When the sun goes down at Knott's Berry Farm, the park comes alive with multicolored lights! In late September and all throughout October the park is transformed into Knott’s Scary Farm! This blog covers what goes on at Knott’s after dark!
This is my first post in which I am sharing some of my vintage Knott's photos. Although I was born in the mid ‘70s I did not have the pleasure of going into the main park until 1984. I have been purchasing vintage photos and slides at garage sales, swap meets, etc., for years now; long before I had even heard of Charles Phoenix! I will admit that I am much more of an observer than a historian. If any of you would like to share any information about these photos please feel free to do so, and I will gladly make updates!
Both of these photos of the Corkscrew either had to have been taken in 1975 (the year in which this ride and the “Roaring ‘20s” themed area opened) or early 1976 (the year in which the “Roaring ‘20s Airfield” area opened. Many thanks to Tokyomagic! who observed that the Sky Jump is not in these photos, which was part of the Airfield expansion.
The next evening that you ride the Calico Mine Ride, let the other guests exit down the stairs before you. When you do walk down the stairs, take a moment and look off to your left…
Proceed about 10-15 feet down the path and take a moment to look up…
Happy 43rd anniversary to the Timber Mountain Log Ride!
I have had a digital camera for 10 years now, and from comparing photos that I have taken of the loggers over the past decade I have observed that Knott’s has the best-dressed loggers! Let me show you what I mean…
Here is one of the loggers operating the two-man crosscut saw in Scene #1, near the end of the conveyor belt. As you can see he has had quite a few wardrobe changes over the years!
Here is another logger operating a two-man crosscut saw in Scene #2 (the room that has that wonderful woodsy smell!). He has had a few wardrobe changes, and if you look in the background you can see that the train engineer has had a few changes as well!
On the right side of the photo above dated 2011 you will see a lady in a purple and white dress. That is Shaky Sadie from The Haunted Shack!
Scene 9: “Hey, you on the log! Hold on tight! Rough water moving fast!”
Not only has this logger had wardrobe changes throughout the years, but sometime around 2010 his voice recording was changed. Here is a short video of footage that I shot in both 2003 and 2010:
Many thanks to Flickr.com member “jericl cat” for submitting this next photo from a vintage Knott’s guidebook! Here is a one-in-a-million shot of John Wayne and his son, John Ethan, who were the first two guests to ride the Log Ride on July 11, 1969!
Here is an exterior photo of the Log Ride (or should I say “Sleepy Hollow Mountain”) that I took during Knott’s Scary Farm of 2011. The exterior was illuminated with green, blue, and purple lights that evening:
Welcome to my first post of “Knott’s After Dark”! If you have a blog and would like for me to add you to my list of favorite blogs, please let me know, and if you could do the same for me that would be wonderful! I am an enthusiast in the rich history of the Knott family and of the park, and I visit the park often. I collect and sell vintage light bulbs and I also enjoy nighttime photography, so this blog will mainly focus on the park when it is lit up at night!
I really enjoy going to Knott’s in the summer! The park is open later, and we visit the park in the evenings. The temperature is cooler and I can take nighttime shots!
I took this close-up shot of the bottle house on June 28. I am on the outside of the building, and the interior lights are illuminating the bottles. This is a long-shutter shot, and I also enhanced this photo in Photoshop.
If you have this 1984-1985 Knott’s Berry Farm 18-month calendar, you can reuse it now, beginning on July 1st through the end of 2013!
The days of each month will correlate from now until the end of 2013; however some holidays will vary. For example, Easter Sunday of 1985 was on April 7th, while Easter of 2013 will be on March 31st.
