened Year Closed Manufacturer Description
Cable Cars
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...

1955 1979 various Authentic California Street Cable Railroad
California Street Cable Railroad
The California Street Cable Railroad was a long-serving cable car operator in San Francisco, founded by Leland Stanford. The company's first line opened on California Street in 1878 and is still in operation, being the oldest cable car line still in operation.The company remained independent until...

 San Francisco Cable Cars
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...

, converted to battery-electric power, were operated as trasportation tram servicing the East parking lots – North and South. Sold back to San Francisco Muni in 1979 for the proposed California St. & Hyde St. expansion of the National Monument and clearing the lot for Camp Snoopy.
Corkscrew 1975 1989 Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

Steel roller coaster featuring two barrel-roll inversions. This was the first modern roller coaster to combine vertical and horizontal inversions. It was sold to Silverwood
Silverwood
Silverwood Theme Park is an amusement park located in northern Idaho, United States, near the town of Coeur d'Alene, and just 47 miles from Spokane, Washington on U.S. Route 95...

 in 1989 to make room for the Boomerang
Boomerang (roller coaster)
Boomerang is a model of roller coaster built by Vekoma, and named after the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians...

.
Fiesta Wheel 1969 1986 Chance Industries
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

A Chance
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

 Trabant ride. Riders boarded a circular ride platform which undulated and rotated simultaneously which spun and tilted riders at the same time as the ride changed direction rapidly. It was removed in 1986 to make room for the Grand Slammer.
Gasoline Alley 1969 1996 Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

Powered automobile ride. This electic car-track was under the motorcycle chase/wacky soapbox racer. Both rides were removed in 1996 to make room for Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

, and later, Xcelerator
Xcelerator
Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

.
Gran Slammer 1987 2003 Chance Industries
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

A Chance
Chance-Morgan
Chance Morgan, a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer, was formed in 2001 with the merger of Chance Industries and D. H. Morgan Manufacturing . The main office is D. H. Morgan's former location in La Selva Beach, California and they utilize Chance Industries' former manufacturing...

 Falling Star pendulum. Riders boarded a large stadium-like platform, which then orbited a central axis for the duration of the ride cycle. This ride removed in 2004 to make room for La Revolucion's queue line.
Hammerhead 1996 2003 Zamperla
Zamperla
Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....

Riders boarded a large stadium-like platform, which orbited a central axis while inverting simultaneously. This Zamperla
Zamperla
Zamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....

 Rotoshake riders on a platform three rows flipped upside down while the main arm lifted them high into the sky and around again. At the end the platform inverted and the fountains below squirted up to nearly douse riders. It was removed in 2003 due to costly mechanical problems, and replaced with RipTide.
Haunted Shack 1954 2000 Walter Knott
Walter Knott
Walter Marvin Knott was an American farmer who created the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California....

A walk-through attraction demonstrating curious aberrations of gravity. The Haunted Shack at Calico, CA still operates. Replaced by VertiGo, then Screamin' Swing upcharge attraction
Upcharge attraction
An upcharge ride or attraction at an amusement park is a ride that is not included with paid admission. These are commonly found at a number of park chains, including Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and Paramount Parks.Some examples of upcharge rides include:...

s.
Henry's Auto Livery ? 1980s Walter Beckman This ride was located out of the main park near the corner of Beach Blvd. and Crescent. The gasoline powered Model-Ts had no center guiderail, instead the roadway was edged with bumper-rail fencing. Removed sometime in the 80s.
Knott's Bear-y Tales/Kingdom of the Dinosaurs 1975 2004 Fantasy Fair This dark ride first took riders past a fairy-tale like plot set in the Roaring 20's with a Bear Family named, Raz, Boysen, Girlsen, Elder, and Flapper Bear-y on a journey to the fair while being in contact with a pie thief named Crafty Coyote and Other Animals from the Fantasy Scenes. It later was revamped with a dinosaur theme in 1987 (While Bear-y Tales moved to the Peanuts Playhouse after Kingdom of the Dinosaurs opened to be renamed Bear-y Tales Funhouse until 1997)that took riders back in time to the Pre-Historic Times which would be removed on December 23, 2004 due to aging parts and lack of popularity. Many guests today complain about the loss of both of the rides and hope that one of them is revived. As of now, nothing is planned for the second floor of the building that housed the 2 attractions. The thematic design for Bear-y Tales was by the former Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump (who worked on the ride after being on freelance when he left Disney in 1972). Recently a few of the Knott's Bear-y Tales characters along with its theme song were re-located to the re-themed Craft Barn Store in Ghost Town.
Knott's Lagoon. ? 1983 various Several attractions – Carousel, duck pond, Cordelia K. side-wheel riverboat, rowboat rental, and miniature train ride. Located across Beach Blvd. to the East, and North of Independence Hall, this quiet grassy area had gumball machines that dispensed corn kernels for feeding the ducks. The connecting underpass now leads to the main parking. When Camp Snoopy expansion replaced the North parking lot, Knott's Lagoon was bulldozed and paved over for the new main parking lot.
Loop Trainer Flying Machine 1976 1989 Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries company, which built numerous rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and travelling funfairs....

