s p o t l i g h t | by Don Disner
Knott’s
Berry Farm
O
ver 150 acres, over 100 rides and dozens of
restaurants and shops—that’s Knott’s Berry
Farm in Buena Park, a popular tourist attraction that actually started as a berry farm and
today thrills visitors with its roster of exciting
rides. Because of its long history, Knott’s Berry Farm takes
the slogan, “America’s First Theme Park.”
History
In the 1920s, Walter Knott and his family sold berries from
a roadside stand beside Highway 39 near the small town
of Buena Park. In the 1930s, he cultivated the world’s first
successful boysenberries, a combination of the red raspberry, blackberry, and loganberry. During this time, his wife
Cordelia began serving fried chicken dinners featuring boysenberry pie for dessert.
As Southern California developed, Highway 39 became
the major north-south connection with L.A. County, and the
restaurant’s location was a popular stopping point for drivers
making the trip between L.A. and the Orange County beaches.
Within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter built
a ghost town in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old
west towns such as Calico, California and Prescott, Arizona,
and soon added attractions such as a narrow-gauge train ride,
a pan-for-gold area, and the Calico Mine train ride at what
Knott called a “summer-long county fair”.
In 1968, the Knott family fenced the farm, charged
admission for the first time, and Knott’s Berry Farm officially
became an amusement park. Since the late 1990s, the park
12
May/June
June/July
2007
has seen an aggressive shift towards thrill rides, with the construction of a number of large roller coasters and the addition
of a high-performance Shoot-the-Chutes ride.
Attractions
At Knott’s Berry Farm, there are six distinct themed areas:
Ghost Town, Fiesta Village, The Boardwalk, Camp Snoopy,
Wild Water Wilderness and Indian Trails. In addition, a small
shopping village called California Marketplace sits outside
the admission gate and includes the famous Knott’s Chicken
Dinner Restaurant and various gift shops.
Ghost Town
Ghost Town is the oldest part of the Knott’s amusement park
and includes most of the buildings Walter brought to the
property in the 1940s and 1950s. This themed area includes
attractions such as the narrow gauge Ghost Town & Calico
Railway, the Butterfield Stagecoach, a pan-for-gold attraction,
the Calico Mine train ride, Timber Mountain log ride, and
The Wild West stunt show. More recently, the much-acclaimed
Ghostrider wooden roller coaster has been added. In late 2004,
Knott’s opened the longest inverted roller coaster on the West
Coast, Silver Bullet, along with Screamin’ Swing: the world’s
first air-powered swing.
Fiesta Village
Fiesta Village, a Latin-themed area, features many carnivalstyle attractions including the Montezooma’s Revenge roller
coaster and the Jaguar! family roller coaster.