Knott’s Bear-y Tales:Return to the Fair was open today! I went through Ghost Town and saw the queue that had plastic panels, there are distancing markers everywhere, even half way up steps. You go up two sets of stairs, there is the Berry Factory sign on the wall, across the way is the water tower above the entrance. There is a room for the overflow queue, it is a factory with posters, in the windows you can see that Crafty Coyote! The queue winds down across from the Charles M. Schultz Theater and then back around. You get the 3D glasses and then wait, there are two loading lines, and then get into the ride vehicle. It’s like a large bench with four guns, the front locks onto the rear section where you sit, and the guns are holstered in circular pockets. Note: that I don’t think that they are de-sanitized every time so bring hand sanitizer. The guns are large jars of Knott’s Berry Jam, and have draw strings. So you pull them back throughout the ride!, I was tired.
The ride vehicles moves forward, like Toy Story Mania, the vehicles are connected. You are welcomed by Elder Bear-y, very funny. You see posters of some of the bears on the ride, note: none of them are robot bears like the original, but the shooting is so fun I didn’t care, scratch that bring back the robot bears! I think there was boysenberry smell, I was told it was there, but honestly I couldn’t sense it with my mask! It turns to a large screen, like a festival at a factory with pies being made. Suddenly the lights go out and Crafty Coyote starts taking the pies! Lil’ coyotes, pups, start lifting the boysenberry pies over their heads and they start walking to the left. The trick is to hit the pies, Bonus!, not just the coyotes. Also, try to hit the ones in the back, I was trying to orient myself so didn’t notice everything. Unload on those coyotes on the next screen! There is a whistle song, it reminds me of the Disney Robin Hood (1973) cartoon, it moves to a night scene, the pups are running on a bridge.
This leads to Frog Forest, there is mushrooms, on the screen, and large ones as prop scenery. The mixture of props and screens are fun. Some of the mushrooms have eyes and look like they are swaying on the screen. A turn brings you to another screen with the Frog Jumping Contest, remember to shoot the targets just right as the pups jump! The pups move to the Camp of the Fortune Teller with all sorts of performers in tents including ghosts. Watch it!, Crafty Coyote speeds away again! On the other side you see the shadow on tents of pies juggled and carried by those pups. You move onto the Fair, there’s a fortune teller, and then another sign as you enter Thunder Cave! This is a dark tunnel with flashes of lightning, on the ceiling I saw spiders, webs, and bats, blast them! Crafty Coyote leans into stacks of pies on a crashed truck! You move into a forest with some strange, hairy things like the McFry Guys, but all hair. Then, you fall down!
Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair factory entrance, photo by the author.
You reach the Country Fair past Crafty in a bathtub, there’s a beauty contest, very funny. Then, it gets to the fresh Boysenberry Pies, but it is taken by pups! You have to stop them before they reach a balloon and escape. In front of it is the bear family taking a picture. You also get your picture taken for the ride photo. The balloon swings free! Then, you follow it on the next screen, the pups throw pies at you and you pass boysenberry clouds. They all fall and Crafty gets his just desserts as a police bear laughs at him! Just blast those pies and give a few to Crafty! The bear family waves to you, not robots!, and then you turn to screens that show you shooting and your score! The places apparently were from the old Bear-y Tales ride, except some surreal creatures and Weird Juice, but there is more of a story with Crafty trying to steal the pies. Bear-y Tales 1.0 did have robot bears saying goodbye to you! The door opens to the outside loading and unloading area, be patient it takes some time for the ride vehicles to reach the finish and start.
Comparing it to other shooting rides, Men in Black: Alien Attack (at Universal Studios Florida), Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (those two have stories, but not so fun that I went right back on the ride), Toy Story Mania and the Voyage to the Iron Reef ride that was previously at Bear-y Tales, this one is superior. It is the fun settings and characters plus a story on why you are shooting in the first place. I think the pups are new and there are characters of the pups that may be outside of the ride, but I didn’t see them. There was a large pipe-like photo op at the other side of Johnny Rockets, but I didn’t see the pups and Boysen Bear there either. The steps down, be careful the light is kinda dim on the next flight of steps, which of course leads to The Factory gift shop. There is a kids book of the ride, Crafty Coyote stuffies, and shirts of the bear family, they were really cameos on the attraction. Also merch of Wacky Soap Box Racers, I hope Knott’s brings it back in some form, and Sad-Eye Joe.
Pan for Gold, photo by the author.
My next task was to find some healthy food options at Knott’s besides fried items and funnel cakes. I did find rotisserie chicken at Boardwalk BBQ. It is probably my second favorite chicken dish at all parks, the chicken at Three Broomsticks is the best, still I wonder why rotisserie chicken isn’t sold at the take-out section. I had a side of corn casserole and a cornbread. Ok, here’s the kicker, the best experience you can have at any theme park. Pan for Gold! This is something I did many times as a kid when you could just walk into the park, no admission. I was kinda confused since the map has it at Fiesta Village, wrong, it is to the side of the Ghost Rider entrance, right along the Ghost Rider exit line. I passed by it many, many, many times. There is a silo with Pan for Gold in the corner next to Ghost Rider. It just needs better signage. A sign over the steps. You take the steps and then there is the slough with many friendly employees.
Head down and there is a machine to use your game card, it is $10, cheap for real gold! Load it up and enter the gate for the slough. It is a long, water-filled slough. The employees are there to help you behind plastic panels. Your veteran gold panner dips a pan with sand, the gold is the heaviest material, so you rotate in wide circles in the water until the sand shifts out. It takes some time to get that gold! You are guaranteed to get five gold flakes! I was told the real 22k gold flakes come from Yukon, Alaska. You feel like a prospector. If you get tired, just rest the pan on the bottom, then get to work! Your experienced prospector uses a sieve to pour the flakes into a tiny bottle and remember when the gold is revealed, exciting!, shout, “Eureka!” This is the best collectible of any theme park! Celebrate Knott's Berry Farm's 100th Anniversary Celebration! There is decorations throughout Ghost Town. Knott’s opens to the public on May 21st, make your reservation, ride Bear-y Tales, and pan for that gold!
#KnottsBerryFarm, #KnottsBearyTalesReturntotheFair, #CraftyCoyote, #BoysenBear, #PanForGold.
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