The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[joelwee]

Great news, IMO. I had written this project off a few months ago but I'm glad to hear it is coming back.

[SoCalJasonland]

On 3/1/2024 at 2:42 PM, joelwee said:

Great news, IMO. I had written this project off a few months ago but I'm glad to hear it is coming back.

I was hoping that we could tell by the newly released video what any changes were but... things still appear quite similar.  Did Kumbak agree to a cumback, did Zamperla stab Kumbak in the back, we will find this all out and more on the newest telenovela, Monte the Forbidden Fortress.

 

[ryder]

I suspect they just reused the old footage.  I figure we'll get an updated video when more is finalized.

[CedarFlags]

Wow, PLOT TWIST.  I was so certain this project was dead.  Good for Knott's.

[SoCalJasonland]

I have visited Knott's at least 200 times, but this will be my first Metrolink trip from Riverside to Knott's as I am just sick of sitting in a car on the 91 freeway/parking lot. 

So, I am taking the newish Perris to LA train indicated by the blueish line from either downtown Riverside to Buena Park.  I will drive to the train station and while Hunter Park is a better neighborhood, the downtown Riverside station has roving security and more choices if my train gets canceled. 

 

I chose departures with no transfers but there were a few more 1 & 1/2 - 2 hour trips if I included them.  I chose the trips indicated in blue.

Return trips to Riverside

I don't qualify for any discounts but if I went 5 times in a month during the week, I could save 10% with a flex ticket.  Not worth it for me so $21.50.  I figure my car is about 40 cents per mile to operate so 45 miles each way, less 5 miles for trip I still have to take to the train station equals 80 miles at 40 cents per mile for a total of $32.  If I take the toll lanes, they are variable rates but range from $10 to $30+ each way from the 91/15 Riv. entrance to 91/55 OC exit and may save me an hour if I take it each way.

I will need to get the 3 - 4 miles from Buena Park Metrolink station to the park depeding on the route.  I can walk to Beach and take an OC bus for a couple of bucks, Uber/Lyft, or walk.  The area is generraly safe during the day for a large city.  I will likely walk to the park since I am getting to the station about 1 1/2 hour beofore the park opens this day at 10 am.

As I was typing this and wondering if Metrolink was reliable, the following story ran on Channel 5 news, not joking.  It actually came up while I was making this post about my trip tomorrow.  No one was injured in the fire but the loco is out of service and is disrupting stops to the north.  At least they offered the riders $50 towards alternative transportation but din't explain exactly what that means on the news.  At least I can always go another day if there are train problems

 

[SoCalJasonland]

So I made it to the Metrolink to Knott's on Tuesday.  The ride was nice but I felt like I was riding in a one-third full 1980s Southwest Flight with no cabin service because of turbulence.  The bathrooms were decent.  The sign states drinkable water but I didn't test it, as I didn't believe it.  I brought my own bottle of water.

The train arrived a few minutes late but we arrived approximately on time due to 30-second station stops.  I ended up walking to and from the Buena Park station to Knotts's so no added bus or Under fares on that end of the trip. I ended up with 25,000 steps and was buzzed enough to take Uber home from Riverside and I walked back the 3 miles today to pick up my car today to pick up my car from the station.

 

A few notes:

Camp Snoopy and Coasters Diner restaurants have re-opened

There are new Fastlane scanners at all of the Fastlane attractions where you scan your one-time pass or bracelet and can't proceed unless you get a green light.  If you get a red light, you can't go through.  Single Prestige Pass Fastland passes still need to be redeemed in one of three stores and you can't just scan your pass at the ride and need to pick up a daily one-time use ticket from a store.

There are no more ribs on the meal plan at either Ghosttown BBQ or Boardwalk BBQ.  Pulled pork is also gone from Boardwalk BBQ   Ghoasttown BBQ now gives two sides with entries where Boardwalk is still one side plus corn bread but Ghosttown has no boysenberry BBQ sauce still.