Riders spun in a 360-degree orbit. A standard Enterprise (ride)
Enterprise (ride)
The Enterprise is an amusement ride, manufactured primarily by HUSS Maschinenfabrik in 1972. The ride was an adaptation and improvement of a design produced earlier that year by Schwarzkopf, with an increased passenger capacity. Despite not owning the original incarnation of the ride, HUSS was...

 that was a bit smaller than most park models operating today. In 1989, this ride was removed to make room for the XK-1 in 1990.
Merry-Go-Round Auto Ride/Tijuana Taxi 1969 1976 Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

 equipment, Bud Hurlbut design.
Electric car ride. This standard automobile track ride was torn down to make room for Fiesta Village's expansion in 1976.
1976.
Mexican Whip 1969 1986 Sellner Manufacturing
Sellner Manufacturing
Sellner Manufacturing is the Faribault, Minnesota manufacturer of the Tilt-A-Whirl and other amusement park rides. Started by Herbert Sellner in 1926 and still family owned.-History:Herbert Sellner made lamps, toys and library tables...

A classic Tilt-A-Whirl
Tilt-A-Whirl
Tilt-A-Whirl is one of the best-known flat rides, designed for commercial use at amusement parks, fairs and carnivals in which it is commonly found. The rides are manufactured by Sellner Manufacturing of Faribault, Minnesota...

, riders experienced intermittent bursts of sudden directional changes. Removed in 1986 along with Fiesta Wheel to make room for the Tampico Tumbler.
Motorcycle Chase/Wacky Soap Box Racers 1976 1996 Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

Quadruplet steel roller coaster that featured gentle dips. This steeplechase roller coaster had four tracks parallel to each other. A favorite of many park goers, it was taken out in 1996 to make room for the Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

 and later, the Xcelerator
Xcelerator
Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

.
Mott's Miniatures 1956 1992 Allegra & DeWitt Mott Museum – collection of Miniature Homes and furnishings, featuring the world's smallest working Television Set. Moved to La Palma Avenue at the exit of Knott's parking as museum and doll house furnishing store. The Museum portion closed in 1997 and was auctioned off. The store moved and then closed. The Mott's Miniature mail-order business is thriving.
Propeller Spin 1976 1989 Frank Hrubetz and Co. Riders spun in a 360-degree orbit. This Hrubetz Super Round Up ride operated from 1976 to 1989, until this space was vacated. Today, it is part of Perilous Plunge's track layout.
Sky Jump 1976 1999 Intamin AG
Intamin AG
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...

Riders simulated a parachute free-fall to terra-firma from over 15 stories in the air. This parachute jump freefall ride was the highest ride in the park until its more modern successor, Supreme Scream, was built 25 years later. It was a reimagining of a similar ride at Coney Island in New York. The ride's companion, Sky Cabin, still stands.
Tampico Tumbler 1987 2003 Zierer
Zierer
Zierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...

Riders orbited and spun in two different directions simultaneously. A Zierer Hexentanz or Fireball ride. Two cars are mounted on each arm (eight arms total.) The entire ride lifts so that each arm can rotate both cars over each other at a rapid pace. Removed to make room for La Revolucion in 2004.
VertiGo 2001 2002 S&S Power
S&S Power
S&S Worldwide is a company known for its pneumatically powered amusement rides and roller coaster designing.-History:S&S Worldwide was founded by Stan Checketts as S&S Sports, Inc. S&S Sports manufactures bungee jumping and trampoline equipment. S&S Sports was sold in 1996...

Riders were catapulted 330' up into the air. This S & S "Totally Insane" ride was removed because of an incident with an identical ride at Knott's sister park, Cedar Point
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...

