Knott's Berry Farm recently unveiled two major projects for 2014: revitalization of Camp Snoopy so it's ready for its 30th anniversary celebration and “an all-encompassing refurbishment complete with new state-of-the-art animatronic figures and enhanced scenery” for the Calico Mine Ride, which was the Buena Park theme park's first major attraction.
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The projects are scheduled to be completed by early next summer.
“Camp Snoopy and Calico Mine Ride have delighted guests for decades and are classics that families come back time and again to experience together” says Raffi Kaprelyan, Knott's Berry Farm's vice president and general manager, in a statement. “The revitalization of these areas will once again demonstrate our commitment to Knott's heritage and will preserve these experiences for a new generation of guests to enjoy.”
It seems like only yesterday, but Camp Snoopy had its grand opening way back on July 1, 1983. New rides, restoration and beautification of the five-acre spot that evokes the nature of a High Sierra mountains camp are planned.
The Calico Mine Ride, which was designed by industry pioneer Bud Hurlbut, opened in November 1960, carrying riders aboard train cars through dimly lit tunnels of what appears to be a working gold mine. The seven stories tall ride still carries more than one million guests a year.
It won't carry any starting one day in January, when the attraction closes for the comprehensive restoration by Knott's design and production team in partnership with Garner Holt Productions, which brought award-winning enhancements to the Timber Mountain Log Ride this year. New audio, lighting, special effects and more than 50 new state-of-the-art animatronic figures will be part of the revamp.
Just don't call it a re-do.
“It is our company's top priority to preserve and enhance the original story of a working gold mine deep in the heart of the Old West,” says company founder Garner Holt in the Knott's statement. “The Calico Mine Ride will be filled with lifelike sounds and motion, while maintaining the uniquely authentic feel of the attraction as designed by Knott's and industry legend Bud Hurlbut.”
To keep tabs on what's going on (and what admission deals they are running), visit www.knotts.com or find the new Knott's app.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.