Analyzing Knott’s Berry Farm’s Newest Slogan

Knott’s Berry Farm has long sold itself as the America’s First Theme Park — and they have a point. The historic ghost town area opened up in 1940, a good 15 years before Walt Disney revolutionized the theme park industry forever. We could talk for days about how much Knott’s inspired Disneyland and vice versa (or about their obvious collusion in the early days), but Robert and others have already done a much better job of that than I could.

Design a Monster for Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood Contest

Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood has been one of my favorite parts of the theme park industry for several years, both because the event is phenomenal (it is, you should go. Please stop going to Knott’s Scary Farm) but also because the creative director, John Murdy, does a great job interacting with fans via social media. This contest is (another) great example of that.

The “One More Day” Theory and Busch Gardens Tampa

Photo by Roller Coaster Philosophy.

My wife and I are in the midst of planning an early-October trip to Orlando. This will be our third time in the sunshine state and we have yet to stray from Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. While Walt Disney World will still be our main focus, we have one open day for a park not at either of the main Orlando theme parks.

After some debate we decided on Busch Garden Tampa over SeaWorld Orlando for a variety of reasons. We feel Busch Gardens gives a little more bang for our buck, we’ve been to an (admittedly inferior) SeaWorld park in San Diego and the allure of Sheikra, what will be my first dive coaster, pushed us towards Busch Gardens.

Can Knott’s Berry Farm Recover From Five Bad Years?

To begin: I have no idea. I can only speak from my position based on my experiences and opinions which may or may not be shared by the general public. That being said…

Photo by Brent Schmidt

Good God has Knott’s Berry Farm been disappointing ever since Cedar Fair took over the park in 1997. I know, I know, the title only mentions five years when Cedar Fair has owned the Berry Place for over half of my freaking life time. That’s incredible. You’re old, probably. Sorry. That being said, the past five years is my primary exposure with bad Berry Place and is when everything seemed to come to a head in the concrete expansion company era.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Going Under the Knife

Photo by Loren Javier

In an announcement that surely has many Disneyland fans thinking, “It’s about damn time,” Disneyland has announced via their park blog that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will go down for a major refurbishment on Jan. 7 and will reopen in Fall 2013.

The most exciting part of this refurbishment is that the wildest ride in the wilderness will be getting new trains in addition to track being replaced. Cosmetic enhancements will also be made, most likely in the same vein as the new paint job the Matterhorn just received. The attraction is in bad need of repainting and if the trains are indeed new, and not just carbon copies of the current trains, there’s reason to be excited for this news.