Those lines at the food locations at Knotts makes me incredibly grateful that Disneyland has mobile order! Who wants to wait an HOUR just to order food? Parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios may get insane crowds at times but do a much better job at managing their crowds and rides operations than Knotts does (7 minute dispatch at Ghostrider is ridiculously bad!!!)
The lines are deceptive. They only exist during the food tasting events and at the locations where the tastings are are taking place. I was at Knotts last week friday. The tasting booths were busy, but I ate at other places that had almost no line.Wait was maybe 10 minutes max at most of those locations. I did do the tasting event 55$ for 6 meals 9.16 per meal, and they are full sized portions that we shared between 2 people. The longest I waited was 25 minutes, and that was at only 1 location. It really depends on the crowd.
The quick service drink fountains are under Berry Tales. The popcorn cart next to Calico Mine Train has short lines. The drink stand next to the train has shorter lines for beer and drinks.
Nice work on the Pony Express ride with the outside shots and your recorded experience. You are getting really good at piecing views together. Keep up the great work! (Edited: And the Xcelerator too!)
With regards to drinks, most pass holders have the year use cups and that's why the lines for food vending seem longer than usual, also since most APs really take advantage of those cups. As far as I know, there is a "grab and go" place near Hang Time as well as a popcorn cart that I think has bottled drinks, and there is a drink only area (AP cups) near the Boardwalk BBQ. There are also drink refrigerators in most shops where you can grab a bottled water or soda. That one near the front of Ghost Town is usually always the busiest.
Hey David. My wife and I went to boysenberry Fest last week after watching your video. Did the hotel package, which came with the tasting card. That alone was worth it. My only complaint about Knotts is they still can’t load and unload rides to save their butts. Such a huge contributor to the long standby times. We’re long time Disney pass holders and Disney KNOWS how to cycle quest through the rides.
Cedar Fair parks like Knotts always max out at 50/50 for fast lane to standby. They also do ADA from the exit every other train or so and you can imagine that standby gets crushed. Assuming a max capacity of fast lane… The full GhostRider queue is 3 hours like you saw, and the full silver bullet queue is 2 hours so you saw a 90 minute one. When I had a pass this was a open-11am only kind of park. The good news is there’s a lot of empty days during the year if you can manage to go on a random school day.
i went on 4/2 with a firend and did ghostrider first. line started a little behind the ride entrance and took 6 hours till we actually boarded. the fact that they only run a single train during peak spring break is baffling.
Maybe it was a 3 hour wait because they are letting all fastlane riders on. I don't know how I feel about that. I assume not many people want to pay an extra $100
You can't compare Genie+ to Fastlane. Fastlane is unlimited times, and no "return time". These two things justify the price difference compared to Genie+. That being said, Fastlane is only worth it on days like this video shows.
Well that, and the fact that a $30 genie plus just means most people in the park buy it. And that means it essentially becomes an extra ticket price. Industry standard is your express passes are the same price as your ticket (gate) prices because only a few people will buy it. This means if you buy it you really get your money's worth because you wait for nothing, and it also means other people aren't affected by slow standbys because of long express waits. And the company still makes money because they are priced higher.
I've had a Disneyland annual pass for the last 15 years, this year I got a Knotts pass to go on Saturdays and do Disneyland on Sunday's, so far not a huge fan of Knotts, mostly due to mobile ordering for food , I would of never got the food pass if I knew the lines were going to be so crazy
The last time I took my full family of 8 to Knotts was 2006. We stayed at the Knotts Hotel so we can enjoy Knotts and the area better. So for 2 adult tickets and 4 children tickets and 2 free under 3, it was affordable. Now to pay 8 adult tickets to get in there plus then pay for the fastlane each, plus food, I would be hesitant because could do a different event for about $1500+ for that one day.
There's a few Beverage-only stations across the park. You were actually passing one on your right as you were speaking about it lol. There's also one outside of Knott's Beary Tales and outside Boardwalk BBQ.
If like my local cedar park with fast lane on extremely busy days fast lane and stand by are super busy (long line of holidays when everyone is off). When comes to a busy day the park fast lane is still busy but save more time. For stand by only people if patient will find that can still get good wait times just got to know prime times to ride.
As much as I love Knotts I have to concede that the majority of attractions are standard theme park fare. There are good rides at Knotts but none of them are truly great. With this pass you get to go on more mediocre attractions as quickly as you like. But I’m not going to pay a premium price for standard quality. For an extra $100 per day I may as well go to Disneyland and brave the crowds. At least Disneyland has attractions worth waiting in line for.
