Knott's Berry Farm

The Timber Mountain Log Ride is Knott's Berry Farm's most popular ride.

The park sits on the site of a former berry farm established by Walter Knott and his family. Beginning in the mid 1920s, the Knott family sold berries, berry preserves, and pies from a roadside stand along State Route 39. In 1934, the Knotts began selling fried chicken dinners in a tea room on the property, later called "Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant." The dinners soon became a major tourist draw, and the Knotts built several shops and other attractions to entertain visitors while waiting for a seat in the restaurant. In 1940, 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 1950s when Walter Knott opened a "summer-long county fair."

Knott's first theme park logo, composed of a prospector with a pack mule

Wood carver Andy Anderson with Sad Eye Joe in the Ghost Town area of the park, 1941

In 1968, 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 1969. The park became a popular destination for conservative college students in the 1960s, especially as conservative organizations like the California Free Enterprise Association, the Libres Foundation, and the Americanism Educational League were based there.[4] According to Assistant Professor Caroline Rolland-Diamond of the Paris West University Nanterre La Défense:

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 1964.

— Caroline Rolland-Diamond, Revue française d'études américaines (2016)[5]

On April 12, 1974, Cordelia Knott died. Walter turned his attention toward political causes,[6][7] Roaring Twenties[8] rethemed Gypsy Camp in the 1970s with the addition of a nostalgic traditional amusement area, Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars, Knott's Bear-y Tales. Then with the northward expansion of a 1920s-era Knott's Airfield themed area featuring the Cloud 9 Dance Hall, Sky Cabin/Sky Jump and Motorcycle Chase steeplechase roller coaster above the electric guided rail Gasoline Alley car ride.[9]

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. During winds 25+ mph or rain it is closed. 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 2012.)

Motorcycle Chase, modernized steeplechase rollercoaster built in 1976 by Arrow Development, featured single motorbike themed vehicles racing side-by-side, each on one of four parallel tracks, launched together.[9] One or two riders straddled each "Indian motorcycle" attraction vehicle. 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.[10] Rider safety concerns of the high center of gravity coupled with the method of rider restraints caused it to be rethemed Wacky Soap Box Racers with vehicles themed to look like soap box racers, each seating two riders, strapped in low (nearly straddling the track), surrounded by the close fitting car sides, and the dips and bumps of the track were straightened flat in 1980. Motorcycle Chase/Wacky Soap Box Racers was removed in 1996 for a dueling loop coaster Windjammer Surf Racers and now Xcelerator, a vertical launch coaster, takes its place.

On December 3, 1981, Walter Knott died, survived by his children who would continue to operate Knott's as a family business for another fourteen years.

In the 1980s, Knott's built the Calico Barn Dance featured Bobbi & Clyde as the house band. It was during the height of the "Urban Cowboy" era. The "Calico Barn Dance" was featured in Knott's TV commercials.

Big Foot Rapids is located in the Wild Wilderness section of the park.

During the 1980s, Knott's met the competition in Southern California theme parks by theming a new land and building two massive attractions:

• Kingdom of the Dinosaurs (1987) (primeval retheme of Knott's Bear-y Tales)
• Calico River Rapids (former Bigfoot Rapids, 1988), a whitewater river rafting ride as the centerpiece of the new themed area Wild Water Wilderness.

The Boomerang roller coaster replaced the Corkscrew[8] in 1990 with a lift shuttle train passing to and fro through a cobra roll and a vertical loop for six inversions each trip.

Mystery Lodge (1994),[11] 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[12] and created with the assistance of the Kwagulth Native reserve in the village of Alert Bay, British Columbia.[13] Mystery Lodge recreates a quiet summer night in Alert Bay, then guests "move inside" the longhouse and listen to the storyteller weave a tale of the importance of family from the smoke of the bonfire.

The Jaguar! was opened June 17, 1995, to add another roller coaster to the mix of Fiesta Village alongside Montezooma's Revenge.

