Yesterday we were invited out to Knott's Berry Farm for the Calico River Rapids Media Night. The latest "plussed" ride at Knott's definitely does not disappoint. And just like they did with the Mine Train, Log Ride and Peanut's Train, they've kicked up the rapids ride to the next level. 

Let's head in and have some fun!! 

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!! 

Last weekend we were invited out to the Knott's Berry Farm Boysenberry Festival to take in the festivities and of course the food. 

The event is growing each year and is definitely popular. We of course had an amazing time, but we also do have a few things we'd like to see updated since the event is growing so much, things to alleviate some of the growing pains. 

I think this is the right place

Let's get to eating!! 

Our first stop was for a waffle and chips with ice cream. You know, for Breakfast. Both were good, although the Waffle needed something, and that something is the ice cream. We got the chips later in the day and they were just as good.

​Both are found at the Ghost Town Bakery. 

Three things we got to try at the tasting preview, and they were just as good, if not better than they were then.

​All Three are available at Wagon Wheel Pizza across from Ghostrider. 

Something that we didn't know was coming, and isn't on your tasting card, but is delicious, found in Spurs Chop House. 

They are made to order, which is nice. I will say though, if we got this again we'd get it without the Hummus. I think that's part of the Shawarma, but I think we would have preferred a bit less of it. 

After eating all that food, it was time to take in some of the sights. 

Spring has sprung 

Goatses 

The merch game was on point 

Definitely my philosophy 

Cannot recommend the Boysenberry Cobbler enough. It's super easy and super good. 

Yo, Yo, Yo ... that's my jam

Our faces all day

You can smell the boysenberries as you approach, so if you want to smell like boysenberries after a bath, get all this stuff. 

And then of course, wrap yourself in your boysenberry towel

The wine and Beer tasting was back, although we have to say the "pours" you'd get with the tasting card were very inconsistent. By the end of the day you'd pretty much get a "shot" of Boysenberry beer. 

The chili was a hit in our group (Outside Wilderness Dance Hall)

As was the sausage (also found Outside Wilderness Dance Hall)

It's not very often you could spend all day at a theme park, only ride 2 rides and feel like you had a full day, but you can at the Boysenberry Festival

Green Frog, Blue Frog, Green Frog ... 

Purple Fly? 

We didn't catch the Jam-Boree, but I'm sure it's great for those who are into that kind of thing

BOBA!!! (Starbucks inside the park) 

Let's get back to the food, skirt steak skewer (also towards the front of the park) 

Chicken Wings (by Ghostrider)

Chicken Skewer (Indian Trails) 

Pulled Pork Fries (Calico Fry Co) 

Alright, we have a bit of a Rapids Construction update below, but before we get to that, we also have our top 5 food items to share: 

Let's take a look at the Rapids construction, there are finally a few walls up

Not a whole lot of visible work in this area 

They are definitely doing some work in the queue 

Alrighty, that's gonna wrap it up. We will probably head back to the park for more Boysenberry food at least once more during the Boysenberry Festival, probably in a few weeks. Be sure you head out to the park to check it out. You won't be disappointed. 

More details about the Boysenberry Festival can be found here. 

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This past Tuesday we were invited out to Knott's Berry Farm for an evening of tastings featuring many new items that will be available at this years Boysenberry Festival. 

Among the delectable eats were some truly tasty treats, many flowing drinks and of course, all the fun that Knott's has to offer. 

We also have a quick park update before we get started on the food. 

Welcome to Knott's!! 

Every time we try and ride Jaguar it seems to go down. But we rode it hundreds of times during Coasting for Kids so we probably are good to not ride this again, ever. 

A must-ride, every visit. Usually more than once. 

Over at the Timber Mountain Log Ride, they've made some nice updates to the Fast Lane process. 

Previously Fast Lane would go through the exit, which created issues for those exiting the logs, and probably a safety issue as well. 

Now the entrance is through the regular line

The regular line gets held on the right under the sign, while Fast Lane goes to the left. 

They wait for the line to pass the cave before letting the next group go. 

It actually seemed to work really well, hopefully they're thinking of ways to make Fast Lane better at some of the other rides. Namely Montezoomas Revenge and the Rapids. 

Unfortunately HangTime was down all day. 

Pony Express was also getting some offseason love. 

Speaking of the rapids, some work is definitely going on, we could hear them pounding away at something. 

Could be another reason Pony Express was closed. 

Lots of room for new landscaping or other things. 

They were working on the queue 

Not sure how well you can see them, but there are ropes strung across in a few areas here. Not sure what they are for. 

The Galloping Goose was out, always a nice treat. 

