Knott's Berry Farm Update: Calico River Rapids

Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA

Happy Monday, folks! We have a bit of a break from our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge coverage (don’t worry, there will be a lot more) to zoom over to Disneyland’s neighboring theme park down in Buena Park. Today is a bit of a catch-up post, because we’re going to be taking a look at the reborn Calico River Rapids over at Knott’s Berry Farm. The ride recently reopened a few weeks ago after a thorough refurbishment, but literally all of us were not free that weekend to cover the media event. As such, we’re belatedly walking through this charming expansion of Ghost Town for you now.

Longtime Knott’s aficionados will recall that this used to be known as Bigfoot Rapids and was located in an area of the park called Wild Water Wilderness. Over the years, the land faded away, loosely becoming a part of Ghost Town, but the attraction remained the same. All of that changed last year when it went down for an extended refurbishment that would see the new name, theme, and storyline. Made in conjunction with animatronic specialists, Garner Holt, Calico River Rapids is the third of Knott’s recent refreshment of classic attractions, following the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mine Ride. In each case, Garner Holt has come in and installed new animatronics and helped spruce up the attraction, restoring it to its former charm using modern day advancements to smooth animations and increase character sophistication.

Although most of the animatronics for Calico River Rapids aren’t quite as complex as in the Mine Ride and Log Ride, the results for Calico River Rapids have nonetheless been lovely. Calico River Rapids establishes an origin story for Ghost Town, setting the attraction timeline to prior to the town’s founding. Touching upon the early pioneers of the area who would eventually settle and consolidate to found Ghost Town’s alter ego—the sleepy town of Calico—this attraction features a more rustic and less developed ambiance, while retaining a few touches to the ride’s former identity.

Follow along in today’s photo essay, which guides through the redone attraction. We think you’ll agree, the ride is another transformative hit for Knott’s!

Welcome to Calico River Rapids! An outpost at the edge of Ghost Town’s city limits.

Did I say edge? Oh, I guess Knott’s can’t escape the idea of a perimeter settlement too. And this one also goes back a long, long time ago, setting it chronologically before Ghost Town proper as well!

The queue retains some callbacks to this attraction’s previous life. Big foot prints can be found partway through.

The park has added a redone bridge and some encampment theming as well.

These are nice, charming details that add to the ambiance.

.

.

The hand-construction details are pretty nice.

The queue winds its way over to the loading. This is looking back at the lift hill at the end of the ride.

The rapids ride still utilizes the turntable to load.

Heading toward the loading dock offers a nice view of Ghostrider.

The ride operator tower has been redone to look like a fort tower.

These little hanging lamps are great touches.

After climbing aboard the rafts, we’re on our way!

The theming has been enhanced and follows a much more cohesive Old West settlement motif.

Guests pass by signs of the outpost, like a cart and an outhouse.

New audio-animatronics have been added along the course as well.

This wolf howls as rafts spin by.

Howling away!

it adds a quaint charm to the environment.

.

The afternoon golden hour light doesn’t hurt either!

Rafts also swing by this little waterfront log cabin.

The little details are really cute!

A few raccoons and explosives foreshadow what’s to come later on.

This bear plays a bit of hide-and-seek with some gophers.

The animatronics are mostly lo-tech but still charming.

The glimpses and framing elements of the ride really give it a great sense of belonging.

As this girl finds out, you still get wet on the Calico River Rapids!

This water tower and aqueduct is one of many architectural theming elements on the ride.

I’m surprised they didn’t build in a bit of a “leak” for an added water feature here, but maybe that relates to long term maintenance.

The park has changed since this ride originally opened.

Having Pony Express zoom by from time to time adds a different vibe!

But the scenes are still very pretty!

.

.

Another turnaround brings another cabin—this one a little more developed.

Looks like a fox has gotten into a coop.

The finished product really turned out great.

There are all sorts of little details abound!

And again, that afternoon sunlight really enhances the warm ambiance that makes this ride really pop.

.

.

Onward, we go…

Looks like more wildlife ahead!

This grizzly has caught a salmon.

He shakes his head back and forth.

The animatronics are very much fiberglass instead of actually furry, but that makes sense given the wear and tear of a water attraction.

Noms.

A wildcat lurks further down.

He seems ready to pounce!

Fans of Bigfoot Rapids may remember that this used to be a waterfall that guaranteed drenching.

But not any longer.

Along the outside of the ride, there are occasional signs referencing a pair of early explorers and pre-Ghost Town settlers.

And now we come upon the final turnaround.

Here is where the most amount of soaking occurs.

Some dynamite forms the basis for water blasts that can dowse an unlucky rider.

.

.

Guests along the outside control the blasts, and the experience is free to play. But beware—sometimes, the system backfires, and the bystanders are the ones who are sprayed!

The ride goes through a final tunnel, where a close encounter with Bigfoot occurs. I didn’t take my camera on the water ride for obvious don’t-want-to-get-it-wet reasons, so no photos of that animatronic, though it’s best described as the Matterhorn’s “Harold 1.5” in terms of sophistication.

After making it through, guests can come out to a lovely floral scene adjacent to Mystery Lodge.

If you liked what you saw, then make your way over to the Farm this summer to experience in person! Along with the return of Ghost Town Alive! and the debut of Summer Nights at Knott’s (more on that later this week), there’s plenty of fun to be had at the Berry Farm the next few months. Knott’s continues to add nice little improvements that enhance its smaller scale attractions and entertainment, and Calico River Rapids is no exception!