Knott Your Typical Berry Farm

It had been some time since my husband or I had been to an amusement park. Sure, we had been to the Magic Kingdom, but we hadn't been to a run-of-the-mill amusement park in a long while. We wanted roller coasters.  We wanted bumper cars. We wanted kitschy tourist shops and we wanted them now.  

After finding a coupon off admission at Knott's Berry Farm, I wanted to learn more about the park.  I hadn't heard of it before. I did some research and learned it was far more than my original perceptions-a place to pick berries. It had roller coasters, rides, games and pies!  I wanted to go.

We purchased our tickets online to save some money, packed a lunch and made our way up to Anaheim for a day of amusements. Like I said before, it had been a very long time since we had gone to an amusement park and we were very excited.

We walked into the park and it felt familiar. The images of Snoopy and the Peanuts gang were plastered everywhere.  Rides intertwined and many attractions were sandwiched together. Even the map looked familiar, with cartoon-like images. Then, it hit me why this place looked and felt so familiar. It was owned by Cedar Fair, the same company that owns Cedar Point. It was like being at a home away from home.  

We arrived there a little after 10 a.m. and the park steadily became busier, but our wait for roller coasters never exceeded more than 45 minutes. We were pleased with this. We had packed a lunch but weren't allowed to bring our lunchbox into the park. When we were attached with afternoon hunger, we simply left the park, received the necessary hand stamp and walked back to our car to have a picnic. We ate underneath the shade of a tree.  

Our favorite ride had to be GhostRider. We're suckers for wooden coasters and this one happens to be one of the tallest in the world with an initial 108-foot banked drop. The coaster whipped us from side to side and had us clinging to our harness. It was awesome and well worth the near-hour wait.  

We also loved the atmosphere of the park and how different "worlds" stayed true to the theme. The architecture of the buildings modeled cabins and pueblos. It was as if we went from Native-American territory to the middle of the Gold Rush. It was pretty neat.  

We had dinner at the park and left not too soon after. The park had become a little crowded and waits for certain rides were becoming long.  After walked around all day in the hot sun, we still had to consider our long ride home.  

The park was a fun experience and met all of our requirements of what an amusement park should be.