In the Parks

In the Parks gets corny today as Knott's Berry Farm sets a world record. We also share a very special interview with Knott's General Manager, Marty Keithley, about upcoming news from the park including former Disneyland President, Matt Ouimet, becoming his new boss. We then check up on Disneyland and ponder this weekend's expected traffic nightmare dubbed "Carmageddon" by the media, should LA residents skip the drive? Our next stop is Disney California Adventure which has had a few minor delays in Paradise Garden, check on Cars Land, and get ready for new turnstiles. Lastly, we take a trip out to Riverside's Castle Park, and think you'll be surprised by how many attractions it offers.

Before we get started this week, we have something very exciting to announce. Our long awaited deals site, MiceDeals, will begin live beta testing this weekend!

MiceDeals is a daily deals site for Anaheim and Orlando area entertainment and attraction fans.

• Save 50% to 80% on every exciting offer from
  
• Discounts on hotels, restaurants, attractions and theme parks!
  
• Sign up now so you don't miss out on the big launch of this fantastic new service this weekend.
  

During beta, we'll offering periodic deals which will be sent via email. Soon, the service will expand to daily deals. Give it a whirl, you have nothing to lose by receiving the emails and lots of dollars to save: Amazing Theme Park Daily Deals



MiceChat's Fishbulb recently had the chance to sit down with Knott's Berry Farm's General Manager, Marty Keithley, about the Matt Ouimet announcement as well as news from the park. We think you'll find this very interesting:

Knott's General Manager Marty Keithley

MiceChat: There has been a lot of news about Knott's and Cedar Fair lately. I think the biggest question on most folks mind is about Matt Ouimet (former Disneyland President) becoming Cedar Fair CEO. Was the announcement a surprise to you?

Marty: For us, it was. I think, a really nice surprise. Matt is somebody who knows the Southern California market, somebody who is very established and we have heard nothing but great things about him.

MC: Do you think Matt will change things up very much for Knott's?

Marty: Well, I haven't had too much time with him just yet. He did come out for a couple of days recently to size up the property out here. He spoke with a lot of the employees and such. But I think what he is doing right now is being a good listener. I think he's soaking it all in. He may be formulating ideas, but I can't really speak for him. I think that he is taking it all in to see who we really are and what the next steps may be.

MC: What makes it interesting is that he was already in Southern California and has a fair understanding of what Knott's is.

Marty: Right.

MC: Matt was famous for instilling quality and premier level customer service practices during his time at the Disney Cruise Line and Disneyland Park. Do you think he is going to focus on bringing that same level of customer focus to Knott's Berry Farm?

Marty: I would like to think we already have a high level of service. Can it be better? It can always be better. So any kind of standards or challenges that he would present to us would be great, because there is always a different way to look at it and always a way to be better.

MC: What direction are you really hoping that Knott's takes under Matt's leadership?

Marty: He has already hinted at it. You can't lose the legacy of what Knott's is. You have to understand it, you have to live it. Each of the Cedar Fair parks is different. Each of them are a regional park in their area. Some are newer, like the Paramount parks. Others are older like Knott's, Cedar Point, and Dorney. They each have their own story to tell. I think, for us, that Cedar Fair has brought some thrill to Knott's but they've been careful not to mess with Ghost Town, not to mess with the legacy of the park. I know Matt understands that. He understands that you can't change that at all. Knott's is a little bit of a jewel, especially in Southern California, and we have an even longer history than Disneyland.

It doesn't mean you can't change. You have to. You still have to be in-tune with your guests and come up with new ways to keep the park revitalized. But you need to let the heart of the park remain.

MC: Everyone continues to bring up the old rides like Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, Knott's Berry Tales, The Soapbox Racers…

Marty: I was a shift leader at Knott's Berry Tales.

MC: WOW! Cool. Do you think there will be a direction taken that includes focusing on building more immersive, family friendly, attractions again like that?

Marty: I think there will be. And I say that because we do, we still have that big open spot up there that just totally lends itself to a dark ride. It's all about timing. It's about when we want to look at that as our next opportunity. It's always in a revolving 5 year plan. If it's not in the current one it'll be in the next one.

MC: Well, nothing is for certain.

Marty: Yeah that's right. We can talk about what we are going to do, but until I see ground break nothing is for sure.

MC: Any talk about revitalizing the Chicken Dinner restaurant and Marketplace?

Marty: Don't know. Obviously you have a historic structure and a historic piece of our past, so it's very important. It has always needed to be freshened up every so often. But as far as a huge investment, I'm not sure what that would be. Whatever it is, we know we want to preserve that for future generations with whatever the next logical step is.

