The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[SharkTums]

I like it!

[VegasBaby]

That red looks amazing, so much better than the faded pink!  

[toughmudder]

Hey everybody - my spouse and daughter are headed to KBF this weekend (Saturday to be exact).  They are down there for a soccer tournament and they have an off-day, so the team is headed there.

I've been watching the queue times and they seem pretty crazy.  Any tips I can give them?  I'm going to suggest they get there at park opening.  Are most coasters running then? (8am)?  There are too many on the team going to add in the expense of Fast Lane, so we're looking at all our options to maximize their time.

TIA!

[VegasBaby]

8 minutes ago, toughmudder said:

Hey everybody - my spouse and daughter are headed to KBF this weekend (Saturday to be exact).  They are down there for a soccer tournament and they have an off-day, so the team is headed there.

I've been watching the queue times and they seem pretty crazy.  Any tips I can give them?  I'm going to suggest they get there at park opening.  Are most coasters running then? (8am)?  There are too many on the team going to add in the expense of Fast Lane, so we're looking at all our options to maximize their time.

TIA!

I would get there at least 30 minutes before opening as Knotts opens the gates early most days.  Once they're in the park, tell them to take an immediate left and head straight for GhostRider, it's the most popular ride in the park and gets the longest lines.  Then I would head to the back of the park and knock out the boardwalk rides (Xcelerator, Hangtime, Berry Tales, etc).  Xcelerator might still be down for painting, so warn them that is might be closed.  Next up should be the log ride before it gets too crowded.  After that, the ride order doesn't really matter. 

[CedarFlags]

If we're being honest at the gig.... I love the fresh coral-red on Xcelerator but this grey, yellow, orange situation is not doing it for me.

[CedarFlags]

Also... adding my 2 cents to the new coaster speculation:

If you believe that Knott's is spending $20-30 million on a parking lot giga coaster, you haven't been paying attention to this park for the better part of a decade.  The park has been putting nearly all its focus into the Seasons of Fun mentality of providing various seasonal activities & entertainment to drive repeat attendance.  Literally as I'm typing right now, an ad popped up for Merry Farm that features the big tree plus a photo of the Saloon with Christmas lights on and snow.  Not a single ride visible.  The 100th Anniversary celebration that happened in 2021 was almost entirely entertainment driven, except for a family dark ride that leaned in to the park's history, nostalgia, and unique quirkiness.  The coasters are still important, but they don't run the show anymore.   Knott's stopped being part of the coaster wars quite a while ago.

I think the park (correctly) realized that it's strength was not in trying to compete with Six Flags, but to offer something different.  There are definitely some thrills to be had, but Knott's is about more than rides... there are experiences, shows, themed areas, history, and special food (which has exploded in the last couple years).  This isn't the Dick Kinzel era anymore, and I would go so far as to say that Knott's *doesn't want* a massive hyper/giga.  Hangtime is a fun addition to the park that gives thrill seekers something new, but it's also neatly placed into a footprint.   Plus, they found a way to make it pull double duty with the light & music shows they program on it for Scary/Merry Farm. 

[southpuddle]

12 hours ago, CedarFlags said:

If we're being honest at the gig.... I love the fresh coral-red on Xcelerator but this grey, yellow, orange situation is not doing it for me.

I’m diggin it. It keeps the spirit of the old color scheme while adding some new flare (no pun intended).

[AmyUD06]

Holy shit is Ghost Rider insane. New top 5 woodie without question. That is all.

TR of my first time at this park coming eventually, I just had to say this LOL.

[VegasBaby]

4 hours ago, Mike240SX said:

Holy shit is Ghost Rider insane. New top 5 woodie without question. That is all.

TR of my first time at this park coming eventually, I just had to say this LOL.

Totally agree, it’s been running incredible since the re-track. Without the mid-course brake, it’s absolutely ridiculous from beginning to end.

[CedarFlags]

Xcel is back open as of last night.  But it looks like the park just caught a tough break with the Home For the Holidays show.  There was an announcement that it's closed early due to "staffing and technical issues".  Shame, it was a pretty big Christmas extravaganza show and it went down right before the big busy couple of weeks.

