Living in the shadows of Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm (yes, they actually used to grow berries here) charted its own course in the late 1990s when the folks that operate Cedar Point bought the park and started building the roller coasters and thrill rides that made its Ohio park famous. You can still get Mrs. Knott's Famous Chicken Dinner and stock up on her boysenberry jam, but you might want to hold off until after you've endured the awesome Ghostrider wood coaster.
- Address: Buena Park (next to Anaheim), CA
- Phone: (714) 220-5200
- On-site hotel: Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel
(714) 995-1111
Search for Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel rates at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.
Compare rates for Knott's Berry Farm-area hotels at About.com's booking partner, Kayak.
- Highlights:
- Knott's Scary Farm Halloween event
- Xcelerator launched coaster- A blast from the past
- Ghostrider wood coaster- One of the country's best
- Silver Bullet inverted coaster.
- Supreme Scream drop tower ride- At 254 feet, one of the world's tallest
- Perilous Plunge- One of the tallest, steepest drops of any splashdown ride
- Timber Mountain Log Ride- Noteworthy for being one of the industry's first log flumes
- Mystery Lodge- Ambitious, special-effects laden theater show
- Calico Mine Ride- Nostalgic train ride through caverns and mines
- Dining: You've got to try Mrs. Knott's Famous Chicken Dinner because...well it's famous! And don't forget to put some of her jam on the dinner rolls. The park's BBQ fare is quite good also.
Knott's Merry Farm
Discover more about the park's event for the holidays.New for 2008: Pony Express launched coaster Another coaster is coming to the coaster-crazy Farm. This one will forego a traditional lift hill and launch riders from 0 to a family-friendly 38 MPH in less than 3 seconds. It will then send them careening though some intense banked turns, camelback hills, and other wild features. The most unique aspect of Pony Express, however, will be its vehicles; instead of loading into typical coaster cars, passengers will mount one of the thrill machine's 16 horses. Think of it as a carousel gone bonkers.
Knott's Berry Farm Overview The Farm is a bit schizophrenic. While it still retains the charm of the Old-West Ghost Town area from the original park, the grafted-on Boardwalk section, with its souped-up Xcelerator launched coaster and Supreme Scream drop tower, makes an odd contrast. And the Peanuts gang hangs out in Camp Snoopy, yet another layer of the multi-personality park. With no obvious rhyme or reason for its disparate themes, Knott's nonetheless works by offering enough attractions and features to please a wide audience.
Not nearly as sophisticated as its high-profile neighbor Disneyland, Knott's is still a few notches above the average regional amusement park. Sure there are plenty of off-the-shelf rides, but ambitious attractions like Mystery Lodge co-opt a Disney sensibility. Using some impressive effects and illusions, the stage show tells an enchanting Native American tale.
Knott's has some quaintly charming touches as well. The Calico Mine Ride, a holdover from years ago, is a classic Knott's attraction. Sure the animatronics are dated, but the train ride through the colorful caverns is cute and endearing. Kids and nostalgic adults will love it.
Younger kids will also love panning for gold, checking out the cowboys and varmints that roam the Ghost Town, and Camp Snoopy's collection of Peanuts-themed rides. Older kids and thrill-seeking adults will love the super-charged coasters and other high-octane rides. And everyone will love Knott's decent food. Theme park food is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Most of it is just plain awful, not to mention overpriced. The enormous Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant is almost always packed--and for good reason. Good, down-home (if high-calorie), reasonably priced cooking reigns here. The park's BBQ fare is also quite good.
The adjacent Soak City (separate admission) is a world-class water park. In the fall, the park transforms into Knott's Scary Farm, the nation's oldest (and many say the best) theme park Halloween event. And during the holidays, it's Knott's Merry Farm. The on-site Knott's Hotel is a clean, affordable, medium-tier hotel. It often features packages that include admission to the park and offer good value.
