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Old 14 Oct 19, 07:57 PM  
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smithlane
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The BIG Little Lies California Road Trip - 28th July 2019 - Knotts Berry Farm

Day 11

Alarm was set for 8 this morning for our one and only theme park day this holiday.
Today we are off to Knotts Berry Farm.

As the park didn’t open until 10 we weren’t in any major rush so met the Leans at 9.30 in the lobby. It’s only a 5-10 minute walk up the road but as we walked outside the courtesy shuttle bus was waiting and the driver told us to hop on board. 2 mins later we had arrived
Feeling ever so lazy we tipped the driver then made our way to the barrier.







As we had pre bought our tickets yesterday and downloaded them to our iPhone wallet we could skip the ticket booths. It was only 9.45 so still had 15 mins to wait. It was early entry for the Knotts Berry Farm hotel guests or annual pass holders.





We walked over to the bakery to redeem our 2 souvenir cups and to see about the all day dining plan we had pre bought as well.









Unfortunately no breakfast items were available on the dining plan so had to buy the kids each a huge iced donut. We got talking to a local in the queue who very kindly let us use his season pass to get 10% off.

It was now just gone 10 so went on our first ride, the Ghost Rider. Jim told me it was probably like a runaway mine train type ride, a bit like Big Thunder Mountain in Magic Kingdom so I agreed to go on. The wait time on the app said 115 mins but ‘only’ took 50. Thankfully this was the longest we queued all day.
Well what can I say about this ride? It is NOTHING like Thunder Mountain, I was screaming like a banshee the whole way around

Feeling a bit light headed now we went for a very early lunch at Fireman’s BBQ. With the dining plan you got a main and a side which you could redeem every 90 minutes. Nick was already mentally logging the time we could next use it wanting to maximise every cent of the plan
I went with half bbq chicken and ribs with a baked potato, the other 3 all got hotdogs with crisps. We also refilled our drinks. This was actually quite nice and definitely filled a hole.





From here we went on the Calico River Rapids, kids on one boat, adults on another. None of us got too wet apart from poor Nick who bore the brunt of it!









Next up, the Pony Express. This was only a short ride but does shoot you off at some speed and was actually quite fun.



Now for another pit stop, this time I got a pineapple dole whip. So good and refreshing, it was a hot one today!
The girls really wanted to go on Hangtime which is very similar to Sheikra in Busch Gardens so took a walk over.







There’s not a hope in hell you’d get me on a ride like that and neither did Sean who’s terrified of heights or Sam who didn’t want to feel sick.
I mean just look at it?! How anyone actually voluntarily chooses to go on a ride like this is beyond me





Instead the 3 of us went to find something more kid friendly. Just opposite are the Surfside Gliders which Sean and I went on. Sam deemed them too babyish but they actually go quite high, we had good fun.





Waited for the others in the gift shop to get some air con, have I mentioned how hot it is!
Only waited 10 or so minutes for them, they all loved it. Weirdo’s
After a quick refill of drinks we went on Coast Rider which is like a Cat and Mouse type ride.





This spins you around a lot you feel your insides jiggling about!

Jim then spotted a score a goal football game so paid $6 each for him and Sam to have a go. They both scored 2 out of 5 so won themselves a small rubber ball which they kindly gave to a couple of little kids watching.









Jen and Sam then had a go on the Jacobs ladder but were unsuccessful, Jen lasted longer than Sam though who fell off as soon as he got on







The others then wanted to go on Xcelerator which again was a big no no so Sean and I went on the Calico Mine Train. This was good fun we both really enjoyed it. Sean loved the animated characters and freaked out when there was an explosion at the end, everyone was laughing at how dramatic he was being



















As we hadn’t heard from the others we decided to have a lap around the park on the Calico Railroad. A train was just pulling into the station so didn’t wait long before we found a seat.









This was a nice slow ride round, the breeze was lovely. 2 actors came on board pretending to hold up the train at gunpoint. They were hilarious with strong southern accents. Sean thought it was real to begin with and held his hands up bless him







Helen messaged to say they were done and they were waiting outside of Coasters Diner so we made our way over to them.
Hungry again we had a selection of cheeseburgers and chicken tenders, all included on our dining plan. They have great toppings bar to load up on too. My burger was actually really nice.









It was now 5 o’clock and we were fairly exhausted so decided to head back to the hotel for some pool time via the shops obvs!











Only took 5 minutes and no we didn’t use the shuttle bus this time

Jim and Nick had a sleep while Helen took the kids down to the pool. I popped to Walmart to get a couple of polystyrene cool boxes for our beach days coming up. These were only $7.50 each, bargain!

We chilled until 7pm then by 7.30 we were ready to go back to the park. Jim stayed in the room as he wasn’t feeling great and just wanted to sleep. Lightweight





First stop was the log flume ride but after spending 20 mins in the queue with it barely moving we hopped out and went on Supreme Scream instead. Well everyone but Sean and I. We watched these mad fools being plummeted down to earth!





They may be smiling now...















Now, not so much



We now went to find something to eat and as Panda Express was the closest that one won. Hope the fussy moo that she is didn’t like any of the mains on offer so I went round to where we ate earlier and got her another portion of chicken tenders and fries. I got Sam to order me the Orange Chicken and Chow Mein.
This was only ok, not a patch on the Panda Express in Orlando! I suppose being inside a theme park the quality isn’t as good.

Once done the others wanted to go on Silver Bullet so Sean and I took a walk around. We stopped to listen to a Navajo Indian sing tribal songs but Sean wasn’t too keen so had a look in a few shops.



























