Calico River Rapids opening day set!

Knott’s has announced that expeditions into the Calico river territory officially begin on May 17th 2019. Traveler's are advised to beware the infamous "Skunk Ape."

Calico River Rapids Behind-the-Scenes

Knott's News: Just look in the background of Ken Parks and Bill Butler/Garner Holt for some blink and you'll miss it details. Behind Ken Parks you see a Wilderness Rapids sign (may be the main entrance sign), a new version of the Beware of Skunk Ape poster and a couple of new pieces of art that I can't quite make out. There are also gold bars, a gold pan,  and a scale behind him, possibly hinting at the Calico Mine Ride tie-in we were told about (I assume the downed tree that went up over the weekend is a Log Ride tie-in). Behind Bill Butler/Garner Holt you can see blueprints for the sluice channel attached to a water tower (the one that the woodpecker pokes holes in that will get riders wet). You also see what the final Potts and Colter cabin will look like once the chimney and all the other details are attached. The video then gives us a good look at the Chicken Coop and the Trapper Cabin.

Knott’s new Calico River Rapids overhauls BigFoot Rapids, adds Ghost Town backstory

An extensive renovation of the 1987 BigFoot Rapids at the Buena Park theme park debuting this summer will transform the river rapids water ride into an animated attraction with nine thematic scenes and more than 20 animatronic figures.

The new look, aesthetic and design of the reimagined Knott’s ride was inspired by legendary Disney Imagineer Marc Davis, according to Parks.

“Marc Davis was such an inspiration that I wanted to include a few nods,” Parks said in an email interview. “These are new scenes, but their sense of tone is definitely an homage to Mr. Davis.”

Read the rest at the OC Register

Knott's News: It sounds great but only time will tell how effective the staging will be on a river raft ride when they can't design the layout with the show scenes in mind. Still, I love the story and design direction they're taking. They've used Marc Davis-esque gags in their past renovations at Knott's but I'm incredibly thrilled that they're taking it up a knotch (see what I did there).

Behind-the-scenes look at animatronic characters coming to Knott’s new Calico River Rapids ride

“It’s a thousand times trickier to build something that is going to be outside all the time,” said Butler, who helps develop the backstory, characters and set designs for new attractions.

As a result, Garner Holt Productions built more robust characters for Calico River Rapids with stainless steel internal mechanisms that won’t rust.

The faces of the new outdoor characters on the Knott’s log ride turned green after installation due to an issue with the pigmentation of the skin and ultraviolet light exposure, Butler said. Garner Holt Productions fixed the problem.

Read the rest at the OC Register 

Knott's News: The baby bear and prairie dogs look soo cute!

More detailed Calico River Rapids artwork

Coming to Knott's summer 2019, Calico River Rapids will take voyagers on a search for new land through the outskirts of Calico.
Enjoy thrilling adventures all year long with a 2019 Season Pass, now available at the lowest price of the year! More info: https://t.co/HN8bGsWgG0 pic.twitter.com/R3qQG5Z2nm

— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) December 20, 2018

Knott's teases Calico River Rapids new additions

Exciting adventures are rapidly approaching when Calico River Rapids opens summer 2019.
Enjoy a whole season of adventures with a #KnottsBerryFarm Season Pass, now available for as low as 8 payments of only $10 (after an initial payment of $15) More info: https://t.co/PLHsUfJWwh pic.twitter.com/wG3G8mkYVR

— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) November 15, 2018

Big Foot Rapids to become Calico River Rapids in 2019, courtesy of Garner Holt

A new expedition in an uncharted territory awaits eager explorers with the debut of #CalicoRiverRapids, opening at #KnottsBerryFarm in summer 2019 with new animatronics, themed show scenes, new story overlay and plenty of dynamic water effects. More info: https://t.co/ELDf63Tok5 pic.twitter.com/hAYUEx0I2E

— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) November 13, 2018

Knott's News: This was a bit of a surprise. I'm glad to see Knott's continuing to build upon it's relationship with Garner Holt. That said, I think everyone should temper their expectations on this one. Unlike Calico Mine Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride, Garner Holt has no real thematic foundation to build upon with Big Foot Rapids. It's just a plain generic raft ride, with barely a tree to the "forrest" or any kind of scene separating rock work. Last time Garner Holt had to build something from nothing, the budget wasn't what it needed to be and we got the Grand Sierra Railroad Peanuts additions. I'm hoping it blows away everyone's expectations but I don't see Knott's throwing that kind of money at this.

