Tell me about Knotts - if you don't do the rides

[O-Jo]

DH and DS don't like the rides. I LOVE them but don't want to spend the whole time away from them. I am doubting whether Knotts is worth the money if we skip the rides. Never been there before so I'd appreciate opinions!

 

[Monkey Monkey]

I've only been to Knott's once, and admission was free because it was a donate a toy day and get free admission.

I still think it was a waste.

Our son was 18 months and we didn't go on any rides either. I would only go back if I was going without DS and could go on rides.

But like I said, I've only been once, and it was a pretty crowded Saturday, so others may have a different perspective.

 

[toocherie]

IMHO--Knott's is nasty. I can't think of anything worthwhile to do there if you are not going on rides; and most of the rides I wouldn't waste my time on. About five years ago we went for the day because it was the company picnic--they were having a huge convention of sorts in the park and it was impossible to move through . . . . plus they were blaring music so loud it was giving us a headache. You think you see PDA at Disney--this was almost obscene at Knott's--and in one case it was two teenagers who had JUST MET. It was awful and I haven't been back even though I am a local and could get it for free often-times with promotions.

 

[toocherie]

IMHO--Knott's is nasty. I can't think of anything worthwhile to do there if you are not going on rides; and most of the rides I wouldn't waste my time on. About five years ago we went for the day because it was the company picnic--they were having a huge convention of sorts in the park and it was impossible to move through . . . . plus they were blaring music so loud it was giving us a headache. You think you see PDA at Disney--this was almost obscene at Knott's--and in one case it was two teenagers who had JUST MET. It was awful and I haven't been back even though I am a local and could get it for free often-times with promotions.

 

[darren123]

If you go to Subway you can get a coupon for Adults $29.99 and Children $19.99 expires 9/1/08 I think. Knotts is worth going to they have the Calico Ghost Town to look at be sure to look in every window and door, there is a lot to see. We were there in May/June and had a great day. The rides are awesome and there is also different talks and shows on during the day. We were in the USA in 2002 and did not go to Knotts because we heard bad things about it, this trip we thought we would go and we were not disapointed we had a great day one word of warning the Ghost Rider wooden rollercoaster is very very rough. Even if the family has to wait for you to go on a ride there is some much for them to see and do, It is easy to get there by bus or if you are driving. If you go and think what a waste of money at least you have been and seen it for youself.

 

[Lasty K]

I go there often at times, and did used to work there so I'll give ya some incite on Knotts,

For a trip where you'll be avoiding rides,

Obviously you should check out the shows. There's a stunt show that plays til around 6pm throughout the day. It's pretty funny, jokes about what's going on now while having a good ol' western feel to it.

Then there's a stunt show involving skaters, bikers, etc. on the main stage. You'll be able to see kids from the ages of 6 to teens ride the ramps and half pipes through the day as well. Lasts for a while.

Another one is the dancing stint where you, or everyone, participates in a country style dancing routine.

There's more then what I described above, but those are the main shows that goes on. Oh, and as of now, Snoopy on Ice is showing. Basically Snoopy and his camp skating on ice, pretty nice show.

Beware though, there 'are' those "thugs" that do go there with some foul language that could be heard. As well as PDA, just maybe once in a while you will be coming across that. Other then that, it's not much at all.

If you don't want to waste your money, go after 4pm where the ticket price is like $29.99 or so.

 

[Zoemakes5]

My DD is only 6, and she really enjoys Knotts. There is a large "Camp Snoopy", which is a large kids area, with rides like the Red Baron, Snoopy jumper, what I refer to as Frog Hopper, etc. While they are "rides", they aren't "e-ticket rides", as I would think of them. DD and DH did Camp Snoopy for about an hour and a half when we were there in June and I took DS's to go on some of the rollar coaster type rides.
Rides that the whole family went on include the river rapids, the stage coach, the train, the zipper, merry go round, the "hat ride" (think tea cups with sombreros) and bumper cars.
We also had run wandering around the shops in the ghost town area, as there were some really unique ones. DD especially likes the glass blower, and DS's liked the carved animal area.
We ate at Mrs. Knott's for dinner, and if you like really good chicken dinners, wow, this is the place to go. VERY good food. And a ton of it! I should have split a chicken dinner with someone, but didn't. Even the kids meals had a lot of food.
We've done Knotts for next to nothing on more than one occasion, making it very worthwhile. There are tickets in the Entertainment book for those who have one for anywhere in So.Cal. Also, local grocery stores tend to have discount tickets available. I don't know the age of your DS, but I also like that the kid's age limit goes to 11, not 9, so my second DS is still child rate. We enjoyed ourselves when we went, but it was pretty quiet (except the toys for tots, I'll never do that again!)
We must be lucky, as we've never seen alot of the problems that others have. The place was clean and the staff helpful, the food was pretty good, too. I do think you see more PDA and more unaccompanied teens/preteens, and that can be a bit of a pain, but I also think that they don't tend to gravitate towards areas geared towards the younger kids/families, as it wouldn't be so cool. However, in the lines for the bigger faster rides, expect PDA's and swearing and clothing and attitudes of all sorts.

 

[scooter15]

DH and I don't do the rides just because we can't handle them as much anymore. However, I do go on Ghost Rider and LOVE that ride. Anyway, we probably will be getting APs for Knott's because our kids love Camp Snoopy. Its one place where they are able to go on the rides by themselves.

We went a few weeks ago after a 3 year hiatus and loved it. We went after 4pm because we never really spend the whole day there anyway. No one was there as well so the kids walked on every ride and I was able to walk on Ghost Rider. The last time we went we ate at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant and didnt' care much but the last time was very good. Our waitress who was much older was very patient with us and our very rowdy young 3 kids. She even gave us 2 dozen biscuits to take home with us for free.

Since school is starting there won't be as many kids/teens around. I know during the off season, a lot of the older folks love to just walk around the park, especially Ghost Town and enjoy the shows. They have lunch at Chicken Dinner Restaurant and then head home.

There are always discounts available and the better ones usually are offered during that time.

 

[Lasty K]

Oh yes, about Ghostrider..

It IS very rough in the back, front is smooth as can be. The rear WILL whip you around. And at night, it gets a little rougher, just throwing it out there.

If you have a young son/daughter that would like to win something, make sure to check out the Duck Pond game in the Camp Snoopy area. It's a small little river that flows in circles with yellow ducks afloat on it. You can never lose in that game.

It makes the kids happy!