Knott's Bear-y Tales return: Not IF but WHEN

That's right, when! I truly believe that we will see the return of Knott's Bear-y Tales in dark ride form and that it will be in collaboration with Garner Holt in the very near future.

Four things I'd like to start with: Knott's has stated in the Iron Reef press release that they considered reviving the former dark rides during brainstorming sessions for the new attraction before ultimately settling on Voyage to the Iron Reef, to add to that Garner Holt has said in an interview that they pitched ideas to Knott's for the former Bear-y Tales spot, lets not forget that just a few days ago Matt Ouimet stated that he expects to work on future Amusement Dark projects with Garner Holt and lastly if you haven't heard by now, Knott's just recently re-introduced the Bear-y Tales IP to the park for the first time in many years during the Boysenberry Festival. These four things combined, along with a gut feeling, are what fuels this speculation filled article.



Now then, lets get started talking about Bear-y Tales. Many fans of the park, myself included, were certain they'd come back this year. Instead, last fall we awoke to the news of Voyage to the Iron Reef. As disheartening as that was, it may actually all just be part of a strategy management has in place to get the proper support needed to bring Knott's Bear-y Tales back to the park in as grand a way as possible.

What do I mean by that? Well, I already warned you about the serial speculation I'm committing throughout this article didn't I? Good, well here is some generously optimistic speculation as to why Voyage to the Iron Reef is coming this year instead of Knott's Bear-y Tales.

The higher ups needed more convincing. They need to know that dark rides are a good return on investment and that the IP is still in-demand. Considering the fairly large budget it would cost to bring them back in animatronic form, they decided to test the waters. They did this first by making a small budget dark ride with Trio-Tech, their first NEW dark ride in decades. If it has a significant impact on attendance (possibly they have an attendance goal, like breaking past the 4 million barrier, before they consider their current strategy successful enough to invest heavily in), then they have one box checked. They next re-introduced the Bear-y Tales gang during the Boysenberry Festival and considering how well the Bear-y Tales merchandise was selling, I'd say rather successfully. They may want to test them out some more before committing but if they remain popular and profitable, then that's another box checked. Executives convinced, we get our dark ride.

Plans have changed and it's return is now much larger in scope. Since Garner Holt originally pitched the idea for the Bear-y Tales return, plans have changed for the better. The footprint of the original building isn't large enough for what they now have planned so they're gonna start from scratch without restraints. They also don't want the Bear-y Tales gang to be part of the Boardwalk area but a more thematically appropriate area, possibly near Camp Snoopy. So the move makes sense, especially since the attraction was going to need a new ride system, effectively making all the old assets of the original building unusable. Just wasn't worth the restrictions it'd put on the revamp. Management wants to do right by the Bear-y Tales gang and this will require a little more planning than initially thought.

Garner Holt and the Knott's Design Team need more time. An attraction of this scale will take a little longer than their recent comparatively small-scale refurbishments and Trio-Tech can pump out dark rides much quicker in the meantime. With a much higher budget than Voyage to the Iron Reef and competition being what it is in the region, management is taking a gamble and they can't just meet expectations (especially those of the original patrons who - thanks to childhood nostalgia - see the original attraction with rose colored glasses), they have to surpass them. This is no easy feat and management would rather not make that large investment if they weren't sure they could successfully pull it off. Status quo would not only be a death sentence for the attraction and Knott's reputation, but the entire Bear-y Tales IP.

Marketing  team needs more time. With the seeds already planted at the Boysenberry Festival, the marketing teams now requires extra time to enact the rest of their plans with Knott's Live Entertainment that will create synergy throughout the park for the Bear-y Tales gang; with walk around characters and live entertainment. Remember, Bear-y Tales is more than just an attraction, but a new brand that can stand side-by-side with the Peanuts gang when promoting the park. I'm sure the marketing team wants to make certain they have all their chips in order so they don't blow it, as re-introducing these characters needs to be handled properly. The slow approach they're currently taking is most definitely the smart approach.

That's it, you can relax now, I'm done fishing in lake Desperation. I could think of thousands of reason as to why their return has been delayed but I can't think of any as to why they'd never come back. When will we see their return in proper? Your guess is as good as mine but I'm optimistic it'll be very soon.