Knott's News is closing its doors

I'd like to take the time to thank the few readers I've had over the years but as of today, Knott's News is no more. I may leave the blog up a little longer before taking it all down but this will be the last post. There are other sources to get information on Knott's and honestly, I just have no interest in being another coaster site (covering coasters bores me to tears). Knott's is something special and I wish them the best. Hopefully they don't stray too far off course towards being a generic steel park. Thanks again everyone!

Join us tonight at 8PM (PST) on the Knotts Berry Farm Facebook page for a very special announcement.

Happy #NationalRollerCoasterDay! Join us tonight at 8PM (PST) on the #KnottsBerryFarm Facebook page for a very special announcement. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/M0lxU2wfBu

— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) August 16, 2017

Will theme parks announce new rides on Aug. 16, National Roller Coaster Day?

Did you know that Aug. 16 is National Roller Coaster Day?

I know, every single day of the year is the national day for one thing or another. They don’t require an act of Congress – just someone with something to promote or to sell. Earlier this year, the City of Buena Park declared a National Boysenberry Day to help promote Knott’s Berry Farm’s annual Boysenberry Festival, for example.

No one seems to have a definite answer why Aug. 16, of all days, should be the one for roller coasters. (The leading answer seems to be something about the first patent for a coaster.) But many of the nation’s amusement parks, including Knott’s, have jumped on this opportunity to make National Roller Coaster Day the day that they will announce their new rides for the upcoming season.

Knott’s has planned a media event for that evening, wrapping up what should be a full day of announcements from coast to coast.

Other parks scheduling announcements include Kings Dominion in Virginia, Cedar Point in Ohio, and California’s Great America in Santa Clara – which all are part of the Cedar Fair chain that also owns Knott’s Berry Farm. In addition, Silver Dollar City in Missouri has a reveal planned.

Read the rest at the OCRegister

Cedar Fair Results Fail To Thrill Investors

Summary

• Management backing away from guidance.
• Weather blamed for the second time this year.
• Shares drop 5%.

Read the rest at SeekingAlpha

2018 teaser

Another beautiful day on the #KnottsBerryFarm Boardwalk... pic.twitter.com/VzjZ4CHqGr

— Knott's Berry Farm (@knotts) August 4, 2017

State allows Knott's Berry Farm to reopen ride similar to the one involved in Ohio accident

California officials have approved the reopening of rides at Knott's Berry Farm and two other amusement parks similar to the one that malfunctioned in Ohio, killing an 18-year-old and injuring seven others.

Three other rides, including one at the Orange County Fair, remain closed pending further review.

Read the rest at ABC7

Photo Update: Our first visit to Knott’s Berry Farm

Although we’ve been reporting on Knott’s Berry Farm theme park for years, I recently had my first visit, along with my son Quinn. Here’s a bit of our fun day.

If you don’t know, Knott’s Berry Farm is less than 30 minutes from the Disneyland Resort in Buena Park, Calif. It’s actually older than Disneyland. Without going into the whole long history, Walter Knott was a berry farmer whose wife ran a fried chicken restaurant that got so popular, people were waiting in every long lines to enter. So Walter built some attractions around it to give the families of those waiting in line something to do. It grew from there into the large theme park it is today.

Read the rest at AttractionsMagazine

Knott's Scary Farm: September 21 - October 31, 2017

Trick or Treats: Light Out Interactive Maze At Knott's Scary Farm

ScaryFarm returns for another season of scares on select nights from Sept. 21 - Oct. 31 Tickets are now on sale!

#ScaryFarm returns for another season of scares on select nights from Sept. 21 - Oct. 31 🎃 Tickets are now on sale! https://t.co/glgjgLZe2T pic.twitter.com/LZbjeyB1qc

— Knott's Scary Farm (@knottsscaryfarm) July 29, 2017

Knott’s Scary Farm Announces New Attractions for 2017 Season

Knott’s Scary Farm announced its new attractions on Saturday during the Midsummer Scream Halloween festival in Long Beach.

Jeff Tucker, the theme park’s show writer, announced the arrival of 13 haunted attractions and mazes along with 1000 monsters that will be lurking in the fog. Additionally, Tucker announced the new ‘Fright Fast Lane,’ where visitors can go to the front of the line for all the major rides and mazes for the price of one.

Read the rest at SoCalMuse

Knott’s Berry Farm Update: Boardwalk Starts A New Beat

Welcome back to America’s First Theme Park, where the townsfolk are just waiting to take you on an adventure. Knott’s has cooked up some great entertainment this year that can compete with any of the bigger parks but with a down home quaint charm. And stick around till the end to hear about our huge MiceChat Halloween Spooktacular event!

Read the rest at MiceChat

The Boardwalk BBQ