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Knott's Berry Farm is a acre 23 ha theme park located in Buena Park, California , owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In , it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 rides including roller coasters , family rides , dark rides , and water rides. The park began in the s as a roadside berry stand run by Walter Knott along State Route 39 in California.
By the s, a restaurant, several shops, and other attractions had been constructed on the property to entertain a growing number of visitors, including a replica ghost town. The site continued its transformation into a modern amusement park over the next two decades, and an admission charge was added in in The park sits on the site of a former berry farm established by Walter Knott and his family.
Beginning in the mids, the Knott family sold berries, berry preserves, and pies from a roadside stand along State Route In , the Knotts began selling fried chicken dinners in a tea room on the property, later called "Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. In , Walter Knott began constructing a replica Ghost Town on the property, the beginning of the present-day theme park. The idea of an amusement park really picked up in the s when Walter Knott opened a "summer-long county fair.
He created concept art for most of the buildings that were built there. He also drew up floor plans, oversaw the construction of buildings, and even spent some time painting concrete to look like natural rock. His Old West paintings and murals adorned the walls of many structures in the park, and a number of them still do.
In , Walter Knott made an arrangement with Marion Speer to bring his Western Trails Museum collection to Knott's Berry Farm. Speer continued in that position until he retired in at the age of In , for the first time, an admission price was required to get into the park, originally set at 25 cents. The Calico Log Ride the original name of the Timber Mountain Log Ride opened in The park became a popular destination for conservative college students in the s, especially as conservative organizations like the California Free Enterprise Association, the Libres Foundation, and the Americanism Educational League were based there.
it also appealed to conservative Americans, young and old, because the idealized representation of a past devoid of social and racial tensions that it offered stood in sharp contrast with the political and social upheavals affecting California since the Free Speech Movement erupted at the University of California at Berkeley in On April 12, , Cordelia Knott died.
Walter turned his attention toward political causes, [18] [19] Roaring Twenties [20] rethemed Gypsy Camp in the s with the addition of a nostalgic traditional amusement area, Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars, and Knott's Bear-y Tales.
Sky Tower with the illuminated "K" in logo script at the top was built to support two attractions, the Sky Jump now closed and the Sky Cabin. The Sky Jump boarded one or two standing riders anticipating the thrill of the drop into baskets beneath a faux parachute canopy. From the top, eight arms supported the vertical cable tracks of wire rope which lifted the baskets. The Sky Cabin ringed the support pole with a single floor of seats that are enclosed behind windows.
Its ring revolves slowly as it rises to the top and back offering a pleasantly changing vista. It is very sensitive to weather and passenger motion, such as walking, which is prohibited during the trip. When built, Sky Tower was the tallest structure in Orange County a distinction briefly held by WindSeeker before its relocation to Worlds of Fun in Motorcycle Chase, modernized steeplechase rollercoaster built in by Arrow Development , featured single motorbike themed vehicles racing side-by-side, each on one of four parallel tracks, launched together.
The tubular steel monorail track closely followed dips and bumps in "the road" and tilted to lean riders about the curves. Gasoline Alley, an electric steel-guiderail car ride below, was built together and intimately intertwined, which enhanced ride-to-ride interaction thrill value. On December 3, , Walter Knott died, survived by his children who would continue to operate Knott's as a family business for another fourteen years. It was during the height of the " Urban Cowboy " era. The "Calico Barn Dance" was featured in Knott's TV commercials.
During the s, Knott's met the competition in Southern California theme parks by theming a new land and building two massive attractions:. The Boomerang roller coaster replaced the Corkscrew [20] in with a lift shuttle train passing to and fro through a cobra roll and a vertical loop for six inversions each trip.
Mystery Lodge , [23] inspired by General Motors "Spirit Lodge" pavilion, was a live show augmented with Pepper's ghost and other special effects, which was among the most popular exhibits at Expo 86 in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada, which was produced by Bob Rogers of BRC Imagination Arts [24] and created with the assistance of the Kwagulth Native reserve in the village of Alert Bay , British Columbia.
The Jaguar! was opened June 17, , to add another roller coaster to the mix of Fiesta Village alongside Montezooma's Revenge. In the s, after Walter and Cordelia died, their children decided to sell off their businesses:. In the late s Cedar Fair acquired the Buena Park Hotel at the corner of Grand Ave. and Crescent. It was then brought up to Radisson standards and branded Radisson Resort Hotel as a franchise. In , the park renamed the Radisson Resort Hotel the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel.
In , the Knott family sold the food specialty business to ConAgra Inc , which later re-sold the brand to The J. Smucker Company in In , the Knott family sold the amusement park operations to Cedar Fair. Initially, the Knotts were given an opportunity to sell the park to The Walt Disney Company. The park would have been amalgamated into the Disneyland Resort and converted into Disney's America , which had previously failed to be built near Washington, D.
The Knotts refused to sell the park to Disney out of fear most of what Walter Knott had built would be eliminated. Since being acquired by Cedar Fair, the park has seen an aggressive shift towards thrill rides , with the construction of a number of large roller coasters and the addition of a record-breaking Shoot-the-Chutes ride named Perilous Plunge. Perilous Plunge had the record of being the tallest and steepest water ride in the world until September when it was closed and removed.
