Knott’s Berry Farm rekindled the memories of many long-time fans with an announcement of an upcoming centennial celebration in 2020 that will pay tribute to some of its most beloved retired rides and attractions.
The Buena Park theme park will celebrate 100 years of history with a summer-long Knott’s Family Reunion in 2020 that honors its founders and recalls some of its most popular former roller coasters, dark rides and classic attractions.
While you shouldn’t expect the return of any retired rides, Knott’s will commemorate many of the most popular attractions with limited-edition merchandise and photo opportunities throughout the park.
Additional details about Knott’s 100th Anniversary are expected to be revealed in November after the seasonal run of Halloween Haunt comes to an end.
So while we’re in a nostalgic mood, let’s take a retrospective look back at our 10 favorite former Knott’s rides and attractions from the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.
1) Corkscrew
The 1975 Corkscrew was the first modern inverting roller coaster. Riders went upside down twice as the train traveled through a double corkscrew looping element.
The ride was removed in 1989 and eventually relocated to Silverwood amusement park in Idaho.
The Arrow Dynamics coaster reached a top speed of 46 mph over a 1,250-foot-long track, according to Roller Coaster Database. The legendary ride maker built many of the early Disneyland attractions and went on to create an impressive collection of the world’s first and record-setting rides that defined the modern theme park landscape in the second half of the 20th century.
2) Knott’s Bear-y Tales
The Bear-y Tales dark ride was a one-of-a-kind attraction with a catchy theme song that could only be found at Knott’s.
Bear-y Tales was designed by former Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump, who worked on the Enchanted Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World at Disneyland.
The ride opened in 1975 as the marquee attraction in the newly re-themed Roaring ’20s section of the park.
The dark ride journey took riders through a frog forest, thunder cave, fortune teller camp and the Weird Woods. The trip followed the bear family of Raz, Boysen, Girlsen, Elder and Flapper as they traveled to the annual Country Fair to sell their pies. A berry smell filled the pie and preserve bakery scene.
3) Kingdom of the Dinosaurs
The Kingdom of the Dinosaurs dark ride replaced Knott’s Bear-y Tales in 1987.
The dinosaur-themed attraction used the same track, ride system and vehicles as Bear-y Tales.
A time machine transported riders back to the prehistoric era with scenes filled with animatronic dinosaurs, including a Brontosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.
The ride preceded a dinosaur craze that peaked with the 1993 release of the original “Jurassic Park” film.
Kingdom of the Dinosaurs closed in 2004 and the space sat unused for a decade. The Voyage to the Iron Reef 4D interactive dark ride now occupies the space.
4) Haunted Shack
The Haunted Shack walk-through attraction demonstrated distorted laws of physics and gravity to stunned visitors.
Chairs stuck to walls, water flowed uphill and brooms stood at odd angles in the middle of the room in a series of optical and perceptual illusions. Distorted rooms with ramped floors and tilted walls helped create the illusion of people changing heights right before your eyes.
Tours guides Slanty Sam and Shaky Sadie told stories of strange goings on inside the old shack.
The Haunted Shack was demolished in 2000.
5) Motorcycle Chase
The Arrow Dynamics steeplechase-style coaster featured riders racing on four side-by-side tracks.
The 1976 coaster with two chain lift hills featured an 1,800-foot-long undulating track that reached a peak height of 27 feet. The bikes hit a top speed of 40 mph.
A relatively high center of gravity led to rider safety concerns and the Motorcycle Chase coaster lasted only a few years.
6) Wacky Soap Box Racers
In 1980, Knott’s developed new, lower-profile ride vehicles for the Motorcycle Chase tracks and the Wacky Soap Box Racers were born.
The soap box derby-style cars raced past animatronic characters, advertising billboards and themed facades. Racers passed through a cat-themed town and a fireworks factory as they “crashed” through a series of breakthrough walls.
The overall speed of the Soap Box Racers was reduced to 30 mph.
“The Wacky Soap Box Racers opened to huge crowds and became one of the park’s most loved attractions and now one of the most missed ones too,” wrote Ultimate Roller Coaster.
7) Windjammer Surf Racers
In 1997, Knott’s removed the Soap Box Racers and built the new Windjammer Surf Racer dual-track looping roller coaster at the location.
The rare ride was the only looping wild mouse-style coaster by Japan-based Togo built in the United States, according to RCDB.
The twin red and yellow tracks reached a height of 69 feet over an 1,800-foot-long track. Windjammer’s top speed: 40 mph.
The short-lived ride was fraught with problems. Frequent mechanical issues led to expensive repairs and an eventual lawsuit by Knott’s against the ride maker, according to RCDB. A clothing company forced Knott’s to change the name of the ride to simply Jammer. The star-crossed coaster was demolished in 2001.
8) Parachute Sky Jump
Knott’s opened the Parachute Sky Jump free-fall drop ride in 1976 atop the existing Sky Cabin observation tower attraction.
The dual attraction combined the Intamin Gyro 1200 (Sky Cabin) and the Intamin Parachute 1200 (Sky Jump) on a single tower.
After ascending to the top of the tower, Sky Jump riders dropped toward the ground beneath parachutes that slowed the descent. The parachutes went up and down at different heights and speeds. The stand-up seats on the Sky Jump made the Knott’s ride distinctive from other similar attractions.
Knott’s removed the Parachute Sky Jump in 1999 while continuing to operate the Sky Cabin rotating observation tower attraction.
9) Jungle Island and Knott’s Lagoon
Jungle Island opened in 1964 on the east side of Beach Boulevard near where the Knott’s replica of Independence Hall still stands today.
Jungle Island was a dense jungle-like play area for kids with hand-carved “wood-imals” scattered throughout the grounds. The folk art wood-imals were made from twisted tree branches and gnarled tree stumps.
The nearby Knott’s Lagoon featured an artificial lake with row boats, paddle boats and the Cordelia K sidewheel riverboat, named for the wife of theme park founder Walter Knott.
A South Seas Island boat ride that traveled through caves under an active volcano was envisioned for the area but was never realized.
Starting in the mid-1980s, Knott’s Lagoon and Jungle Island were turned into corporate picnic areas and parking lots.
10) Tijuana Taxi
Tijuana Taxi was the last and most colorful name of the antique car ride at Knott’s. The attraction opened in 1958 as Merry Go Round Auto Ride and was later renamed Antique Auto Ride.
There were two steering wheels in each car, so kids didn’t have to fight over who got to steer. The cars followed an electric center-rail track.
Drivers rode in three-fifths scale two-passenger roadsters inspired by the 1906 Maxwell Gentleman’s Speedster and the 1910 Ford Model T Runabout. The serpentine route took riders through tunnels, across bridges and over hills.
The Arrow Dynamics ride featured a landscaped route created by Bud Hurlbut, who designed the 1960 Calico Mine Ride and 1969 Timber Mountain Log Ride at Knott’s.
The antique car ride was demolished in 1976 as part of the Knott’s Fiesta Village expansion.
The retired Knott’s attraction can now be found at Castle Park in Riverside as the Antique Car Ride.
Which former Knott’s rides and attractions do you miss the most? Tell us in the comments section below.
