The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[mike932]

Today was my first visit to Knotts ever.

 

WOW. Just wow. I love the place.

 

I moved to California in 2003. I've been to Disneyland about 50 times. I've been to Magic Mountain about 30 times. I've always assumed that Knotts is just some tiny theme park not worth visiting. Then I heard really good things about Knotts on the TPR Magic Mountain thread, so I finally gave it a visit.

 

On Priceline, I bid $50 for a 2.5 star hotel in Buena Park. By coincidence, Priceline gave me a night at the Knotts Hotel. I was very happy with it. The furniture is a little worn out, the walls are very thin, but overall I was happy with the room. I bought a discounted Knotts ticket at the hotel front desk. It allowed me to enter the park 30 minutes early.

 

What a great theme park. I am really impressed. Of course, I visited it on a very uncrowded day, so that helped my impression.

 

It's amazing how many rides they managed to fit into a small piece of land.

 

I rode Silver Bullet. Nice ride but not unusual compared to other parks.

 

Then I rode Xcelerator about 20 times in a row. Love the ride. Reminds me of Phul Thrahhtul at Magic Mountain. Saw a teenage girl puke BEFORE she got on the ride. Saw 2 cell phones fall out of riders' pockets at the top of the ride. Riding it 20 times was worth the price of admission.

 

Rode all the major rides. Every ride was a walk-on except Iron Reef which was only a 10 minute wait. I managed to score 205,000 on Iron Reef during my first and only try which is a apparently a very good score. Maybe because I am an Army veteran???

 

I enjoyed every ride except Ghost Rider which was downright painful. I am glad it will be altered.

 

Pony Express was adorable. The horses are adorable. I got on the ride at the last second and saw that the riders were ready to go but there was no seatbelts! lol I looked at the track and it looked pretty intense, but there I was mounted on a horse with no seatbelt. I was relieve to finally witness us getting locked in. What a cool ride. I rode it 5 times in a row.

 

Xcelerator is my favorite ride, and my second favorite is Jaguar. I realize it is not a hardcore ride, but I really enjoy it. Just a nice relaxing rollercoaster.

 

The only thing I ate was a funnel cake which was very good. I'll get the chicken dinner next time.

 

I am sold. I love Knotts. I will get a season pass. I liked that they double check the ride restraints by having 2 people check it. They really have their crap together, but then, it is America's first theme park, so this is not their first rodeo.

[RissaBooBissa]

I'm so glad you had fun! Knott's was my absolute favorite park to visit growing up. I'm hoping to go back for a visit next time I visit back home. So many memories there!

 

I miss Knott's. I miss the atmosphere and its charm. I haven't been to a park quite like it.

[mike932]

Charm is the perfect word for Knotts. It's a charming park.

[Jew]

The crazy thing is that the park is not even close to what it used to be in terms of "charm." A lot of things have disappeared over the years.

[RissaBooBissa]

The crazy thing is that the park is not even close to what it used to be in terms of "charm." A lot of things have disappeared over the years.

This is true. I'm still looking forward to going back.

 

I had a dream I was on Kingdom of the Dinosaurs the other night. LOL. Man do I miss that ride...

[cfc]

The crazy thing is that the park is not even close to what it used to be in terms of "charm." A lot of things have disappeared over the years.

 

True, but they've been taking the right steps over the last few years (for example, the log ride and mine train upgrades). I do miss the Wacky Soapbox Racers and Parachute Sky Jump, though.

[VegasBaby]

Mike932, I'm glad you enjoyed your Knotts visit, it really is a fun park with some great rides. I love the coasters at SFMM, but my kids aren't ready for most of them yet, so we usually get Knott's season passes every year. Xcelerator is still a world class coaster and Silver Bullet is one of my favorite B&M inverts. I'm very happy that GhostRider is getting a much needed refurb as it was a kick a$$ woody for the first 5 years or so after it was built. Pony Express is a cool little coaster and never has much of line, so we usually ride it multiple times. Hopefully you checked out Montezooma too, it was my first looping coaster and my kids first looper as well (kind of a right of passage in our family).

 

I really like the direction the park has gone the last few years in refurbing the log and mine rides and I think Iron Reef was a really solid addition for the park. My dream is for Knott's to get a Hyper (or even a Chance mini-hyper), but even if that never happens, it still has plenty of great rides and attractions. I'm taking the fam there tomorrow to get a few last rides on Ghostrider (my kids love it despite the roughness) and do some Xcelerator marathoning for myself.

 

And yes, be sure to eat at Mrs. Knotts next time you are at the park!

Edited August 27, 2015 by VegasBaby

[Superbatboy]

I feel like once they plopped Silver Bullet down on top of the lake, you knew the park would never be the same.

[mike932]

Thanks, Vegasbaby. Do you think crowds will be low next week as well?

[cfc]

(or even a Chance mini-hyper)

 

I agree that something along the lines of an Intamin Mega Lite or Lightning Run would be a great addition to Knott's.

[VegasBaby]

Thanks, Vegasbaby. Do you think crowds will be low next week as well?

