The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

David went out and shot a POV for us of the new Timber Mountain Log Ride - What do you all think?

The best the Log Ride has ever looked in my 13 years of riding it!

 

Excellent job Garner Holt/Knotts!

 

Cannot wait to see what they do to the Mine Ride!

It looks like they did a fantastic job bringing it up to date while still maintaining that classic log-ride feel. The new scenes really show that they didn't spare expenses or cut corners with this refurb. Can't wait to check out the details with my own eyes.

Thanks for posting the video Robb. The Log Ride looks great! I'm happy the park decided to invest the resources needed to get this done. Now I can't wait to see if/when the Calico Mine Ride gets its refurb.

It looks great! The POV is very nice. One can only hope they continue this direction in the future. Would love to see this kind of attention to detail applied to some of the other attractions. It would be great if they were able to do show scenes like this for the stagecoach and railroad routes. I hope in the very near future, the boardwalk gains some shade structure for the two flats that fit the boardwalk theme. On a hot day, might be a tad toasty standing in those lines.

Thanks for the video, the "new" ride looks so good it reminds me of my first ride 30+ years ago when it seemed amazing and we'd ride it about 10 times. We'd go to Knott's for TMLR, the Soap Box Racers, and the Beary Tales ride. The rest of the rides were good, but those three were special. I'm so thankful they have restored this jewel.

Slightly off-topic, but I found a Park Index error in the Park Map section for Knott's.

 

The 1991 and 1996 maps are either switched around, or incorrectly labeled altogether (I don't recall Mystery Lodge showing up in 1991 and disappearing in 1996! ). I'm not sure what the proper dates should be, but I know something is wrong.

 

Just thought I would point it out so someone with greater power than me can fix it.

Looks awesome!

All the new additions/refurbs look fantastic! I can't wait to try out the refurbished Log Ride at WCB this September! Hopefully they can open Windseeker by then.

 

I'm very interested to see how Raffi and company are going to invest in the park in the future!

Apparently there is some Haunt news coming out today. Just posted on the Knott's Scary Farm FB page:

 

"Did you hear that?

I thought heard someone rapping on the door."

 

A maze based off of Edgar Allan Poe?

^Oh goodness I hope you're right. That would kick ass on SO many levels.

Imagine what they could do with the concepts behind the Red Death, the Pendulum, the Raven, and that's just naming a few of what could come out of that if this rumor is true.

First Maze Announcement ... Forevermore.

 

From Brooke Walters, the creator of The Doll Factory and Trick-Or-Treat, comes a new chapter in terror:

 

"FOREVERMORE"

 

Follow in the footsteps of the darkly troubled writer Edgar Allan Poe through a nightmare conjured up by a modern madman. Each of Poe's bloodsoaked and terror-filled tales will envelope you in their insanity and horror. Page by page you will descend deeper into the subconscious of the man who invented American horror.

Forevermore is gothic horror with a modern day twist.

Will you escape?

Or will you remain in the horror Forevermore...?

 

Forevermore will be behind Mystery Lodge for Haunt 2013, home to former classic mazes Terror of London, 13 Axe Murder Manor and Blood Bayou.

 

Already wishing for the end of summer. I can smell the fog now!!!

The log ride looks great! Can't wait to see it while I'm down for WCB!

TMLR is such a great classic ride. It's awesome to see what a nice job they did of putting it back into shape. WCB is going to be better than ever. Thanks for the video David.

Knott's just completed their new Boardwalk expansion and Timber Mountain Log Ride renovation, and TPR was there with David and Spears to see the new additions. Check out our full report below...

 

Also, be sure to watch our full POV of the new Timber Mountain Log Ride:

TPR is at Knott's Berry Farm to check out the new Boardwalk expansion and the renovated Timber Mountain Log Ride!

We were greeted by a band playing in front of the Boardwalk Pier.

They were rocking out!

The new Boardwalk area contains three new rides - 2 flat rides and 1 family roller coaster. This is one of the flat rides, Pacific Scrambler.

Here's the second flat ride, Surfside Gliders.

And here's the new family mouse coaster, Coast Rider.

Knott's had all sorts of roaming characters entertaining the guests for opening day.

There was a hilarious "family from Ohio" entertaining crowds.

The family cracked us up. They acted like a bunch of clueless tourists.