Does the meal plan for a season pass draw daily visitor's economising on food costs? If you live local that could be two meals covered daily for a year. Very very economical, and could somewhat drive the lines.
With these Knotts evaluations have me wonder if Disneyland park could use more thrilling coasters/attractions sure Space Mountain exists but I’ve always thought the park could use even more modern attractions like Tron would definitely be a good fit for Disneyland i would also like to see a Velociacoaster type coaster at the park i think that would be pretty cool for Starwars land given how much space is there obviously away from the rivers animatronics but i think that would be be a decent idea.
Aloha Dave at Knott's..I love it..that's the way a fast lane should work and it's worth it..I noticed you didn't get the meal plan..last time I figured that out too..hard to get the value of it . especially when the BBQ is not included
As you've pointed out, Knott's biggest fault is that they are not organized enough to get people on and off those rides in a fast, efficient manner. Those lines would be so much shorter if they did.
One other thing to mention is: If you are staying at the Knott's Hotel, your hotel package may include a single use Fastlane for each registered guest also.
years ago My parents and I were at Knotts Berry Farm with one of my mom's Sister and her husband...they had a great time......one interesting thing happen...while walking thru the park my Dad felt a tap on his shoulder and a tall guy wearing western outfit a Cast member motioned my dad to step back..he joined the group...my mom didn't notice the switch she was busy talking to my Aunt...at one point she looked down she noticed the western boots and outfit,,,,she knew my dad was not wearing a western outfit and she let out a startled scream as she looked up...... which got a laugh from their our group everyone in our group noticed the switch and ...........the cast member just walked next to her. the whole incident was funny and over the years we would talk about it......that was a fun day at Knotts Berry Farm.
You really should recommend people who are going for the day to buy a souvenir cup. You get free refills for the whole day and there are refill stations throughout the park that aren't anywhere near as long as waiting in a queue to buy an individual drink...
I don't even need to watch this video. For me, as an out-of-state guy who only visits Knotts once a year at most, the fast pass is an amazing value. There's no if, ands, or buts about it. It is worth it! In fact, I would buy it just for Ghost Rider, because they have terrible loading times.
Saw the same thing. I guess summer season is very premium. But if knotts has it that high they must be anticipating insane crowds which for someone like me coming out of state, it'll be well worth the cost.
there's honestly no urgency at knott's no matter where you go, whether that be rides or food or even retail. i went for the boysenberry festival recently, and it was the last week of spring break for socal public schools, so i knew there'd be crowds. what i didn't anticipate (or even remember lmfao) was knott's using what felt like the same skeleton crew they have on off-season days. we waited in that lemonade/ice cream line for an hour lol. when we were eating next to ghostrider, the fastest turnaround time for the drop we witnessed was probably every 7ish minutes, a train would finally drop down. i think it's become a catch-22 type of situation where knott's doesn't want to have better systems in place for things to run efficiently because more/better employees cost more money. maybe they just don't have the money to fund that? but then because they're not implementing more efficient systems, at what point do people just not visit the park anymore?
While I live the charm of Knott's Berry Farm, the crowds pretty much any weekend or non-school period has become unbearable. On top of the crowds, the operations are horrendous. Ride times 2-3 hours and food lines 45-hour all day. Not enjoyable
We went 2 weeks ago and it was unfortunately very busy and we only went on a few rides. I was so surprised we enjoyed Disneyland way more (with Genie+).
In general, line waits are a zero sum game. You can't sell a 'fast pass' without making everyone else wait longer (or not get in line at all) and while you can mitigate the damage it does to the general admission visitors by limiting passes or keeping the price high, there's no getting around the fact that selling line skipping is profiting off making your regular customers' experience literally worse. The more people that take advantage of a 'fast pass' system, the more money the park makes, and the less benefit the pass holders get while generating an even worse the experience for everyone else. That has to be damaging park satisfaction, even if they're still crowded. I came to this conclusion as I walked passed the massive line in Radiator Springs with individual Lightning Lanes for my family for about $60. Worth it to me, that day, but still bad for everyone else. There has to be ways to make money off folks who have extra to spend without making everyone else's experience worse. There just has to be.
@@gdy2shus Sure, the average is the same. Except, for the stand by line, nobody is cutting in front you of you. Every minute the line cutters save, is a minute more everyone else waits. There's no getting around it.
