Knott's Calico Mine Ride and Camp Snoopy Construction Tour

On Thursday Knott’s gave a media construction tour of the Camp Snoopy and Mine Ride renovation projects underway at the park, and TPR was there! Check out our full report below:

We’re at Knott’s to check out Camp Snoopy and The Calico Mine Ride.

The event started off with a breakfast at Spurs. We were greeted outside by Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

Inside Spurs several historic photographs from Camp Snoopy and The Mine Ride were on display.

Old photos of The Calico Mine Ride.

We were also greeted by amusement park royalty, Bill Butler and Garner Holt, from Garner Holt Productions.

In typical Knott’s fashion, breakfast was amazing.

They even had a yogurt fountain.

Jason Soyster welcomed everyone to the event and introduced Jeff Gahagan, Lara Hanneman, Jeff Shadic, and Eric Lynxwiler who, along with Bill Butler and Garner Holt, discussed the historic significance of Camp Snoopy and The Calico Mine Ride, as well as the construction progress currently underway.

First lets take a look at the Calico Mine Ride.

The ride is currently undergoing a massive renovation on par with last year’s Timber Mountain Log Ride renovation. The renovation includes over 50 new animatronic figures, an all new audio and lighting system, and new special effects.

Here are some of the new characters going into the ride.

Shield your eyes, naked animatronics!

Construction currently taking place in the Glory Hole section of the ride.

The Heaven Room is being repainted and brought back to its former glory, along with a newly recorded version of the organ music. (The music will be the same, just re-made so it’s crisp and clear.)

Two of the characters going into the ride (a human and a mule) were on display, and similar to what went into The Log Ride last year, they’re amazingly detailed.

Wildlife is also being added to the ride. In total there will be 46 humans, plus dozens of historically accurate animals - bats, a dog, a mule, vultures, and fish. This should add a whole new layer of realism to the ride!

Next lets take a look at Camp Snoopy, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Knott’s is adding 3 new rides and restoring the High Sierra mountains camp theming to the area in an effort to make it much more cohesive.

A new character meet-and-greet area will bring guests into the Peanuts world.

Charlie Brown’s Kite Flyer will reveal Charlie Brown tied to the tree when the ride operates.

A design sketch of The Linus Launcher.

A drawing of the new Pig Pen’s Mud Buggies ride.

The area should look great when it’s finished!

Knott’s also made a new special announcement at the event: The Grand Sierra Railroad will get Peanuts theming! There will be new scenes and animation, and there will be narration on the ride by Linus. The fiberglass figures for this attraction will be created by Garner Holt, and will have an automotive finish that will keep them looking nice for years to come.

As part of the presentation they unveiled these characters who will be going into the Grand Sierra Railroad project.

Next up we took a construction tour of the new projects. First up was Camp Snoopy.

Jeff explained all the new additions going in, and pointed out lots of details.

The new ground surface looks like a dirt path, perfect for the mountain camp theme.

The new carved wood signs are gorgeous.

Even the operator booths have been given the mountain camp theming.

Shading has been added to the Camp Snoopy stage.

There are lots of blooming flowers throughout the whole area.

Another one of the new signs.

Gr8 Sk8 is gone, and in its place will be the new meet-and-greet area.

I can’t get over how good the signs look! They’re a huge improvement.

The Grand Sierra Railroad is getting ready for its big re-theme.

More construction looking towards Montezooma’s Revenge.

Everything is basically one big construction site right now, but in no time at all this is all going to look really nice!

Timberline Twister is much improved. The new colors and roofing on the station match the High Sierra theme perfectly.

Lucy’s Tugboat didn’t make much sense with the camping theme, so they re-themed it to a river raft.

It’s another great improvement to the area. Everything feels like it goes together much better now.

So that’s Camp Snoopy!

Next up, The Calico Mine Ride!

Construction walls are still up around the ride.

There are themed signs letting guests know that the ride is closed.

But we were let behind the walls for a sneak peak!

It’s still very much a construction site. These hollow rocks will likely be used to disguise the new lighting or speakers in the ride.

Lots of tools were laying around.

There’s scaffolding up in a few places around the ride.

The water has all been drained out of the attraction.

Pretty much everything is getting touched up, refinished, improved, or replaced.

The ride vehicles are all being refurbished. Also, the logos on the ride vehicles are now hand painted and will no longer be decals. It's good to see them taking the time and spending the money to get even the small details right.

Into the mine we go!

Further and further into the darkness.

Located just past the entrance, this will be the location of the first animatronic character.

Continuing on, we got to see the new show lighting in the first room. The new LED lighting system is bright and colorful, adding a modern touch to the classic scene.

Looking down the track we could see the train maintenance area ahead.

They then turned on the boiler to show us the steam effect in the first room. It makes a huge amount of steam.

This room should be a lot of fun to ride through, and after seeing this I can only imagine how good the rest of the ride will look!

We also got a quick peek into the construction work going on in the Glory Hole.

If you look closely you can see Gertrude hard at work mining the cavern for gold.

Like the Log Ride last year, this renovation is looking like it will strike the perfect balance between preserving the classic attraction and updating it for modern audiences. I’m very excited to ride the finished ride this summer!

Knott’s Berry Bloom is also going on right now, so I took a quick look at some of this year’s offerings. Now in its second year, Knott’s Berry Bloom is becoming a Spring tradition at the park. The event offers special decorations, food offerings, and entertainment for people of all ages.

This year Ghost Town is celebrating the “Boysenberry Festival.” I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to see Knott’s boysenberry history being celebrated in the park. There were countless boysenberry decorations, foods, and treats throughout the area.

Some berry products for sale in Ghost Town.

The boysenberry licorice was delicious!