In the 1990s, after Walter and Cordelia died, their children decided to sell off their businesses:

In the late 1990s 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 2004, the park renamed the Radisson Resort Hotel the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel.

In 1995, the Knott family sold the food specialty business to ConAgra Inc, which later re-sold the brand to The J.M. Smucker Company in 2008.

In 1997, the Knott family sold the amusement park operations to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. 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.C. The Knotts refused to sell the park to Disney out of fear most of what Walter Knott had built would be eliminated.

View of Silver Bullet from Sky Cabin

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 2012 when it was closed and removed.[14] Also, in 2013, Knott's Berry Farm announced that the most popular ride at the park, the Timber Mountain Log Ride, would be closed for a major five-month refurbishment, led by Garner Holt Productions, Inc.[15]

On May 25, 2013, Knott's Berry Farm added three new family rides on the site of former Perilous Plunge. These include: Coast Rider (wild mouse roller coaster), Pacific Scrambler (Scrambler ride) and Surfside Gliders. All three of the rides are located in the Boardwalk section of the park. The old bridge which connected the exit of Coast Rider and the Boardwalk is now used as the entrance to Surfside Gliders and Pacific Scrambler. Five years later, the HangTime roller coaster opened as part of the Boardwalk expansion.

On September 2, 2013, Knott's Berry Farm announced that Windseeker would be removed from the park. The ride was removed and sent to Worlds of Fun for the 2014 season.

On November 22, 2013, Knott's Berry Farm made a major announcement for the 2014 operating season; the famous and historical Calico Mine Ride would be closed for a major six-month refurbishment beginning in January 2014.[16]

Hangtime debuted as the park's latest major roller since Silver Bullet on May 16, 2018.

During the fall of 2019, Knott's Berry Farm announced the return of Knott's Bear-y Tales as an interactive 4D dark ride.

In mid-March 2020, in line with other Cedar Fair parks, the park was indefinitely shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Knott's Scary Farm and A Knott's Family Reunion, the park's 100th anniversary celebration, were postponed to 2021.[17] By late June, Knott's Marketplace, including Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, had reopened with health guidelines in place.[18] In July, the park began presenting Taste of Calico, a weekends-only outdoor food festival inside the park's Calico Ghost Town, also with strict safety measures in place. By August, the event was renamed Taste of Knott's, expanded into Fiesta Village and the Boardwalk, and scheduled to run Fridays through Sundays until September 13.

Butterfield Stagecoach's entrance

Charlene Parker, spinner and weaver in Ghost Town

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 "The Gift of the Magi" 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. Jersey Lily, Judge Roy Bean's combination courthouse/saloon, offers certified comical "genuine illegal hitchin'" alongside pickles, candy, and sports/soft drinks.

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 such as Prescott, Arizona. Walter Knott inherited his uncle's silver mill and land, then bought more of the actual Calico ghost town in 1951 and developed it. In 1966, he donated that property to the corporate-municipal County of San Bernardino which then made the town of Calico, California into a public historic park, for which it charged an entrance/parking fee. 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 2008 and Calico River Rapids which opened in 2019. 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.

