Knott's Peanuts Celebration 2018 Media Day!

[ILoveRides]

Knott’s is kicking off its 2018 Seasons of Fun with the addition of the all-new Knott’s Peanuts Celebration! For the first time the Peanuts characters are taking over the entire park. Guests can enjoy brand new character experiences, photo opportunities, activities, and live entertainment - all while pigging out on delicious themed treats. The celebration takes place on weekends from January 27 through February 25, 2018, plus Presidents’ Day. We were super excited to check out this new event, and hope you’ll read along to see everything that’s new! On with the report...

We’re at Knott’s for the all-new Peanuts Celebration!

To kick things off Knott’s had an awesome buffet set up for us.

It wouldn’t be Knott’s without chicken.

Yum!

Those are some serious watermelon carving skills!

There was a table showcasing all the special Peanuts themed treats that you can get at the park.

“Charlie Brownies” take the win for the best named treat!

I’m liking those Snoopy cookies!

Pretty colors!

This is only a small sample of what’s available!

The Catawampus thinks everything looks delicious!

The Livery Barn has been converted to Pig-Pen’s Pig Pen.

You can meet some of Pig-Pen’s animal friends. Here’s Brutus!

There are horses.

And it wouldn’t be a pig pen without pigs! These guys were super cute and playful.

You can take a picture with a pig statue...

Or get a picture with Pig-Pen himself!

Throughout the park there are kites stuck in the trees. Can you count them all?

There’s also Peanuts Celebration decor throughout the park. This is what you’ll see in Ghost Town.

Next we’ll check out “Peanuts Sketch School” at the Bird Cage Theatre.

Animator Noel Cox teaches guests how to draw a Peanuts character. Today we’re drawing Charlie Brown - but every time is different!

Brittney gets to work on her drawing. Noel is a great instructor - he’s entertaining and informative for both kids and adults!

At the end everyone holds up their drawings to show off what they’ve done. Everyone’s always turn out a little different - but all of them look great!

Here’s Brittney’s!

Here’s mine!

Speaking of mine (worst transition ever!), let’s head to the Calico Mine Stage to check out the new show “The Music Goes ‘Round and Around.”

In this show Sally, Schroeder, and Snoopy welcome their new friends Brandon and Karin for a retrospective of music.

The show showcases music from several genres, with dancing and performances to match.

Here’s Bluegrass!

Who knew Snoopy was so talented?

Rock & Roll!

Time to cut loose.

We love Rock & Roll Snoopy!

The show ends with a burst of streamers!

Afterwards there was a surprise pop-up show. Several Peanuts characters ride in on a trolley...

The trolley stops, the Peanuts characters get out, and guests can dance along with them. The kids loved this!

Over in Camp Snoopy The Grand Sierra Railroad has a special overlay called “Trip To Beagle Bonanza.”

Some awesome advice on the new signage!

Here comes the train!

There are new Peanuts decorations all throughout the ride.

And the ride is fully narrated by Linus and his friends as they get ready for the Beagle Bonanza!

There are lots of fun decorations.

Dogs are definitely allowed at the Beagle Bonanza!

I don’t know that I’d want to kiss a cactus.

Seriously, who knew Snoopy was so talented? First he plays music and now he’s a fishing champ!

Olaf’s House of Fun is awesome!

As is Woodstock’s Boysenberry Bird Art in the boysenberry patch.

We made it! Everyone showed up for the Beagle Bonanza! This ride overlay is super cute - it’s totally a must-see at the Peanuts Celebration.

Here’s some of the Peanuts Celebration signage in Camp Snoopy.

At the entrance to the park are several new photo ops. Will someone feed that baby bird already!?

You can give the cutout Snoopy a kiss!

Or give the real Snoopy a kiss!

In the Calico Town Hall there’s a neat exhibit set up as a tribute to Charles Schulz.

You can find Snoopy’s dog house there too!

There’s lots of great info about Charles Schulz and Peanuts - lots of which I didn’t know before! We thought the exhibit was thoughtful and well put together!

Defeat is funnier than victory! Noted!

Be sure to grab your Boomerang pennies while you still can! Because Boomerang is long gone, and look what’s in its place...

Hangtime!

The track is fully complete and it looks seriously great! We’re really excited to see this thing all lit-up with trains running. It’s going to look amazing!

Summer can’t come soon enough!

