Knott’s Berry Farm

Having decided to spend the entire day here, we arrived at the park at 10am. This was helped by the fact that we were staying less than 200m away. Yes, that is metres/meters.

If you are expecting a day of picking berries, you will be sorely disappointed as this is a theme park. It is close to Disneyland, but in our opinion the rides are suitable for a wider age range and also for people who love bigger adrenalin rushes. Knott’s Berry Farm is also less expensive than Disneyland.

Buying tickets

Standard tickets for those aged between 12 and 61 is $62.99 and for Juniors and Seniors outside those ages, $32.99.

Buying in advance online brings this down to $42.99 and $29.99 respectively. For two adults and 3 kids under 12 with parking at $15, this would mean a total of $190.95.

Compared to buying tickets at the entrance at a total of $239.95. So buy simply buying online in advance, you save $49!

If you buy more than 3 days in advance, this is even lower at $36.99, saving another $6 per adult. From time to time they also release promo codes, so check out other sites to see if any are available.

Phew, that’s enough maths for a minute.

Tip 39 – Buy your tickets for Knott’s Berry Farm online in advance.

On a Monday, it is much less busy than the weekend, so I am not sure if a Fast Lane pass is really necessary. We got on every ride within less than half an hour of queueing. Check online forums to see what other people are saying at the time of year you are visiting.

Fast lane passes cost between $35 and $50 per person and they also have a Fright Lane which is $65. You need to be a committed adrenaline junkie to buy these or single.

As it stands, the online booking system also supports Passbook on the Apple iPhone, so it may not even be necessary to print the tickets. Using this approach also enables you to bypass the main queue and go straight to the entrance where they scan your tickets.

Tip 40 – Not every motel and hotel has a printer, so check in advance if you are booking places on the move. Or buy an iPhone.

When you first enter the park there are not just amusements and rides but also some really quaint buildings. They even have a school room, a museum and a smithy.

I promised the kids I would take a picture of the hand shadow shapes so they can try them at home!

There is also a Knott’s Berry Farm app which is useful for working out which rides you want to go on.

One good we noticed on the way into the park is that there is a TGI Friday’s just outside the main entrance. The food in the park is the usual mix of expensive fast food, huge drinks and long queues. The service was slower than the High Sierra Ferris Wheel. We weren’t sure if we could get back into the park, so we went to find out.

The answer is yes. They stamp your hand with a coloured logo and then you show this to get back in. For under $60 we managed to get a great meal for all five of us in TGI’s and this prepared us for the rest of the day.

Tip 41 – You can leave the park and get back in if you fancy a break or eating non-fast food.

Once back in the park, we began round two. Much to the amusement of almost everyone, I got drenched on the Bigfoot Rapids. I mean REALLY drenched. In fact, although it was lovely and sunny, it took about 2-3 hours for my shorts to dry out. Save that one for earlier of later in the day.

There are various shows at different points throughout the day.

These are the ones that we saw including:-

• Hooray for Hollywood – This is great for kids, which says it all really.
• Calico Saloon Show – This was quite short but worth a detour with Can-Can dancers and a bit of participative singing.
• Fool’s Gold Stunt Show – This was the best we saw and well worth watching.
• Mini-shows and gunfights – these just happen every so often.

We also missed a few, either because we didn’t have time or because they are only on certain days – if anyone else can add a review of these at the bottom – feel free:-

• Snoopy Unleashed Ice Show
• Marshall Purdy
• Mystery Lodge
• Ghost Town Miners
• Deputy 101
• Native American Dancing
• Britain’s Finest
• The Kelly Rae Band
• Big Fat Steve Band – sounds interesting!

The shows are not full blown affairs but quite welcome distractions from the rides.

There are LOTS of great rides at Knott’s Berry Farm, so I would suggest looking on their website or app for more information. If you want spoilers, there are also full HD videos of their rides on Youtube. Even better, just go and see for yourself!

Here are some snapshots of what you are missing if you haven’t been.

We left Knott’s Berry Farm quite late in the evening so we were grateful for having booked the next hotel in Canoga Park as this was less than an hour away, which is tiny in comparison to most of the journeys so far.