Ride	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Description	Thrill level[38]
Butterfield Stagecoach		1949	Knott's Berry Farm	A family stagecoach ride which takes guests through the areas of Fiesta Village, Camp Snoopy and the Indian Trails area.	1
Calico Mine Ride		1960	Bud Hurlbut	A 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge[39] mine train dark ride. Riders board ore cars pulled by battery-powered[40] locomotives and journey deep into a faux mining excavation site. The ride closed for refurbishment in January 2014 and reopened on June 14, 2014.[41]	3
Calico River Rapids		May 17, 2019	Intamin (Rethemed by Garner Holt Productions)	A themed river rafting water ride featuring roughly 20 wildlife animatronics and water effects produced by Garner Holt Productions	5
Ghost Town & Calico Railroad		1952		An authentic 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[42] train ride around the park. The ten-minute ride takes guests through the Wild Wilderness area, the Boardwalk area and through Fiesta Village. All of the Passenger Cars came from the D&RGW, while one came from the Rio Grande Southern. Some of the D&RGW cars were used on the San Juan Express.	1
GhostRider		1998	Custom Coasters International (Retracked by Great Coasters International)	A wooden roller coaster featuring multiple un-banked turns.	5
Pony Express		2008	Zamperla	A steel roller coaster in which riders dip, turn and dive while harnessed in vehicles intended to simulate equestrianism.	4
Silver Bullet		2004	Bolliger & Mabillard	A Bolliger & Mabillard inverted roller coaster featuring 6 inversions.	5
Timber Mountain Log Ride		1969	Bud Hurlbut & Arrow Development	A classic themed log flume dark ride attraction. The 4-minute ride features two major drops, of which the final drop is 42 feet. The ride opened in 1969, and re-opened in 2013 after an extensive refurbishment. The ride features more than 40 audio anamontrics developed by Garner Holt Productions, forest scents and an exclusive ride soundtrack. Knott's Berry Farm's most popular ride.	5

Fiesta Village was built in 1969 with a pop-culture Mexican theme. It was the second area constructed after the completion of Ghost Town. Stores like Casa California, restaurants like Pancho's Tacos, La Papa Loca, and La Victoria Cantina, games like Shoot If Yucan, and the themed rides like La Revolución, Jaguar!, and Montezooma's Revenge, along with the former attraction Tampico Tumbler, all contribute to the Mexican and Aztec theme of the area. In 2013 colorful string lights were added for the summer season.

Ride	Picture	Year opened	Manufacturer	Description	Thrill level[38]
Dragon Swing		1980	Chance-Morgan	A swinging pirate ship	3
Hat Dance		1969	Rauerhorst Corporation & Mack Rides	A Teacups type ride. Riders spin sombrero themed cuencos as they rotate on counterrevolutionary turntables. Originally named Happy Sombrero	3
Jaguar!		1995	Zierer	A steel roller coaster designed specifically for families with young children.	4
La Revolucion		2003	Chance-Morgan	Riders rotate 360-degrees while simultaneously swinging back and forth in a pendulum motion.	5
Merry-Go-Round		1955	Dentzel Carousel	One of the world's oldest working Dentzel Carousel, this 100-year-old ridestill revolves to the strains of its antique Band Organ. Mmenagerie carousel's 48 hand-carved animals including lions, tigers, ostriches, camels, zebras, giraffes, pigs, cats and horses. A Wurlitzer #157 Band Organ is also present, but unrestored.	2
Montezooma's Revenge		1978	Anton Schwarzkopf	Riders accelerate from 0 to 55 mph (89 km/h) in 4.5 seconds. This coaster was awarded the American Coaster Enthusiasts Coaster Landmark Award on June 20, 2019. The coaster is the last Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop left in the U.S.[43]	5
Sol Spin		2017	Mondial	A thrilling topsy-turvy adventure over 6 stories high as they rotate in all directions on one of six spinning arms. It was built on the spot of Windseeker.	5
Waveswinger		1986	Zierer	A classic family swing ride. Riders board individual swing sets before orbiting a central tower. Originally named Slingshot. Riders cannot ride if the person's weight is above 230 lbs.	3

A view of The Boardwalk following its 2013 expansion

Boardwalk Games include physical challenges such as a rock wall, soccer, basketball and a rope ladder crawl. A variety of traditional pitch three balls and win a prize type games, such as squirt gun into clowns mouth, knock off milk bottles, pitch a quarter onto a plate are pitched by hawkers along the Boardwalk Games midway. In September 2012, Perilous Plunge closed for an expansion of the Boardwalk. Perilous Plunge was noticeably known as one of Knott's major thrill rides. The boardwalk reopened after a year transformation with two flat rides and a new family roller coaster taking the place of Perilous Plunge. The Boomerang roller coaster also got repainted with a new vibrant green and yellow color scheme which was later removed in 2017 in order to make way for Hangtime. The southern portion of the boardwalk contains the upcoming family interactive dark ride: Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair. The world's largest Johnny Rockets restaurant franchise is located at Knott's Boardwalk, featuring over 5,900 square feet (550 m²) of indoor dining space for more than 260 guests.