Over on the Fiesta Plaza Stage is “Peanuts Fiesta Fantasy.”

In this show we take a journey south of the Border as Sally and Lucy are introduced to the colorful dancing of Mexico.

We loved the music and traditional costumes.

It was a real fiesta!

Throughout Camp Snoopy there are word bubbles on all the light posts with famous Peanuts quotes. Be sure to take a picture with your favorite one!

Here’s some of the Peanuts Celebration merchandise!

Rather than look at merchandise Brittney decided to grab a unicorn and ride it around the store.

Okay, this isn’t Peanuts related - but it’s cool so I wanted to include it. I’ve been going to Knott’s for literally my entire life, and somehow I’ve never heard that you can do this. Apparently it’s totally allowed (if not encouraged) to put pennies on the train tracks at the train crossings when the gates are open for pedestrian access. Then when the gates are closed the train comes through and smashes your pennies into warm, greasy, squished ovals! Once the gates open again you can find and take home your penny! It’s so fun!

Here comes the train!

If you look closely you can see the pennies already starting to take on their oval shape. If you’ve never done this, definitely ask one of the characters in Calico if it’s okay to do it on your next visit! It's the little things like this that make Knott's, Knott's!

Next is our final show of the night, “Woodstock’s Musical Festival” featuring the family-friendly band “Jelly of the Month Club!”

This was our favorite of the shows, and a great way to round out your day at Knott’s!

There are silly music and visuals that are fun to listen to and watch.

The Peanuts gang are all there to act out scenes and join in the music.

The band is really great, and the songs will definitely get stuck in your head!

Chef Snoopy baked you a pie!

And now he’s rocking out!

Charlie Brown does possibly the worst guitar solo ever!

Jimi “Houndrix” comes on stage to show him how it’s done.

Go Snoopy go!

The show is super fun and will definitely make you smile.

“Woodstock’s Musical Festival” was a great end to our day at Knott’s Berry Farm!

We really enjoyed the Knott’s Peanuts Celebration. It joins the Boysenberry Festival, Ghost Town Alive, Scary Farm / Spooky Farm, and Merry Farm as another must-see "season" at Knott’s. There’s tons to see, eat, and do - and if you’re a Peanuts fan you’ll be loving every minute of it! The celebration runs weekends through February 25, 2018, plus Presidents’ Day - so don’t miss it! Thanks to Knott’s for inviting us to attend, and thanks to you for checking out our report!

[cfc]

Knott's has been getting better with these special events each year, and the longevity of the Peanuts characters is remarkable.

Edited February 12, 2018 by cfc

[Satans Hockey]

Awesome report, Charlie Brownies look amazing lol This event seems like it would be a great idea to have at other cedar fair parks.

[ILoveRides]

This event seems like it would be a great idea to have at other cedar fair parks.

 

I agree, I could definitely see this working at the other parks - it’d be a great way to bring in the family demographic during the slow season.

[CedarFlags]

One thing Knott's keeps doing (which I LOVE) is finding ways to compete by not competing. The park is turning inward to capitalize on what makes it unique and creating its own experience, rather than trying to copy the Disney/Universal experience. In the last few years, we've been seeing a lot of really positive investment in the park and in keeping its legacy and charm alive and I think that's great.

 

Peanuts Celebration, Boysenberry Festival, new coaster, Ghost Town Alive, Haunt, and Merry Farm... gonna be a jam packed (pun intended) year.

[DJeXeL]

Excellent trip report! This is a nice little event.

[JimmyBo]

This is amazing! Our boys loved Knott's last year and they keep asking to go back. I LOVE that they are bringing more characters throughout the park. That was the only thing that my boys didn't like when went went was that the characters were only in Camp Snoopy. I hope Knott's keep that around for the rest of the year and not just during special events.

 

You just found out about the train penny crushing?!?!? When I was a kid, my sister and I did that every time we went to Knott's (and we actually did it at the train tracks near the beach by our house too). My boys weren't interested in it because it doesn't leave a design on it. My oldest still has his crushed penny book that he places pennies in whenever he can (and he got his Boomerang penny!).

 

This is a great report and I agree with Chuck that Knott's is really stepping up their game. I like that they are really trying to get back into the family market where for awhile they were only caring about thrill rides. These family experiences are what should make these types of parks successful.

 

Jimmy "Why do all of your food pictures make me want to climb into the computer and eat everything?!?!" Bo