Knott's Berry Farm

Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California that is owned by Six Flags. Since Cedar Fair (which merged into Six Flags in 2024) bought it the number of people who visited the park has increased. According to the 2013 Global Attractions Attendance Report, it is the 13th most visited theme park in North America. The park has 40 rides, including roller coasters, family rides, children's rides, water rides, and historical rides, and there are plans to make the park bigger in the future.

The theme park sits on what used to be a berry farm that was built by Walter Knott, Cordelia Knott, and their family. Starting around 1920, the family started selling berries, berry preserves, and pies from a roadside stand. In 1934, they  started selling fried chicken dinners inside a tea room that is on the farm. They later built shops and other attractions to entertain visitors. In 1940, Walter Knott built a ghost town on the farm, and added other attractions over many  years. In 1968, Knott's Berry Farm started to charge people to visit the park. In 1983, the park added Camp Snoopy.

In the 1990s, the Knott children sold the family business after Walter and Cordelia Knott died. The theme park was sold to Cedar Fair and the food business was sold to ConAgra Foods, which was later sold to The J.M. Smucker Company.

Cedar Fair continued to make the park bigger in 1999 by adding Knott's Soak City. They also added more rides to Knott's Berry Farm.

History

In the 1950s Walter Knott opened a "summer-long county fair". In 1968, for the first time people had to pay get into the park - 25 cents. The Calico log ride was added in 1969. On April 12, 1974, Cordelia Knott died, and Walter turned his attention toward political causes.Kooiman, Helen, Walter Knott: Keeper of the Flame, pp. 171–84, Plycon Press, Fullerton, CA, 1973.Salts, Christiane Victoria, Cordelia Knott: Pioneering Business Woman, pp. 75–78, The Literature Connection Books, Buena Park, CA, 2009.

Sky Tower was built to support two attractions, the Parachute Sky Jump (now closed) and the Sky Cabin. Parachute Sky Jump had one or two standing riders looking forward to the thrill of the drop into baskets beneath a parachute canopy. From the top, eight arms supported the vertical cable tracks of wire rope which lifted the baskets. The Sky Cabin ringed the support pole with a single floor of seats. The Sky Cabin ring revolves slowly as it rises to the top and back offering a pleasantly changing view. Sky Cabin is very sensitive to weather and passenger motion, such as walking, which is not allowed during the trip. During winds 25 mph+ or rain it is closed. When built, Sky Tower was the tallest structure in Orange County (a distinction now held by nearby WindSeeker.) The illuminated "K" in logo script at the top of the Sky Tower was designated a landmark which prevented Knott's plan of changing the foundation to support WindSeeker.


Corkscrew debuted in 1975 as the first modern-day roller coaster to perform a 360-degree inverting element twice. It was designed by Arrow Development. Corkscrew is still operating to this day, but was sold and moved in 1989 to Silverwood in Athol, Idaho. Montezooma's Revenge was later opened in 1978 and remains in operation at Knott's Berry Farm.

References

Category:Theme parks in California
Category:1940 establishments in California