Ride	Picture	Year opened	Manufacturer	Description	Thrill level[38]
Coast Rider		2013	Mack Rides	A steel wild mouse roller coaster. The ride's layout is on the former site of Perilous Plunge.	4
HangTime		2018	Gerstlauer	A steel Infinity Coaster. The ride's layout is on the former site of Boomerang and Riptide. The ride is America's first and only coaster of this type. The ride features a 96 degree drop and 5 inversions.	5
Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair		Late 2020-2021	Triotech & Rolly Crump	Serving as Knott's 100th anniversary new ride, a 4D themed family interactive dark ride of the beloved Knott's Bear-y Tales story. Ride features a boysenberry smell throughout the ride as well as physical sets. The ride's layout is on the former site of Voyage to the Iron Reef.	2
Pacific Scrambler		2013	Eli Bridge Company	Originally "Whirlpool" from 1989 to 1996, Pacific Scrambler is a classic scrambler amusement ride. When the area opened in 1996, this was a ride called Whirlpool, it was housed inside a building which featured 'undersea' murals on the walls, musical soundtrack effects, and concert-style lighting effects. In 2000, it was replaced with a Shoot the Chutes ride called Perilous Plunge. The ride eventually closed down in 2012 and was replaced with three new rides, including Pacific Scrambler	3
Sky Cabin		1974	Intamin	Ascend over 180 feet in the slow-moving Sky Cabin for a 360-degree panoramic view of Orange County and the LA basin.	2
Supreme Scream		1998	S&S Worldwide	Supreme Scream features the highest drop in the park. A vertical ascending and descending drop ride. It features 3 Turbo Drop towers.	5
Surfside Gliders		2013	Larson International	A Flying Scooters ride with a height of 28 feet. Riders can pilot and move the gilders as it offers them a good view of the Boardwalk area.	3
Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars				A classic family bumper cars attraction.	4
Xcelerator		2002	Intamin	A launched roller coaster in which riders accelerate from 0 to 82 mph (132 km/h) in 2.3 seconds and climb 20 stories into the air. Xcelerator is currently the tallest roller coaster at Knotts Berry Farm. Xcelerator features the park's second highest drop.	5
Wipeout		1999	Chance Rides	A Trabant circular ride located between Hangtime and Sky Cabin.	4

Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (center) visits the construction site of "Camp Snoopy" with daughter Jill Schulz, Marion Knott and others, circa 1983

Camp Snoopy is home to the park's family and children's rides, with many of the rides and attractions being built specifically for children and guests who cannot ride the park's more aggressive attractions. Its theme is Charles M. Schulz' "Peanuts" comic strip characters. Snoopy has been the mascot of Knott's Berry Farm since 1983, and the characters can now be seen at all of Cedar Fair's parks, except Gilroy Gardens, which is managed by Cedar Fair and owned by the city of Gilroy. The 14 rides include a mini roller coaster called the Timberline Twister, a Zamperla Rockin' Tug called Rapid River Run, and a steel spinning roller coaster called Sierra Sidewinder. For guests who cannot ride the park's more aggressive and thrilling rides, Camp Snoopy contains a good number of rides for guests of all ages including infants, children, and seniors. With the exception of Sierra Sidewinder and Timberline Twister, the rides are relatively tame.

Knott's Berry Farm also built the Mall of America's indoor theme park, which itself was originally called Camp Snoopy. (In fact, Charles M. Schulz hailed from St. Paul.) However, today the park is no longer affiliated with Knott's or Cedar Fair, and is now called Nickelodeon Universe.