 

Yes, it should be a "Ghost Town" mid week now that the kids are in school. The park is open every day except Christmas, so the crowds are very minimal mid-week during the school year. I would avoid Labor Day weekend though, it will be packed.

[Wingwright]

I saw some photos on Twitter indicating that they were removing Riptide for good last night. Any confirmation on this?

 

If Boomerang wasn't so popular, I would say that they should remove it. That, along with the Riptide footprint, would make for a nice chuck of space to build something cool. According to a rough Google Earth calculation, it's about 80% of the Log Ride's footprint! But Boomerang is so popular with the public. It's even listed as a top ride on the cedarfair.com Knott's page! Plus it got those new trains so my idea is just a pipe dream.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Wingwright

[thrillseeker4552]

The crazy thing is that the park is not even close to what it used to be in terms of "charm." A lot of things have disappeared over the years.

 

But like Chuck said, they have restored quite a bit of that charm these last few years. I look at the cup as half full and not half empty.

[Freefallbestrideever]

Glad I rode Screamin' Swing before it was removed, finally plunked down the $5 and I was pleasantly surprised! I hope SFMM/KBF decide to install some flat rides in the future.

If Boomerang wasn't so popular, I would say that they should remove it.

I will never understand why that ride is so popular, line is usually too long for me to bother....

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I think Boomerang's line has a lot more to do with its very low capacity than whatever popularity it might have.

[Jew]

The crazy thing is that the park is not even close to what it used to be in terms of "charm." A lot of things have disappeared over the years.

 

But like Chuck said, they have restored quite a bit of that charm these last few years. I look at the cup as half full and not half empty.

 

It's "lipstick on a pig" as far as I'm concerned. What they have done is great, but from Silver Bullet on the park was never the same. That's not necessarily a bad thing since Ghost Town is still awesome, but to me Silver Bullet forever changed the identity from it being the park the Knott's family built to a Cedar Fair owned park.

[CedarFlags]

I saw some photos on Twitter indicating that they were removing Riptide for good last night. Any confirmation on this?

 

The opposite, actually. A maintenance crew has been working on it at the back of the Western parking lot for the past month or so. The repairs it needed were just very extensive, so they removed the gondola and arms to work on them.

[Wingwright]

I saw some photos on Twitter indicating that they were removing Riptide for good last night. Any confirmation on this?

 

The opposite, actually. A maintenance crew has been working on it at the back of the Western parking lot for the past month or so. The repairs it needed were just very extensive, so they removed the gondola and arms to work on them.

 

Thanks - Glad I asked!

[DoubleDown]

I feel like once they plopped Silver Bullet down on top of the lake, you knew the park would never be the same.

 

Very true. To add to that thought, I feel like even once I saw the announcement (what was that, back in 2003?) and what they were going to do with the area, the park was never going to be the same. While it was great to see a B&M installation at a park like Knott's, I was not particularly a fan of what was happening to the surrounding area.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love me a B&M, I love how the ride interacts with the park. But the thing is B&M's are SO beefy, and the way they elevate their rides most the time, I was just not a fan of how they (just how you described it) "plopped" the layout on top of Reflection Lake. I really felt their decision to "update" the area took A LOT of nostalgia away, turned the lake into a meaningless pond, and also added a ton of concrete with little to no shade which as we have seen, has become a norm around a good majority of the park these days.

 

I went to the park a couple weeks ago with a couple friends because we wanted to go on some rides and not travel too far, and I will say that while the park still has a good portion of that nostalgic feeling in some places, imagine doubling or tripling that about 10-15 years ago. However while I do not feel that the addition of rides has hurt this park, I do feel the way the park decides to integrate these rides into the existing infrastructure has undoubtedly taken a lot of that nostalgia away, and is a direct result of what Knott's has become.

 

This is coming from a native SoCal kid having a pass in highschool and bringing girls along just so we could be alone and hook up. I know the park well, I've spent a lot of time there, and after going a couple weeks ago, I am honest when I say I don't need to visit for at least another 5 years.

[Freestyle23]

How long about will the lines be Sunday?

[DILinator]

I've only been to Knott's once, and it was since Silver Bullet, so I cannot comment on the nostalgia of what the park looked like before. However, I will say that I loved Silver Bullet, and what makes it better than a lot of B&M Inverts to me (including all the Batmans), is its position over the water! I always love it when a coaster interacts with water, and SB is no different!

 

I do understand the nostalgic effect, however... While there is no doubt TTD is a fun and thrilling coaster, and a great addition to Cedar Point, I do miss the "old days" before it was built, when that path between Magnum and Power Tower was such a quiet and tranquil part of the park. I imagine that people's feelings about where SB sits now is a similar situation...

[thrillseeker4552]

I don't know why but I feel Silver Bullet would look so much better if it didn't have the solid-red lift hill. That's one of the biggest eye sores in the park.

[Jew]

Knott's finished up their haunt announcements last week..

 

Biggest news: Mine ride is back!

[jarmor]

Wasn't it there last year?

[Jew]

Not as a full haunted attraction with monsters inside.