What's New at Knott's?

For summer 2018 will introduce a new steel rollercoaster called HangTime, which will be the only dive coaster on the West Coast with a negative-G stall loop. "HangTime will tower 150 feet over the Boardwalk area, showcasing gravity-defying inversions, mid-air suspensions and twisting dive tracks."

Knott's Berry Farm has announced some exciting new additions for 2017.  The all-new thrill ride, the Sol Spin is now open in Fiesta Village next to the Jaguar.. Riders spin in all directions on six rays of the sun hoisted six stories above the ground. 

Knott's Soak City water park has also expanded and added two new water slide towers for 2017. Shore Break will be seven stories high and include six different water slide experiences, four of which will feature the Aqua-Launch chamber that drops the floor out from under you to send you into a free fall through a translucent flume of loops and S-curves. The Wedge slide tower is an open-air family raft ride that will replace the Pacific Spin. 

The water park is open May 20, 2017. The park will be open daily through August 27, then Labor Day Weekend Friday through Monday, with a bonus weekend September 9-10, 2017. Advance tickets and season passes are available online. 

Ghost Town Alive is back with lots of new ways to interact with the citizens of Ghost Town including joining in a rousing all-ages square dance on Calico Square.

Knott's has some pretty good advance discounts on their website. The best deal is the 3-day-advance 1-day adult ticket for $48 and a child's ticket for $45, with fees of $5.99 and up, depending on ticket value. Goldstar.com periodically has adult tickets for $46.75 and children's tickets for $43.75 including fees. You can also get Discount Tickets to Soak City.

Take a last ride on the classic Boomerang reverse shuttle coaster which will be permanently closing 4/23 when the Boysenberry Festival ends. 

You'll find boysenberry specialties at Knott's all year long, but during the spring Boysenberry Festival, Knott’s Berry Farm offers guests special live entertainment while indulging in additional Boysenberry treats from BBQ to desserts and specialty beverages. The Boysenberry Festival runs April 1-23, 2017. 

In summer 2016, Knott's Berry Farm will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Ghost Town with Ghost Town Alive! a set of all new interactive character experiences where you play a role in new stories and adventures of the old west opening May 27, 2016, through September 5, 2016. Visitors will also experience a fully restored Ghost Rider coaster with all new trains and 4500 feet of new wooden track, and a refurbishment of Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant. The Calico Saloon, Wagon Camp and Panning for Gold are also getting a face lift.

A new 4-D interactive ride opens at Knott's Berry Farm May 15, 2015. Voyage to the Iron Reef  tells the original story of the Kraken Queen and her army of mechanical undersea creatures who have stolen and hoarded a collection of artifacts from the history of Knott's Berry Farm and are keeping them under the deep ocean. Armed riders pit their "freezer blaster" laser guns against a wild collection of animated creatures in an area as big as 2 football fields, or the equivalent of 5 times the area of the Silver Bullet ride. During the four-minute ride, participants change the experience based on their interaction, obliterating sea monsters as they go. Since the ride is responsive to rider interaction, each experience is different. Not only the sea creatures, but also some of the background items respond to the laser, so go ahead and shoot at anything.

The underwater environment features submerged remnants of the historic Knott's Boardwalk and other familiar icons on 11 immersive screens. Eight submarine-themed trains with 8 riders each will be able to move 800 people through the ride per hour. The height limit for the Voyage to the Iron Reef is 46".

I shot this video of Voyage to the Iron Reef at the media preview May 13. Take a look!

The Calico Mine Ride reopened with dozens of new animatronic characters, new scenes and new special effects.

Camp Snoopy got a complete makeover. 

Speedway was replaced with the Linus Launcher, a small carousel ride where you lie on your stomach like you're flying.

The Snoopy Bouce was replaced with Charlie Brown's Kite Flyer, a carousel swing with bench seats so parents and kids, or two kids can sit side by side.

The Log Peeler was replaced with Pig Pen's Mud Buggies, a circular mini-car ride.

Additionally, Lucy's Tugboat was re-themed as Rapid River Run;

Rocky Mountain Trucking got new trucks;

GR8 SK8 was removed to make room for an expanded character meet and greet area.

A new themed play and picnic area with gazebo was added across from Grizzly Creek Lodge.

Shade was added to the Camp Snoopy Theatre

For full tips on visiting Knott's Berry Farm, I've put together these resources:

Knott's Berry Farm Visitors Guide
Knott's Berry Farm Tips and Tricks
Visiting Knott's Berry Farm with Toddlers and Little Kids
Knott's Soak City Visitors Guide
Knott's Soak City Ride Photos
Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Guide
Knott's Merry Farm Christmas Guide