, where removal of running wires during the off season resulted in one of its supports shearing off. An identical ride still operates as an upcharge attraction
Upcharge attraction
An upcharge ride or attraction at an amusement park is a ride that is not included with paid admission. These are commonly found at a number of park chains, including Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and Paramount Parks.Some examples of upcharge rides include:...

 at Knott's competitor Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain is a theme park located in Valencia, California north of Los Angeles. It opened on Memorial Day weekend on May 30, 1971 as Magic Mountain, by the Newhall Land and Farming Company. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added the name Six Flags to the park's title. In...

.
Walter K. Steamboat 1969 2004 Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...

A simulated steamboat (diesel-powered) which sailed around "Reflection Lake." The lake was made smaller due to the installment of Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)
Silver Bullet is a Bolliger and Mabillard inverted roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California. Currently, it is the longest inverted coaster on the west coast with of track. The ride lasts 2 minutes and 9 seconds. It features 6 inversions including a...

, then removed completely to make room for Sierra Sidewinder.
Whirlpool/Headspin/Wilderness Scrambler 1989 2007 Eli Bridge Company Riders orbited and rotated in two different directions simultaneously. The "Whirlpool" was a classic scrambler carnival ride originally housed inside a building which included 'undersea' murals on the walls, a music soundtrack, and concert style lighting effects. It was latter renamed "Headspin" in 1996 with the re-themeing of the 'Roaring 20's' to 'The Boardwalk'. It was later repainted and moved to a new outdoor location under the Windjammer
Windjammer
A windjammer is the ultimate type of large sailing ship with an iron or for the most part steel hull, built to carry cargo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century...

 to make room for the Perilous Plunge. In 2001 it was relocated again to the Wild Water Wilderness area and renamed "Wilderness Scrambler" to make room for the Xcelerator
Xcelerator
Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

. Finally it was removed permanently in 2007 to make room for the 2008 Pony Express roller coaster.
Whirlwind/Greased Lightning/HeadAche 1976 1999 Reverchon
Reverchon Industries
Reverchon Industries was a developer, designer and manufacturer of amusement park attractions that were sold all over the world. The company went into liquidation in September 2008, filing for bankruptcy and closing down their manufacturing and operations plant.Its production unit was set set in...

This standard Mack
MACK Rides
Mack Rides is a German company that designs and constructs roller coasters. The family that owns the company also owns Europa Park.-History:The creation of the Mack company goes back to 1780, by Paul Mack, when he started building carriages. The Mack company started to design roller coasters in 1920....

 Matterhorn
Matterhorn (ride)
For the Disneyland attraction, see Matterhorn Bobsleds.The Matterhorn or Flying Bobs, sometimes known by alternate names such as Musik Express or Terminator in the UK, is an amusement ride very similar to the Superbob, which consists of a number of cars attached to axels that swing in and out...

 Himalaya
Music Express
A Music Express is an amusement park and carnival ride based on the original Caterpillar rides of Germany. Several near-identical ride designs are also produced by other companies; Musik Express by Italian company Bertazzon and US Majestic Rides, Himalaya by American company Wisdom Rides,German...

 ride. Riders orbited a central point while undulating repeatedly. It opened with the Roaring 20s area, renamed Greased Lighting for Knott's Airfield, renamed HeadAche for The Boardwalk, removed in 1999 – replaced with Perilous Plunge. This ride relocated to Miracle Strip Amusement Park
Miracle Strip Amusement Park
Miracle Strip Amusement Park was a popular local theme park built in 1963 in Panama City Beach, Florida, across the street from the beach. It featured several rides that were uniquely spectacular by placing them within enclosed spaces and adding pounding music and lighting effects, in addition to...

 where it opened as The Blue Thunder.
Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers
Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

1997 2000 TOGO International Twin racing steel roller coaster that featured vertical loops, spirals, tight banking turns and multiple dips. It was removed in 2000. It was known to be a mechanical nightmare, failed to complete the circuit in even light winds, and was closed more frequently than open. It was removed to make room for Xcelerator
Xcelerator
Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

.
XK-1 1990 1997 Intamin AG
Intamin AG
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...

Riders pivoted upside-down in enclosed pods while orbiting a central tower. This rare Intamin Flight Trainer ride had a short eight-year run. After 1997, it was removed to make room for Supreme Scream
Supreme Scream
Supreme Scream is a vertical ascending and descending amusement thrill ride located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, USA and was designed and manufactured by S&S Power, Inc...


