The previously announced rebuild of the park's iconic Ghostrider roller coaster will be done by Great Coasters International, the wooden coaster specialists that built Apocalypse at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Thunderhead at Dollywood, and Prowler at Worlds of Fun. GCI will retrack the entire 4,533-foot coaster, eliminating the mid-course brake run and installing Millennium Flyer trains.
Knott's next summer also will add interactive entertainment to the streets of Ghost Town.
Ghost Town Alive! will allow guests young and young at heart to live the west through inventive new ways to interact with characters and environments as each day, a different story will unfold throughout all of Ghost Town. From pledging one’s allegiance to notorious bandits, to saving the day alongside courageous cowboys, guests play an active role in shaping the events of the day. Every evening, the day’s story culminates with a town wide celebration of 75 years of Calico....Select peek-ins will be transformed into authentic working establishments, and guests will be welcomed to step inside. At the Barber Shop, guests can walk in and meet Calico’s trusted barber who’s rife with town gossip. In the Sheriff’s office, guests can try their luck at a game of cards with the sneaky Sheriff and other Calico townsfolk. Here, guests can also decide whether they join the lawmen to hunt down the bandits or choose the criminal life and end up with their face on a handmade wanted poster. In the heart of Ghost Town, the Barn will close on April 4, and when it reopens for Ghost Town Alive!, it will have been transformed into a working horse stable where guests can visit with Calico’s friendly equestrian team.
Finally, the park will close Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant on January 4 for an extensive refurbishment, including the replacement of all furniture, flooring, lighting, and decor. The project will preserve the original "tea room," while splitting the main dining room into two new dining areas. In addition, Knott's will add an outdoor dining patio to the restaurant and replace the Garden Room will a full-service bar. The new restaurant will open sometime in the spring, although the take-away window will remain open during the renovations.
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Admittedly, the big news is the details of the Ghost Rider refurbishment and the new interactive entertainment coming to Ghost Town. If anyone has been to Knott's during the holiday season (Knott's Merry Farm) or, to a limited extent, the summer or even ridden the steam engine train, the live actors portraying period characters is what Knott's does really well.
Lots of longtime fans were probably hoping for a return of the Haunted Shack attraction, and it's too bad Knott's couldn't find a way to bring that back.
I'm curious to see if the new interactive entertainment will last throughout the year, and what extras Knott's might bring during the summer and holidays, their two busiest seasons.
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