MC: Up to this point, what would you call Knott's? Is it a theme park, a thrill park, an amusement park?

Marty: It's where my heart is and it's a theme park. It has been since Walter Knott started to bring in a few buildings and, for the most part, he was recreating a western town setting from bits and pieces he would get from the desert. The whole area and the whole park at Knott's Berry Place, as it was called in those days, was based on a themed area of a Ghost Town. Later on the family would continue to add themed areas. They would add a fiesta Village, a Gypsy Camp, The Roaring 20's or a Camp Snoopy. Each one a fully themed area from beginning to end. I keep coming back to that when I think about what the park is and it is a themed park.

MC: Many people would argue otherwise when there are pillars of steel for huge roller coasters which have been stacked on top of older attractions. What would you say to the fans that argue that Knott's has become a thrill park and has moved away from theme.

Marty: You can still have a theme park with thrills in it. Look at California Adventure. They have all these thrills, they have the roller coaster and Tower of Terror. There is probably more theme to it but the thrills are there. Now within the family of Cedar Fair parks we do have more thrill parks and amusement parks. But we have one very important one here and possibly a couple others, maybe Worlds of Fun in Kansas.

It's true that, over the past fifteen years, we have added nothing but thrill rides and roller coasters because that is what Cedar Fair is good at. When they were looking at Knott's when they bought it and realized that Knott's had stopped doing thrill rides for a while. We had done Montezuma's revenge and Boomerang but they saw that we were a little behind the times. So, they took the opportunity to add thrill rides. They have done that, but at some point I think they will realize that there needs to be a balance.

MC: Thank you for keeping the Log ride and Mine Train.

Marty: Those are our heart. Those aren't going anywhere.

MC: There's a certain nostalgia to them. And speaking of nostalgia, Matt was great at playing on nostalgia for Disneyland's 50th. Do you think that the same thing can be done for Knott's?

Marty: Absolutely!

MC: Both parks even have a famous "Walt."

Marty: The Walt's would converse with each other from time to time. They probably learned a bit from each other as well as both parks were built and expanded.

I realize that the nostalgia is for the long time fans. But again, we also have to balance that with the younger fans of the park. You have to be looking at this generation of fans and the next one and the next one after that. You're right, the ones we hear from are the fans of the park from the old days, the grandparents and the moms and dads will tell us what they miss from the old days of Knott's. But we have to be keep everyone in mind.

Right now, everyone is talking about The Log ride, the Mine Train and Berry Tales. But the next generation may end up talking about Xcelerator, Ghostrider, Big foot Rapids, and Windseeker. We are trying to offer something for everybody.

MC: Disney has capitalized on its fan base with D23. Do you see Knott's ever starting a fan club like that?

Marty: We have talked about it. We have a group of former ride operators and fans that meet every year, kind of like an alumni day. But coming up with a permanent fan club is something we talked about but never pulled the trigger on.

A while back we did that book signing for the Knott's Preserved book and we learned that a lot of people really care about the park.

MC: Did that shock you?

Marty: A little bit I think. I knew we had a lot of fans, but nobody had ever gotten them together. When the book came out, that was when we all realized that they are really out there.

When Eric Lynxwiler and Chris Merritt did the book, that was a huge step too, because it brought our history to everybody and it was probably the best book that was done on Knott's ever. It's an incredible history of what we are. A lot of those people that showed up were Disney fans too.

MC: Because both parks are OC landmarks.

Marty: That's right, it's Orange County and a lot of those people came to that event and it made us feel warm and fuzzy about ourselves and what we do. You need pats on the back occasionally and it was important that we got that.

MC: Something that has also been cropping up every so often is upkeep. In particular on the ride Ghostrider. I can remember riding it when it first opened and it was, obviously, a smoother ride. Are there any plans to bring that ride back to its former glory?

Marty: Probably three times a year we do what we consider pretty extensive track work on it. We do accelerometer tests and it meets within guidelines. We take the time to focus on the problem areas during the test. But, it's a wooden roller coaster. It's an organic thing. Where the track should be, where that spot is, is kind of a subjective thing. When people say it's rough, I could ride it and think it isn't but I can't discount what they tell us.

It's subjective. We have even done a few things that may not have pleased the fans. We slowed down the second half, but we are constantly looking at it and toying with it. Making a huge effort, we haven't gotten to that point, but we are looking at it.

MC: The Haunted Shack is another thing people go nuts over, me included. We understand it had to be torn down because it was literally falling apart. But why wasn't something similar built in its place? Have there been any discussions about building another permanent haunted walk through attraction in that spot?

