Knott's Berry Farm Stuff
Here's one of the stranger Knott's Berry Farm images in my collection. Two ladies (sisters?) are obviously enjoying themselves as they have their photo taken, heads poking through this reproduction of a vintage "Gold Dust Twins" ad. I have an old pinback button adversiting this same product, which I believe dates back to the late 19th or early 20th century (doesn't that sound like a long time ago??). Gee, I can't imagine why this isn't at the park anymore!
This next photo shows the maginificent Log Ride, one of my favorite attractions as a kid (right after the Calico Mine Train). I used to know every turn of this flume ride by heart..."here comes the pine tree smell!"...."dark cave with the faint blue-green light means the big drop is coming!". This photo is from 1969, the year the Timber Mountain Log Ride made its debut (and about one year after Knott's put up fences, started charging admission, officially becoming an amusement park). Either several ghosts from the Ghost Town are trying it out, or perhaps it was still being tested with empty logs. I know there's at least one or two of you out there who will know if it was operating by September of that year!
6 comments:
Having never been on the Log Ride, this photo looks like a Nara Dreamland interpretation of Splash Mountain.
*ducks*
My first log ride anywhere. It was awesome. Great pictures
Neat Picture, this was my first log ride too! Progressland, "Nara Dreamland" that place cracks me up, too surreal!
I LOVE THESE Knott's pics. Check my blog this weekend for a Knott's ticket blow-out!
Progressland - that's just too funny! I see what you mean, but consider that this one was first.
Re: Knott's doing this first...
I can remember at a CM meeting in the Fantasyland Theater, Card Walker inferring that Disney used an outside firm to perform the R&D work on the flume ride concept. And the patents associated with that work ended up with the engineering firm, not Disney. As a result, it was Disney money which allowed others to develop their flume rides. And that Disney would never again out-source such work. Now why Disney was not ahead of Knott's in deploying the technology remains a mystery. In my opinion, Disney lagged behind the competition in the late 70's and early 80's (convering the Walker/Tatum era) by being too tightly controlled by the bean counters.
Great pics!
As to the Log Ride - they were probably running the equivalent of what we used to call a "dead head" on the Jungle Cruise - just cycling through some logs first thing in the morning before the ride opens...
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