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Yes, I will repost that as well as another video that includes XK-1 and a POV of Wacky Soap Box Racers.

 

Awesome! Guessing from your avatar, I'm looking forward to anything you may have on Knott's Berry Tales. And on the subject of extinct dark rides, if you had anything on Adventure Thru Inner Space I haven't seen, I'd just die!

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Holtskee wrote:

I love this old Knott's stuff. In a way it seems like the park use to be the west coast equivalent of Silver Dollar City.

Thats just what I thought when I read a TR of Silver Dollar City a while back.

 

Anyway great update Shane, one of my favorites.

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All this old stuff is awesome!

It's really interesting to see how parks progress through time.

In the second brochure the guy on the front looks like santa, but on holiday in the wild west.

On the third one it looks like they are selling children for $9.95 (much like disney do with lost children )

 

Can't wait to see more.

 

EDIT: Post #100

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Thanks for all the Knott's stuff. I have, or had, a lot of that myself. I grew up in Southern California, and I worked at KBF during the time Cedar Fair came in. It saddens me to think of how much Knott's has lost under their regime.

 

If I don't have to limit myself temporally, then Knott's would still easily be my favorite park. (Of course, it would be a Knott's with the Haunted Shack, the Tampico Tumbler, the Sky Jump, etc.)

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Knott's fans please help!

 

I am trying to determine the dates of these maps. As I mentioned before since Knott's is year round they typically didn't have a seasonal map, it kind of just stayed the same until a new attraction was added or they changed the design.

 

The first map is from 1979, at the bottom it shows the printing date.

 

As for the second and third map, I don't know the dates. I am not sure what year the XK-1 went in. If you know, that would be a good guess for those maps. When I get home from work I will look over those maps and see if there is a print date.

 

Also I have some big park maps (circa 1976) that I will take digitial pictures of and post around 7:00 tonight.

 

 

Mod Edit: I think I figured it out

2nd map appears to be 1991 based on park hours in that brochure.

3rd map appears to be 1996 - the year the Boardwalk retheming occured - larrygator

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^Thanks for that. It was the one map I was not sure of. I went back and updated the pictures on the previous page with the respective years. Now onto some older maps & images from the 70's.

 

These are really "Old Time Adventures"

 

These two maps are from 1976bmr (before Montezooma's Revenge) and from 1978. There are some close up shots of each of the theme areas so you can see how much has changed.

 

Also included is a poster that Knott's used for special promotions such as Mormon night. I zoomed in on some of the artwork because it really captures what the atmosphere of Knott's was like back then.

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roaring 20's

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Promotional poster

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Knott's brings it home with the addition of Montezooma's Revenge.

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Not much changed from 1976 to this map which is from 1978, except one major thing....

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Roaring 20's and airfield....theme area removed...strike three!

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Cycle Chase...another great attraction removed...strike two

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Cute little Fiesta Village, problem is it lacks a major attraction....

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Beary Tales. The removal was a huge step in the wrong direction IMO

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close view of just the park

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Park Map from 1976

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I have some of this Knott's literature.

 

It looks like you guys solved the mystery of when certain attractions were added/closed. From my own recollection:

 

Bigfoot Rapids opened in 1988

Corkscrew closed in 1989

XK-1 opened in 1990

Boomerang opened 1991

Mystery Lodge opened in 1994

Jaguar opened in 1995 (I attended media day)

Soap Box Racers/Gasoline Alley closed in 1996

Windjammer opened in 1997, closed in 2001 for good.

 

Hope that helped.

 

Eric

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Knott's Berry Farm

VIDEOS, VIDEOS, VIDEOS

 

Today is video day. Lots and lots of visuals of rides that are now gone, commercials and a special report from the park. I hope everyone is enjoying this look back at Knott's, I know I am.

 

Knott's editorial:

As I go back and read some of my comments I seem to have a pretty negative attitude towards the park as it is today. In fairness I must say I miss the old Knott's because thats just what it is..."old Knott's. If I think about how the park was back in the 70's, I remember having the same thoughts at that time as I do today. Example: back in the 70's I thought Knott's was small and had lame rides, that is because I compared it to Magic Mountain and Disneyland. Knott's was a humble park when compared to the other southern California parks The Corkscrew was a joke when compared to the Revolution. But everything takes on extra sentimental value when it becomes nostalgic and reality is replaced with memories. With that said todays Knott's probablly equals yesterdays Knott's and in another 20 years we will be saying how we miss the charm and rides of the Knott's of 2008.

 

And now back to the program...enjoy the show! (you may want to click on the Youtube link and watch the videos in high quality)

 

Home Movies:

 

Home Video:

 

TV Commercial:

 

TV Commercial:

 

TV Commercial:

 

TV Commercial:

 

Local TV Show:

 

Home Video of Boomerand Model:

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Knott's Berry Farm

Facts, News & Articles

 

Well since yesterday was so visual, today is going to be mostly reading. Here are some Articles, Press Releases and Facts on the Park.

 

I find the two articles from Amusement Park Journal very interesting they talk about the Hurlbut connection to Knotts. Yes at one time Knott's did not own the rides in the park. The other article talks about how the Knott family survived with competition from Disney down the street. Both are very informative and if you are a Knott's fan there is a lot of good stuff in them.

 

-Shane

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Here are the rides designed and built by Bud. This is where it all pretty much started.