Of course, it wouldn’t be Knott’s Berry Bloom without blooming flowers.

All throughout the park there are beautiful flower displays.

You can feel Spring in the air!

I loved all the boysenberry decorations as well.

Spears purchased some boysenberry cotton candy!

She was nice and shared it with the residents of Ghost Town.

A look at some of the boysenberry merchandise in Ghost Town.

More of the decorations.

The stores were brimming with spring themed merchandise.

The are also lots of entertainment offerings as part of this event. Krazy Kirk and The Hillbillies perform in front of the Bird Cage Theatre at night.

Special boysenberry food was being grilled and fried throughout Ghost Town.

There are photo ops.

Kids ages 3-11 can search for the Easter Beagle. The search leads kids to several interactive displays before ending at a meet-and-greet area with Snoopy.

Another one of the interactive displays for kids. Each display had a button you could push to make things happen.

One more of the interactive displays on the boardwalk. This one had a working roller coaster.

When you push the button the roller coaster makes a lap.

And then Snoopy pops out!

There are also boardwalk games for the whole family to enjoy near Xcelerator.

Throughout the day Sally and Peppermint Patty are there to play the games with guests.

Spears played Tic Tac Toe Toss with Sally.

There are also large flower decorations around the park.

And even a giant hummingbird.

Charleston Circle is decorated for the event, and hosts two shows: Peanuts Party In The Park, and the Bloomination Dance Party. Since this media event was focused on Camp Snoopy and The Mine Ride, we barely scratched the surface of all the Bloom offerings. But suffice to say, there is lots to do and see at Knott’s Berry Bloom!

It’s no secret that Knott’s has been bringing their “A” game recently. And I’m happy to report that The Calico Mine Ride and Camp Snoopy renovation projects are looking like they’re going to be two more big steps in the right direction. Both projects are preserving and restoring the history and charm of the park, while adding new, modern touches that should keep the projects interesting to current and future audiences. We can’t wait to check out the final results when the construction walls come down this summer! Thanks to Knott’s for inviting us to this event, and thanks to you for checking out our report!

I was pretty happy with the work they did on the log ride. It's good to see the mine train getting the same treatment--it's a classic.

Still wish they'd restore the cave area of Camp Snoopy, but none-the-less everything they are doing looks great.

Thanks David. I had no idea so many changes were afoot.

Still wish they'd restore the cave area of Camp Snoopy, but none-the-less everything they are doing looks great.

 

There was a cave in Camp Snoopy? I confess I haven't spent a lot of time at KBF. Never even knew about a cave.

It's still there...it's just a shell of its former self. It used to have two levels and was connected by bridges to Peanuts Playhouse (which was used for Haunt every year).

I can't wait to see this at WCB this year in the Fall. They did a great job on the log ride so Im expecting they will do the same on the mine train.

I love how Knott's is refurbing it's classic rides. I am looking forward to getting back there this year during HAUNT. Perhaps we will get a refurb of the soap box derby racers and Kingdom of the Dinosaurs. Wait... ...er... ...nevermind.

Knott's is really on the right track with all these improvements. Can't wait to see the redone Calico Mine Ride.

Is it just me who thinks this, or does the second head from the right look a lot like Liam Neeson?

 

Pretty awesome update! I'm really excited and glad Knott's is taking the time a care into the refurbs. I'm excited to know that their improvements will be in place for generations to come. I can't wait to take my little ones there to experience Camp Snoopy like I did as a kid...although it will be completely different...but it's still awesome.

 

Jimmy "Is there going to be a Gertrude animatronic someday?!?!?!" Bo

Looking great. I love Knott's and the amount of effort they're putting in to preserve the history of the park is incredible. I'm so glad they've figured out their niche again and have moved away from trying to be a high thrill park.

EDIT: Okay, okay. I realize that probably wasn't the smartest move on my part. So, I decided to remove it. Happy now? (I know I am...)

Edited April 23, 2014 by XLRBR

^That's a great way to get fired.

I think that Knotts should look into putting a Bray Wyatt figure in Calico

Shhh...I work at Knott's and I was backstage earlier today and I took a quick picture of Linus Launcher's vehicles and their support!

Hopefully when you took that shot, that was your last day of working at Knott's. If not, you'll have one pretty soon. They already have your age so that narrows it down a little bit.

^That's a great way to get fired and banned from TPR.

 

Most likely this too.

Shhh...I work at Knott's and I was backstage earlier today and I took a quick picture of Linus Launcher's vehicles and their support!

Hopefully when you took that shot, that was your last day of working at Knott's. If not, you'll have one pretty soon. They already have your age so that narrows it down a little bit.

The link to his Facebook page probably narrows it even further...

Shhh...I work at Knott's and I was backstage earlier today and I took a quick picture of Linus Launcher's vehicles and their support!

 

You're not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

Shhh...I work at Knott's and I was backstage earlier today and I took a quick picture of Linus Launcher's vehicles and their support!

 

You're not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

All Knott's has to do is look at the quoted posts and they'll know that you posted something that you shouldn't have.

 

Just realized we're going off-topic here. I'm looking forward to Linus Launcher opening. I like the "flying" flat rides at carnivals so this should be fun.

I still can't get that dirty thought out of my mind whenever Knott's uses "Glory Hole" to describe the mining cave.

Shhh...I work at Knott's and I was backstage earlier today and I took a quick picture of Linus Launcher's vehicles and their support!

 

You're not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

All Knott's has to do is look at the quoted posts and they'll know that you posted something that you shouldn't have.

 

Just realized we're going off-topic here. I'm looking forward to Linus Launcher opening. I like the "flying" flat rides at carnivals so this should be fun.

 

Kite flyers are terribly uncomfortable IMO. Maybe it's not as bad for kids.