The small railroad around the lake has a lot of rotted railroad ties being replaced

I can's find Beatboxes at the park any longer

 

Metrolink train

Room for bikes or scooters

Bathroom in each car plus drinkable water?

The bathroom is larger than a plane bathroom.

A total breakfast of champions, and only champions if you thought Maddog 20-20 or Boones Farm were also breakfast of champions.

If Big Macs are $18, you can always get a Coke and hotdog for $1.50 from Costco or 2 roast beef sandwiches from Arby's for $6. 

There are new Fastlane scanners at the entrance to Fastlanes rides, this is La Revolution, so you need to scan your single-use pass or wrist band and you get either a green or red light letting them know for you to advance.

This is pizza and a side salad from the pizza place by the Charles Shultz Theater.

Ribs are off the meal plan for Ghost Town BBQ and ribs and pulled pork are completely gone from Boardwalk BBQ.  It must have not been a price issue on the pulled pork as you can still get it as a sandwich at Ghosttown and tri-tip at Boardwalk.

New camp Snoopy coaster.

The lounge has 12 different free snacks for Prestige Pass members, free water, drink plan beverages, and a limited supply of alcohol that is not free or discounted from the normal park.

I believe I had a white wine and some free Grandma's cookies.  They had no Knott's snacks though.  My local Winco had racks of Boysebenberry Knott's cookies for 28 cents.  They could easily stock up before Beatriz discontinues the line!

I asked maintenance if the log ride was close to being completed but no one had a date, but one told me there was still some work to be done and possibly not for a month or two but he wasn't sure.

I guess all the log ride boats are hanging in line for Xcelerator?

Knott's log ride door is open, so what's inside?  I took all of the pictures from the doorway without stepping inside but this is the backside of fun.

A spacious train ride home.

[SoCalJasonland]

Worst visit at Knott's ever, did Cedar Fair forget ride operations or is everything an attempt to sell Fastlane?  My sister and brother-in-law visited from Denver and we went to Knott's on Monday, March 25th.  Every coaster we rode seemed to follow the same pattern.  Load the Fastlane customers, load the blue card handicaps, and then if any space was left; they went to the regular line.  My family skipped Ghostrider and Xcelerator but Pony Express, Sierra Sidewinder, Jaguar, and rapids ride all had close to one-hour waits to where you could stand in line for a couple of ride cycles and the line didn't move at all.

Knott's also has bars in the park with Margaritas/Tequila prices from $22 to $100 per drink.  My $22 strawberry margarita and $20 bloody mary made me almost puke and toss them in the garbage.  It was all sweet and sour with horrible generic/well alcohol.  Even the chicken restaurant and boysenberry mojito were bad.  The employees were nice and you can now tip on the credit card readers at the bars/saloons in the park but $22 for horrible booze trying to hide with a bunch of sweet and sour or cheap tomato juice is not a good combination.

The track for the kiddie train is completely gone

Eastery

Most of Monte's track is gone too.

[Domm]

Damn! That’s too bad on the log ride. I have a family trip planned there on 4/11 taking 7 year old nephew first time and have been hyping it up. Hope for a speedy recovery…

[pianojohn]

5 hours ago, SoCalJasonland said:

Knott's also has bars in the park with Margaritas/Tequila prices from $22 to $100 per drink

$100 PER drink? Yeah, I don't buy that unless you have a picture of this so-called $100 drink.

As far as the lines go, it's EASTER week and crowds are everywhere. ROTR had a 3 hour wait this week.

You cannot blame the park for the insane crowds. Sorry you had a bad time, but I always tell friends and family to avoid the parks during holidays (spring break, Christmas) and don't expect to ride anything without shelling out money for FastLane or Genie+.

[SoCalJasonland]

 

I found a picture of the menu on Google.  Bottom middle Partida Tequila - Anejo $100.  I had the $22 Bloody Mary and $22 Cantina Del Sur Margarita and one was Tabasco, tomato juice and generic vodka and the other was bad tequila and sweet and sour mix.  Tasted like it came from a can but I saw them pour all the ingedients right in front of me right from te liquor bottles with name brands I have never heard of.