It wouldn't be a Knott's event without Snoopy! Here Snoopy is posing with the master of ceremonies for the event, pop culture guru Charles Phoenix. Check out that boysenberry suit! How cool!

The boardwalk rides were open for passholder ERT all morning, and we spotted several TPR members riding. Hi Allison!

We took a spin on Surfside Gliders too before the big grand opening ceremony. More on the rides later though. First, lets check out the opening ceremony.

A large crowd gathered around the Boardwalk Pier to watch the festivities.

Charles Phoenix came on stage and greeted the guests.

Knott's General Manager Raffi Kaprelyan introduced the new Boardwalk area and rides.

A giant piece of taffy was brought out to the characters and special guests.

The taffy was cut, officially marking the opening of the Knott's Boardwalk!

All the characters and special guests posed in front of the Boardwalk Pier.

Over at Coasters Drive-In there was a special breakfast set up. And look who showed up! Gertrude the Goose!

Gertrude loves food!

They had a "cool" ice sculpture in the shape of the Knott's "K."

Mmmmmmm!

Gertrude ate like 10 of these burritos.

Gertrude couldn't stop eating. The food was just too good. She ate enough food for 15 geese!

Back at the boardwalk, the sun had come out and the rides were looking great.

Lets check out all the rides! First up, Pacific Scrambler.

This Scrambler has run in various locations around Knott's in the past, but it's fresh out of storage, freshly painted, and looks great on the boardwalk.

Spears gives it a thumbs up!

Spears doesn't usually do so good with spinning rides, but she enjoyed this one.

Pacific Scrambler can make your hair go horizontal. If you've ever wanted horizontal hair, ride Pacific Scrambler!

It can also scare you!

It can also squish you! Ride with 3 people in a seat for extra squishiness.

Surfside Gliders is a Larson Flying Scooters ride. If you've never been on one, you need to go ride this!

You sit in a glider hanging on wires, and control a rudder that you can move left or right.

When the ride starts spinning, your rudder can make you twist and turn and rise and fall! It's simultaneously fun and scary.

When your glider gets vertical like this it feels like it'll break or you'll fall out. If you ask me, it's one of the scariest feelings you can experience on a ride.

But mostly the ride is pure fun.

It was also nice to see Knott's honoring some of their extinct attractions on the maintenance buildings behind the ride.

Coast Rider is a new Mack Wild Mouse coaster.

It looks great!

Up the lift.

In my opinion, this model of mouse coaster is one of the best out there. It's very smooth.

Families will love this ride. It's thrilling enough for adults, but tame enough for younger ones.

Weee!

Twisty!

Ahhh!

Here's the station for the ride.

Some extra cars sitting off the station.

Go ride this! It's fun!

Here's an overview shot of the new boardwalk taken from the Sky Cabin.

A little closer. All three rides are running!

You can't take a trip in the Sky Cabin without snapping an Xcelerator picture too.

Hi Xcelerator!

And here's the log ride. We'll be getting to that soon!

The boardwalk also has lots of nice little details that are worth pointing out.

Lights are strung overhead across the entire area. These, combined with the Windseeker-esque lighting packages on the flat rides, should make this area come to life at night!

There are nice seating areas filled with flowers and trees.

Even the railings have pretty details.

There is new boardwalk merchandise available too.

Overall, the boardwalk is a huge improvement to this area of the park. It's now more lively and family-friendly. Throughout the day I heard lots of excited comments from the general public such as, "Wow, cool!" "Look at that!" "Lets ride this!" "Check out the new area!" People seemed really excited about it!

Gertrude clearly ate too much at breakfast. She looked enormous and could barely walk!

This is Danette! She's a TPR fan who introduced herself to us as we were walking to the log ride. Everyone say, "Hi Danette!" We love meeting other amusement park enthusiasts!

The log ride is looking better than ever. And it should be! It just had the biggest refurbishment in its history.

There are fresh, hand-fluffed trees all around the mountain.

Out front Knott's was promoting their new show, Boomtown, coming this summer.

Charles Phoenix welcomed everyone to the re-opening of the Timber Mountain Log Ride.

Raffi honored Bud Hurlbut, the creator of the log ride, as an industry pioneer. He also said the spirit of Walter Knott believing in Bud still holds true today at Knott's - individuals still have the opportunity to shine and see their vision come to life.

Beth Swift, the mayor of Buena Park, honored Bud Hurlbut with a proclamation from the City Counsel.