On November 22, 2013, Knott's Berry Farm announced major improvements in the area of Camp Snoopy. Camp Snoopy received a makeover for its 30th anniversary. In summer 2014, Knott's Berry Farm opened up new rides in Camp Snoopy.[16]

The 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge[44] Grand Sierra Railroad takes guest on a four-minute train ride through the reflection lake. The ride was made shorter with the construction of Silver Bullet. As part of the 30th Anniversary makeover, the train ride received a series of Peanuts vignettes made by Garner Holt Productions) along the track and narration by the character Linus.

Ride	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Thrill level[38]
Balloon Race		1983	Bradley and Kaye Replaced w/ new redesigned unit 1992 manufactured by D. H. Morgan Mfg.	2
Camp Bus		1992	Zamperla	2
Linus Launcher		2014	Zamperla	3
Charlie Brown Kite Flyers		2014	Zamperla	2
Flying Ace		1986	Chance-Morgan	2
Grand Sierra Railroad		1983	Crown Metal; 2013 Renovation by Garner Holt Productions	1
High Sierra Ferris Wheel		1983	Eli Bridge	3
Huff and Puff		1983	Bradley and Kaye	1
Pig Pen's Mud Buggies		2014	Zamperla	2
Rapid River Run		2004	Zamperla	2
Rocky Mountain Trucking Company			Zamperla	1
Sierra Sidewinder		2007	Mack Rides	4
Timberline Twister		1983	Bradley and Kaye	4
Woodstock Airmail		1983	Wisdom Rides	2

Located next to the Bottle House in Ghost Town, Indian Trails is a small area sandwiched between Camp Snoopy, Ghost Town, and Fiesta Village, showcasing Native American art, crafts, and dance.

Many of the original attractions are outside the gates of the current-day theme park along Grand Ave. at the California Marketplace, mostly things which would no longer be considered interesting to today's audience, or things which were merely there for decoration. Near the restrooms behind Berry Place are the waterfall overshooting the water wheel and historic gristmill grindstone, a replica of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate fireplace hearth, and what remains of the visible beehive. Some attractions still exist, but have been incorporated into backstage areas, such as the Rock Garden, now an employee smoking area. Other attractions have been removed, such as the historic volcano, and the cross-section of giant sequoia with age rings denoting historic events such as Christopher Columbus visiting America.

Walter Knott at the dedication of Knott's full-scale replica of Independence Hall, July 4, 1966.

Hall replica in 2013.

The east side of the property, divided by Beach Blvd., features the main parking lot, Knott's Soak City a seasonal water park that requires separate admission, the picnic grounds rental areas, complementary admission to Independence Hall and gift shop, and the Church of Reflections which was moved outside the theme park in 2004 and held non-denominational Sunday services until 2010. A tunnel and pedestrian underpass beneath Beach Blvd. connects the main parking lot to the shops, restaurants and theme park.

For Halloween Haunt in 2016, Knott's Berry Farm introduced FearVR: 5150, a virtual reality attraction that was met with controversy from the mental health community regarding the negative portrayal of mental illness.[47] The ten-minute-long attraction immersed guests inside of a chaotic mental hospital haunted by a supernatural central character named Katie and zombie-like patients.[48] The initial controversy came from the attraction's name, with 5150 referring to the California law that allows a law enforcement officer or clinician to involuntarily commit a person suspected of having a mental illness and determined "a danger to themselves or others". The backlash was focused on Cedar Fair's use of painful experiences suffered by those dealing with mental illness and to have it "transmogrified into spooky entertainment".[47] In response, Cedar Fair removed "5150" from the name, and after continued opposition, permanently closed the attraction on September 28, 2016, only six days after its debut.[49][50] A petition was signed by more than 2,000 people hoping Cedar Fair would bring it back, with the petition's organizer stating that Cedar Fair shouldn't be "forced to shut down an attraction based on the words of people who had not even experienced the attraction".[51]