Attraction/capital timeline

  • 2013: Giga Coaster (potential)
  • 2012: Park improvements
  • 2011: Wind Seeker by Mondial (opened 8/18)
  • 2010: Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular added/Snoopy's Christmas Spectacular.
  • 2009: Pink's
    Pink's Hot Dogs
    Pink's Hot Dogs is a landmark hot dog restaurant in the Hollywood district of the city of Los Angeles.- History :Pink's was founded by Paul and Betty Pink in 1939 as a pushcart near the corner of La Brea and Melrose. The Great Depression was still having an impact on the country, and money was scarce...

    , Remodel and rebrand of Viva La Coasters in the California Marketplace.
  • 2008: The Pony Express
    The Pony Express (roller coaster)
    Pony Express is a steel motorbike roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It features sweeping turns and sudden drops in an "out-and-back" configuration...

    , Peanut's Playhouse removed.
  • 2007: Sierra Sidewinder; Wilderness Scrambler removed.
  • 2006: Pacific Spin (Soak City U.S.A.
    Knott's Soak City
    Knott's Soak City is a chain of three seasonal water parks owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and located in Southern California.Soak City U.S.A in Orange County opened in 1999. Located East across Beach Blvd...

    ); Johnny Rockets
    Johnny Rockets
    Johnny Rockets is an American restaurant franchise whose concept is to create a classic American restaurant atmosphere. The theme is the diner-style restaurant that had become a common sight by the 1950s...

     restaurant; New Perilous Plunge
    Perilous plunge
    Perilous Plunge is a Shoot-the-Chutes style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.-Overview:The attraction is based on the pleasure piers of the past along Southern California's famed beaches such as Huntington Beach...

     boats put into operation; Walter K Steamboat removed; Woodstock's Airmail relocated.
  • 2005: T.G.I. Fridays restaurant (California Marketplace).
  • 2004: Silver Bullet
    Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)
    Silver Bullet is a Bolliger and Mabillard inverted roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California. Currently, it is the longest inverted coaster on the west coast with of track. The ride lasts 2 minutes and 9 seconds. It features 6 inversions including a...

    ; Church of Reflections relocated to outside of park; Lucy's Tugboat; Rip Tide
    Rip Tide
    Rip Tide is an original novella written by Louise Cooper and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor. It was released both as a standard edition hardback and a deluxe edition featuring a frontispiece by Fred Gambino. Both...

    ; Screamin' Swing
    Screamin' Swing
    Screamin' Swing is a pneumatically powered pendulum ride designed by S&S Power. The ride was first installed and operated in 2004 at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, USA.-Design and operation:...

    ; Kingdom of the Dinosaurs closed; Radisson Resort Knott's Berry Farm renamed Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel. Grand Sierra Railroad shorted.
  • 2003: Tampico Tumbler removed; Gran Slammer removed; La Revolución; Joe Cool's Gr8 Sk8; HammerHead removed.
  • 2002: Xcelerator
    Xcelerator
    Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Xcelerator was Intamin's first hydraulically-launched coaster. Xcelerator is the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's...

    ; VertiGo removed.
  • 2001: VertiGo; Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

     removed; Wipeout relocated; Headspin relocated and renamed Wilderness Scrambler.
  • 2000: Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

     closes; Perilous Plunge
    Perilous plunge
    Perilous Plunge is a Shoot-the-Chutes style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.-Overview:The attraction is based on the pleasure piers of the past along Southern California's famed beaches such as Huntington Beach...

    ; Knott's Soak City
    Knott's Soak City
    Knott's Soak City is a chain of three seasonal water parks owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and located in Southern California.Soak City U.S.A in Orange County opened in 1999. Located East across Beach Blvd...

     U.S.A. water park; Haunted Shack removed.
  • 1999: Wipeout; Coasters restaurant; Charlie Brown Speedway; Sky Jump removed; HeadAche removed and renamed The Blue Thunder at Miracle Strip Amusement Park
    Miracle Strip Amusement Park
    Miracle Strip Amusement Park was a popular local theme park built in 1963 in Panama City Beach, Florida, across the street from the beach. It featured several rides that were uniquely spectacular by placing them within enclosed spaces and adding pounding music and lighting effects, in addition to...

    ; Pacific Pavilion removed; Radisson Resort Knott's Berry Farm.
  • 1998: GhostRider
    GhostRider
    GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm, a theme park in Buena Park, California. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. It is the longest wooden coaster on the West Coast.-Ride experience:...

    ; XK-1 removed; Supreme Scream; Woodstock's Airmail; Slingshot renamed Wave Swinger; Mexican Hat Dance renamed Hat Dance.
  • 1997: Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers
    Windjammer Surf Racers was a racing steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California...