A representative from State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva's office came on stage to honor Knott's Berry Farm for their investment in quality entertainment for families, and the work they do in the veteran and education communities.

John Wayne and his son Ethan Wayne were the guests of honor at the original log ride opening 44 years ago. Honoring that history, Knott's invited Ethan Wayne back to be the guest of honor at the re-opening of the log ride. Ethan brought his nephew, Duke Wayne, with him as well - who knows, maybe in another 50 years or so Duke will be re-dedicating the ride once again!

A picture was brought out showing Walter Knott, John Wayne, and a young Ethan Wayne at the original opening of the log ride.

Ethan said that he remembered the original opening day clearly, and it was one of his clearest early memories of doing something fun with his father. He was 7 years old at the original opening, and is 51 now, but said he can still feel the excitement that he felt as a little boy wanting to experience the log ride for the first time.

The log ride wasn't quite ready for guests yet, but it was all good. Peace. Love. Happy thoughts. (We WILL ride it later in this report, so keep reading!)

The Wilderness Dance Hall had an impressive display honoring the history of the log ride.

There were all sorts of drawings and photos on display, showing off the planning, construction, and opening of the original log ride.

Here is a photo from the opening day in 1969.

If you look closely at the photo, there is a boy who hopped up to get a look at how the log ride lift works. That boy is actually Tony Baxter, the famous Disney Imagineer who worked on rides such as Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.

There were two original models from the log ride on display, one from 1967 and one from 1968.

Several changes to this 1967 model were made for the actual ride. Can you notice any? For one, the train didn't end up going through a tunnel in the mountain.

Here is the 1968 model with the train where it actually ended up, just outside the mountain.

Wee!

Knott's also had an original figure from the ride on display. The figure was auctioned on Ebay, and the money it raised was donated to Ethan Wayne's charity.

He doesn't look very happy about being removed from the ride.

He also looks strikingly like Mr. Bean.

Here's Spears with Ethan Wayne. He was really nice!

As we left we were given certificates for 100 shares of the Calico Logging Company! 100 shares! We're gonna be rich!

Back at the boardwalk the band was still rocking away.

People were really flipping out over the music. Literally.

Back at Coasters Drive-In, Knott's provided a lunch with salad, burgers, fried chicken, onion rings, malts, and tons of other delicious goodies. Oddly enough, Gertrude was nowhere to be seen. I guess she had her fill at breakfast, but I wonder where she went?

Oh no! It looks like Gertrude ate so much and grew so fat that she got lodged in the flume of the log ride. So THAT'S why it didn't end up opening earlier!

Hopeful that the log ride would open, a line of guests started forming at the attraction.

Knott's tried really, really hard to get the attraction open, but unfortunately it wasn't possible. Even after turning the water on and sending some logs through, there was just no way to dislodge Gertrude from the attraction.

Fast forward to the next morning - Gertrude had dropped some logs of her own in the attraction, making her skinny enough to float down the flume to the exit, and allowing Knott's to get the attraction open! Fast forward two more days and we were back at the farm to experience it! Good things are totally worth waiting for!

Before we get back to the log ride though, lets make a quick stop at the Ghost Town Grill.

These placemats are brand new, and are really neat! They were designed by Eric Lynxwiler, author of "Knott's Preserved." TPR members may remember him from his talk at West Coast Bash a couple years ago. For those who don't know, Eric is one of the most knowledgable people on the history of Knott's Berry Farm. If you ever get the chance, be sure to talk to him, as he is like a walking encyclopedia of Knott's information (and also a genuinely nice guy). Anyhow, I was happy to hear that Knott's hired him recently, and designing these placemats is one of the first projects he has worked on. What's neat is that because he is so passionate about Knott's, he put in references to past attractions, the Catawampus, etc. It's a placemat that normal guests will enjoy, and true Knott's fans will love. And it's a great example of paying attention to history and detail, while still creating new experiences, that Knott's has been doing lately. Be sure to stop at the restaurant, have a bite to eat, and check out these placemats on your next visit!

On the subject of little details, the landscaping is also looking great at Knott's. Throughout the park there were beautiful flowers blooming.

But back to what we're all here for, The Timber Mountain Log Ride!

The ride was open, and logs were happily splashing through the flume.

Are you ready to ride? Lets go!

Garner Holt did an amazing job with this renovation.

