Welcome to Knott's Berry Farm, the most incomprehensible theme park in America.
Natalie and I ended up waiting an hour and 10 minutes to ride GhostRider, after park employees mercifully added a second train on the track. (GhostRider can run three.) Still, two trains gives Knott's 1998 CCI wooden roller coaster an approximate capacity of 800 riders an hour, placing it light years ahead of many other attractions in this capacity-starved park.
While Natalie and I were waiting, waiting and waiting for GhostRider, my wife and son cooled their heels across the park, serving nearly an hour in the queue for Joe Cool's GR8 SK8, an Interactive Rides Sky Skater that we calculated was putting through fewer than 100 riders per hour.
And yet...
If one looks past the thrill rides with less capacity than Jessica Simpson taking the MCAT, one can find amidst them a park filled with little details that can make a theme park visit magical.
Such as Mystery Lodge, a Native American storytelling show with effects that would be right at home in Walt Disney World's Epcot. (No surprise, as the show's the work of the same creator who produced Epcot's Impressions de France, my all-time favorite theme park movie.)
While Natalie and I enjoyed Mystery Lodge, Laurie and Brian discovered Knott's Ghost Town Magic store, where park magician Robert entertained and confounded Brian with a variety of impressive tricks.
So which is Knott's? A over-crowded thrill park? Or a well-detailed theme park filled with personal touches and storytelling?
Well, it's both. And that's what makes this park so hard to comprehend. The worst guide map in the industry doesn't help matters, either. While Knott's map details every minor shop in the park, it ignores dozens of attractions, listing just one ride in the park's Camp Snoopy kids' land.
Getting around Knott's never was easy. The park lacks the intuitive hub-and-spoke layout that Walt Disney employed up the street at Disneyland. Themed lands at Knott's, such as they are, don't blend from one into another, either.
Walking through Knott's is like walking through a theme park boneyard. The mighty Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, Silver Bullet, lords over the park, its support beams impaling the old Indian ceremonial dance stage and cutting off the remaining fragment of the pond where Walter Knott's steamboat once sailed. The delightful 1969 Log Ride, prototype for Disney's Splash Mountain, stands smack next to unthemed carny games, with a Wipeout across the way, and the theme-less Supreme Scream drop ride standing over all.
Given the confusion, perhaps it is fitting that the park's most famous restaurant isn't in the park at all. After reuniting, we four got our hands stamped to exit and walk over to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant... for lunch.
The fried chicken is fine, not as tasty as others. But the chicken noodle soup, more stew than broth, delights. And if you can beat your table mates, grab one of the crustier biscuits, which taste more like fritters than the tasteless pucks of dough you'll find from the Colonel.
And, of course, we enjoyed Knott's Boysenberries in every form - jelly, pie and punch. Not too tart, not too sweet, just well balanced flavor each time.
After our late lunch, we returned to the park for the Knott's classics, the Log Ride and the Calico Mine Ride. Funny how the park's oldest rides seem to have the fastest moving lines. Two classic joys amid the modern metal.
Ultimately, everyone said they had a great time. But I when I pressed for specifics, no one could quite say, exactly, why.
That's Knott's. You very well might enjoy it. But don't bother trying to understand it.
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The only other time I've been to Knott's was for Knotts' Scary Farm, which is how I will always refer to their Halloween promotion. Their Halloween park is the best in SoCal.
I agree Robert, and I am sure that you have noticed that all noticeable "magic" at Knott's was created before the Cedar Fair take over. Ah well, it's been over a year since I've been to the park on a regular operating day, and I don't miss it in the least, even the draw of a new coaster wasn't enough to get me to the park.. A little sad, really.
The day of Winter Coaster Solace X Ghostrider was using 3 trains and I had an hour wait. It's a popular coaster. Deal with it.
Run two trains as soon as you have a line. Run three once the line goes over 20 minutes. Earn goodwill.
From personal experience, theoretical capacities are B$. They often assume instantaneous capacity loading. (Like *that* ever happens in the real world.) Watch the load platform and count bodies while tracking time. Do the math and you'll see what the real throughputs are.
I have always longed to get back to Knott's but after your report, it does not sound like I am missing much these days.
We stayed on site, the hotel staff was great, the room was great, and even enjoyed the free breakfast and the pool. The waterpark was okay, smaller than what I imagined but not packed so we had a great time there.
I can't tell you how many boysenberry turnovers we ate. They were absolutely delicious. We bought the bucket of drumsticks and a 2 liter of coke for like $8.00 and the chicken was awesome. They were so huge we took them to the room and ate on them later. GhostRider made me stick to the point that I'll never ride a woodie again.
Overall the park was just o.k. We probably wouldn't go there again unless we happened to be in Anaheim, near it and were looking for something to do. But still, probably not.
The Cedar Fair parks in Ohio are pretty good about moving the lines. Sometimes they stall, but most of the time they keep moving quickly and there are plenty of trains. There has only been a few isolated times where I saw a 1 train operation on a ride with a real line.
Good write up....and right on the money from our limited experience!
As for the chicken, I prefer Roscoe's. I must remember to try the Ghost Town Grill next time I'm at Knott's. Anyone have any thoughts about that restaurant?
Yes, there is a cost savings to running with less trains, since there is operating cost due to wear and tear on the train, but I agree there is no excuse on busy days not to run the rides at capacity. I disagree that the park should adjust the number of trains on track at any time. Knott's shuts down a ride to add or remove a train. This causes delays in the operation, increases the wait and because they follow this procedure it should not happen while the park is open. The park should open with all the trains and close with all the trains - no exceptions.
Eric, Ultimate Rollercoaster
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