Sunday, July 31, 2022
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Theme park fights escalate into a nationwide problem
Theme parks across the United States are gaining an unwanted reputation for teen brawls and hot-headed melees following a surge in fights over the past two years that threaten to brand the family-friendly playgrounds as unsafe havens of violence, chaos and panic.
Read the rest at the OCRegister
Read the rest at the OCRegister
Friday, July 29, 2022
Calico Mine Ride derailed yesterday around 3PM!
Knott’s Berry Farm’s Calico Mine Ride derailed today around 3PM. No one was reported hurt or injured. 🚂
— Wonders of Magic (@wondersofmagic) July 29, 2022
📸Photo Credit: Andrea Phelps via FB pic.twitter.com/G8VqJNvQBw
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
When will Mystery Lodge return?
Its right there in the title. I'm genuinely curious as to when this show will make its return or if its just gone forever. It'd be a shame if it were as in my opinion its a "Disney quality" production all the way through. Seriously, you could cut it out and paste it in the Canada pavilion at EPCOT and it would not only seamlessly blend in, but they'd probably thank you for it being better than what they've got there currently. It's just such a thoughtful and magical show, not to mention a great way to get out of the heat and relax...and honestly the exterior is just on another level of theming and I'd hate to think of anything happening to it as I've yet to see Knott's design anything even close to Robin Hall's work.
A little off topic but I've known for years that Robin Hall designed this show with BRC Imagination Arts but what I didn't know is that Craig Bartlett was the director of the show. For those unaware, this is the guy who created Hey Arnold! for Nickelodeon, one of my favorite shows as a kid. Honestly, his production company Snee-Oosh and it's logo - as seen during the credits of Hey Arnold! - makes a lot of sense now:
If the rumors are true and the cost of custom made parts are holding this show's return back, then they should consider creating a new - secondary show and rotating it out. Rolling the costs of repairs into the budget of a new production would be a great long-term investment. They might consider something akin to Animation Celebration at Universal Studios Japan, another BRC Imagination Arts holavision show, which would offer a new experience different enough to drastically extend the attraction's life.
A more energetic show featuring animated characters like Snoopy and Woodstock, where you could have them learning a little about Native American mythology and culture to keep it both thematically appropriate while targeting a whole new audience. Depending on how difficult it is, they could swap shows throughout the day, maybe having the original Mystery Lodge during the evenings. IDK, I guess I'm just desperate to save the show.
Happy 45th Anniversary Garner Holt Productions!
Today marks 45 years of making ideas and magic move for our clients all over the world. When Garner founded the company in 1977 - at just 16 years old - he did it with a lot more hope than experience. Now, we're the largest and most experienced #animatronics company in the world! pic.twitter.com/xUFevIe1s1
— Garner Holt (@garnerholt) July 25, 2022
Knott's Bear-y Tales jelly blaster designs and more concept art
It seems all this cool stuff was posted during my absence. I just love designs and concept art, all the behind the scenes stuff that goes into making a theme park attraction. Anyways, this latest batch comes courtesy of Stephan Meury, concept designer at TrioTech. Various designs for the jelly blasters and some additional concept art for the attraction.
All of this Knott's Bear-y Tales artwork is gorgeous. The designers all seem soo enthusiastic and the execution is incredibly faithful. I only wish the budget was higher and that they were able to collaborate with Garner Holt for a more complete experience with set / animatronic integration to go with the media screens, maybe an expanded track layout. As it is, a lot of the set decoration wasn't even initially planned and was added during the lock down.
See it all on ArtStation
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Concept art and turnarounds created for Knott's Berry Farms new walk-around characters
These are the concept art and final turnarounds created for Knott's by illustrator Dan Almanzar for their new walk-around characters: Whittles, Boysen and the Crafty pups. They all look great in the initial sketches and it's cool to see how many designs they had to work with before settling on Whittle for his grand return. Sadly, I feel like some of the character was lost in translation from sketch to the final product but weight and wear considerations were the most likely causes for change.
Signage artwork created for Knott's Bear-y Tales Return to the Fair
Also shared on ArtStation, this comes from artist Océane Lévis. Features both reproduction and new signage created for the media sections throughout the attraction.
See it all at ArtStation
Concept art for Knott's Bear-y Tales Return to the Fair shared by lead concept artist
So I know I'm a little late sharing this but I just now came across Caroline Laplante's ArtStation. She was the lead concept artist on Knott's Bear-y Tales Return to the Fair and 9 months ago she shared some of the artwork that was done on the project; including character designs, storyboards and environmental designs. It really sounds like they had a lot of fun at TrioTech working on this and the artwork looks incredible!
You can see it all on ArtStation
You can see it all on ArtStation
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Interview with Bill Butler on Garner Holt Productions' new Baby Yoda animatronic!
Knott's News: You guys...I know this isn't Knott's but come on!!! He's soo cute lol Seriously though, Garner Holt and Bill Butler have collaborated with Knott's frequently, so it's cool to see them branching out and selling a product like this. If you have a spare $85k lying around, this can be all yours (or $100k for the extra version). God I really wish these guys had a hand in the new Knott's Bear-y Tales attraction.
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
Disneyland of the North - The Secret History of Canada's Wonderland
Knott's Berry Farm closes early due to an eruption of violence by unsupervised teens!!!
— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) July 17, 2022Knott's News: So I'm sure you've heard by now but on Saturday evening, the park closed early due to an eruption of violence. It's not unusual to see smaller contained incidences that may involve physical altercations but what makes this notable is it being widespread enough to warrant the entire park closing early. When everyone else raises prices but you remain relatively cheap, this is the kind of crowd you invite. Not that I want them to raise prices but Geauga Lake was my home park and when Cedar Fair took over and lowered admission to $25 a ticket, it became the hangout of unsupervised teens and such. Young men harassing women, theft and general vandalism dramatically increased. Guests need to feel safe at your park or they'll just stop coming. Whatever solution they come up with, they need to act fast. They've been making soo much progress improving the park in all aspects, I'd hate to see this negative publicity affect them in any way.
Friday, July 15, 2022
¡Vamos A La Fiesta! Summer 2023
¡Vamos A La Fiesta! Summer 2023 pic.twitter.com/oO5sekOMHG
— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) July 5, 2022
Friday, July 8, 2022
Knott’s News: Slices and Dices, Openings and Closings Down on the Farm
Time to wake up and smell the garlic! Knott’s Berry Farm has been building a new restaurant at a breakneck pace all summer. It’s finally time to take a taste. Plus, a land is walled off. Let’s explore as Knott’s completes one project and starts the next…
Read the rest at MiceChat
Read the rest at MiceChat
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