8 hours ago, pianojohn said:

$100 PER drink? Yeah, I don't buy that unless you have a picture of this so-called $100 drink.

As far as the lines go, it's EASTER week and crowds are everywhere. ROTR had a 3 hour wait this week.

You cannot blame the park for the insane crowds. Sorry you had a bad time, but I always tell friends and family to avoid the parks during holidays (spring break, Christmas) and don't expect to ride anything without shelling out money for FastLane or Genie+.

The margarita's ranged in price from $20 to $100.  The $100 margarita's had some sort of aged tequila in a colorful bottle.  It is the disgusting sweet and sour mix that will ruin it for you.  It should be natural orange and lime juice and not sweet and sour in grand or presidential margaritas.  I have had enough expensive margaritas and been a bartender at a mexican restaurant to know how to make a decent drink.

You can blame the park for crappy operaitions.  Why was Jaguar's station empty with three separate lines being drawn from to fill each coaster train individually?  It took about 7 - 8 minutes to get a train out and Pony Express was loading just as slowly with only loading a new row when the previous train has left the station.  The flat rides were loading okay but something has changed with their coaster loading policy for the worse and we gave up on them after that.  My family didn't want a Fastlane as neither of them would go on Hangtime, Xcelerator or Silverbullet so a ride or two on Ghostrider wasn't going to be worth it and none of us could get the app to work on either Android or Apple to buy single ride Fastlaness; and none of the stores that we asked at sold single ride Fastlanes.

We were able to walk right into the chicken restaurant at 2 pm with no wait so the crowds were not insane.  It was crowded but I have seen worse.  There seemed to be more people with the blue handicap cards than Fastlanes.  Most of the carnival rides were 10 to 15 minutes waits and Berry Tales was about a half-hour.  

[SoCalJasonland]

I also noticed and wondered if it was the same at other Cedar Fair parks?  Knott's started with Ghostrider earlier in the season by assigning rows and not allowing more than one trains worth of people past the trunstile at one time.  This lead to the left or inside belt/safety checker to also have to run grouping/expediting between train loads.  This caused the cycle time to go from approximately 5 minutes per dispatch to 8 minutes per dispatch, so weekday ride times doubled.  During spring break, this has at least spreaded to Jaguar and Pony Express with multiple groupers and no more than one train load in the station at a time.  I have seen SIlverbullet groupers not let more than 4 people per row into the station at a time. Why don't they want people in the station any longer? 

[SoCalJasonland]

I wonder who is most excited in this photo?  The puzzled looking service pug, Whittles with Boysenberry jam on his beard, or mommy who got a picture of baby with Whittles.

[CedarFlags]

Log ride is finally back open and Ghostrider is now closed for its pre-summer maintenance. 

 

[CedarFlags]

Update on the Camp Snoopy renovation from a few days ago.

• Official opening day is now June 27th
• Camp Snoopy Theater rebuild will not be happening anymore.  Will now become a green space called Beagle Scout Acres.  RIP to yet another piece of live entertainment. 
• Woodstock's Airmail will not be returning (was supposedly getting moved but staying in Camp Snoopy
• Full press release:  https://www.knotts.com/blog/media-center/2024/attention-aspiring-beagle-scouts

Also, the Summer Nights tasting card menu has finally dropped.  https://qr1.be/EPWT

 

[KBrylczyk]

And the hits keep coming, Knott's...

Seriously, what happened to this place?  It used to be one of the best around but now it's a mere shadow of its former self.  This has happened in the past few years.  Was there a change in the management or executive offices?  I can't understand how Knott's has fallen off so quickly.

[SoCalJasonland]

On 6/10/2024 at 8:16 PM, KBrylczyk said:

And the hits keep coming, Knott's...

Seriously, what happened to this place?  It used to be one of the best around but now it's a mere shadow of its former self.  This has happened in the past few years.  Was there a change in the management or executive offices?  I can't understand how Knott's has fallen off so quickly.

