Knotts is celebrating spring this year with an all new event, Knott’s Berry Bloom, which includes a mini food and wine festival. The park is impressively awash in large swaths of color, blossoms, and foliage that really liven things up.
KNOTT’S BERRY BLOOM
Overall the decorations are a lovely touch. Some of them even on par with Disneyland.
PEANUTS PARTY IN THE PARK
Another refreshing surprise is Knott’s new show, Peanuts Party in the Park. The song and dance show is performed in the round, outside in Charleston Circle. A group of high-energy performers dance and sing along with Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy to a non-stop barrage of pop music while engaging the crowd to get involved. This is a REALLY good show folks. In fact, we would go so far as to say that this is one of the best shows to come out of Knott’s entertainment department in years.
What makes it so good? Let’s start with the performers. Each one of the singers/dancers engages the crowd. They actively try to involve viewers with smiles, eye contact and direct interaction. There isn’t a single minute in the entire show where any of them is standing still. These folks give it their all and it comes across as infectious.
Another thing that works is the music. They have selected music that is fun, upbeat, and danceable. While the songs fall short of being memorable, they work because they exude fun and promote a toe tapping good time.
TOWERING TOPIARY TASTING GARDEN
Another new seasonal offering is the wonderful, but poorly named, Towering Topiary Tasting Garden. Also known as Knott’s version of a Food and Wine Festival, the tasting area is staged indoors at the Wilderness Dance Hall, near Pony Express and Bigfoot Rapids.
Inside the dance hall guests can purchase a tasting card for $15 and enjoy 6 tastings for that price (amazing deal). Along with each wine, a small hors d’oeuvre is offered. Outside is the namesake of the event area, where several large topiary are on display.
If you were a fan of the Disneyland Food and Wine Festival, you need to get a season pass and get over here right away. For the very small price, guests are offered very healthy pours of some remarkable wines and beers. All of the offerings, both alcoholic and otherwise, were hand picked by the park food and beverage manager, Russ Knibbs. This man knows food, and even better, he knows good, approachable wine. There is none of the pretentious feel of other wine tastings here as you are encouraged to explore and enjoy.
Knott’s does a spectacular job with their first foray into the food and beverage event arena. But, as with any first attempt, there are just a few minor adjustments that could make the event better. Next year, instead of using the Wilderness Dance Hall for tastings, they might do well to use the hall for lectures from prominent wine makers, perhaps even food demonstrations and winemaker dinners. The wine tastings should be moved outside in the sun, under the trees, amidst the beauty of Ghost Town and the White Water WIlderness areas. We’d recommend that Knott’s set up decorative tents with signage promoting the event. Get the product in front of the maximum number of people and create a festive atmosphere at the same time.
Overall, Knott’s did a great job with their first tasting event. We had a wonderful time, REALLY enjoyed the wine and found the staff to be super friendly and fun to spend time with. Let’s get the word out and support this event. Our hope is that a bit of success this year will lead to a much larger event next year.
COAST RIDER
Knott’s recently announced the completion of track installation on their newest family style coaster, Coast Rider. The Mac ‘n Cheese yellow track and white supports have left some scratching their heads. But, really, it looks fine. But the attraction isn’t complete yet, so there’s now telling what the final result will look like with landscaping, etc.
PACIFIC SCRAMBLER and SURFSIDE GLIDER
TIMBER MOUNTAIN LOG RIDE
The multi-million dollar refurbishment of the Timber Mountain Log Ride is coming along rather nicely. As we can see throughout these pictures, the entire mountain is getting a repainting!
Can’t wait to see this ride back in action when it reopens on May 25th.
MYSTERY LODGE
The Mystery Lodge has returned after the repaving project out front and the surrounding area is looking great.
BIGFOOT RAPIDS
The wonderful Bigfoot Rapids has reopened after an annual refurbishment. The ride looks wonderful too as does the vegetation that is growing in.
THE DETAILS
It needs to be noted that, with the recent park-wide improvements, the details have been given attention. Most notably the flowers and landscaping have really improved. Case in point, the flowerbed under Boomerang. Two weeks ago there was a fresh-looking arrangement of pansies and other annuals here. Then, suddenly, an explosion of petunias was planted.
This is just a really nice thing to see. Please folks, let management know what a good job they are doing. Let’s keep this ball rolling.
That wraps up our coverage of Knott’s Berry Farm for this week. If you do have the chance, go grab a season pass and check out what they have going on for Spring. You will be glad that you did.