The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[SoCalCoasters]

Is Knotts allowed to use pinocchio since it is a Disney trademark?

 

Most of those classic fairy tales are public domain due to their age and lack of "official" copyrighting. That's how they can get away with giving away Classic Books from free on those eBook devices or iBooks. That's why Disney could use it, but they don't own the concept.

[Desert Tripper]

Doug in So Cal here - former regular on rec.roller-coaster in the mid-late 90s. Nice to see a thriving discussion on the WWW!

 

Went to Knott's yesterday (late afternoon to closing.) Have season passes this year! Noticed that Ghost Rider will be down today thru 7/13 per the Knott's website. Anyone know why? I'm guessing ride rehab - the ride was so rough yesterday that I didn't really get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Any airtime was offset by the anticipation of severe jarring at the bottom of the hill. It's starting to remind me of MM's ill-fated Psyclone. Hopefully they devote some TLC to the ride and restore it to the fantastic ride I remember ten years ago.

 

Crowds not too bad; most ride waits 20 min. or less. Silver Bullet had the longest wait, close to 30 minutes.

 

Other items of note -

 

Silver Bullet still a one-train operation, with the other train torn down in the maintenance bay, not looking too different than our last visit in late April. What's going on there?

 

Got a ride in on Xcelerator, but 10 minutes after we got off (around 6:30) people started leaving the queue; there was obviously a major problem. A cast member was posted at the entrance to dissuade arrivals from queuing up. Felt sorry for the poor folks on the train not in the station who were stuck there for however long it took to unload them. We didn't see the ride operate for the rest of the evening.

 

Also rode Supreme Scream, Windseeker, Riptide and Pony Express. The rides we didn't have time to go on appeared to be operating well. Monte still faithfully launching every few minutes.

 

All in all the ride operators seemed efficient and well mannered. We were in the queue for Sierra Sidewinder at park closing and they allowed all people in the queue to ride, even though with that ride's low throughput they had to run it until about 10:25. I thought that was a nice gesture.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention they've installed some really interesting lighting in Camp Snoopy. It was kind of trippy, with various colored light strings wrapped around the trees and stuff, and 60s imagery (peace signs, "LOVE," etc.) projected on the walkways. The waterfall/cave area had some wild stuff around it, too. Even if you don't have kids, it's definitely worth a walkthrough after dark.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Desert Tripper

[MrSum1_55]

^That is quite nice, considering that, I believe in 2007, I got on the second to last train of the night on Silver Bullet. There were people in line in back of me, but they kicked everybody out of the line at closing. If the ride has to close right at closing, at least put up a rope at the entrance. This was not done. I am really glad to see Knott's cleaning up their act from their past reputation.

[susie zueck]

Planning on heading up this Friday. Hopefully the longest line ill have to wait in will be 30 minutes. Over the weekend I had a major question on how much the park pays for insurance?

[AnonymousReed]

Off topic.

 

I am finding the new season pass commercial to be very humorous. Small things like that make me laugh.

[Desert Tripper]

That was a great commercial. It came on last night, in prime time! (Fox 11 I think)

 

"It starts with how we nurture our Windseeker crop to be 300 feet high by the 4th of July"... good one!

 

It almost seems like a sign that Knott's is rediscovering the things that made it great. Now that it's got a near world-class collection of coasters, park architects should dedicate their efforts to bringing back some of the atmosphere and unique attractions that used to set them apart from most other parks. A new, technologically updated Knott's Bear-y Tales would be a good start!!

[Jew]

^They'd have to find somewhere else for it. The show building was torn up pretty good to make room for all the ventilation for Johnny Rockets.

[cal1br3tto]

^^^Yeah, I must admit that commercial was kinda cute. And, more importantly, not annoying.

[Someotherguyuser]

Knott's has announced a new V.I.P. maze called "Trapped". It sounds like it will be similar in nature to Busch Garden's "Alone". From what I've heard, it should be located in the laser tag arena below Kingdom of the Dinosaurs (KoD)

 

So here's the official line-up for Haunt 2012:

 

-Slaughterhouse

-Trick-Or-Treat

-Endgames

-Dominion of the Dead

-Delirium

-Fallout Shelter

-Virus Z

-Uncle Bobo's Big Top of the Bizarre

-Trapped

-Dia de los Muertos

-Terror of London

-Pinnochio Unstrung

 

This year is lookin' great.

[rolercstrluvr]

Just saw this post on the Knott's Scary Farm FB page about Trapped.

 

The VIP Maze Trapped will not have a line.

 

You will need a reservation to enter.

 

How do you get a reservation?

 

Ah, the big question. And the answer will be revealed soon.

 

Sounds like it could be interesting.

[Kyle Coleman]

They were promising the best haunt yet this year at wcb and with this new vip maze and what we saw at wcb they just might deliver. Really looking forward to my first scary farm.

