After a great trip to Universal Studios Resort and Disney World last November, I wanted to continue the trend of visiting theme parks for my Spring trip last month.  A friend and I went to Anaheim and already saw a baseball game the evening of our arrival and decided to visit a lesser known theme park called Knott’s Berry Farm.

Getting There

We stayed at Motel 6 Anaheim Maingate which was only a 15 minute Uber ride for us.  Even though Knott’s Berry Farm was located in Buena Park, this small city was such a short drive from Anaheim.  Tickets were already bought in advance online as it guarantees entry as there are only a limited number of guests allowed in the park due to covid.  Buying online early also saves a few dollars off gate prices.

Knott’s Berry Farm

Knott’s Berry Farm opened in 1920 as a roadside berry farm and throughout the years kept adding shops, restaurants and attractions to the property.  The site continued its renovations and additions of rides over the next few decades until it became the current theme park it is today.

The park is on only 57 acres (23ha) of land and consists of over 40 rides on 4 themed areas: Ghost Town, Fiesta Village, The Boardwalk, and Camp Snoopy.  Here is a recap of our day at Knott’s Berry Farm, and which area it could be found in:

ADA Boarding Pass Program

(Ghost Town)

With tickets in hand, we went in the entrance and headed directly to Guest Services located in Ghost Town.  Knott’s Berry Farm’s Boarding Pass Program is very similar to Disney’s DAS Program as they both allow the person along with their companion to sign in to a virtual queue and get a return time for a ride without actually waiting in line.

Fortunately for us, the day we went to Knott’s Berry Farm, it was totally dead that we didn’t bother using the ADA Boarding Pass.  There weren’t really any accessible rides for me to go on except the one I will talk about later.  We were told that we just missed their very popular Boysenberry Festival by a few days and that it is their quiet and slow period for a few weeks.

There wasn’t any shows or night time entertainment happening on the day of our visit so we will just visit some of the shops and try to go on some of the rides.  Even a few of the rides like GhostRider are temporarily closed.

Geode Shop

(Ghost Town)

Since we were already in Ghost Town, we explored more of the area and the Camp Snoopy area right beside Ghost Town.  My friend went on the Sierra Sidewinder ride and then we headed back to Ghost Town to check out some shops and went inside the Geode Shop.

There were so many specimens of gems, minerals, and fossils and was like a museum with actual pieces you can buy.  The staff is very knowledgeable and informative and can definitely answer any questions needed.  Prices are even reasonable on some of the items that we saw.

Fireman’s BBQ

(Ghost Town)

We wanted to grab some food and could smell the food coming from Fireman’s BBQ so my friend parked me at a nearby table and waited in line to get something from this popular food stand.  Prices were a bit high but the steak sandwich was pretty good while the coleslaw tasted pretty average.  The combo also came with a small bag of Lay’s potato chips.

Ghost Town Bakery

(Ghost Town)

After our lunch, we checked out a couple shops before stopping at Ghost Town Bakery to get some dessert and wanting to try Knott’s Berry Farm’s signature and iconic boysenberry.  There were so many tempting and awesome looking pastries, tarts, pies, cookies including colorful Snoopy and friends characters items.

We ended up getting a boysenberry tart and a chocolate cake slice.  Prices were quite reasonable and we were wanting to buy more but didn’t want to over indulge in sweets.  We ate at the picnic tables just outside the bakery and shared both desserts.  The boysenberry tart really was superb and I enjoyed it more than the chocolate cake slice.

Calico Railroad

(Ghost Town)

I was thinking about joining my friend on the Silver Bullet ride but looking at the sample ride chair by the ride entrance, I didn’t think it would be safe for me.  We then went to Knott’s Berry Farm’s only wheelchair accessible ride where I can actually stay in my own wheelchair for the duration of the ride.

Wheelchair guests along with their companions had to enter the exit as the wheelchair ramp is located at the back of the train.  The Calico Railroad has been in operations since 1952 and is an actual train used since the early 1900s.  Once boarded and strapped in with tie downs, the train does go around the theme park.  It was a great relaxing ride and was fun, we were able to ride the train twice before getting off.

(The Boardwalk)

We then spent time in the Boardwalk area watching some people carnival games, visiting the Charleston Circle fountain and the Boardwalk arcade.  Even though they had a wheelchair lift for the 2018 recently opened HangTime rollercoaster ride, I did not bother going on since the ride went upside down and my legs would just be flopping around.

We saw the park’s newest ride that only opened less than a year ago called Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair and only saw stairs to get on the ride, so we didn’t bother asking about wheelchair access for it.  We did get to take pics with new characters Boysen Bear-y and Brawny the mischievous coyote pup.

There was also a roaming musician who pedals around the Boardwalk area in his mobile Memory Lane Melodian.  It was only a few minutes long but at least there was something for us to watch.

Calico Mine Ride

(Ghost Town)

The one last ride that I thought I might able to do was the Calico Mine Ride.  We had to enter the exit area of the ride as there was a wheelchair lift located there.  Before going up the lift, my friend went up the stairs to see what the ride vehicle looked like and thought the seat was too narrow for me to sit on and have him support me during the ride.

I still waited as he went on the ride to see what it was like.  While waiting, another family waited behind me to use the wheelchair lift to help their grandmother get on the ride.  I told them I wasn’t going to go on the ride as it might be difficult for my friend to help me on his own.  The young son named James spoke up and said he would help me on the ride.

I thought about it and agreed to let him help me along with my friend so I could experience at least 1 more ride at this theme park.  Once my friend came back, they both carried me into the ride vehicle and made sure I was stable enough for the duration of the ride.  I was so grateful for the help and really did enjoy the ride.

We then visited the Overland Gun Shop and took pictures with another character named Whittles before exiting the park to meet a friend at Downtown Disney.  While waiting for our Uber, we did see Knott’s California Marketplace which was located right by the entrance and exit of Knott’s Berry Farm.  It is just a shopping, dining and entertainment place similar to Downtown Disney but smaller.

Final Thoughts

Overall, my friend and I did enjoy our almost 7 hours at Knott’s Berry Farm as it closes at 6 PM.  I thought admission prices ($69 each) were a bit high since there wasn’t enough rides or shows for me to do.  The 2 rides that I went on were OK and am glad I got to visit the once.  I think that if I were to return to Anaheim anytime soon, I would skip this theme park until there were more accessible rides or things to do.