Kaleidoscope Travel & Cruise

Article Published: March 29th, 2007

During our recent trip to California we spent a day at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. In the 1920’s, Walter Knott and his family sold berries from a roadside stand near the small town of Buena Park. In the 1930’s Walter Knott cultivated the world’s first successful boysenberries, a combination of the red raspberry, blackberry, and loganberry. In 1934’s Knott’s wife Cordelia began serving fried chicken dinners, featuring boysenberry pie for dessert. As Southern California developed, the restaurant’s location was a popular stopping point for drivers making what at the time was a two-hour trip between Los Angeles and the beaches of Orange County. Within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter built a ghost town in 1940, using buildings relocated from real old west towns. Today the park is a favorite attraction for families, it is a 150-acre complex with 100-plus rides and dozens of restaurants and shops. Knott’s Berry Farm is best known for its roster of awesome thrill rides which we rode multiple times. Ghost Rider towers over it all; it’s Orange County’s first wooden roller coaster. Traveling up to 56 mph and reaching 118 feet at its highest point, the coaster is riddled with sudden dips and curves. On the Western-theme Silver Bullet, riders are sent to a height of 146 feet and then back down 109 feet. It’s definitely not for the squeamish. Montezooma’s Revenge, is a roller coaster that goes from 0 to 55 mph in less than five seconds, And our favourite ride the Xcelerator launches you hydraulically into a super steep U-turn, topping out at 205 feet.

Entry Filed under: California