Knott's Taste of Merry Farm 2020: Park Ambiance
Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA
T’was the day before Thanksgiving, and all through the site, a second Christmas update was being readied, ignoring Turkey Day again that’s right!
Following up on our Taste of Merry Farm overview, we’re diving in to take a closer look at the park’s holiday ambiance. Today’s post is primarily an excuse for eye candy—never has Knott’s looked as festive and beautiful as it has this year, but the extra effort the park has put in for its latest food festival event is much appreciated, given the challenges that everyone has faced this year. It’s nice to have some semblance of normalcy for the holiday season.
This isn’t Knott’s Merry Farm, technically speaking, since the rides and the formal theatrical shows are still missing. But the Taste of Merry Farm is close, similar to how the Taste of Fall-O-Ween brought on elements of Knott’s Scary Farm for fans to enjoy. But the Taste of Merry Farm is even more bountiful in offerings than its predecessor, and I would say that from an atmospheric and Christmas spirit perspective, it actually is a fitting substitute for Knott’s normal, beloved Merry Farm overlay.
But don’t just take us on our word. Check out the follow plethora of photos—along with a few details and highlights of fun details and neat decor that we noticed—and judge for yourself!
Ghost Town
We start off with the classic… the original… the heart of Knott’s Berry Farm… the little town of Calico. Much like Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A., Ghost Town is the essence of the park—the place that many flock to first, and the area of the park with the greatest history and nostalgia. And during this time of the year, it offers the most traditionally old-fashioned rendition of Christmas in the park.
All throughout Ghost Town, festive red ribbons, richly green wreaths and holly, warm white string lights, and vibrant poinsettias abound. Stretched across the old western facades, they harken to the Christmas of a long bygone era. The decor in Ghost Town hasn’t changed too much over the years, but it hasn’t needed to. It’s familiar and comfortable and romantic—a storybook holiday setting.
Speaking of storybook, this year, Ghost Town has taken a bit of A Christmas Carol feel, with Scrooge and Marley having moved into Town Hall and several characters from the classic tale discoverable to guests who happen upon the right place at the right moment. Beyond the narrative adventure, the Christmas Craft Fair also returns to Ghost Town, bringing with it a dozen-plus local vendors and small business retailers selling all sorts of mementos, from novelties to artwork to clothing to jewelry to eclectic and kitschy gifts and more.
Keep a weather eye out, and guests will spot little easter eggs as well. They’re not as plentiful as the Taste of Fall-O-Ween, but there’s a Ghost Town Alive! nod in the form of a posted latest edition of the Calico Gazette (and tied in with a fun detail over at the Schoolhouse), holiday scenes tucked within some of the peek-in’s and facades, and some surprises over at the Boothill Cemetery. Of course, stick around after sundown, when Ghost Town sparkles with Christmas atmosphere!
Undoubtedly, Ghost Town is the coziest and most sentimental part of Knott’s Taste of Merry Farm. The ambiance is remarkably beautiful and lovely, and the holiday spirit really feels enveloping and wholesome. By day or by night, it’s a wonderful sight, and the activity does make it feel like a bustling, nostalgic holiday—though conversely, that does translate to occasional less-than-comfortable clumpings of crowds that aren’t as welcome while we’re still in this Coronavirus pandemic. Still, the sights will help transport guests away from the present day… at least for a little while.
Fiesta Village
As the smallest of Knott’s themed lands, Fiesta Village doesn’t have the biggest chance to shine its Christmas light, but it makes do with what it has, decorating itself in festive and colorful Christmas decor that seems to convey a festive and energetic Latin flair to the holiday ambiance. Here, ornaments of red and yellow and green line the arches of the Spanish-style buildings and form part of the wrappings around light poles and signage. Several Christmas trees are adorned in similarly saturated ornaments and decorations. Over by the Cantina, overhead string lights impart a cheerful infusion of color around this courtyard space, which looks especially pretty at night. And similar to the past two “Taste Of…” events, there are even a few boutique stands over by La Revolución to offer small scale shopping on this end of the park.
I do think that Fiesta Village could use an expansion of the theming it already has—perhaps more overhead string lights to stretch the ambiance and a nativity scene to reflect a traditionally religious culture (Knott’s has never shied away from expressions of religion; Knott’s Merry Farm has featured a classic nativity scene in Ghost Town with accompanying words of scripture in the past). Perhaps next year.
(Edit: There is a nativity scene on the Silver Bullet entrance side of Fiesta Village. Missed that!)
