Wednesday, October 16, 2013

knott's berry farm

swings chicken dinner restaurant chicken dinner restaurant knott's berry farm knotts berry farm minerals and fossils in the glass shop knotts berry farm candy store

We had a holiday on Monday, and since it is so very unusual for our district to take an October holiday of any sort (it was actually a furlough day for us and a teacher work day for the boys' district), I was feeling in a festive mood and wanted to really make something of it.  We decided on an overnight trip to Knott's Berry Farm!  We drove up Sunday, spent the night in the Knott's Berry Farm hotel (and played in the pool there) and went to the amusement park on Monday, where we suspected it would be uncrowded.  It really was uncrowded!  We practically had the place to ourselves and there were very few lines. 

I'm not a huge amusement park person, but I love seeing the boys' wonder at them.  And Knott's Berry Farm has a certain appeal to me, with its history.  It started as an actual berry stand and  a chicken dinner restaurant.  The restaurant was so popular that Mr. Knott started adding attractions the amuse the diners lining up for their chicken dinners.  Eventually more and more attractions were added and it changed into an amusement park (but they totally still run the restaurant and people still line up for the chicken dinners, ourselves included).

Knott's has an old feel to it.  I think the central part of the park, with its old West theme and old buildings, is largely unchanged over the decades.  They still have a blacksmith there and a glass blower and an old schoolhouse with a "school teacher" who will tell you about the history of the park.  I was disappointed to learn that the park is no longer owned by the Knott's family, but a big conglomerate now.  Oh well! 

The boys loved the whole experience.  I was weirdly fascinated by the crazy modern roller coasters and kept staring in wonderment.  I would NEVER go on one, though.  The log ride is as daring as I get (it has a big drop at the end!), and those swings in the top photo.

I'm still meaning to post about our Disneyland trip too, which was this summer and was very different.  Do you go to amusement parks?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.


8 comments:

Denise said...

glad you had fun! I'm not a huge fan but I am thinking this park may be more to my liking too.

Madame Melville said...

Love all the photos!! This sounds like my kind of place. Since I live in Nova Scotia, we don't really have amusement parks (; just a tiny little one. We did take our kids to Disney World when they were 4 and 5. It was ok, but they have had much more fun on other family vacations. We only did the one day at Disney World. That was fun for the day but I could not do the full week of theme parks like many people do.

Katie Parker said...

I'm not a fan of rides but ones that little "villages" and themed festivals are a favorite for our family. This one is our favorite! http://www.saudervillage.com/home/default.asp

Rain said...

Growing up in CA., I loved Knotts Berry Farm as a kid.
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

Tava said...

Oh man, I LOVE Disneyland. I don't have the same affinity for other park, although I have never been to Knotts Berry. Looks like you and the kids had fun!
What is so funny is that those swings terrify me but I would go on many other rides in a heartbeat. I just don't like dangling high up in the air and spinning. I'm interested to see how Disneyland was for you. The summer is so crowded there. I am going next week for Halloween. It's a every other year thing because we live in Washington.

Penelope said...

Hello, so nice to see you had a great time. I am planning on taking my boys to Knott's Berry Farm next month. Where you pleased with the hotel? yelp did not help me much. I value your opinion. Thank you.

Andrea said...

Looks fun! My kids have never been to an amusement park! (Am I a negligent parent??). They go on rides at the fair, and there's an amusement park in New Hampshire I keep meaning to take them to, but never seem to get around to it. I loved amusement parks as a kid (we went once a year), but I have no desire to go to one now--the crowds, the lines, the smells. Yuck.

Mary Beth said...

Penelope--the hotel was just fine. It was not as elegant as Disneyland, but that was expected--Knott's is much cheaper. Our package included a buffet breKfast at the restaurant and that was good too. It was so nice being there on an uncrowned day.