Marty: We toyed with leaving a maze up year round. We even opened a maze up early one year, in the late 90's before haunt to kind of test the idea. But for some reason it didn't do what we expected it to do. Maybe it was something we missed on our end and didn't do it well enough, but it just didn't take off like we wanted it to.

MC: I think that something more permanent than just a maze, something like an old abandoned western house would be great. Not too scary, something for families. But it would also stand as a reminder that you guys are the king of Haunt.

Marty: We talk about that a lot and may give it a shot again.

MC: Haunt isn't the only thing you do well though, Christmas was great. Are there any other plans for more special events like that?

Marty: We are always cooking up special event ideas. One year we tried a Mardi Gras, it was terrible.

MC: You guys also just restarted your Country Fair days.

Marty: Right. We did that for a good 15 years and ended up taking a break from the idea. We brought it back this year and people responded well to it again. We thought it was a pretty good event. We hope to build on that in the coming years and see how it goes.

MC: Looking at the immediate future of the park can you tell us when your newest attraction, Windseeker, is finally going to open to the public?

Marty: We are hoping by the end of the month. All of the other versions of the attraction built this year in other Cedar Fair parks have opened, and we were able to use some of the knowledge they learned in their development to our advantage. We really are aiming for end of July, knock on wood.

MC: After Windseeker, what's next?

Marty: Honestly, I don't know. We have talked about several things that I can't mention just yet. But, with Matt Ouimet coming on board, that could be a major game changer. We don't know what direction he will take or where he would like to push us.

MC: Knott's used to out perform Disney on a regular basis in its prime. Do you think Knott's will ever reach that point again?

Marty: With the size of their property, with the two parks, the hotels, I don't know if we could ever compete on that level. But we are a treasure in Orange County and that will never go away. We will always be here, we will always be able to survive and we will always have our loyal customers that care about us.

MC: You know, Marty, I think you could.

Marty: We can certainly grow, there's always room for growth. But we have our niche. It's that niche that people appreciate.

MC: Marty, we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us and the fans about what is going on at Knott's Berry Farm. We frequently see you out and about in the park, it is clear that you love Knott's and your job. We are huge fans of you for supporting the renovation and preservation of Ghost Town, especially considering the limited budget available for such things. That puts you on a short list of theme park managers whom we think are doing an amazing job. Keep up the good work Marty, millions of Knott's fans are counting on you.

Some thoughts about the interview:
We sincerely hope that with Matt Ouimet soon to be in charge of the company, more resources will be made available to Knott's so the park can recapture even more of that magic it was famous for.

WORLD RECORD FOR CORN HUSKING:
This past Thursday, MiceChat was on hand when Knott's Berry farm set a world record for most people husking corn at the same time. Park guests were invited to take part in this event free with park admission. Participants were led into the area in front of the Calico Stage. Upon entry, each person was officially counted by a representative from the Guiness Book of World Records and handed a piece of corn.

The very serious rep from Guiness.


Even Marty was there to help out.


Corny

On the count of three we all shucked a piece of corn and the record was set!

A total of 351 people were part of the new world record for corn husking at Knott's Berry Farm.

Guiness awards the crowd with the achievement.


On their way out, all who participated received a certificate.

FIESTA VILLAGE:
The painting and refurbishment continue in Fiesta Village in anticipation of the opening of Windseeker.

The Taqueria trim is nearly done




The games are being re-canvased.






The plaque in front of the carousel is done.


Nice work.






Awaiting her facelift

WINDSEEKER:
Here is the latest from Windseeker. It looks like the ride mechanism is nearly complete and the gondolas should be attached soon.

The fountain near the Carousel remains.


New themeing work? Nice.

BEWARE CARMAGEDDON! Well, we don't really know if you should beware or not, but the news about the coming apocalypse of Los Angeles traffic this weekend has made international news. What do you need to know if you are planning a trip to Disneyland this weekend? Well, the stretch of freeway being closed is the section of the 405 between LA's west side and the San Fernando Valley. It also just happens to be one of the busiest stretches of freeway in the country. And it will be closed from Friday evening through early Monday morning. That means that all traffic to/from the Valley will be forced onto the 5 Freeway and alternate freeways and surface streets are also expected to be gridlocked at times.

If you are visiting Disneyland from Orange County, San Diego or Riverside, you'll probably be just fine. However, folks coming from LA (in areas south of the closure) shouldn't have too much trouble getting to Disneyland but might encounter long delays trying to drive back into the city. And folks coming from north of the closure should forget even thinking about driving south. As a precaution, it might be advisable to avoid any freeway driving which comes anywhere within a 30 mile radius of Carmageddon. Bad news for folks in LA or driving down from North of LA but practically ensuring a lightly attended summer weekend in the park for the rest of us.