I bought a magnet and some Boysenberry biscuits. Boysenberries are grown here at Knotts Berry and are a cross between a blackberry and a loganberry. These were really good!



Met back up with the others and Jenny and Hope wanted to go back on Hangtime so Helen went with them whilst Nick, Sean, Sam and I went on Timber Mountain Log Flume. The queue was a lot shorter and we only waited about 20 mins. We got a lot wetter than we wanted to at this time in the evening with no sun to dry you off.

It had gone 10 by the time we came out so met back up with Helen and the girls then headed for the exit.





Popped into the main gift shop so Helen could buy a magnet, I also picked up this California tree decoration.







We all decided we were STILL hungry and that everyone fancied pancakes . As there is an IHOP across the road we popped in there. I called Jim to see if he wanted me to get him a takeout which he did.
Got seated straight away. I shared a stack of choc chip pancakes with Sam and Hope had a vanilla milkshake. I then ordered a chicken club stacker sandwich to takeaway for Jim.









Pancakes soon arrived and were divine! Bill came to $42 including tip.

We walked back to the hotel and got straight into bed, packing could wait until the morning. Tomorrow we are off again down to Oceanside for a chilled (yeah right!) 5 nights by the beach

Edited at 12:23 PM.
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Old 15 Oct 19, 07:37 PM  
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A hectic day today. I love that you caught the shuttle bus in the morning! Ha ha, how lazy is that? Still, it sounds like it was too full on for Jim as he had to have a lie down in the evening and didn't fancy going back. I chuckled that he still wanted the IHOP though.

The rides all seemed fun, shame it wasn't one of the cloudier days as it seemed really hot today, but the kids all had fun and the all day dining seemed good value for money too.
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Old 20 Oct 19, 11:14 PM  
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Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
A hectic day today. I love that you caught the shuttle bus in the morning! Ha ha, how lazy is that? Still, it sounds like it was too full on for Jim as he had to have a lie down in the evening and didn't fancy going back. I chuckled that he still wanted the IHOP though.

The rides all seemed fun, shame it wasn't one of the cloudier days as it seemed really hot today, but the kids all had fun and the all day dining seemed good value for money too.
Oh I know totally lazy
Jim was suffering from how shall we put it, a bottom related illness . We thought it best that he just lie down, although he wasn't too ill for a fried chicken sandwich
It was so hot today but thankfully there isn't the humidity of Florida where as you well know you feel you can't breathe at times.
It was one of Jen and Hope's favourite days of the holiday so I'm really pleased they enjoyed it as they're the ride junkies of the family!
I'm really pleased we had the dining deal, I almost felt like we were in Disney with the free dining plan
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Old 27 Oct 19, 09:14 PM  
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Knotts Berry Farm looks like a good day out. Quite a pretty park going by your photos. Is it based on a wild west type theme? The dining plan seems like good value, although it's a shame breakfast wasn't included. Some of those rides look a bit mental... I think I would have sat them out as well. Looks like a fun day was had by all, although it's a pity Jim wasn't able to join you in the evening as well.

Great way to end the day with pancakes .
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Old 1 Nov 19, 11:45 PM  
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Originally Posted by Fuellady View Post
Knotts Berry Farm looks like a good day out. Quite a pretty park going by your photos. Is it based on a wild west type theme? The dining plan seems like good value, although it's a shame breakfast wasn't included. Some of those rides look a bit mental... I think I would have sat them out as well. Looks like a fun day was had by all, although it's a pity Jim wasn't able to join you in the evening as well.

Great way to end the day with pancakes .
It was nice to have a theme park day, especially for the teens.
Yes it's a Wild West theme and they do it really well. The dining plan was great value. We would have spent loads more had we not had it, was nice not to think how much anything cost and just say to the kids you can have what you want.
There's not an amount of money you could pay me to go on some of those rides, they are indeed mental
It was best he stay in the hotel than be miserable but he did miss out on a fun evening.
You can't go wrong with ihop pancakes
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Old 2 Nov 19, 08:54 PM  
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What a really fun day. Love all the rides ... and the food. You definitely maxed it . It looks a nice park, quite kooky and fun. Good that your hip wasn’t too bad today ? But oh no to Jim feeling a bit off colour. And rounding off the day with pancakes ... true sign of a holiday 😂
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Old 3 Nov 19, 12:07 AM  
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Originally Posted by WileyCoyote View Post
What a really fun day. Love all the rides ... and the food. You definitely maxed it . It looks a nice park, quite kooky and fun. Good that your hip wasn’t too bad today ? But oh no to Jim feeling a bit off colour. And rounding off the day with pancakes ... true sign of a holiday 😂
Knotts Berry is a nice park, its no Disney though...
I'm glad we got the dining plan, food in the park is so overpriced!
Hip was feeling better today thank you. Jim feeling off colour was entirely his own doing with over indulging
I know, only on holiday can you have 3 big meals in a day PLUS pancakes in the evening
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Old 7 Nov 19, 03:53 PM  
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What a great day you had there! Would've loved to have visited on our trip but we didn't have enough time.
Loved reading about how your day went
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Old 7 Nov 19, 09:36 PM  
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Originally Posted by juliab View Post
What a great day you had there! Would've loved to have visited on our trip but we didn't have enough time.
Loved reading about how your day went
We had a great day at Knotts Berry but I can imagine its not a patch on Disney
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Old 11 Nov 19, 02:44 PM  
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LOVE LOVE LOVE Knotts Berry Farm! Xcelerator is our favourite ride!
I cannot believe how much food you all managed to it 😂
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