Everything feels completely new and completely old - and I mean that in the best way possible. They maintained the look and feel of the original ride, but the new motion of the characters, new lighting, and new sound bring the attraction into the 21st century.

It's the same old log ride that everyone loves - just better!

They worked hard to maintain the art style of the original ride, which means the people in it are all still quirky and odd looking.

They even took molds of the original character's faces to replicate the original looks.

Every review of the ride that I've heard or read is positive, and I concur.

If you saw our hard hat tour update, then you've seen this guy before. He was in the Wilderness Dance Hall in our last Knott's update. Now he's in the ride where he belongs.

Chugga chugga, choo choo!

Oh no, prepare to get wet!

This guy should've used his crane to get Gertrude out of the flume the other day!

Beware of hitchhiking ghosts!

Also note, there is new show lighting throughout the ride. Since the ride moves fast I had to use flash in my photos, which washes out the show lighting. But in this photo provided by Knott's you can better see how the lighting actually looks.

These fake animals look better than the old taxidermy ones, go figure! And they move too!

There's a nice tribute to Bud Hurlbut on the crate in this scene.

Don't let the bear catch you by surprise!

I learned something from Jurassic Park: If you don't move, they can't see you. Wait a minute... we're in a log, and we're moving! Ahhhh!

This scene is so neat! He runs on the spinning log.

More fun.

He drank some X, X, X, and was out, out, out.

Getting ready to go up the final lift hill.

I almost wish the ride moved slower so that you could have more time to take in all the details.

I guess that's what re-rides are for.

Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole! (If you don't know why I keep saying, "Fire in the hole!" then watch our Youtube POV of the ride! "Fire in the hole!" is the new "Take the tunnel!")

The final drop! Just as good as ever.

What a great update for this ride. It's rare that a park does something that honors history while at the same time completely modernizes it, but that's what they've successfully done here - which is probably why the general public and the fan community all seem to be giving great reviews of this renovation. Whether it's your first ride, or your 100th, you will almost certainly love what they've done to this ride.

And the best news of all? Everything is now open! Go explore the new Boardwalk and Renovated Log Ride for yourself at Knott's, you'll be glad you did! Thanks to Knott's for inviting us to this great event, and thanks to you for checking out our report!

Edited September 11, 2013 by ILoveRides

^I saw you guys too I was the sweeper in the log ride area. I would have said hey but my sups were just standing in the area lol.

Thanks for the update.

I'm glad to hear that the new expansion doesn't disappoint.

Knotts will never invite Gertrude again for a media event. The new Boardwalk area looks great. I never rode Timber Mountain before but I always enjoy seeing a park spend money to update old rides and keep them going for generations to come.

JEEZUS! TELL ME THE GERTRUDE JOKE! noones ever told me! WHat is it about Gertrude the goose? When was it started? I've been wondering for ages.

I really love that Knott's is trying to get back to its roots. Now if they could just add a nice high capacity kick ass coaster to balance out their ride collection...

JEEZUS! TELL ME THE GERTRUDE JOKE! noones ever told me! WHat is it about Gertrude the goose? When was it started? I've been wondering for ages.

This comment made me realize something. These forums do not have a like button!!! Is that something that could be added?

 

 

Oh, and what a long update! There were many things I was going to comment with, but the biggest one I can remember is that those figurines are unbelievably realistic. If I didn't know any better I truly would think they are actors.

I hate it when my logs jam.. BTW, great update!

Timber Mountain Log Ride is looking great. Knott's really seems to have done an outstanding job with the overhaul. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go check it out in the next week or two since it wasn't ready when I went on Memorial Day.

This ride looks fantastic and I can't wait to re-visit it in a month! thanks for the awesome report!

 

Couldn't help but thinking that I'd personally be okay with about 5 or 6 less "Fire In The Hole!" 's. There seemed to be an awful lot of those. Perhaps that's cause I'm coming from Branson where my home park was SDC, and "Fire In The Hole" is just a completely different experience there.

Thank you for the excellent coverage of Knott's new offerings.

 

They did a great job on both the Boardwalk and Timber Mountain. The bright colors of the Boardwalk are quite sharp and the area is such a huge improvement over Perilous Plunge.

 

I rode Timber Mountain in 2001 but don't remember much except for the hidden drop in darkness midway through the ride. Congrats to Knott's for preserving this classic attraction.

 

I'm somewhat out of the loop but did they paint Xcelerator pink or is that how faded the track has become?