Knott's Berry Farm park info, rides and attractions

Opened	19 June 1920
Season	Year round
Owner	Cedar Fair
Attendance	4,228,000 (TEA 2023)
Website	www.knotts.com
Nearby	Disneyland (5 miles) Disney California Adventure (5 miles) LA County Fair (21 miles) Universal Studios Hollywood (29 miles) Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier (31 miles)

A chicken dinner and boysenberry jam, served in Mrs Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant

In the early 1920s, Walter Knott began growing boysenberries on his farm in Buena Park, California. Named after its original inventor Rudolph Boysen, a boysenberry is a hybrid cross between a loganberry, blackberry and raspberry. Knott's crop of boysenberries were a hit, and his family began selling boysenberry products at the roadside next to his farm. To supplement their income, Walter's wife Cordelia setup a restaurant from which she served fried chicken dinners.

Mrs Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant became so popular that lines of people several hours long could be found on busy days waiting to be seated in one of several dining rooms. To give them something to do to pass the time, Walter Knott built a Ghost Town with old buildings and other diversions for the waiting guests to explore. With the addition of a railroad, Calico Mine Train dark ride and a log flume, Walter Knott's Berry Farm started its transformation into a fully fledged major theme park, just a few miles down the road from Walt Disney's Disneyland.

The Calico Mine Train ride

The early attractions are still available today, and for a period over the summer up until Labor Day, Ghost Town becomes Ghost Town Live, as live actors fill the streets and buildings playing characters from the Old West and interacting with visitors. Guests are still welcome at Mrs Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, where they can sample boysenberry products and chicken cooked to the same recipes as in Cordelia Knott's day.

Knott's Berry Farm is now home to several major rollercoasters including GhostRider, a wooden coaster originally from Custom Coasters International (CCI). GhostRider received a major overhaul from Great Coasters International (GCI) in 2016, and gives a fantastically fun ride which includes a section that crosses over the street outside.

Other rollercoasters include Silver Bullet, a B&M inverted coaster; Pony Express, a Zamperla MotoCoaster where the typical motorbike themed trains have been replaced by ponies; Xcelerator, an Intamin launch coaster; and Jaguar, a huge version of a Zierer Tivoli.