Post had been deleted and moved to Six Flags forum

[CoasterNerd87]

Pony Express and Jaguar are closed. Xcelerator, Ghostrider, and Sierra Sidewinder only running one train. From the high praise that is typically heaped on this park, this is depressing. Upon further review there was a late night buy out and I did see staff trying to keep up. I imagine weekday staff gets stretched on these extra long days.

Edited June 29 by CoasterNerd87
Remember seeing a bunch of wristbands and bank logos everywhere.

[Arthur_Seaton]

I went to the park this afternoon for a few hours, mostly to just walk around and maybe jump on a few rides. Everything but Jaguar seemed to be running with multiple trains and reasonable 30-ish minute waits. 

It looks like some stuff's happening at Montezooma. There's a large white structure coming out of both ends of the station. It extends from where the rear spike used to stand to where the loop began. I got close to it at one point and thought I saw sun shining through it, suggesting it's just a tarpaulin to keep the mess to a minimum while they install the track. But whatever structure is holding it up looks oddly blocky, too — like walls. What stood out to me, though, was how low the clearance seemed. 

^ From the back

^ Inside the station

^ From the front over by that kiddie balloon ride

^ It looks like they're also starting on whatever's going to end up on the old supports

In terms of the new Snoopyland bit, it doesn't seem like much has changed. The new little coaster is running (it has a booster-launch section midway through), and there's a big section of astroturf with some tables on it.

^ Astroturfland

[coasternut]

^ Thanks for the update. Let's hope for some activity on Monte. I miss that ride! This whole thing has just been such a disaster. Another bad C.F. decision, just like Dragster at Cedar Point.

[CedarFlags]

Listen y'all.  I'm ride or die for Knott's but I finally got to check out the new Camp Snoopy this week and... WOOF.  For how much money was allegedly spent, the difference in the area is almost imperceptible.  The new coaster is cute, but tiny.  The waterfall and pontoon bridges are working again, but that is kind of just basic maintenance that the park stopped doing for years until this project.  The most noticeable change is the loss of the theater and the extremely humble astroturf and bench area now occupying the space.  The meet & greet space is still walled off, so you can't meet any Peanuts characters in Camp Snoopy.  The Sally swing ride looks like it's not even close to finished.

The Fiesta renovation was beautiful and made the entire zone feel fresh and vibrant.  Camp Snoopy feels exactly the same as it was before, except now it's missing stuff (Air Mail and the theater).

[coasternut]

^ Lets all hope they do a better job on Monte.

[prozach626]

On 7/4/2024 at 11:11 AM, coasternut said:

This whole thing has just been such a disaster. Another bad C.F. decision, just like Dragster at Cedar Point.

O.G. Dragster, or new Dragster 2.0? O.G. brought people in from around the country. 2.0 is YTBD.

[jramo14]

Can anyone explain how the child/parent swap works at Knott's? Looking online it is unclear how the process works (compared to universal and disney where more info is available on the websites). I am from NYC and plan on going to Knott's for the very first time in early October with my wife, both in-laws, and my one year old son. Do two adults wait in line while the other two adults wait with the baby/non-rider, and then the the other two adults skip the line upon the first riders returning from the ride? I would appreciate any information as I want to be prepared as best as possible (due to scheduling I will only be able to visit the park from 10 am - 3 pm so trying to be as efficient as possible). I see no fast lane is available on Wed 10/9 when I am visited so that makes things more complicated (but I believe crowds should be light). Would appreciate any advice as well!

[thepoint4life23]

You stop at guest services when you get to the park. Two or 3 people wait in line when you exit the ride you give a ride hose the book they mark it and you hand that too the non riders and they go up the exit show the booklet and they let them ride. 

I would figure that's how they do it since they do it at cedar point and Kings island. They can most likely meet you at the exit. 

[KBrylczyk]

16 hours ago, prozach626 said:

O.G. Dragster, or new Dragster 2.0? O.G. brought people in from around the country. 2.0 is YTBD SBNO.

FTFY