With California and the rest of the world beginning to re-open now that the Covid-19 pandemic is starting to wane in the United  States, my family and I are starting to get back out into the world.  This month we got to go to one of our favorite places in the world, Knott’s Berry Farm. Way back in the fall of 2019, we renewed the Knott’s Berry Farm Season Passes that we’d had for a couple of years for the 2020 season. We used our passes twice in January and February of 2020. Then the unthinkable happened.  Covid-19 came and life came to a screeching halt. Everything shut down and we were no longer able to go to Knott’s. Luckily, Knott’s Berry Farm is awesome. They extended our 2020 passes through the 2021 season. Plus, they are extending the passes so they are good until May 2022. They have totally taken care of us on this.  Have I mentioned that I love Knott’s? To say that we missed Knott’s is an understatement. It’s one of the first places we’ve visited since the world started opening up, and we had a blast. Above, you’ll find a video montage I made that sums up our first day back at the park.

Covid-19 Restrictions and Procedures

Knott’s opened on May 5, 2021 to Season Passholders only. It opened to the general public on May 21.  State regulations say that theme parks can only be open to California residents, so people from out of state will have to wait. They will be allowed to welcome out-of-state guests on June 15 when California fully opens, if Covid-19 numbers continue to stay low.

As of May 21, 2021, Knott’s requires patrons to wear masks everywhere in the park unless they are sitting down and actively eating or drinking, or if they are in a Relax Zone. They also require reservations to enter. Your reservation group must consist of people from less than three households. You an make reservations and see what the current Covid-19 restrictions and procedures are on their website, www.knotts.com. The Knott’s Berry Farm Website contains all of thier Covid-19 rules and policies. You should definitely visit it before you go because California’s reopening is very fluid right now, and things can change pretty quickly. It’s best to double check and have the right information than to not check and be turned away at the turnstyle.

First Things First

Daniel is on half-days at school because of the Covid school closures, so he got out of school at 11:00 am. That meant that we had the whole rest of the day to have fun. We arrived at Knott’s after lunch and made our way to the main entrance. It was the first day of the Season Passholder preview, and even though it was 25% capacity, there were a lot of people waiting to get in. At this point I was really hoping that the lines inside weren’t too long, especially for the new Knott’s Bear-y Tales ride. We were super excited to ride it for the first time. We went through the metal detectors and I had my camera bag checked. Then we walked through the turnstyles and we were in. For the first time in 15 months, we were at Knott’s Berry Farm. Cue the Happy Dance. Daniel decided that the first thing we needed to do was go on the new ride. So we made our way through Ghost Town to the Boardwalk section of the park where Knott’s Beary Tales is located. Ghost Town wasn’t very crowded, so I was cautiously optimistic that the line would be relatively short.   On the way there, Daniel said he wanted to talk to “the man in the jail.”  So we made a slight detour off the main road to visit Sad Eye Joe. Joe is a wooden figure who sits in the jail and talks to anyone to stops by to see him. This is big for Daniel. He is on the autism spectrum, and holding a conversation with someone, especially someone who is unfamiliar, is something that is hard for him. Daniel had a short conversation with Joe, which was mostly Joe telling Daniel why he is in jail and Daniel laughing. Part of the conversation is at 1:11 in our You Tube video.  Afterward, I asked Danny about the conversation. He had some trouble remembering some of the details on his own, but did pretty well when I asked him yes or no questions. This is part of his autism. There seems to be a sort of a disconnect between his brain and his mouth. It’s like he knows the answers, but he can’t always find the words to explain what he’s thinking. If you want to take your child to talk to Sad Eye Joe, have a member of your party sneak off to talk to the sheriff at Goldie’s Hotel, which is located near the jail. You can tell the sheriff your child’s name and a little about them. Then Sad Eye Joe will call them by their names and have a personalized conversation. I didn’t do this since it was just me and Daniel, but next time we probably will.

New Knott’s Bear-y Tales Ride

Next it was off to the new Knott’s Bear-y Tales ride. Knott’s Bear-y Tales – Return to the Fair is an updated and modern version of the old Knott’s Bear-y Tales ride that graced the Roaring 20’s section of the park from 1975-1986. The original ride was a dark ride that followed Girlsen and Boysen Bear and their family as they take their boysenberry pies to the fair. They are also trying to keep the pies from Crafty Coyote, who wants to steal the pies. It was really cute, and it was a classic ride that people loved. Anyone who went to Knott’s as a kid from 1975 to 1986 generally looks back upong this ride fondly.

