Knott S Berry Farm

Where does Santa go in the summer? Members of the Orange County-based Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas (yes, that's an actual organization) spent summer vacation time here in Southern California at Knott's Berry Farm. Sixteen shopping-mall Santas even took a ride on the Pony Express roller coaster (right) at the Buena Park theme park. Started in 1994, the international fraternal order now boasts 700 members dedicated to the "joy of being Santa." Info: www.forbsantas.org -- Brady MacDonald

Another classic Southern California theme park attraction is undergoing a major overhaul. Knott's Berry Farm's Timber Mountain Log Ride will close for five months, starting this month, for a renovation of the ride's automated figures and sets and to add new scenes and characters. The log ride, which opened in 1969, is housed in an eight-story building. Riders on log vehicles float in 24,000 gallons of water and glide past mechanical figures and taxidermied animals before dropping down a 42-foot free fall.

Investigators are looking into whether weight was a factor in the death of a woman who fell from a steep water ride Friday at Knott's Berry Farm. Lori Mason-Larez, 40, of Duarte fell from the Perilous Plunge ride as it dropped 115 feet at up to 50 mph. The mother of five slipped from both a seat belt and lap bar and fell to the water below.

Knott's Berry Farm celebrates the 40th anniversary of Halloween Haunt with a crosstown rival threatening to tear the middle-aged monster limb from limb. But rather than cower and hide, Knott's Scary Farm has fought back against the resurgent Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, refusing to go quietly into the fog-filled night. > Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm Change takes time, though. The granddaddy of theme park events has grown to 13 mazes, nine shows and four scare zones with 1,000 monsters during its four decade reign of terror.

A guest at Knott's Berry Farm fell more than 100 feet to her death late Friday night while riding Perilous Plunge, billed by the theme park as having the steepest and highest drop of any water ride in the world. Knott's officials immediately closed the attraction, and state investigators tried Saturday to determine how the accident occurred.

Knott's Berry Farm will add five new mazes for Halloween Haunt 2012, including an up-charge VIP maze that promises to substantially increase the scare-quotient from years past. Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm The 40th annual Knott's Scary Farm will start on Sept. 21 and run on select nights through Oct. 31. The granddaddy of Halloween events will feature 13 mazes and four scare zones scattered throughout the Buena Park theme park. As part of the 40th anniversary celebration, Knott's entertainment supervisor Jeff Tucker promises higher quality mazes with more scares and better set decorations.

In the wake of two recent accidents at California theme parks, including one in which a board flew from a Knott's Berry Farm ride Monday and struck five people in the head, a state Senate committee voted to require statewide inspections of all amusement park rides. Though the committee members did not discuss Sunday's tragedy--a 12-year-old boy fell to his death at a Bay Area amusement park--Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) said the incident added momentum to support for the bill.

Wild Rivers' endless summer is finally over. The Orange County water park that had been living on borrowed time for the last five seasons is now just a memory. After more than a quarter of a century of water slides and wave pools, Wild Rivers failed to secure another lease extension from the Irvine Co., which owns the land and plans to build apartments on the property. A post on the Theme Park Review fan site features two dozen photos showing the progress of the ongoing demolition work.

Knott's Berry Farm celebrates the 40th anniversary of Halloween Haunt with a crosstown rival threatening to tear the middle-aged monster limb from limb. But rather than cower and hide, Knott's Scary Farm has fought back against the resurgent Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, refusing to go quietly into the fog-filled night. > Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm Change takes time, though. The granddaddy of theme park events has grown to 13 mazes, nine shows and four scare zones with 1,000 monsters during its four decade reign of terror.

Another classic Southern California theme park attraction is undergoing a major overhaul. Knott's Berry Farm's Timber Mountain Log Ride will close for five months, starting this month, for a renovation of the ride's automated figures and sets and to add new scenes and characters. The log ride, which opened in 1969, is housed in an eight-story building. Riders on log vehicles float in 24,000 gallons of water and glide past mechanical figures and taxidermied animals before dropping down a 42-foot free fall.