[RCFreak]

I'm far more excited for this year's Haunt line up then last years! I hope Knott's can work with TPR again and put together a great event like last year.

 

I'm thinking if Trapped isn't too insanely priced I might give it a go in late September for my Birthday as well.

[Jew]

Trapped - The VIP Maze

 

Location: Lazer Tag in between the Arcade and Johnny Rocket's.

 

Trapped will not feature any kind of light weapon, lazer gun or anything to protect you from the terror inside. You will be completely on your own and at the mercy of the diabolical horror of the maze.

[Crazy4Coasters!]

I just checked the website about any ride closures but I didn't see anything shown as down for rehab. Has anyone gone recently and seen if everything is open? I was planning to go this weekend so I wanted to see if anything was still down for rehab, thanks!

[fpsphil]

I just checked the website about any ride closures but I didn't see anything shown as down for rehab. Has anyone gone recently and seen if everything is open? I was planning to go this weekend so I wanted to see if anything was still down for rehab, thanks!

 

Ghost rider was closed last week, it might have reopened since. If you want to be 100% sure call the park and they will tell u. Silver bullet and xcelerator still running one train.

[alpengeist04]

I heard GhostRider was going to be down from June 25 through July 13, though I would still call to make sure.

[Crazy4Coasters!]

^ ^^ Thank you very much for the both of you. I really wish they would do something about Ghostrider's roughness... It was such a great ride back when it opened. I really wonder why it just got worse through time. Hopefully they will restore it to it's former glory.

[cfc]

I heard GhostRider was going to be down from June 25 through July 13, though I would still call to make sure.

 

Sounds like the perfect time to visit Knott's then.

[DallasAlvey]

I was at the park last Friday and Ghostrider was closed for most of the morning then at about 2 they opened it. Which I thought was really weird because I knew it was suppose to be closed. Unfortunetly for me I was with a friend who doesn't go the park that often and I had to suffer through it.

[Crazy4Coasters!]

I was at the park last Friday and Ghostrider was closed for most of the morning then at about 2 they opened it. Which I thought was really weird because I knew it was suppose to be closed. Unfortunetly for me I was with a friend who doesn't go the park that often and I had to suffer through it.

 

That sucks to hear it's still bad. Last time I rode it was about 2 years ago.

[laqueefa]

I'm far more excited for this year's Haunt line up then last years! I hope Knott's can work with TPR again and put together a great event like last year.

 

I'm thinking if Trapped isn't too insanely priced I might give it a go in late September for my Birthday as well.

 

Agreed. Last years TPR/MiceChat event was one of the best events I've ever participated in. I'm going for an early birthday present to myself again!

[Gmaster562]

Just got back from the park. Silver Bullet was running only one train, and I think Ghost Rider was as well. All three SS towers were running, and Xcelerator was running two trains. Unfortunately, The Xcelerator crew was terrible today and it was almost as if they were running one train. I'll Post pictures soon.

 

As for food, if you want a cheeseburger, or anything for that matter, it seemed like Johnny Rockets has much cheaper prices. A single cheeseburger with fries was about 8.00$ and a Single cheeseburger else where was around 14.00$.

[Gnome]

Just read on scream scape that they intend to charge $60 for their VIP haunt. Sounds steep. If that's the case, count me out. As good as it might be, I don't see anyway that knotts will be able to make it extreme enough to be worth $60, but we shalll see.

[downunder]

^It's $60, but you can take up to 6 people in a group, then it would come to $10 a head. I'll be doing it for sure.

[jedimaster1227]

Knott's Berry Farm has sent us a press release announcing the debut of a new family-style meal at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant!

 

In honor of National Fried Chicken Day, Knott’s Berry Farm will introduce a new menu at its famous Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The heavily guarded secret recipe will not be altered, just the manner in which it will be served – family style.

 

Walter and Cordelia Knott came to Buena Park to farm in the 1920’s, but the onset of the Great Depression found the Knotts struggling to support their family of six. It was during that time that Walter approached Cordelia and asked if she would be willing to serve her famous fried chicken to guests stopping by the berry stand. For that first meal Cordelia served eight 65-cent dinners on her own wedding china. By 1940, visitors were standing in line for hours to enjoy Walter’s boysenberries (developed at the Farm with the help of friend Rudolph Boysen) and Cordelia’s chicken. The challenge of entertaining the crowds led Walter to create an authentic Ghost Town on the property and America’s first “themed” amusement park was born.

 

Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant has kept the menu true to the original serving up perfectly seasoned and fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, choice of chicken noodle soup or rhubarb, fresh salad bowl, choice of cabbage or corn, mouth-watering homemade biscuits, and a choice of pie- including boysenberry of course.

 

The family-style meal is an option for groups of 4 or more and is available from 11:00 am until restaurant closing (times vary).

 

For more information on all Knott’s has to offer, visit www.knotts.com.