To help you through your Disneyland fix, today we are bringing you some small observations from the park as we soak in a beautiful summer day. We hope this helps you survive another week away from the parks.

The wait times for the attractions were healthy but manageable mid-week.


The Black-eyed-Susans are in full bloom. To that bumble bee, this is one of Disneyland's finest attractions.


Even the wild west is pretty and in bloom


The sailing ship Columbia circles 'round the river bend every 20 minutes or so, but it is always a sight to behold.

ADVENTURELAND BAZAAR:
A while back, we talked about how out of place Jack Skellington merchandise was so prominently displayed in an Adventureland shop. It looks as though they may have thought the better of it. Sort of.

While Jack is no longer greeting visitors as they walk in...


He is still tucked away in a corner of a shop that he doesn't really belong in.

MAIN STREET EMPORIUM:
The Main Street Emporium is still being reconfigured.

MATTERHORN:
The Matterhorn is now closed. Harold's roar no longer echos from the caverns above Fantasyland, for the time being. Aesthetic refurbishments of the station and track replacement work are the focus of this first part of a two part refurbishment. The ride will reopen in time for the holiday season then close again after the New Years to complete work and install the new bobsleds with locking seat belts.

Some reconstruction and renovation is going on in the control booth.

MICECHATTER from the MICETUBE:

Don't miss the latest edition of MiceChatter from Sarah Snitch:

Subscribe to the MiceTube by visiting this link and clicking the "Subscribe" button
One lucky subscriber will win a $20 Amazon gift card

BUENA VISTA STREET:
Disney California Adventure's new entry gates are making final preparations to debut to the public. In doing so, the entire flow of traffic into the park will be radically reconfigured. Guests will soon enter the Pan Pacific inspired turnstiles and then follow a path back stage and be rerouted to an opening near Soarin' Over California. Yes, it sounds like a mess, but this is one inconvenience we are happy to endure as they build the much higher quality Buena Vista Street (which will be a nearly Main Street quality first act for the park). We wish them lots of luck and good speed that this project can be completed in time for the opening of Cars Land and the HUGE crows yet to come.

These ticket booths (on the East side, closest to the DCA front gates) will be Guest Relations for the duration of the DCA makeover.

The new letters went up last week

They are now wrapped in plastic as construction around them is completed


Late last night the walls came down around the front of new gates







Some folks love the new gates, some wish they weren't a clone of Disney World's Hollywood Studios park. We think they are a significant improvement over what was there before.

A current look a the new Carthay Circle theater central hub shows notable progress to the new heart of the park. The fountain in the center of the area is nearly done with the base around it forming (it is that lime green circle near the bottom right of the photo below). The structure to the upper right of the picture has been surfaced and a base paint job has been applied.

The backside of Carthay

PARADISE GARDEN:
Electrical wiring continues to be worked on in the new Paradise Garden dining area. While another part has yet to open.

The lights have been hung in the trees, but their cords are still coiled and they haven't been wired into power yet.


The former PT Flea pin trading store which was moved from Bugs Land has been converted into a dining gazebo, but hasn't opened to guests. It is having a floor replacement, which explains why they held off opening it to the public with the rest of the dining area.

PHINEAS AND FERB:
The new Phineas and Ferb street entertainment offering debuted this weekend. While not the most astounding piece of entertainment it gives the target audience of youngsters (and the young at heart) some bouncy fun, and that's what counts.

CARS LAND:
Here is Cars Land from this week. Details continue to emerge in this new, 12 acre section of the park.

The frame work for the courthouse has gone up. Nearly everything is now framed or well under construction. You can clearly make out the buildings as they looked in the original Cars movie.




The ride mechanism for Mater's Junkyard Jamboree is being installed.












Disney's newest mountain range continues to form.


The photo really makes these rocks look impressive. Want to know a secret? They look even better and more imposing up close. Each one of those platforms is about one story tall.

BLUE SKY CELLAR:
One small change has come to the cabinet in the otherwise, now obsolete, exhibits in the Blue Sky Cellar.

New photos in the cabinet give a good look at Cars land progress and the entry gates up front.

Interesting shot. You can see how the track will bunny hop over a walkway leading to the entry of the ride.

Castle Park invited In The Parks contributor, Sir Clinksalot and his son Clinks Jr., to check out their Riverside location this past weekend. If you are looking for a smaller local amusement park to spend a few hours in, and find yourself in the area, Castle Park is a great place to spend an afternoon. In addition to the rides portion of the park, there is also an amazing miniature golf course that we will cover in a future installment. Today, let's take a look at the rides.

The entrance


The Big Top Restaurant where you can have lunch or book a private party.