Knott's Berry Farm will add five new mazes for Halloween Haunt 2012, including an up-charge VIP maze that promises to substantially increase the scare-quotient from years past. Photos: Halloween Haunt 2012 at Knott's Berry Farm The 40th annual Knott's Scary Farm will start on Sept. 21 and run on select nights through Oct. 31. The granddaddy of Halloween events will feature 13 mazes and four scare zones scattered throughout the Buena Park theme park. As part of the 40th anniversary celebration, Knott's entertainment supervisor Jeff Tucker promises higher quality mazes with more scares and better set decorations.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., the owner of Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, reported a boost in revenue from visitors spending more at its parks through the Fourth of July holiday period. Cedar Fair, one of the nation's largest regional theme-park operators, took in $456 million, a 5% increase over the same period last year, the company reported Tuesday. The period through the Fourth of July holiday traditionally represents about one-third of the company's full-year revenue.

Cedar Point plans to turn the Ohio theme park's Million Dollar Midway into the $6-million Luminosity nighttime spectacular complete with lights, lasers and fireworks tied to a stage performance with DJs, dancers and drummers. PHOTOS: Luminosity nighttime spectacular at Cedar Point Debuting on June 8, the 40-minute Luminosity: Ignite the Night stage show will be followed by a pyrotechnics finale that leads into a DJ street party designed to turn the midway into an enormous dance floor.

Wild Rivers' endless summer is finally over. The Orange County water park that had been living on borrowed time for the last five seasons is now just a memory. After more than a quarter of a century of water slides and wave pools, Wild Rivers failed to secure another lease extension from the Irvine Co., which owns the land and plans to build apartments on the property. A post on the Theme Park Review fan site features two dozen photos showing the progress of the ongoing demolition work.

The new 301-foot-tall WindSeeker tower swing ride at Knott's Berry Farm combines the exhilaration and tranquility a bird must feel soaring amid the clouds. The ever-changing view from the lazily spinning ride provides the perspective of a circling hawk hovering on a thermal updraft. Down below, the bustling freeway traffic and suburban sprawl stretch endlessly to the ocean and mountains and beyond to the horizon as the wind whips your hair. > Photos: WindSeeker at Knott's Berry Farm The oft-delayed ride "soft opened" last week and is expected to make its official debut in the coming days.

Knott's Berry Farm has tentatively penciled in a mid-July premiere for its new 301-foot-tall WindSeeker spinning swing ride after watching Memorial Day weekend and Fourth of July debuts slip out of reach. Knott's recently topped off the new $5 million thrill ride, and crews are busy working on installing the electrical systems, with testing expected to begin in the next few weeks, officials said. Photos : Windseeker at Knott's, Cedar Point, Kings Island & Canada's Wonderland The Buena Park theme park got off to a late start on construction in January and watched the timeline get pushed back even further into the summer when a sister park experienced mechanical issues with an identical ride.

Virginia Knott Bender, the eldest of four children of the couple who turned a small berry patch in Buena Park into one of Southern California's earliest and most successful visitor attractions, died Friday. She was 90. Bender died at her home in Newport Beach after a long illness, said her sister, Marion Knott Montapert.

The new 301-foot-tall WindSeeker tower swing ride at Knott's Berry Farm combines the exhilaration and tranquility a bird must feel soaring amid the clouds. The ever-changing view from the lazily spinning ride provides the perspective of a circling hawk hovering on a thermal updraft. Down below, the bustling freeway traffic and suburban sprawl stretch endlessly to the ocean and mountains and beyond to the horizon as the wind whips your hair. > Photos: WindSeeker at Knott's Berry Farm The oft-delayed ride "soft opened" last week and is expected to make its official debut in the coming days.

Wendell "Bud" Hurlbut, who helped turn Knott's Berry Farm into a modern amusement park by designing and building two of its signature attractions, the Calico Mine Ride and the Timber Mountain Log Ride, has died. He was 92. Hurlbut died Jan. 5 at his home in Buena Park, Knott's said. No cause of death was given. Over the years he designed and built several rides for Knott's, as well as a replica of the Liberty Bell, crack included, for the park's replica of Independence Hall.

A state investigation found that a 2009 roller coaster accident that injured two riders at Knott's Berry Farm could have been prevented with proper maintenance, casting blame on both the theme park and the ride manufacturer. Xcelerator, a $13-million, hydraulic-launch accelerator coaster that opened at the Buena Park theme park in 2002, reopened Monday evening after Knott's made modifications required by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. In a statement, the theme park said the state's report "identified shortcomings in the manufacturer's instructions regarding the inspection and maintenance of the cable" and that the state agency had "required Knott's Berry Farm to put into place additional safeguards to determine cable viability and to work with the manufacturer to revise maintenance instructions."