Knott's Berry Farm Update: Coasters and Cafes
Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA
So we’ll be checking in from Knott’s Berry Farm’s Peanuts Celebration later this week, but before we get there, we thought we’d take a quick little stroll around the park to check out a few happenings going on and catch up on updates that have happened since the last time we visited. There’s a lot going on at the Farm these days, including big rumors about monumental expansions, and there’s a lot going on at the park just in general, with popularity continuing to increase as more and more people discover how fantastic the park has become thanks to its improvements over the past decade (and as more and more people have become more disheartened by Disneyland’s annual pass holder changes and inconveniences).
So before we dive into Knott’s chronologically first Season of Fun, lets take a trip around the park to see what’s been going on!
Montezooma’s Revenge Closing Soon
Earlier this month, Knott’s suddenly announced that Montezooma’s Revenge would be closing for the better part of a year and not reopening until 2023 as it undergoes a significant refurbishment that will include work on the ride’s launch system. The last day to ride was going to be January 10th—even though the announcement was made just a a couple of days prior.
Well, either because of uproar and hoopla over the very late notice, or perhaps because they always intended on closing later but wanted to drive up demand and attention, Knott’s very quickly updated the news to say that Montezooma’s Revenge would remain open for a “few more weeks” before closing for the rest of the year. There’s no word on when that will exactly be, but the classic Schwarzkopf shuttle loop was open this past opening weekend of the Peanuts Celebration, so of course, we had to take a ride.
Xcelerator’s New Colors
Speaking of roller coasters, this update is going to focus almost exclusively on them. Over at The Boardwalk, Xcelerator recently received a new paint job that provides a multi-color “flame” motif. Rather than blend the red and orange and yellow into each other, the paint is in segments, giving it a bit of a interesting look up close. But the ride is running (it was listed as planned to be closed Saturday but ended up opening), and the paint job was definitely badly needed—even if the paint colors chosen might inspire debate.
Wipeout Wiped Out
On the other side of the Sky Cabin, Wipeout has disappeared. It is probably just be under refurbishment, but it’s also not appearing on the Knott’s web site line-up, although it does appear on the park map linked online. So the ride’s exact fate is somewhat of a mystery.
HangTime Reopened
You may recall last year that HangTime—Knott’s newest roller coaster—was down for an extended period of time and basically was closed the entire summer into the fall. Well, the thrill ride finally reopened last November 10th, and it’s been running along nicely and attracting plenty of crowds since then! It’s good to have it back, as the prolonged absence was certainly unexpected and unfortunate!
Prop Shop Pizzeria: An Italian Kitchen Construction
The other major news of the month saw the announcement of a new restaurant over in the Memory Lane portion of The Boardwalk. Prop Shop Pizzeria will replace the late Hollywood Hits and transform this eatery for yet another time. As reported by the Orange County Register, the quick serve restaurant open later this summer will “boast a backstory of a converted backstage props and costume warehouse where actors and patrons mingle after shows break at the [Charles Schulz] theater next door.'“
The artwork for the new restaurant looks nice, and the aesthetic will fit the revival Roaring 20s look more, especially since Knott’s has leaned into it more and more with its Gore-ing 20s scare zone during Haunt and the return of Bear-y Tales in a new 4D iteration. The outdoor patio will especially provide nice energy along the walkway, livening the area. Although the artwork shows that this establishment will be called a “boysenbrewery,” no boysenberry beer will actually be made on site. Sorry to dash your hopes. But we look forward to seeing the finished product!
Silver Bullet
Finally, here are some various roller coaster photos from Saturday. First, a few from Silver Bullet.
Sierra Sidewinder
And also a few from Sierra Sidewinder, taken from the upper floor outdoor dining deck of the Grizzly Creek restaurant in Camp Snoopy. I’m not sure why I’ve never taken pictures from up here—it’s a great vantage point!
That concludes our pretty brisk update! We’ll be back with an in-depth look at this year’s Peanut’s Celebration, and a visit to the Disneyland Resort again to check out their Lunar New Year Celebration that kicked off this past weekend as well! In the meantime, be boysenberry well!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