Camp Snoopy
On the subject of improvements, in last year’s Merry Farm update, I noted that while Camp Snoopy offered “an understated and woodsy Christmas feel,” it could certainly benefit from “a little more extravagance with lighting would help spruce things up further (pun intended), similar to the lighting along Grand Avenue outside.” Well, it’s almost certain to be total coincidence, but I’m still going to claim credit for this year’s explosion of holiday ambiance in the Peanuts area of the park, because this year, it has transformed into a very overt and richly decorated iteration of Christmas.
Perhaps the most obvious and playful feature that guests from Knott’s Taste of Fall-O-Ween will immediately notice are the Camp Snoopy attractions. Though still closed, they have been set up to show static on-ride scenes, similar the case during September and October. But instead of skeletons named Kevin, they’re gnomes named Kelfin. But they still are partaking enjoyment from the various rides throughout Camp Snoopy, from the ferris wheel to Linus Launcher to the Rocky Mountain Trucking Co. and more.
There are also rustic wreaths, curious and bombastic penguins, a plethora of oversized presents (all to Kevins—the park clearly has an obsession), and plenty of lights wrapped around trees, strung across the rides, and lining building eaves. Guests walking toward the entrance of the park can even catch a sight of Santa taking off from a rooftop with his reindeer.
Whatever you do, though, make sure to stop by or return to Camp Snoopy at night. There has been a world of improvement this year, with the entire land transformed into a glowing, twinkling, highly colorful Christmas wonderland. Hanging luminaires, glowing polar bears, holiday lights wrapped around all sorts of vegetation… they all come together in a thoroughly spectacular scene that is sure to impart wonder and joy. It’s really almost magical to see how fantastic everything looks!
The Boardwalk
Finally, we have Christmas at The Boardwalk, which takes on much of the casual, beachside elegance that the Boardwalk has featured in previous years. Aside from a few cute Taste of Merry Farm photo op sets, The Boardwalk returns pretty identical to last year. Given that the Christmas enhancements were just upgraded here a couple of years ago, it makes sense that there isn’t too much new pizzazz here this season (especially since the budget seems to have gone heavily toward Camp Snoopy). But the Christmas theming is still pretty charming, and it provides a more relaxed iteration of the holidays.
The most photogenic portion is probably still the series of Christmas trees positioned on the water around the Boardwalk Pier. The overhead lights that are installed year-round provide bonus Christmas lighting at night, and kitschy oversized light bulbs and highlighter-hued tinseled Christmas trees reinforce the mid-century aesthetic of the 1950s. Also something that I don’t recall from past years, the carnival games have been re-decorated to contain more winter and holiday scenes. This is an adorable surprise that just speaks to the little improvements that Knott’s adds into everything they do.
On the same vein, the Taste of Merry Farm finally opens up the area in front of the new Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair attraction that was supposed to open up this year for Knott’s 100th anniversary and allows guests to walk from there, by the remodeled Charles Schulz Theater (now sporting a distinctively art deco vibe) and to the train tracks the transition into the Calico Rapids and Pony Express area of Ghost Town (formerly Wildwater Wilderness). This was the final part of the park that had been closed, owing to the renovations that were done earlier this year to the theater. One of the best additions (unless it’s always been there, and I’ve just never noticed—update: it has always been there) is a somewhat non-descript door to “The Blind Tiger,” which appears to be the entrance to an inaccessible speakeasy. Ring the doorbell to cycle through a series of pre-recorded reactions that seem to interrupt the interior shenannigans perfectly. It’s a hysterically entertaining series, and a great little addition (or feature) that most will probably walk by without noticing!
The Boardwalk also feels magical at night too, with all the holiday illumination (especially at the gorgeous winter fountain at Charleston Circle. HangTime has also been outfitted with regular light show sequences programmed to several Christmas songs. It’s not as energetic as the Scary Farm light shows, but they’re still fun moments to just take in and enjoy.
As you can see from this flood of photos, Knott’s is looking absolutely amazing this year. The improved and enhanced ambiance over even previous full Merry Farm productions is part of justification for the increased Tasting Card and admission price (the other part being the interactive show features scattered throughout the event—but more on that in our next update). Everything really does feel splendid and heart-warming, and this event is sure to get any guest into the Christmas mood.
We really can’t say enough about the effort that Knott’s has put into this, and big kudos go out to the Knott’s paint, carpentry, electrical, programming, and set-up crews for putting all of this quality Christmas environment together. Each year, Knott’s seems to outdo itself in terms of its seasonal ambiance, and this year is definitely the park’s best yet!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