Photo by Jeremy Thompson

The new version is a “4D interactive dark ride” that features Girlsen and Boysen Bear as they once again try to take their pies to the fair.  This time Crafty Coyote is joined by his pups, who help him try to steal the bears’ pies. It is a “reimagined” version of the classic ride, and they did a pretty good job of recreating the scenes from the original. This is a video I took of part of the ride during out first time through. The video screens look a little blurry because it’s a 3D projection that is meant to be viewed using 3D glasses. It looks much more clear and far better in person. In this ride, riders try to stop the coyotes from stealing the bears’ boysenberry pies by shooting them with boysenberries from thier jam jar “guns.”  The ride cars take the riders through the different ride scenes and stop at each one to give riders a chance to shoot at the characters and objects on the video screens. All you have to do is aim your jam jar and pull the string coming out of the back. The characters will react to being hit by the boysenberries, and little bonus notices will pop up on the screen. It’s kind of fast paced, but it is fun. Daniel calls it the “Video Game Ride.” He LOVED it even though it was kind of loud, especially when the ride broke down and we got stuck in the thunder section of the Weird Woods. After this, we were hot and tired. It was getting close to dinner time, so we left the park and headed home. We agreed to come back soon.  After we got home, I made reservations for the whole family for May 18, which was still part of the Season Passholder Preview Days.

The rest of the Park

The last time we were at Knott’s, WAY back in January 2020, Daniel was much smaller, and he liked going on the rides in Camp Snoopy. So we headed to Camp Snoopy and pretty much walked right through. We did stop to take a picture with Snoopy though. Daniel loves Snoopy. You probably noticed that Daniel isn’t looking at the camera or smiling. This is part of his autism. He has trouble making eye contact, so in most of the pictures I take of him he is looking off to the side. He also doesn’t smile much. He can be happy, but he won’t be smiling. If you see him smiling and laughing, then you know he is extra happy and/or excited about something. It is very rare to have a picture of him in which he is both looking at the camera and smiling. But that’s okay. This is the way he is, and I woudn’t have it any other way. Then we headed to Fiesta Village where Daniel and William rode the Hat Dance. Here they are waiting for the ride to start.

Next it was off to play some games. The arcades are closed because of Covid, so the boys played some of the carnival games in the Boardwalk area. They played this one together. They both won cute little Squishmallow owls. But more importantly, they had a great time playing games together. Then the big kids wanted to go on some of the roller coasters. So Hal, Daniel and I spent some time waiting, talking, and playing in the shade. Next up was the Bumper Cars. Stephanie went with the boys on this one. All three of them had a blast crashing their cars into each other and into the other cars. The big kids took Daniel on a few rides after this while Hal and I rested (Sitting around the house for a year during quarantine does NOT mix with hip arthrits. My hips were hurting!) They rode Knott’s Bear-y Tales again, went on the Mine Ride, and even managed to get him on the Log Ride. Sadly, I didn’t get a picture of it and I don’t think he’ll be going on it any time soon. He HATED the drop!

Food and Drinks at Knott’s

        We stopped and filled up our All Season Drinks refillable cup with some yummy boysenberry punch. It cost $33 and can be refilled for free every 15 minutes whenever we are at Knott’s. It’s a great deal, and I highly recommend it if you are a Season Pass holder.  If you are going to Knott’s on a one-day ticket, you can get  a Souvenir Bottle for $13.99.  With this bottle, you get free refills on the day you buy it, and $1 refills when you come back on a different day. Both are incredible deals, especially if you have a family that gets thirsty often like mine does. You can also get dining plans at Knott’s. There is an All Season Dining Plan for Season Pass holders. It costs $132, and includes meals from a special menu at some of the food locations throughout the park. You can get a meal every four hours, so if you’re there all day you can eat both lunch and dinner for free. The All Day Dining Plan includes meals costs $31.99 every 90 minutes. The All Day Dining Premium combines the All Day Dining Plan and the Souvenir Bottle plan. It costs $42.99 and includes both a meal every 90 minutes and a drink refill every 15 minutes. We have only taken advantage of the All Season Drinks plan and we are completely happy with it. Whenever anyone is thirsty, all they have to do is take our souvenir bottle to a food location where they scan it and fill it up with the drink of our choice. We have used it three times, and we’ve already got our money’s worth from it. We haven’t tried one of the dining plans, but I’m highly considering it. From what I’ve heard it’s a super economical way to eat the great food that Knott’s is famous for. If we do take advantage of a dining plan in the future, I’ll post a review. The bottom line is that all of the drinks and  dining plans are completely worth the money. If you are going to Knott’s you should definitely consider getting at least a drink plan. It will save you a ton of money.

Saying Goodbye…For Now

At the end of our afternoon, Hal, Daniel, and I parted ways with Stephanie and William. The big kids decided that they wanted to get a few more roller coasters in before they headed home. So we headed through Ghost Town and out the exit gates. We retraced our steps through the Marketplace and did a little browsing in Virginia’s Gift Shop and the Peanuts Headquarters shop. I did break down and buy him a Snoopy plushie and a Snoopy lanyard for his season pass and his game card so he doesn’t lose them. It was a good end to a good afternoon. And so ended our first visit back to Knott’s after much, much too long.  We can’t wait to go back and experience the Knott’s Berry Farm 100th Anniversary Celebration that is going on this summer. We’ll let you know how it is when we do.