Southern California's Knott's Berry Farm today announced the opening dates for its new and renovated attractions debuting this year.
The new rides -- a Mack wild mouse coaster and two flat ride spinners -- will open May 25.
But I think many theme park fans might also be looking forward to the return of Knott's classic Timber Mountain Log Ride, which will reopen on May 30.
Knott's is spending $1 million-plus to revamp the log ride, which was the world's first themed log flume when designer Bud Hurlbut built it for Knott's in 1969.
Knott's has brought in design firm Garner Holt Productions to oversee the creation of new show scenes for the ride. Industry insiders know that name, but fans are certainly familiar with Garner Holt's work even if they don't know the name -- they've done several projects for the "park up the street", including the Jack Skellington animatronic for Haunted Mansion Holiday and the new Maleficent Dragon for Fantasmic!
I spoke with creative director Bill Butler, who talked about what fans can expect to see when the refurbished Log Ride opens later this spring.
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Hoping they do something with the Kingdom of the Dinosaurs building
Matt Ouimet, the CEO of Cedar Fair, confirmed on the Season Pass Podcast that a dark ride is in development for the show building that previously housed Kingdom of the Dinosaurs. The entire podcast was a very interesting conversation that made me excited for the future of Knott's and Cedar Fair.
Our family became annual passholders in December. We were disappointed when Knott's Berry Farm announced on January 2nd that the Log Ride would be closing for almost half the year (our son is too big for many Camp Snoopy rides but too small for many of the tamer "big kid rides" like Jaguar and Big Foot Rapids--the Log Ride was his favorite attraction), but I am excited by the new animatronics and show scenes for the classic Log Ride, and think my family members will like the new version even more.
The new rides in the Boardwalk section are just right for our kids as well. I am gratified that management for Knotts and Cedar Fair seem to be concentrating on what sets the part apart from your average theme/amusement park, and what made the Knotts Berry Farm great in the past.
I never would have noticed the tree had been cut down if you hadn't mentioned it. I suppose that having a tree stump fits with the theme of a logging operation, but it's a shame to have cut down the tree that had been there for so long. If anything, the giant Supreme Scream towering over the mountain ruins the view more than that tree might have.
As I visit Knott's more than any other park, I've been following this construction both through online updates and park visits. It's been a lot of fun visiting the park every few weeks and watching the new attractions go from a dirt lot to where they are now. Although SFMM is putting in Full Throttle, I've got a feeling the new Knott's attractions (and the refurbished log ride) will be the big deal in Southern California for 2013.
The new mouse ride is almost if not completely identical to
Legoland's technic ride
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It is wonderful to see the effort going into Timber Mountain. Hopefully Garner Holt will continue to work with Cedar Fair on projects at Knott's and other parks.