Knott's
Went to Knott's Berry Farm today (Thanksgiving). Crowds were sparse - perhaps because of the threat of rain (there was puffy white clouds against a blue sky, right next to dark gray clouds). Or because of the economy? Anyway, there were definitely fewer people than last Thanksgiving.
If the bag check at Disneyland is for show only, the bag check at Knott's is even more pointless. They have 1 employee checking bags for two lines - you can just imagine how much attention they pay to the bags (none).
We're not big on roller coasters so we stayed away from most of them. We did spend some time in Camp Snoopy (even though none of us are kids). It was fine, though - except for Timberline Twister. It's a kid roller coaster and riders have to be between (I think) 39 inches and 69 inches. I'm not exactly a toothpick, but I'm on the slender size (compared to the average these days) and I could barely fit in the seat without the lap bar digging into my tummy. I can't imagine how someone 5'9" could fit in there.
The walk up to the loading area for Bigfoot Rapids is wayyyy too long. I guess they need it for the summer time, when the lines are long, but they need a shortcut for the off-season. Lines were non-existant - they were sending rafts through with just 2 or 3 people.
Dragon Swing was a ride that I remember from my trip to Knott's as a 10-year old. We sat near the center so we didn't swing that much, but even that was kind of intense. Thankfully, the ride ended soon.
The Ferris wheel reminded me tremendously of The Office episode. And Log Jam - well, it's not Splash Mountain. I know that Knott's had it first, but Splash is much better.
I think one of the main problems about Knott's (aside from astronomical prices for food - even worse than Dland) is their theming. Or lack thereof. Sure, there's the Peanuts gang, but then they also sell Hello Kitty, The Simpsons, Sesame Street, and even Disney. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it feels like it's a smorgasboard of stuff - none really fitting in.
But the one thing they do have is discounts, and complimentary admission for police/fire dept employees, veterans and county social service workers. So that's a plus for KBF.