Upon entering the park, the first ride you will see is the Screamin' Demon which is a spinning mouse coaster.


The coaster is similar to those you may find at various county fairs, but the ride packs a punch.





Right next to Screamin' Demon is one of the park's newest rides, the Dragon Flyers. Each ride also has a rating to help you judge how intense it is.


The park's biggest coaster is Merlin's Revenge. It's a roller skater similar to Gadgets Go Coaster, but is a bit longer and taller than the one at Disneyland, which makes it a great ride for the whole family.



This baby loops the loop with forward and rear facing seats!


For those of us who remember the classic flat rides, Castle Park has a couple of great ones, like the Spider!



The Falling Star

Spinning in the dark? You bet!


Kings Crown (Chair Swings)

BUCCANEER COVE:
All new, opening this weekend (July 16th) at Castle Park, is Buccaneer Cove water play area.

This summer marks Castle Park’s 35th anniversary and the unique family amusement park is celebrating with the addition of a 20,000 square foot water play area called Buccaneer Cove.

The new water wonderland will feature five levels of family water play with dozens of interactive water elements that will be fun for the whole family. The playground is currently being constructed directly next to the park’s castle themed arcade.

Buccaneer Cove will include five colorful water slides, wet water tunnels, interactive aqua domes, fun spray cannons, spray loops and cylinder spray fountains and a huge splash bucket located at the top of the structure. Lounge chairs and lush shady foliage will provide guests with the chance to take a break from the fun and sun. Semi-private cabanas with food service will be available for all day rental at an additional fee.

Some construction pictures taken of Buccaneer Cove this past weekend:

Next week we will continue our walk-through of Castle Park , including its connection to a man who built Knott's Berry Farm's two most iconic attractions, the Mine Train and Log Ride. You won't want to miss it!

Park information:
Parking is a very reasonable $6 and ride everything wrist-bands are $21.99 for those over 48" and $14.99 for those under 48". Children under 3 are free. If you join Castle Park's Facebook page, you will be notified of discounts as well.

Christmas in July
The park is also having a "Christmas in July" promotion for the next few weekends (July 16th through 31st). Bring a new toy valued at $10 or more and you can get a royal pass for only $10. The Royal Pass includes Admission, Unlimited Rides, 1 Free Round of Golf, 1 $5.00 Bag of Arcade tokens, 1 Free Bag Popcorn, 1 Coupon for $1 off any Food Purchase over $4.00. More information on the Christmas in July promotion can be found here: Castle Park - Pricing & Online Ticket



Yes, There's more! The amazing F!AN chimes in from Universal Studios with photos and video of what's going on in the park where you ride the movies.

CITYWALK:
We revisit last weeks performance by CeLo Green with a few bits of video. Then we look at the work that has started on replacing the former "Crazy Chocolate Store" with Element.

No mas chocolate


Portal work between Bubba Gumps and Tony Roma's.

STUDIO TOUR:
The new addition to the extended queue has been put to good use. For reference, when the entire queue is being used, the standby time is roughly 1hr (though the line does move quickly as each tram seats approximately 175 guests and trams can depart in less than five minutes).

Filming at Falls Lake in front of the giant blue screen.

Halloween Horror Nights 2011
Carpet has been installed at several maze locations meaning walls should be going up any day now. Currently, there is maze construction at five sites (plus a maze at House of Horrors): Shrek 4D extended queue, Terminator 2:3D extended queue, Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride extended queue, Jurassic Park: The Ride extended queue.

Wild west arena


JP extended queue


Progress on the maze in the Mummy queue.




Views of the maze in the Terminator queue have been blocked with screens.

JURASSIC PARK:
Here is a video of the extreme water effects for the summer on Jurassic Park.

TRANSFORMERS:
The show building for the new Transformers ride is fully enclosed now.

Before we finish up today's update, we'd like to remind you to sign up for the MiceChat monthly newsletter and events email so you are always in the loop on what's new and exciting in the Disney and theme park world:

* Email
First Name
Last Name
	View my publisher profile.
	* = Required Field

Email Marketing You Can Trust

Today's update was brought to you by the following members of our fantastic and talented crew of photographers and news contributors: Abominable Snowman, Sir Clinksalot, F!an, Fishbulb, and Dustysage.

Show us you appreciate this column by sharing this page with your friends!

Would you like to be part of this crew? Do you have a park, zoo or botanical garden that you'd like to share with our readers? We are looking for Southern California theme park reporters. We'd love to hear from you! please contact [email protected].

Stay clear of Carmageddon (we just like saying that word) CARMAGEDDON! We'll see you again soon In The Parks!