Some of the perks of being a Cast Member at Disneyland is that we are offered discounted tickets to other amusement parks in southern California, including Knott’s Berry Farm. I hadn’t been to Knott’s Berry Farm since the mid-90s, and in all sincerity, all I remember is getting so drenched on Bigfoot Rapids that we had to go to our car to change clothes, and the Camp Snoopy store, which I thought was pretty nifty especially since it offered plushes of Snoopy’s siblings. Additionally, Patrick had never been to Knott’s! So, with a Saturday off, we decided to head over there!

The origins of Knott’s Berry Farm are incredibly humble, and unique, and not as well known as Disneyland. What we now know as Knott’s Berry Farm today began just as that, a berry farm, owned by Walter Knott and his wife, Cordelia, where they sold berries, preserves and pies. Eventually Cordelia began selling chicken dinners. Soon, word of how delicious her chicken was spread like wild fire. Massive crowds began to line up, and to entertain them, Knott began relocating buildings from real ghost towns, as well as constructing buildings inspired by other ghost towns, including Calico, and Knott’s Berry Farm and Ghost Town, as it was officially called then, was born. Over the decades the park has grown and expanded. In 1983 Camp Snoopy was added, an area themed used the world of Peanuts created by Charles M. Schulz, including character meet-and-greets, and now the park has many thrilling roller coasters, various kid friendly rides, and of course the famous Ghost Town.

Peanuts has always been one of my favorite comic strips, and has been present in my life since I was born. My mother is a massive Peanuts fan and collector, and I grew up with the strip and the various animated features. While for some A Charlie Brown Christmas is where their Peanuts films begin and end, I love all of the holiday films and TV shows that starred the characters of Schultz, and It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown is my favorite of the holiday specials. By and far Linus is my favorite character, with Lucy a close second, and certainly relatable, she’s a bit of a drama queen, and fights for women’s lib.

The Ghost Town portion of Knott’s is especially neat. There are actual blacksmiths at work who can make you unique souvenirs, many shows to enjoy, a stagecoach, and best of all, you can pan for real gold! Which we did! And it was pretty gosh darn nifty! One thing that is rather interesting about Knott’s is that it didn’t shy away from some topics of the wild west (like Disneyland does) and even includes nods to the the west’s infamous ladies of the night.

Since it has been so long since I had been to Knott’s I opted for a pretty casual look, not knowing how many wild rides we would do. I was also very pleased to take my new cactus brooch from Match Accessories for a spin. I picked this, as well as two others brooches, up at the Dapper Day Expo last week. Before you ask, no, I didn’t go to Dapper Day. I was actually working at the Resort that day. But swung by the Expo to see what was going on. There were many tempting vintage goodies, as well as some vintage repro/inspired lines, including Pin-Up Girl Clothing who debuted some samples from their upcoming Mary Blair collection. I also wore my vintage Knott’s Berry Farm charm bracelet. I’m a sucker for a good charm bracelet, especially touristy ones!

We had a pretty swell time, and I can see a return to Knott’s in the future, but it still can’t ever replace Disneyland in my heart. But I love Knott’s for its unique origin and many original gems, and details to the old west.

Outfit
Top: Magpie, Portland, Oregon
Jeans: Freddies of Pinewood
Mocs: Minnetonka
Knott’s Berry Farm Charm Bracelet: An antique mall somewhere!
Cactus Brooch: Match Accessories
Purse: My dad…or Stars in Portland…I don’t remember!

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