Articles about Knott's Berry Farm published here on OCThen.com...
- Old Films About Knott's Berry Farms - November 29, 2006 - Does anyone remember two old made-for-television films from the 1950's about Knott's?
- The Wagonmasters of Knott's Berry Farm - March 5, 2006 - Founding band member Billy Beeman has a website dedicated to the band that played in Ghost Town for so many years.
- Memories of Knott's Berry Farm - April 7, 2005 - Personal memories about going to Knott's Berry Farm from tons of people
Orange County Memories is about the history of Orange County, CA as told from the people who lived and worked here.
hi...
ReplyDeleteit was called "jungle island"
the aligator that spat water , and his freinds , were called "woodniks" they were all over the place on jungle island. last i remember there were two left , placed in the camp snoopy area with a little plaque explaining what the heck they were. i have tons of pictures of this place at my folks house in washington, but it'll be awhile before i could scan them and post them. in my opinion in some ways it was better than tom sawyers island, it only cost 5o cents and there was lots to do.. my favorite was the earthquake house.. take care...
ironicaly the plaque is near the entrance to what became the "bear'y tales funhouse" in camp snoopy when the dinosaur ride opened. i can't be too sure it's still there because now that i think about it that was almost 20 years ago, and who knows what's been removed by cedar fair.. i can answer just about ANY question about knott's (until the early 90's)i had a season pass from 86-88 ,lived a 10 minute bike ride away, and even did a school reprt about knott's in highschool..
ReplyDeleteas much as i miss all that's been removed i'm a wooden rollercoaster FREAK, so, though it might be sacrilige to say so, making my childhood dreams come true with ghostrider absolves the new management of any guilt.... still i miss alot of stuff,
We moved to California in January 1961 so my dad could find work. We had no money so we visited Knott's because it was free. You could see all kinds of things, like Mott's Miniatures.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was weird that they had all those phony looking, bright fushia paper flowers draped over all the archways. (Bouganvilla)
We found a pond where we were given poles to fish. We caught a lot of fish. My dad was sooo excited that we were bringing home dinner. Then we went to return the poles and found out we had to pay for the fish by the inch. We ran around trying to find people to take the fish. Well, at least we ate well that night
I remember Jungle Island very well. We would run around in there for an hour while the adults rested. We lived in Garden Grove most of my childhood. I remember when Knott's had sea lions and we could feed them. One time my brother fell in the duck pond and couldn't get out because the algae made it so slippery. Knott's boysenberry jam is still my favorite jam. I just wish I could find some around here. It is just too bad you can't wander around ghost town for free anymore. Do they still have the chickens wandering around in the parking lot?
ReplyDeleteBonnie
You can buy Knott's Boysenberry Jam at www.knotts.com... Believe it or not, they actually relinquished the Boysenberry plant patent rights. You can buy the plants now at Home Depot and the like. I bought several and they have produced very well the past 2 yesrs.
ReplyDeleteWhen did Jungle Island disappear? I absolutely loved that place when I was a little kid in the late '60s early '70s. I was down there in '03, the first time in 25 years, and noticed a water park appeared to have taken over at least part of what used to be Jungle Island.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see the pics mentioned in this thread as well.
Hi...
ReplyDeleteI havent been to knotts in a while, and i just heard about these changes....
-the night time water/light show thing is gone because of the Silver Bullet
-the dinosaur ride is gone (any idea when and why it left?)
-the petting zoo is gone
here are some of my questions (please answer if you can)
-i remember a roller coaster called the wind jammer. it used to be right where the Xcelerator is now... anybody know when it actually worked, and why it was shut down??
-again, why did they decide to get rid of the Dinosaur ride??
-what is the Catawumpus, and where can i see a picture of it??
please post an answer if you can
please and thanks!!
I was just at knotts for the first time in years and Although it was a great time and my kids reallyenjoyed it I was super disappointed to see the soap box racers, the dinosaur ride and panning for gold was gone. I understand modernization based on what other parks are doing and kids thesse days are looking for a bigger thrill then i did as a kid but some of those things were just good ol classic fun. I was really looking forward to sharing these things and memories with my kids. it was sad to see that my lil one could hardly ride any of the good rides due to being just an inch or so too short. Sad! i will return to knotts again because of my addiction to the boysenberry punch and the boysenberry topped funnel cake,but again i am sad to see the classics go away for the big thrill seekers.=(
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if Knotts issued 'JUNIOR' ticket books in the 1970's? I have Adult and Child tickets, but don't know about Junior tickets. I'm making a shadow box and would appreciate any info.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with Knott's Berry Farm when my parents and I lived in Buena Park and I could tell many stories.
ReplyDeleteBut I think one of my favorites is the time Uncle Walter, my Mother and I were on a picnic for my birthday. Of course security usually frowns on picnicers, but it was Walter's land so he felt he had the OK, so to speak. Anyway we had just finished our lunch when a young secuity guard came up to our car, just as Walter was putting the basket in the back of the car.
"I'm sorry folks, but we don't allow people to picnic on the grounds."
"Well", said Walter, pulling his head from the trunk. "I don't know what your going to do about it, cause we've already eatan."
Thank poor security guard recognize Walter right away and started backing up, and with every step he took he kept saying. "Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Knott! Of couse you can eat here! I'm so sorry!"
Walter just chuckled is dry chuckle and said. "That's OK son, your just doing your job."
Steve:
The place your talking about was called "Jungle Island" and it was owned by a couple by the name of Webb, Jim and Evelee Webb. give you some stories.
Mrs Powers
from 1964 thru sept 1982 jungle island was a little piece of heavan on earth. you had to be there.james f. webb and wife created a masterpiece,sanctioned by walter.jim rip,greg i miss you
ReplyDeleteI remember my parents bringing me, my brother and other neighborhood kids to Jungle Island in the early 70s to play all day for a quarter. I loved Jungle Island. I would love to have some pictures too, I've looked through family photos and haven't seen any. I was just there today, the island is a pavillion for private parties, the ducks and still in the water, and the chickens are still running around. There are still a lot of old pictures in the museum, they've left Ghost Town alone and we just spent over an hour in the Independance Hall.
ReplyDeleteThey say you can't bring back the past and now that my daughter is growing up, I would have loved to take her to Jungle Island or even Duck Island which as the song says, Knott's paved paradise to put up a parking lot. I think that what people should do now on this site is to let people know if there is anywhere else in southern california where you can take your kids to a place like this
ReplyDelete