Back to Knott's, Pt. 1

Four years have passed by since my last visit to Knott's Berry Farm; I'd say I was overdue, wouldn't you? True to form, I arrived before opening. Nothing like having time to get my bearings and a few photos before the deluge of guests arrive. The Independence Hall replica is still there. One of these days I'll check out the inside!



Arriving on Grand Avenue, we decided to catch a little breakfast before visiting Ghost Town.



What?!? I didn't order biscuits and gravy! Guess I'll have to suffer through them. Boy were they good.



The waffle arrived, and I was quickly kicked into carb overload!



Afterwards we strolled through the gift shop. It was nice to see some of the vintage paintings on display.



The fountain outside of Virginia's is still in operation. Love that spitting frog!



California's State Flower, the Poppy, was in full bloom:



I was able to get a shot of the entrance ticket booths before the crowds lined up. I was surprised that even on a Monday, there was a long line. The fact that it was a holiday probably had some influence on that!





Finally reached my destination: GHOST TOWN!



Come back tomorrow for Part 2! I need to work off those breakfast carbs in the meantime!

See more photos at my main website.

Knotts Preserved: What it took to get me there, pt. 2

Up next in my agenda for the Knotts Preserved All-Day Event was the book signing of Chris Merritt’s FANTASTIC book, Knotts Preserved (see link at end of post to order on Amazon). Not only is it jam-packed (please pardon the pun) full of info and rare photos, but it is extremely well-designed. And of course, more of the Disney bloggers showed up to support Chris. This photo reads like an All-Star list: David from Gorillas Don't Blog, Chris from Meet the World (aka Tokyo Magic), Tim of Vintage Disneyland Tickets, Patrick (the guy who started it all) of Stuff from the Park, and Jed from Vintage Disneyland Goodies (currently in blog retirement).

On hand to sign the book were co-author Eric Lynxwiler, Tony Baxter, Steve Knott, and Chris. Signing occurred inside the restaurant (where later I would be devouring a Fried Chicken dinner).



The light was hitting just right inside to cast this shadow above a portrait of Walter & Cordelia Knott.



After the signing, there was a short tour of Grand Avenue, the main street in front of Knotts, expertly spearheaded by Tour Guide Phil Brigandi.





Hidden in the shops is this historical little oasis, complete with waterfall, recreation of Washington’s fireplace, and other historical memorabilia. This area was recently restored and spruced up specifically for this tour. The care and work put into this project was greatly appreciated by this group.













And no tour of Knotts would be complete without the steps to nowhere:



After Grand Avenue, Chris of Tokyo Magic took me around the Independence Hall recreation and gave his own expert tour. This guy is a wealth of info, as he also used to work at the park. Having grown up near Philly, I was really interested to see what Walter Knott had done with his replica; it truly is amazing, and for children who might not have the opportunity to travel east, this building and its faithfully recreated interiors surely provide a fun living lesson in history.

















Nearby is the area that used to be Jungle Island. Here's a vintage photo:



And how it looks today:



If I were these chickens, I’d get far away from this area! Strutting near a Fried Chicken restaurant is extremely risky!



See more Knott's Berry Farm photos at my main website.