Got to see the ice show a couple days ago and it was lovely as usual.  Ghostrider is still doing well.  Some ops were SLOOOW when I was there a few days ago, seems like the rides dept is hurting for staff as well.  Lots of operators having to do multiple positions (seat check, fast lane, handicap passes).  Also, Bullet was doing assigned rows which was pretty unusual.  I've never seen it run like that.  And the grouper who was assigning rows just disappeared as soon as my train got back to the station... everyone was just picking their own rows again.

[ryder]

It was recently in the news Delta and United airlines had to cancel a ton of flights due to not having enough staff because they're all calling out due to Covid.  I can totally imagine the same thing happening for theme parks... in fact, an inside source told me that an attraction at Knott's had over half it's staff call out for Covid.

I think all parks (and possible malls and grocery stores) are going to be finding themselves short staffed in the coming weeks.... bring your patience

[SoCalJasonland]

About coaster painters and a lot of footage of Xcelerator

 

[Jew]

On 12/9/2021 at 2:53 PM, Mike240SX said:

Holy shit is Ghost Rider insane. New top 5 woodie without question. That is all.

TR of my first time at this park coming eventually, I just had to say this LOL.

I would definitely question it, but there’s no doubt its much better than before.

[coasterlvr]

Here are some completed shots of Xcelerator.  It looks good.  I'd rather a brighter red though.  The supports are a just a shade lighter than what was on there.  The color change has grown on me.  Usually, any color change is a no thanks, (Scream, Tatsu), but this I like.  

 

 

[southpuddle]

I love love love it. So exiting to see a unique, imaginative color scheme on a ride. Totally fits the theme.  Added bonus of the launch track not showing the grease and grime that’ll eventually cover it. 

[kbfbest]

8 hours ago, ryder said:

It was recently in the news Delta and United airlines had to cancel a ton of flights due to not having enough staff because they're all calling out due to Covid.  I can totally imagine the same thing happening for theme parks... in fact, an inside source told me that an attraction at Knott's had over half it's staff call out for Covid.

I think all parks (and possible malls and grocery stores) are going to be finding themselves short staffed in the coming weeks.... bring your patience

Knotts like a lot of jobs is just having an hard time getting people to work. The age group of a lot of the staff at knotts use anything to call out and not come into work. 

[BotanicalStig]

Honestly looks terrible. Not that it matters, but that is a seriously ugly color scheme for a roller coaster. The park seems pretty proud of it, though. Hope to get back to this park someday and see it in person. Knotts was my favorite when I lived in socal. 

[Jew]

22 hours ago, kbfbest said:

Knotts like a lot of jobs is just having an hard time getting people to work. The age group of a lot of the staff at knotts use anything to call out and not come into work. 

These are performers.  More than likely they had a COVID outbreak amongst the cast and simply don’t have replacements that can be ready before the season is over given the rehearsal time needed. 

[AmyUD06]

Well, I finally got around to posting my report from December 9th.  Check it out right here.

[SteamedHams]

Well, looks like the Giga might be legit. Lets see if this gets the axe like CGA's hyper or it really happens.

 

 

[Dan the Coaster Man]

Very exciting stuff! Love the tunnel for the drop (at least that is what it looks like to me) and looks like a Shambhala-esk turnaround on the far end. Supports going through buildings?? Can't really read any of the labels

[CedarFlags]

Wow, I guess I stand corrected.  I truly did not see this coming at all.   Interesting though... the two pages have totally different footprints.  I wonder if there is a range of options to get approvals for?

[jarmor]

Yes, supports through building.

what I took away from it. . .

• Station using the west side of the admin building while the existing building will be reconfigured.
• The theater facade will be relocated.
• Existing building will be move to make a plaza.
• Two lift supports will go through existing building.
• Parking structure built adjacent to existing hotel.
• With the parking lot being reconfigured, los more green space.
• The coaster will travel only over entrance and exit of the parking lot.
• Seems to cross Grand AVE
• There seems to be another proposed plan from may of this year floating around for an initial proposal but it is shorter and more compact.

[AmyUD06]

Given that each schematic shows different rides, gonna say that this is far from confirmed and still in the exploratory phase.  But hey, if I'm wrong, awesome.

[Manic Monte]

Again, I don't how many times this needs to be said. If a park wants to add a ride bad enough, they will find a way to do it.  Even if it takes a while to get it done.