Knott’s Berry Farm has a fun history: It was started by the Knotts family because their restaurant that served chicken, potatoes, and their famous boysenberry pie would always have a long wait line, and they wanted to keep their customers happy while waiting in line so developed things for them to do as they waited. As the family liked the history of the area (the Gold Rush) they decided to base their entertainments around that time period, and made their first activity panning for gold.
The theme park has grown from that humble beginning to being in the top ten most popular theme parks in California – given the competition that’s no small accomplishment! It’s only 10-15 minutes away from Disneyland, so many people who come down to have fun in the land of the mouse usually end up taking at least a day to explore Knott’s Berry Farm also.
Today there are 150+ rides at Knott’s Berry, including “Ghostrider”, the tallest and longest wooden roller coaster in the west. The other rides include “Xcelerator”, “Timberline Twister”, and “Log Ride”. With its roots firmly planted in the “Old West” many of the attractions and rides are based on that theme. There are “shoot outs” in the streets, the rides are usually themed around logging, and there is also quite a bit of influence from the Spanish missions that were at one time prevalent in the area.
Despite it’s popularity as a tourist attraction, Knott’s Berry Farm hasn’t forgotten its original roots however; it still serves crispy chicken and that famous boysenberry pie, along with selling jars of jam and jellies in the stores on the property. Keeping to it’s roots hasn’t held back development in the park. It has grown tremendously since those early gold panning days – so much so that there are now two theme parks; the original park now has a sister park across the street called Soak City—both are owned and operated by the same company. Not bad for a small berry-growing family who just wanted to entertain their customers!
So if you’re looking for a day of adventure, learning, fun, and great food, Knott’s Berry Farm is just the ticket!