"Knott’s After Dark" Is Now "Knott's Illustrated" and on Facebook!

Update: Our Facebook page is now titled "Knott's Illustrated!" Click on the link below to go to our Facebook page!

2013 Halloween Haunt Preview Event, Featuring Elvira

On July 10, Knott’s held a Haunt preview event in the Charles Schulz Theatre. It included a panel discussion featuring Design Supervisor Brook Walters, Design Specialist Daniel Miller, Design Specialist Gus Krueger, and Director of Entertainment Production Lara Hanneman. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, made a special appearance to announce that she will be returning this year!

Here is the HD video that I filmed of the entire preview presentation, featuring the list of returning and new attractions, the panel discussion, and Elvira!



Before the presentation began, several monsters roamed the theatre.




Supervisor of Live Shows Jeff Tucker hosted the event



Left to right: Brook Walters, Daniel Miller, Gus Krueger, Lara Hanneman

Elvira made a guest appearance to announce that she will return to the Ghoul Time Theatre this year with an all-new show titled “Elvira’s Sinema Séance”!







Click HERE to go to the official Knott’s Berry Farm Haunt site!

Happy 44th Anniversary to the Timber Mountain Log Ride

44 years ago on this day, the Timber Mountain Log Ride was christened with a bottle of Boysenberry Juice, and John Wayne and his son Ethan were the first guests to make the plunge!

This January, after the décor for Elf Mountain was removed, Knott’s Berry Farm, along with Garner Holt Productions, began the arduous task of refurbishing both the interior and the exterior of the Log Ride.

The new scenery is breathtaking both inside and out! The logs travel so quickly that guests do not get a chance to take it all in. For your enjoyment, I created a video in which I slowed down the footage in many of the scenes so that you can better see some of the newly-added detail!



Enjoy!

Knott's New Boardwalk Pier After Dark

In August of last year, Knott’s announced that Perilous Plunge would make its final drop on Labor Day, September 3rd.

Here is a nighttime photo that I shot of Perilous Plunge and the surrounding Boardwalk area, shortly after the announcement was made.




Perilous Plunge was replaced with two new rides - Coast Rider and Surfside Gliders. In addition, the Scrambler, formerly known as Whirlpool and Wilderness Scrambler, made a comeback as Pacific Scrambler.

On the morning of May 30, Knott’s held an opening ceremony for the new area which is called “Boardwalk Pier”. Entertainer, author, and pop culture enthusiast Charles Phoenix hosted the event. Charles is well-known for his custom themed suits, and for this occasion he wore a Knott’s Berry Farm suit, adorned with hand air brushed Boysenberries!




Below is Charles with Knott’s General Manager Raffi Kaprelyan, welcoming guests to ride the new Boardwalk rides.




To officially open the Boardwalk Pier, Buena Park City Manager Jim Vanderpool cut a giant piece of Boysenberry taffy! He was assisted by several of the walk-around characters who were present that day.




Here is Charles showing off the airbrushed artwork on his Boysenberry suit!




And, of course, Charles with Snoopy!




If you have never heard of Charles Phoenix, or if you are interested in seeing any of his upcoming slideshows, please visit his Web site by clicking HERE

The new Boardwalk Pier area looks amazing at night!

Surfside Gliders and Pacific Scrambler are equipped with LED lighting kits that are very similar to the lighting on Windseeker. I have been enjoying quite a few evenings this month taking long-shutter photos of both of these rides!




Here is a closeup shot of the lights on Surfside Gliders after dark:




Here is another long-shutter photo of Surfside Gliders, with Coast Rider in the background:




Here is the Pacific Scrambler after dark:





I hope that you all have a wonderful summer!
~Dana

The Old Mill Stream Gets a New Waterwheel!

The Old Mill Stream vignette is located behind the Berry Market on Grand Avenue, just past the glass doors and to the left. In late April, the waterwheel was replaced!

The Old Mill Stream is one of the earliest spectacles that Walter had built for guests to enjoy while waiting for their name to be called at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant. It was completed either in 1938 or 1939. The display includes a millstone and a waterwheel. Originally the display also featured a sign that encouraged guest to sing “Down by the Old Mill Stream” which was a popular song written by Tell Taylor in 1908.

Below is the Old Mill Stream photo from the “Real Photo Postcard” series, circa 1940:


The caption in the postcard reads, “'DOWN BY THE OLD MILL STREAM' - A LOVELY SPOT IN THE GARDENS AT KNOTT’S BERRY PLACE – BUENA PARK, CALIF."


Here is another old photo that I found:


I took the photo below in October of 2002. The waterwheel was turning when I took this photo, and this was the last time that I recall seeing it turn:



To the left of the Old Mill Stream vignette is the George Washington fireplace display. Both displays were nicely refurbished in 2010. The sign in the photo below was added to the millstone during the 2010 refurbishment.


The sign reads, “This old millstone was used for 50 years in the first commercial mill in Los Angeles. It was run by water power like the little one in the corner. The mill was located north of Union Station on the Los Angeles River. The stone was made in England and brought here by boat around Cape Horn. My mother’s family settled in the San Gabriel Valley in 1868. They hauled grain to an old mill like this one in Puente to be ground into flour. – Walter Knott”

In late April, the waterwheel was replaced, and guests can once again enjoy watching it turn!

Here is a fast-shutter photo that I took on May 2nd, about a week after the new wheel was installed:



Here is a slow-shutter photo that I took on the same day. It shows the motion of the wheel turning:


Here is some video footage that I shot on May 2nd:



My personal gratitude to those who have restored this wonderful display! I am delighted that it is still there for us to enjoy!

Knott’s Berry Bloom After Dark

During Spring Break this year, Knott’s held their “Berry Bloom” event. Although the majority of the activities took place during the day, the décor throughout the park was beautifully illuminated every night!


At the Wilderness Dance Hall, there was a “Towering Topiary Tasting Garden”. Inside the Dance Hall was a wine tasting, and outside there were topiaries that were illuminated at night. Here is the cowboy boot topiary:




Here is the Snoopy topiary at night:




Several activities took place in Camp Snoopy during the day, and at night the area had a charm all to its own!

Knott’s switches from Pepsi to Coke

Earlier this month, Coca Cola replaced Pepsi Cola as the “official refreshment beverage” at Knott’s Berry Farm (and all of the Cedar Fair properties). Two different Pepsi logos that were located in the Boardwalk area have now been updated to Coke logos:


On January 4th, I photographed the neon illuminated exterior of Coasters Restaurant while it still featured the Pepsi Logo at the top. I returned on January 19th to find the logo now replaced with a Coca Cola logo:




I also photographed the neon sign that is next to Hollywood Hits Pizza (formerly the Hollywood Beanery).




On January 4th, the girl was holding a Pepsi bottle. When I returned on January 19th, the bottle was now a Coca Cola bottle:




It appeared as though the bottle on this sign originally featured a Coca Cola label that was later covered with a Pepsi logo. Now that Knott’s is serving Coke again, the Pepsi logo was removed to expose the original Cola Cola label, which has some surface wear. Does anyone have any further information about this sign? I read that Knott’s switched from Coke to Pepsi in 1992.


Just as long as Knott’s continues to serve that wonderful Boysenberry punch, it does not matter to me which soft drink that they serve in the park!