On May 25, , Knott's Berry Farm added three new family rides on the site of former Perilous Plunge, including a wild mouse called Coast Rider , a scrambler flat ride called Pacific Scrambler, and Surfside Gliders. All three were constructed in the Boardwalk section of the park.
An old bridge that connected the exit of Coast Rider and the Boardwalk became the entrance to Surfside Gliders and Pacific Scrambler. Following the season, Knott's Berry Farm removed Windseeker and moved it to Worlds of Fun, where it reopened in For the season, the historical Calico Mine Ride underwent a major refurbishment that was completed in six months. During the fall of , Knott's Berry Farm announced the return of Knott's Bear-y Tales as an interactive 4D dark ride as part of the park's th anniversary in However, the park was indefinitely shut down due to the COVID pandemic at the end of its operating day on March 13, The event evolved over the season, becoming Taste of Knott's when it expanded into Fiesta Village and the Boardwalk, Taste of Fall-o-ween during the fall season, [32] and Taste of Merry Farm for the Christmas holiday season.
Knott's Berry Farm returned to normal operation on May 6, , which also included the debut of the delayed Knott's Bear-y Tales attraction originally planned for The park's annual Knott's Scary Farm has drawn crowds since The idea for this event was presented at one of the regularly scheduled round table meetings for managers by Patricia Pawson.
The actual event was created by Bill Hollingshead, Gary Salisbury, Martha Boyd and Gene Witham, along with other members of the Knott's Berry Farm Entertainment Department as documented in the DVD Season of Screams. Halloween Haunt was an instant hit, and by the next year, the event sold out nightly. Over a thousand specially employed monsters are also scattered—often hidden out of view—throughout the park at this time.
Some of the characters have become well-known, such as the Green Witch, which was portrayed by Charlene Parker from to , the longest of any performer. Elvira actress Cassandra Peterson was introduced into the Halloween Event in and was prominently featured in many Halloween Haunt events until According to postings on her My Space page, Cassandra was released from her contract by the park's new owners due to their wanting a more family friendly appeal. Season of Screams is a DVD produced by an independent company which traces the beginnings of Halloween Haunt and the story behind how it all got started back in Season of Screams also highlights recent Halloween Haunts.
Winter Coaster Solace is an event that takes place in the first or second weekend of March every year when roller coaster enthusiasts can come before the park opens and stay after the park closes to ride the rides and eat at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant.
It is intended to provide "solace" to visitors from other parts of the country where theme parks and roller coasters are seasonal, not year-round operations like the Southern California parks.
Knott's Berry Farm also used to give attendees behind the scenes tours of the rides. A Christmas event known as "Knott's Merry Farm" also happens annually. Previous Merry Farm events have included manufactured snow, handcrafts exhibits, and a visit with Santa Claus. This event was originally created by Gary Salisbury in the Fall of Praise festival has been a Christian themed celebration presented for many years as a mix-in special event of music and comedy on New Year's Eve.
A boysenberry festival is held at Knott's that has food and drink prepared in a variety of ways with boysenberries. There are also special shows and music for the multi-week event. Craftsmen in Ghost Town demonstrate the arts of the blacksmith , woodcarver, glass-blower, sign cutter, and spinner.
Demonstrations of narrow gauge railroading and farm equipment hobbyists accompany additional merchant stalls of cottage-craft fairs seasonally at discounted admission which is restricted to Ghost Town only. Western Trails Museum, relocated between the candy store and the General Store to accommodate Calico River Rapids former Bigfoot Rapids , still features historical western artifacts large and small, from a hand powered horse-drawn fire engine to miniature replica of a borax hauling "Twenty Mule Team" and utensils necessary to survive the prairie and wilderness.
The Ghost Town area has a few other notable attractions. The Bird Cage Theatre only hosts two seasonal entertainments—during "Knott's Merry Farm," two small productions of "Marley's Wings" and " A Christmas Carol ," and a Halloween Haunt thrill show. The Calico Stage, a large open-air stage in Calico Square, hosts a variety of shows and acts, big and small, from those of elementary school students, Gallagher, a local band, and the summer-spectacular All Wheels Extreme stunt show featuring youthful performers demonstrating aerial tricks with acrobatics, trampolines, and riding ramps with skates, scooters, skateboards, and freestyle bikes to popular music.
Calico Saloon recreates the revelry of music, singing and dancing, with Cameo Kate hosting a variety of acts. Many parts of Ghost Town are forever lost to progress. The conversion of the Silver Dollar Saloon to a shooting gallery, Hunters Paradise shooting gallery to Panda Express and the original Berry Stand, moved several times with its last location now occupied by the Silver Bullet station.
What is left of Ghost Town today was based on Calico ghost town and other real ghost towns in the Western United States. Walter Knott inherited his uncle's silver mill and land, then bought more of the actual Calico ghost town in and developed it. See 'History — Ghost Town — Calico' section above.
The park formerly featured a 5th area called the Wild Water Wilderness. Formerly known as Wild Water Wilderness, now part of Ghost Town, that features two major rides: the Pony Express, a horse themed family roller coaster installed in and Calico River Rapids which opened in Nearby Pony Express is Rapids Trader, a small merchandise stand.
It is also home to Mystery Lodge, a multimedia show based on an Expo 86 pavilion featuring a Native American storyteller.
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