    ; Bear-y Tales Funhouse removed.
  • 1996: The Boardwalk themed area (retheme of Roaring 20's); HammerHead; Greased Lightning renamed HeadAche; Whirlpool renamed Headspin; Wacky Soap Box Racers with Gasoline Alley removed.
  • 1995: Jaguar!.
  • 1994: Mystery Lodge.
  • 1992: Indian Trails themed area.
  • 1991: Studio K closed.
  • 1990: Boomerang; XK-1; Whirlwind renamed Greased Lightning.
  • 1989: Corkscrew removed; Propeller Spin removed; Loop Trainer Flying Machine removed.
  • 1988: Bigfoot Rapids; Bear-y Tales Funhouse.
  • 1987: Kingdom of the Dinosaurs; Tampico Tumbler; Gran Slammer; Dragon Swing; Slingshot; Happy Sombrero renamed Mexican Hat Dance.
  • 1986: Bear-y Tales removed; Tijuana Taxi removed; Fiesta Wheel removed; Mexican Whip removed.
  • 1984: Studio K debuts. The most successful teen dance facility in the nation. Opened with a Dick Clark Special "Rock Rolls On".
  • 1983: Barn Dance featured Bobbi & Clyde Country Western Dancing
  • 1983: Camp Snoopy themed area created, forcing removal of Knott's Lagoon and its attractions around a lake which had been built north of Independence Hall, so that a parking area could be relocated.
  • 1978: Montezooma's Revenge
    Montezooma's Revenge
    Montezooma's Revenge is a steel shuttle roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It opened on May 21, 1978. Designed by Anton Schwarzkopf, it is one of eight flywheel-launched units manufactured for theme parks around the world...

     Old MacDonald's Farm removed, Cable Cars removed
  • 1976: Motorcycle Chase; Sky Jump; Sky Cabin; Propeller Spin; Loop Trainer Flying Machine; Whirlpool; Gasoline Alley; Whirlwind.
  • 1975: Corkscrew
    Corkscrew (Silverwood)
    Corkscrew is the name of an Arrow Dynamics roller coaster formerly located at Knott's Berry Farm and currently located at Silverwood. Developed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, a Utah based design firm, the "Corkscrew" was the first steel inverting roller coaster open to the public.Many identical...

    ; Bear-y Tales.
  • 1974: Wild West Stunt Show replaces Wagon Camp shows.
  • 1973: First annual Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Haunt
  • 1971: John Wayne Theater (later the Good Time Theater, then the Charles M. Shultz Theater)
  • 1969: Timber Mountain Log Ride; Fiesta Village themed area; Tijuana Taxi(re-themed from Auto Ride); Mexican Whip; Fiesta Wheel; Happy Sombrero.
  • 1968: Fence surrounds the park, and admission charged.
  • 1966: Independence Hall
  • 1960: Calico Mine Ride.
  • 1958: Mott's Miniatures
  • 1955: Dentzel Carousel, Merry-Go-Round Auto Ride(later the Tijuana Taxi), Hunter's Paradise Shootin' Gallery, Model 'T' Children's Ride, Cable Cars
  • 1954: Haunted Shack
    Haunted Shack
    The Haunted Shack was an attraction at Knott's Berry Farm for many years, until it was demolished in 2000. After a spiel concerning "strange goings on," and a demonstration in which two volunteers appeared to change height , groups of guests were led on a tour of an odd shack in which the laws of...

    , Bird Cage Theater
  • 1952: Ghost Town & Calico Railway
    Ghost Town & Calico Railway
    The Ghost Town & Calico Railroad is a heritage railroad within Knott's Berry Farm, a theme park in Buena Park, California.Unlike many other theme park railroads, the locomotives and most of the other equipment of the Ghost Town & Calico have been restored to original paint schemes and appearance on...

    .
  • 1951: Calico Saloon
  • 1949: Stagecoach
  • 1948: Bottle House and Music Hall
  • 1947: Name change from Knott's Berry Place to Knott's Berry Farm.
  • 1946: Steakhouse
  • 1941: 100 more acres totals 120.
  • 1940: Living Ghost Town tribute started with free entertainment.
  • 1934: Tea room opens and Cordelia serves the first chicken dinner
  • 1932: Rudolf Boysen gives Walter his last six crossbreed berry plants, as yet unnamed
  • 1929: Ten more acres purchased
  • 1927: Ten leased acres of berry farm purchased, named Knott's Berry Place
  • 1920: Ten acres of berry farm land leased by Walter and Cordelia Knott

In media

I Love Lucy episode Don Juan and Starlets (first aired February 14, 1955), Fred asks "Say, Ethel wants to know if we're still going to Knott's Berry Farm today." Lucy replies "The only knots you'll see today will be on Ricky's head." "I wanted to ask you about Knott's Berry Farm and tell you Ricky spent the night at our place."