Alright, let's get on with the food. 

The first of three videos where we talk about all of the food we tried. Don't worry, we cut out the part where we eat the food. Nobody needs to see that. =) 

Boysenberry Tostada with pulled pork. Super delicious. 

Boysenberry Salmon, nice and tasty. 

Boysenberry Habanero Mac and Cheese. This was a hit, and we can't wait to have it again soon. 

Jambalaya. It was quite good. Everything a Jambalaya should be. Didn't taste much Boysenberry, but that was ok. 

Chili in a Boysenberry Bread Bowl. Fantastic Chili. Yummy Bread Bowl. 

Chicken and Flank Steak skewers. We actually preferred the chicken, but both were very good. 

Boysenberry Pot Roast and Boysenberry Mashed Potatoes. 

Both were melt in your mouth good. Josh doesn't usually like Mashed Potatoes, but he loved these. 

Boysenberry Hummus. Think this is a carry-over from last year, but it was fantastic. The pita was perfect. 

Knott's also announced that an all new Boysenberry Pie Frozen Yogurt will be available at ALL Yogurtland locations (yes, that one down the street from you) beginning on March 18th. 

​It's so worth it. 

Lastly and certainly not least, is the Berry Beast. 

Be sure to check out the video on how this thing was born. 

Some great merchandise will be available as well

Back again is the Tied Up In Knott's display which showcases some great artwork featuring Knott's history. 

Some really fantastic art on display. 

This Walter Knott art is sure to go very quickly. 

Same with the Catawampus. 

This is all so good, we'd be surprised if it's not all sold the very first day of the Festival. 

Some great Beary Tales and Kingdom of the Dinosaurs art

Classic Knott's 

Thanks to Knott's for having us out, we had a fantastic time, ate too much, caught up with great friends and we can't wait to do it again soon!! 

Last weekend we were invited out for the second year of the Knott's Peanut's Celebration. 

In it's second year there are more shows, more treats and more fun around every corner. 

​Let's check it out!! 

Welcome to the Peanut's Celebration!! 

Some pretty amazing photo ops at the front of the park 

Photoshop contest!! 

There are a couple of things Knott's has been stepping up the past few years, one of them is the Merchandise. 

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a huge "theme park shirt" person (other than Halloween stuff), but I really love some of this merch. 

The other thing they've stepped up the last few years is the food. Let's take a look at some of the great treats for the Peanut's Celebration. 

Lots of fun with the Peanut's Characters all over the park

Pig Pen is back!! 

Another of the new things this year is the Woodstock's Birds-Eye View. Check out a POV!!

Love all of these great signs around Camp Snoopy

It's somebody's birthday, or a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (the best Charlie Brown special, don't @ us)

So we'll be the first to admit, most of the shows at Peanut's Celebration aren't really made for us, but we thought this show was pretty fun. 

Some video of the show and highlights of the entire Celebration

Moo

We of course had to take a couple of minutes to check out the progress on the rapids 

Flags in the ground, Hyper confirmed!! (some people on Twitter didn't get the joke) 

Last year the Sketch School had Peanut's specials showing between Show Times, but sadly not this year. 

We also managed to get a new POV of the Calico Mine Ride since we had the cart almost to ourselves. One of the best rides at the park, or anywhere for that matter. 

Coolest store!! 

Thanks Knott's for having us out, we had an absolute blast as always. 

Knott's Peanut's Celebration runs through March 10th. Check out all of the info about the event here! 

Last weekend we headed back out to Knott's Merry Farm for more holiday fun, to try some more of the treats and to finally see the Snoopy on Ice Show. 

We of course took a look at the construction progress of Calico River Rapids. 

Welcome back to Knott's Merry Farm!!

A nice housewarming gift for some members of Team Park Journey

Let's check out what's up with Calico River Rapids

Not much over here yet 

Or here

We don't think over here either 

We're sure work is going on, but we can't see it yet. 

One thing we are hoping for are new rafts. Or at the very least, new seat belts. 

Hey there HangTime 

Now that's a wreath 

Let's go check out the ice show. Easily the most popular show at the park. 

Merry Christmas Snoopy

The show is always a favorite of ours, but for some reason about 10 minutes into the show it stopped suddenly. There was never an announcement that it was cancelled and we ended up leaving after about 15 minutes. 

But what we saw was fantastic of course. 

Mmmm, Cookies 

Mmmm, Churros 

Hey Christmas Tree

Check out our video of the tree lighting ceremony from Sunday

We had another great day at Knott's, we didn't get to try some of the food we wanted to. We may have to go back after Xmas to try the rest.