Knott’s Berry Farm’s family-favorite Camp Snoopy area officially reopened Thursday following a multi-part renovation project that brought three new attractions to the land. The project also included a complete aesthetic overhaul, giving the land a cohesive visual identity throughout using new natural wood, themed pavement, new signage, and an added emphasis on the lovable Peanuts characters. The result is a ton of fresh charm for the land, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Get a closer look at today’s update! Click on any photo in today’s blog to see a larger, high-resolution version.
| Re-Opening Camp Snoopy |
Before Knott’s reopened the re-imagined Calico Mine Ride on Thursday, the park rededicated and officially relaunched its beloved Camp Snoopy area. The land inspired by the high Sierras and inhabited by the Peanuts Gang has emerged from a phased overhaul with a new cohesive aesthetic that’s rich with charm. The refreshed land was dedicated in a special ceremony Thursday morning that featured Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Snoopy.
Knott’s Communications Manager Jason Soyster started with some opening remarks.
Knott’s Vice President and General Manager Raffi Karprelyan took the stage next, speaking about the history of Camp Snoopy and the enhancements and additions at the new Camp Snoopy. Raffi also announced that Knott’s would turn its attention back to the Boardwalk for “more interactive and cutting edge family fun” coming in 2015!
Next up, Steve Berry, Mayor of Buena Park boasted about the city’s great weather and expressed pride in Knott’s being part of the city.
Walt and Cordelia Knott’s grandson Darrel Anderson spoke about his mother’s involvement in working with Charles M. Schultz on the creation of Camp Snoopy.
Finally, Charles M. Schultz’ son, Craig Schultz, spoke about his family memories at Knott’s and the development of Camp Snoopy at Knott’s.
Craig then introduced the Peanuts Gang for the a special reopening moment where the characters talked about all the new things to see in Camp Snoopy
Snoopy arrives with the Camp Snoopy flag
Lucy raises the flag, confetti bursts and Camp Snoopy is officially open again for business.
Below, a clip of the reopening moment with the Peanuts Gang
| Fresh High Sierra charm in Camp Snoopy |
Around Camp Snoopy, the land has been completely refreshed with new stamped concrete paving, natural wood fences and fixtures, new signage and a bigger emphasis on the Peanuts characters with a new, larger meet-and-greet area and three new rides.
Existing rides got fresh paint, new signage, and thematic enhancements
A map shows all of the changes throughout Camp Snoopy.
The most notable enhancement to an existing ride was the addition of new Peanuts-themed vignettes added along the Grand Sierra Railroad route. Linus narrates the ride now, pointing out the sights along the way…
Catching butterflies
Spike is having a tumbleweed race (the spin in a circle).
Charlie Brown and Sally are last place in a canoe race (even though they’re the only ones out on the water)
The new Peanuts additions to the Grand Sierra Railroad are nicely done. It would have been great to see more animation in the vignettes, but what’s there is very charming and will surely delight kids. Below, a full ride aboard the Grand Sierra Railroad, facing backwards from the caboose.
Nearby, the new Linus Launcher replaced the old Speedway.
Riders lie belly-down on the ride and fly through the air, much like Linus does when Snoopy is pulling him around by his blanket.
Charlie Brown’s Kite Flyer, a small swing ride, replaced Snoopy Bounce
Clever kite-eating tree theming
The Log Peeler has been replaced by Pig Pen’s Mug Buggies, a little spinner that bounces as it goes.
The Gizzly Creek Lodge has also been refreshed, with the interior returned to its wilderness theme. The restaurant also got a new menu of chicken tenders, burgers and more.
The folks from Log Heads Rustic Decor were tapped to design and build all of the great new hand-hewn furniture in the Grizzly Creek Lodge.
The furniture looks great and is sturdy for everyday theme park use.
Great thematic touches throughout the restaurant
Plenty of dining space, downstairs, upstairs, indoors and outdoors
The rest of Camp Snoopy looks great, too — with a new gazebo and small playground area added, new natural wood fencing throughout and themed pavement.
The playground doesn’t have much but it’s still a nice little area for a couple kids to burn off some extra energy.
New natural wood fencing and stone planters
New shade structures and themed paving.
Camp Snoopy’s wonderful nature and water features remain as well.
A fun new expanded character meet-and-greet area with themed backdrops and a shaded queue structure replaced the GR8 SK8 ride.
All-in-all, Camp Snoopy looks better than ever. With a new cohesive aesthetic, the land no longer feels cobbled together. All of the natural wood, themed pavement, and bigger emphasis on Peanuts characters really brings a lot more charm here than ever before. In addition to feeling more complete, everything here now works together to make the land feel more inviting and more friendly, which is particularly important for a area built for young children. My only issue is that the background music in the land (peppy renditions of kids songs), should have been music from the Peanuts cartoons. In any case, while the Camp Snoopy project is perhaps a bit more subtle than the Mine Ride makeover, the Knott’s team did just as excellent work here and the love and care really shows. Congrats!
There’s more from Knott’s! Be sure to check out our coverage of the newly restored and enhanced Calico Mine Ride — Click here!