As we usually do when there is an evening media night at Knott's, I took a half-day of work so we could at least beat "some" of the traffic down. And of course, have some fun in the park. 

While we were trying to figure out what to have for a late lunch, we headed over to the ride to get some daytime pics (we ended up having a fabulous meal at Boardwalk BBQ). 

The ride looks amazing!! 

Hi Walter The Salmon!!! (there is a story here, but that comes later) 

More on these later as well. =) 

After a quick lunch we decided to ride a few things since the park was pretty empty. 

We took a LOT of video during the day, the first was a slo-mo of HangTime. Because why the heck not. 

Hadn't done the Dragon Swing in a LOT of years, so decided to give it a spin. Great ride. 

The stage is set for the opening of the ride!! 

Before you even get to the ride, the queue is simply spectacular. So much to see. 

There were some questions about the height requirement, so here you go. 46". Not sure if this is the same as Bigfoot Rapids. Can anybody confirm? 

We did a walk-through of the queue of course. 

The detail is amazing, and the smell of fresh wood is everywhere. 

Bear Cub 

Campground 

Hey little guy!! 

Arooooooooooo!!! 

Remember the old switchbacks from Bigfoot Rapids? 

Well, this is them now. 

The cabin looks amazing 

So much detail to take in 

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck ... oh, woodpecker!! =) 

For when you need to take a nap (totally don't take a nap here)

Even the ride loading area got some love

Armed and ready to go for our POV's!! 

So the story behind Walter the Fish. 

The Citizens of Calico were out and about the entire night, showing off their new adventure and having fun with the media. Note, can't wait to see the interactions in this area for Ghost Town Alive. 

One of the interactive parts is exploding of "dynamite" (as you'll see in the video below). 

In talking to one of the citizens, they asked if we lost anybody on our voyage. And we of course said yes. Gabe (from Theme Park Duo) said his name was Walter and that he ended up in the mouth of a bear. 

And then, without missing a beat, the citizen asked if it was a Salmon. 

And thus, Walter The Salmon was born. 

They also had Pony Express open for us, and because it was Media Night, we were able to get a POV of this as well. Score!! 

As the sun went down we were able to get some nice night shots of the ride. 

As well as a quick interview with Garner Holt who talked about the ride and the other creations he's done for Knott's. 

To say we were impressed and blown away with the updates to the ride would be an understatement. 

I think with this one, the upgrades are definitely more jarring than they were with the Log or Mine Ride (because, let's face it, those rides have always had a great story). 

Bigfoot Rapids was always fun, but it's story was that it was just a Rapids Ride. Now? The ride fits squarely in with the rest of Calico and has a great story and theme. And it's still the fun rapids ride you remember. 

Lastly, we'll leave you with our Nighttime POV. Sure it's kind of hard to see, it's night and we're using GoPro's with no lighting. But SO fun to ride at night. We seriously can't wait to ride this on those warm summer nights. Or those scorching Knott's Scary Farm nights. 

Thanks again to Knott's for having us out, we had a blast as usual. We can't wait for Ghost Town Alive in a couple of weeks. Make sure you head out and ride Calico River Rapids!!