I' m glad they're taking that extra time for the safety checks because, the "last time" my adult daughter rode this attraction, the safety bar came unattached right after the first dip. She spent the rest of the ride holding on for dear life with one hand while the other arm and hand held her child in the car, scared her to death. When she disembarked she immediately complained about the hazardous ride. She was told, "I'm sorry." Not as sorry as my daughter was. None of us have ever ridden Ghost Riders since then. Even if there was no line, we wouldn't.
It’s not physically possible for those lap bars to completely unattach. Maybe it wasn’t fully locked in to one notch like the other person said. These are ratcheting type restraints and rides have to have double redundancy so there are two ratcheting locks.
I was there yesterday. All of the snack/beverage stands only had one employee to service customers, moving at snail pace. The wait time to get a burger at camp snoopy took 45min to get to the service desk who only had three people working!!!! There is clearly a lack of staffing in all areas triggering extreme lines FOR ALL. Broken down rides throughout the day. I heard log ride has been down for 6months! Coast Rider was a 90m wait. ONLY TWO carts (INSTEAD OF MULITIPLES) that hold four ppl at time were running. The park is slacking, cutting out use of multiples at all their attractions. I understand Six Flag took ownership about six months ago. Clearly, they are cutting big corners on service and attraction experience at this park. I’ll never revisit.
@@remlecat8511 I saw what I would guess was one for Calico. I'm curious if the FasLane line is effecting access. Also it looks like, for some, FastLane is at the exit and can creat a pinch point of guests trying to get out.
@PhoenixVic21 You're right. I'm challenged from breaking my back 8 years ago, I can't do most of the rides, but I've used that one in particular. It can clog sometimes, but rarely, the majority of people are very considerate and kind. I'm very patient and don't rush . On Calico, I wait till all the able bodies go by, then take the elevator .
We went on the last Sunday of June. My kids are under 12yo, so we didn't need the fast pass since we weren't doing the big coasters. All other rides were under 45 minutes. Pony Express was just 20 minutes and was my son's first big boy coaster. The Knotts Hotel was fantastic with friendly staff. The breakfast buffet was 6/10, nothing special. The biggest disappointment was Ms. Knotts Chicken restaurant. The fried chicken meal portions were TINY. A shame because it was pretty good, just not enough for an average adult imo. Edit: I forgot to talk about the minecart train ride. The brakes on it are absolutely horrendous. The decibel level is enough to cause ear pain, especially on declines. How this hasn't been addressed yet is beyond me. You have to experience it to believe it. All that said, my kids had an absolute blast. I would definitely go back. Can't say the same for Disneyland. They have zero interest in anything Disney.
I like Knotts but their operations is terrible. Every time I go I cant believe how long it takes to get on a ride. Why can’t they have more staff on rides??? A lot of the rides, especially camp snoopy, have only one ride operator doing everything. Bumper Cars is a brutal wait. Again only one operator. They could move guests so much faster having at least two operators. Thanks for the video. Great information.
We're going tomorrow. Fastlane is NOT an option for our family of 4. Thankfully, our kids are 7 and 12 so big coasters aren't on the itinerary. We lso bought the all day food passes. I wish i would have seen your video earlier, lol.
Freshbaked: "I don't know....do I want to try another thrill ride" Me: Do it do it do it do it..... Flip that to me if I was in Freshbaked's shoes, I would be very hesitant. Last time I went to Disneyland, we had the lightning lane and were able to hit all the big thrill rides. My kids are all bigger now, so we could do single rider. It was too much for me by the end of the day.
The magic at Disneyland doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of hard work and extreme detail to pull it off every day. I appreciate Disneyland more by visiting its competitors…
Yeah next time I know to get the fast lane I only rode 4 rides this last weekend and they let all the fast lanes on first Everytime regardless if they "just " walked up and we were waiting for soooooooooooooooooooo long
Ok, i know that i am just an old curmudgeon, but tell me what happens if everyone gets the fast pass ticket, and nobody uses the standard waiting line? If these parks want the extra money that badly, why not just charge everyone the extra ticket prices, and treat everyone the same, instead of treating some guests better than others. I use to love Knotts, mostly for the quaint ghost town experience, but at these ever increasing prices, i guess i will just settle for Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner restaurant. And leave it at that. Thats why i love Disneyland, they don't feel they need to have all these exhilarating roller coasters, Knotts has put in to compete with Magic Mountain. Thanks David for this review.