Disneyland Dream
Disneyland Dream
Disneyland Dream is a home movie made by Robbins and Meg Barstow that documents their family's free trip to the newly opened Disneyland. The one-week trip was a prize that they won in a contest sponsored by Scotch tape. The movie was shot with a 16 mm handheld camera. It lasts approximately 30...

Knott's Berry Farm is featured in the 1957 home movie.

Jailhouse Rock (1957) staring Elvis Presley involved three montage scenes of Knott's when his character Vince Everett contracts an escort to 'be seen with on the town' as an exhibition of his playboy nature and they instead behave like hick tourists.

The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show
The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show
The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show was a Western comedy and variety program that ran on ABC television for 13 episodes from September 29 to December 29, 1962...

(first aired November 3, 1962) episode of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's western variety program was taped at Knott's Berry Farm.

Anatomy of a Seduction (1979) The TV movie included both stock footage of the Corkscrew with its original all white paint job and newly shot on-ride footage of the actors with its blue tracks/white supports paint livery.

Poltergeist (1982) movie in which Steve Freeling asks "So. What side of the rainbow are we working tonight, Dr. Lesh? Is this your Knott's Berry Farm solution?"

The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

episode, "Milhouse of Sand and Fog
Milhouse of Sand and Fog
"Milhouse of Sand and Fog" is the third episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired September 25, 2005.-Plot:The show starts in church. During Reverend Lovejoy's sermon, Maggie is caught scratching herself with a hymnal. Marge takes away the book, discouraged also by the...

" (first aired September 25, 2005), a cutaway gag features animated representations of characters from The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...

enjoying Knott's Berry Farm, then getting robbed by Snoopy
Snoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...

 forcing them to make an ATM withdrawal at gunpoint.

Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

's identity bumper
Jaguar!
Jaguar! (Knott's Berry Farm)
Jaguar is a themedsteel kiddie roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, built by Zierer GmBH.-Queue:Riders approach the ride through the temple in the Fiesta Village section of the park. The queue winds through a series of rooms and tunnels. You can sometimes hear...

 is featured (in one among several ID bumpers). It shows the ride from the last car, but more signs for the other rides at the park can be seen throughout the ride, to form the '4' logo from a particular angle during the ride.

Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...

(2007) The opening sequence featured several of the park's attractions.

BrainRush
BrainRush
BrainRush is a live-action game show on Cartoon Network, hosted by Lamorne Morris and, to a lesser extent, Sarah Karges. It first aired on June 20, 2009. The show was canceled due to low ratings.-Format:...

(first aired June 20, 2009), a Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (United States)
Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...

 TV quiz show filmed as contestants compete while riding aboard Knott's Berry Farm roller-coasters.

Present Day Knott's Berry Farm – food line

The J. M. Smucker Co. continues to sell jellies, jams, preserves under the Knott's Berry Farms brand name, continuing "the tradition started by the Knott family, using the tried-and-true recipes and farm-fresh fruit that made the name 'Knott's Berry Farm' famous". The company however still also sells its original Smucker's line of jams, jellies and preserves, but separately.

Knott's Berry Farms food products are currently divided into four categories: Jam, Preserves (with chunks of fruit), Light Preserves, and the Signature Collection (which is marketed as preserves that are made to create a homemade taste).

See also

  • Calico, San Bernardino County, California a former silver and copper mine Ghost Town
    Ghost Town
    "Ghost Town" is the title of a 1981 song by the British ska band, The Specials. The song spent three weeks at number one and ten weeks in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Addressing themes of urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner cities, the song is remembered for...

     in the Mojave Desert.
  • Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, which owns and operates Knott's theme and water parks.
  • Knott's Soak City
    Knott's Soak City
    Knott's Soak City is a chain of three seasonal water parks owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and located in Southern California.Soak City U.S.A in Orange County opened in 1999. Located East across Beach Blvd...

    , a water park East of the theme park, across Beach Blvd. (a Cedar Fair Entertainment Company).

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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