Welcome back to the Farm! As we begin March, we’re going to take a look back at the Peanuts Celebration as it comes to a close on the 10th. We’ve also got an update on the Calico River Rapids construction and some of the ongoing refurbishments around the park.
Calico River Rapids
Bigfoot Rapids is set to complete it’s re-imagining into Calico River Rapids this summer. Though, there isn’t much of the construction we can see so far.
There are signs that something is happening, though.
When I visited, there wasn’t much to see, just a drained flume.
There were some landscaping flags…
Brian went back a few days later and noticed that landscaping has begun and some trees are ready to get planted.
This area should be the site of TNT explosions meant to soak riders.
I tried to see if the Sky Cabin had any views of the construction. The area is pretty thick in terms of foliage, but it doesn’t look like anything major is getting ripped up from what I can see.
Peanuts Celebration
Peanuts Celebration is coming to a close, but there’s still one more weekend left to join in the fun with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang. If you want the full scoop, read our Peanuts Celebration review HERE.
We stopped by to see some of our favorites from the celebration:
Space Beagle
This all-ages show is hilarious and well written, even on repeat showings. So many of the gags are just wonderfully silly.
Watch out for the alien Woodstocks that pop up all around the stage and theater area! They’re adorable, they could even be offered as merchandise.
Woodstock’s Music Festival
This show also oozes (pun intend) quality. Jelly of the Month Club puts on a fantastic show full of silly music, clever gags, and hysterical Snoopy parody.
If you want an idea of how funny this show is, Knott’s has been using clips from the pre-show video on their social media lately:
https://twitter.com/knotts/status/1101560834885648385
Around the Celebration
We’ll miss the small-but effective decorations around the park. They’re adorable and add just enough without taking over the whole place.
Over at the Sky Cabin, they put up a sign for the Woodstock’s Birds Eye View overlay.
While this sign will likely go away when the Peanuts Celebration ends, what we hope doesn’t leave is the narration. Franklin’s narration, along with the nice music when you reach the top, is a welcome change from the quiet that used to accompany the ride. As an update to what we noted in our initial article on Peanuts Celebration, Knott’s indeed fixed the audio volume levels, the narration is loud and clear now.
Spike’s silent disco still remains popular. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect that, but I’m pleasantly surprised.
Refurbishments
Timber Mountain Log Ride
Knott’s Log ride has returned from refurbishment with significant lighting upgrades inside.
Grand Sierra Railroad
The railroad is currently undergoing refurbishment, but it returned on Sunday.
The Galloping Goose was moved out near Silver Bullet during the refurbishment.
It looks like they were doing a little bit of work on the track, which explains the decent length of the refurbishment (it started on February 11th).
Here is the current Refurbishment list:
- Bigfoot Rapids: Returning as Calico River Rapids in Summer 2019
- Timber Mountain Log Ride: 1/7 – 3/3
- GhostRider: 3/4 – 3/8
- Calico Railroad: 2/11 – 3/2
- Woodstock’s Airmail: 2/19 – 2/23
- La Revolucion: 2/25 – 3/1
- Jaguar!: 2/25 – 3/8
- Balloon Race: 3/4 – 3/8
- Flying Ace: 3/11 – 3/15
- Pony Express: 3/11 – 3/22
- Waveswinger: 3/18 – 3/22
- Linus Launcher: 3/25 – 3/29
- Xcelerator: 3/25 – 4/5
Around the Farm
Around Camp Snoopy, new banners of the Peanut’s Gang decorate the land. These are cute and feel like something straight out of the ’90s. #Knottsnostalgia
On the Boardwalk at Soccer Challenge, Knott’s has once again swapped the goalie for Snoopy. But new this year is Charlie Brown as the kicker.
Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies move around the park throughout the year depending on venue priorities. Currently, they’re playing in the Wagon Camp during the evening. It’s actually a great spot for them. Because of the seasonal circumstances (they usually play in the Bird Cage Theater), Knott’s doesn’t have a sign out front for them, just the one for the stunt show.
The show is wonderful, I hadn’t been able to actually see them since they left Disneyland. I was surprised to see that they play a full thirty-minute show. Their rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (pitchfork violin bow and all) was incredible to watch. Disney might not let them play nowadays, so I’m glad they’re at Knott’s where they have much greater freedom.
For a more authentic feel, Knott’s had a surfing company actually build the surfboards that are on display at Hang Time.
They created a video with the owner, talking about how the smooth inversions on the coaster are similar to carving waves.
Outside the park, the Emporium has returned from a refurbishment.
The new wood floors are nice, it gives the space a much cleaner look.
Near the entrance, though, there’s a whole host of control boxes that seem a little out of place. Perhaps there’s a good way for them to hide these.
This shop always has interesting merchandise, I’m glad to see that Knott’s has been looking to improve the space.
Did you have a chance to experience the Peanuts Celebration? Are you excited for Calico River Rapids? We’ll be back with Boysenberry Festival news next week.
