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Knott’s Merry Farm Promises Joyful and Festive 2017 Holiday Season

Christmas is practically here! At least if you’re a theme park fan. Recently Knott’s announced their plans for the 2017 holiday season. If you’ve never been before it’s something every holiday lover must experience. Expect food, deserts, shows, carolers, snow, Santa and so, much more! It’s a wonderful event. This year with the recent additions made to Ghost Town we can expect a brand new stage show as well as a brand new Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Here’s a look at everything fans can expect for 2017.

Starting November 19, Knott’s Berry Farm celebrates the merriest of seasons as it wondrously transforms into Knott’s Merry Farm with thousands of twinkling lights and cheerful holiday décor throughout the park. Spend the most wonderful time of the year at Knott’s Merry Farm relishing the Christmas season with thrilling attractions, festive new live entertainment, a Christmas crafts fair, delectable holiday food, cheerful carolers performing seasonal classics and nightly snow falling on the lively streets of Calico.

Read the rest at BehindtheThrills

Knott's Merry Farm: November 19 - January 8

Knott’s Berry Farm Announces Full 2017 Additions

Knott’s is the park that doesn’t seem to stop growing. Every year, the whole resort seems to get a new major addition and this year is definintly no exception. Last year Knott’s revamped the iconic Ghost Rider roller coaster and celebrated Ghost Town’s 75th Anniversary. This year, the biggest additions will not be in the park itself but across the street at Soak City where the aging water park will receive it’s first major expansion in almost a decade. That’s not to say the theme park won’t see anything new, they have lots planned through the year! Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming new additions and festivities that the park has planned.

Read the rest at BehindtheThrills

Cedar Fair reports $175 million quarterly profit, record revenues

Cedar Fair said today it set a new revenue record on its way to a $175 million profit in the year’s third quarter. The company also announced a 4 percent increase in its quarterly dividend.

The company, which operates Cedar Point and a string of amusement and water parks across the country, said third quarter revenues were up about 1 percent to $650 million. The $175 million profit translates to $3.10 a share. In 2015, Cedar Fair earned $164 million or $2.92 a share.

Read the rest at TheBlade

Coming in 2017: New Thrill Ride, Knott's Soak City Expansion, Ghost Town Alive!, and Extended Boysenberry Festival

There’s farm fresh fun for everyone coming to Knott’s Berry Farm in 2017 with a brand new thrill ride, an extended Knott’s Boysenberry Festival, the exciting return of Ghost Town Alive! next summer, and the expansion of Knott’s Soak City Waterpark.

Read the rest at KnottsBerryFarm

Knott's Berry Farm puts an awful lot of thought into all those celebrities that it skewers at Halloween Haunt

So what happens tonight after the last Hanging is held at Knott's Scary Farm? Well, the entertainment team at America's First Theme Park gets a well-deserved night of rest. But after that, these talented folks plunge right into compiling a constantly changing list of celebrity scandals, political faux pas, memorable movie moments and quirky pop culture phenomena which next year's Hanging can then be built around.

"Since we have to have a treatment of this show ready by the first week of May -- so that the people who handle Haunt then know what to budget for the Hanging -- we have to start that list very early on," explained Ken Parks, the Vice President of Entertainment at Knott's Berry Farm. "We're always on the look-out for that hit TV series or that piece of headline news that everyone's watching or that everybody knows about which can then serve as our parody center-pole. That comic thread which runs through the entire show."

"And some years, that event or news item that we can then build an entertaining Hanging around emerges very early on. And other years, it doesn't happen 'til much further on," Ken continued. "But by the first week of June, we have to have something down on paper because we need to start casting that year's show by July. And then - come August - the script for that year's Hanging has to already be in pretty good shape because, since rehearsals begin the day after Labor Day, we need to be in the studio recording the tracks for that show ASAP."

Read the rest at JimHillMedia

Speculation: Is Six Flags or Cedar Fair Coming Down to Florida?

The already crowded theme park market in Central Florida could be gaining a new competitor. The Orlando Sentinel's Growth Spotter is reporting that a large U.S. theme park developer -- one that doesn't have a presence in the area -- is negotiating on parcels of land in Orlando that could top 200 acres. Sources claim that the theme park operator would team up with international partners to develop the site with a theme park, a water park, and hotels.

We know that we're not talking about Disney, Universal Orlando parent Comcast, and SeaWorld Entertainment, since they already have a heavy presence in the area. Disney World, Comcast's Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld's Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando combine for eight theme parks and another six water parks in Central Florida.

That opens the door for Six Flags and Cedar Fair as major regional amusement park operators that may finally make a big push into the booming Florida market. They're not the only possible players in this scenario. Palace Entertainment -- the U.S.-based arm of Spain's Parques Reunidos -- operates several leisure parks in this country, including Kennywood and Lake Compounce. Sources telling Growth Spotter that it's a U.S. operator with international partners makes California-based Palace a strong contender. There's also Dollywood and Silver Dollar City parent Herschend Family Entertainment, where Joel Manby ran the show before being tapped as SeaWorld Entertainment's CEO last year.

Read the rest at the MotleyFool

How they keep the fog rolling at Knott's Scary Farm

The fog can be so dense in Ghost Town that monsters creep right up to unsuspecting guests and scare them into loud screams -- and when that happens, Mike Jacobsen is just doing his job at Knott’s Scary Farm.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” he said.

Jacobsen is known as “Fog-1” during the Halloween season at the farm, something he’s been doing for 10 years.