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Bud Hurlbut and Walter Knott formed a partnership to build the two mountain rides at Knott's. Calico Mine Ride and the Timber Mountain Log Ride.

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The design for Camp Snoopy

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MonteZOOMa's revenge Fact Sheet

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Knott's turns 60

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Facts

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Knott's early attractions

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This was a great publication from years ago. I am so glad I kept them, they are full of GREAT articles.

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I worked on the Calico Mine Ride for about a year (circa 1998/99). And one thing that I thought was really cool was that you were supposed to turn on the train's headlight and ring the bell when you came out over the tressel. It was a tradition, you see, from back when the rides were individual pay, and you wanted to draw attention to yourself.

 

There's still a piece of scenery in the mine that says "Hurlbut" on it, incidentally. (Or, at least, there was 10 years ago.)

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Having now spent several days going thru the 'attic' as presented, I can say without any abandon:

 

 

Thank you!

 

You have brought back so many memories of my life in the Souithwest during that era, and so many MANY different images of growing up-

 

Thank you so much- It is beyond what anybody has ever posted and I look forward to furture postings- as they bring be back to my pre-coaster youth (YES, I didnt start riding until I was 13; too scared back then!)

 

R.D.

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^Hey, that was really nice. I appreciate that you are enjoying it so much and that you took the time to let me know. I know what you mean about the memories, when I first started going through all this old stuff, much of it I had not seen in over 20 years, so many great memories came rushing back.

 

New Coasters are still very exciting to me but there is something about those early days of the steel looping era that are really special to me.

 

Thanks again for the nice words....and stay tuned, there is lots more to come!

 

-Shane

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I rode the log ride in 1969 just after it opened. For some reason, it was opened before the inside scenery was completed, and I still recall how unfinished it looked compared to when the scenes were done.

 

Also, I still remember the Gypsy Camp that was where the southern half (KOD, Wheeler Dealer, etc.) of the Roaring '20s/Boardwalk is now.

 

One memory I have (and my mom has pictures somewhere) is riding the cars at Henry's Livery. Similar to the Gasoline Alley cars that appeared in the '70s, these were not on a steel track, but had guard rails on each side of the road to prevent driving off. I don't know when Henry's Livery closed, but I remember having a really good time on it.

 

Thank you so much, Shane, for bringing all of this stuff back.

 

Eric

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Yes, the Gypsy Camp! I had totally forgotten about that. It was where the Hollywood Beanery was. And I also remember those cars, but they weren't inside the park...weren't they over near Independence Hall in the corner of the parking lot?

 

I wish I had more pictures of the Tijuanna Taxi, I used to love that ride as a kid.

 

Do you remember that path along side the back of the log ride and it had all those models of the California Missions?

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^ That path is still there, but of course the mission models are long gone.

 

Henry's Livery was at the southeast corner of the property, right at the corner of Beach and Crescent. That's where one of the main parking lots is now.

 

Eric

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Todays update is from my collection of photos I took at Knott's over the years. The Corkscrew when it was white, Cycle Chase, Montezooma's Revenge and more. I wish some of them were more clear, but at the time I only had a Kodak 110 camera. Remember those?

 

Don't miss the finale tomorrow of my week long look at Knott's. I have some great souvenir books to finish up with.

 

-Shane

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And now for my favorite. For those of you that don't know...I LOVE Schwarzkopf shuttle loops, this one being my favorite of them all!

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Gold Ol' Log Ride. It has withstood the tests of time!

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The Corscrew turns blue

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I think this is one of the biggest mistakes Knott's has made over the years. Removing this attraction would be like removing the Matterhorn. It was a local Icon.

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"this is the entrance to the Sky Cabin...Not the the Parachute Sky Jump. The entrance to the Parachute Sky Jump is on the opposite side of this attraction." remember that spiel???

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Loop Trainer Flying Machine

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This was taken when they ran individual motor cycles. Later they combined three cycles together to make a small train.

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the Cycle Chase from the Sky Jump.

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can you believe that queue used to fill up?

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early parachites and train going thru first corkscrew

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transfer track was in an unusual place, right off the lift rather than near the final brake run before the station.

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The Corkscrew 1976

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I loved this sign! I wonder if it is still around somewhere. If so I will buy it! (knott's are you listening?)

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Very cool stuff, Shane! I had never seen pictures of Cycle Chase in its original incarnation. And while I've never been on either of the Arrow steeplechase-style rides, but it just seems like a ride like that would be a no-brainer for a park to have these days. Maybe with a mild Motocoaster-ish launch or something?

 

All of these pictures and videos really show how much charm Knott's had back in the day. I can understand why people pine for the pre-Cedar Fair Knott's.

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I rode the Motorcycle Chase both as individual cycles and as a train. What I don't remember are those little platforms that you can see in this picture. Obviously they were to help evacuate the cycles should that be necessary.

 

All-white Corkscrew! Believe it or not, a picture of it was in my 1976 high school yearbook. At that time, it was quite a novel ride---the first upside down coaster in over 70 years.

 

And I remember visiting the park one rainy night in Spring 1978, just before Montezooma's Revenge opened. I knew of (but had never ridden) Tidal Wave at then Marriott's Great America, and was quite excited at the idea that one of our local parks was getting one! (Little did I know that ours was the newer flywheel launch model, which in my opinion is better!) Also on that night was the one and only time that I ever saw two-train operation on the Corkscrew.

 

Montezooma's Revenge is the only such ride in the U.S. to still operate in its original location.

 

Eric

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