He, along with his assistant Michael Boyce, “Fog-2,” have to walk around the park around 6 p.m. to turn on approximately 75 fog machines in Ghost Town, Camp Snoopy and many of the mazes.

Read the rest at the OCRegister

Knott's Scary Farm: Only A Few Nights Left

6 Kid Friendly Things to Do at Knott's Spooky Farm

If you haven't had a chance to get over to knott's Berry Farm you are running out of time for their fun kids event. Knott's Spooky Farm is going on now and is all about the littles during the daytime. Check out the top 6 kid friendly things to do during your visit to the park! The best part, all the not so spooky fun is included with your annual pass or general admission and is happening weekends in October from 10:00 a.m to 4:00 P.M (small fee for some activities)

Read the rest at CleverlyCatheryn

When Social Justice Warriors Get Through With Halloween, It Won’t Exist

Just in time for Halloween, a social scare-tale is playing out across the country. Well, actually, an isolated incident has taken place with a lone crank targeting a holiday event, but still, the horror!

The impetus for change is Ron Thomas, a mental health activist whose schizophrenic son died at the hands of police years ago. What does Thomas’ tragic experience have to do with a Halloween theme park? I am not sure I could tell you. While there is a zeal to his complaints, there was little curiosity or analysis in his accusations.

Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Timesdetails how Thomas caused Knotts Berry Farm to close its Halloween-themed amusement park, called FearVR: 5150. Curiously, Thomas expected to be offended by the theme park, yet went anyway. Now, if I find myself offended by an activity, I take action by not engaging in that activity. That is not possible for today’s social justice warriors. Avoiding offense is never an option. Banishing that activity, and preventing others from any possible enjoyment they derive from it, is the only acceptable result.

While Thomas did head over to the attraction, he never got in—the lines were too long. “Instead, he talked to people as they exited and asked them to describe FearVR. They told him they were strapped into seats as if being admitted to a hospital, and then were transported into a frightening scene of mayhem,” Lopez writes. Therefore any outrage and action taken as a result is the result of hearsay.

Read the rest at TheFederalist

Elvira clones camp it up for look-alike contest at Knott's

The over the top hair, make-up and barely covered fronts were on stage as 16 people took part in the “Elvira Look-Alike” contest at Knott’s Scary Farm Saturday night.

The contest, held in the Charles M. Schulz Theatre during Halloween Haunt, was an added attraction to one of Elvira’s shows. It was billed as a chance to camp it up for the people taking part as the “Mistress of the Dark.”

Read the rest at the OCRegister

Cedar Fair tears down the nation's 7th oldest coaster

After 91 years, The Big Dipper at Geauga Lake is being demolished. While Cedar Fair wastes money polishing the turd that is Mean Streak at Cedar Point, they're simultaneously removing a true classic.  Just another reason to be happy Dick(head) Kinzel is gone, for he's directly responsible for all of this and probably would've led to other classics amongst Cedar Fair's parks sharing a similar fate.

See the aftermath at Fox8

5 Tips for Your Visit to Knott’s Scary Farm

If you are going to Knott’s for the first time, there’s almost too much to wrap your brain around. With so many mazes, shows, scare zones, experiences, foods, opportunities, etc. you can easily miss out on something amazing. There are ton’s of great mazes (do as many of those as you can), but here are few tips on how to make the most of the rest of your experience….

Read the rest at MiceChat

Knott's Scary Farm Opening Weekend 2016

Petition: Bring FearVR Back to Knott's Berry Farm

This attraction should be re-opened, and if nothing else a blanket disclaimer should be made that states this is not meant to make light or or make fun of mental illness.

Sign the petition at Change.org

Virtual Reality Halloween by The Bay

I find myself filled with anticipation at this particular point of the space time continuum. This upcoming weekend both California’s Great America and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will be debuting new virtual reality experiences, and your humble narrator is ready to jump right to it. On a Friday I was at the California’s Great America media preview of Fear VR (also coming to Knotts Berry Farm), and the next day sees me at the Passholder preview for the Revenge of the Gargoyles version of Kong at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

Admittedly, my own VR experience is limited. I’ve yet to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain since VR was added to Revolution, and am a spoiler avoider. I remember a Berkeley arcade where I strapped on a helmet during the Reagan administration, but it was technologically limited, maybe slightly above Pong, a gimmick. About 10-12 years ago I got roped into some upcharge thing at Magic Mountain which was awful. And, well, that’s all. But that was a long time ago tech wise, and in that time we’ve gone from online videos [sic] that were really little more than a series of blurry stills to actual high definition clips of the last Disneyland set by Bill Hill & the Hillbillys.

Not sure exactly what to expect, but am excited about it. In the end, I hope to say there is no winner or loser. Neither of them has to be better than the other, different will suffice. In just the last week there have been ads for a VR system for Samsung appearing on our television, and care to guess who is manufacturing the park’s systems? Also, virtual reality has been reported as quite the rage from the just held Tokyo Game Show, so this may well be the year when this technology has hit the level needed for mass penetration.Read on to see what happened.

Read the rest at MiceChat

Spellbinding! Vanessa Hudgens is hauntingly stylish in crop top at Knott's Scary Farm with boyfriend Austin Butler

Vanessa Hudgens was ready to give fans the goosebumps as she arrived to Knott's Scary Farm in Buena Park on Friday in a truly spellbinding ensemble.

The 27-year-old channeled her inner vampire as she arrived to the festivities in a black crop top with slouchy pair of trousers to match.

Vanessa's hair was styled up into two quirky buns as she wore a long red velvet kimono, topping off the spooky look.

Read the rest at the DailyMail