You know, the actual length of the fast lane doesn't really matter. Just like at Disney, if there's anyone in the Genie Plus lane, they get priority, which makes the standby line wait longer. So, if there's a line in the fast lane, you can be sure the standby line is suffering.
Fast Pass feels like a requirement, whereas at Disney, I never feel like I _have_ to do Genie+.. but then, at Disney, there's so much else to do besides rides...
After yesterday‘s experience going to this park, this will probably be the last time I go. And I do not intend to renew my pass. Even a month later the line for Hang Time was well over four hours. And the lines to get food are even more ridiculous. Not only that, I found out that they have a new policy for people with disabilities. They are not allowed to actually physically guide you to the Rides. This applies to both Knotts and soak city. Even my girlfriend said that after 20+ years having a season pass, they have lost a loyal customer. She almost fell on the tracks for Sierra sidewinder. Because of this ridiculous new policy. They are going to get sued eventually. If somebody does get hurt. Not everybody is going to report somebody for touching them for simply asking for assistance. This is really getting ridiculous. And I will not support a park that has these kind of policies.
People appear miserable with those food lines…I I’m really really happy to mobile order at Disneyland! No matter the crowds I can always get food and drinks easypeasy
Easy and fast have not been my experience with mobile order, Disneyland or otherwise. Still clunky and not very satisfying. And Lord, if you miss anything on your order there is no helping you.
Even on the busiest days At Disney you can still find rides that are under 30 minutes. Also there’s no ride that gets to 3 hr wait limit, I think Disney would have it be a virtual queue. I am so grateful Disneyland pickle lines are 2 minutes 😂 I never complain about Disney, but after watching this video I never will 🤣
It's not always the case. A few rides like incredicoaster and the star wars ride have ridiculous wait times. I remember I waited 2 hours for a star wars ride
@@jasonn4597 that’s rise for ya. Super popular. Plus it opens later and closes earlier than the other rides because of its operating system. I’ve never seen incredicoaster more than 60 minutes which isn’t that crazy on a crowded day because they can only have a few trains running at the same time. It’s an insanely popular ride too.
it's more money but the benefit is higher. you just walk up to the ride and cut most of the que, and you can do that as many times a day as you want and on whatever rides you want. there aren't return times like with genie plus and there isn't a ride limit like with universal. If you want 50 rides on a premium rollercoaster in a single day you can do it. compare to maybe getting 6-7 more rides out of a Genie Plus. I did the fast pass at Cedar Point two years ago after having not gone to the park in 15 years. My fiance and I rode everything in the park in about 2 hours. We did in half a day what would take most people 2-3 trips.
Place is a death trap. I wouldn’t ever ride there non kept up rides. Do your research on places like this. They have a lot of fatal accidents. I was almost in one at knot berry farm. I went on a ride with a friend, well the safety bar doesn’t support a skinny person and a husky person at the same time. I was 17 back then I didn’t think like I do now. I almost flew out of the seat multiple times. My friend held me down like a pinned to tooth pick to that seat. Never went back and the fact the ride person let us go like that. Knowing the safety bar want secure for me as well.
I dont think $100 a day is worth it considering the type of rides that they have are mostly found in Six Flags. If they have more big budget dark rides then sure.
Those lines at the food locations at Knotts makes me incredibly grateful that Disneyland has mobile order! Who wants to wait an HOUR just to order food?
Parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios may get insane crowds at times but do a much better job at managing their crowds and rides operations than Knotts does (7 minute dispatch at Ghostrider is ridiculously bad!!!)
they should be adding mobile ordering to knotts in a year or so, its being tested at Cedar Point which started last year in 2023.
Even six flags has mobile order already. No excuse for knotts
The lines are deceptive. They only exist during the food tasting events and at the locations where the tastings are are taking place. I was at Knotts last week friday. The tasting booths were busy, but I ate at other places that had almost no line.Wait was maybe 10 minutes max at most of those locations. I did do the tasting event 55$ for 6 meals 9.16 per meal, and they are full sized portions that we shared between 2 people. The longest I waited was 25 minutes, and that was at only 1 location. It really depends on the crowd.
^¤^ people should go eat at the HOTEL.
I agree but universal doesn't do a good job with the crowds when it comes to Halloween horror nights
The quick service drink fountains are under Berry Tales. The popcorn cart next to Calico Mine Train has short lines. The drink stand next to the train has shorter lines for beer and drinks.
Nice work on the Pony Express ride with the outside shots and your recorded experience. You are getting really good at piecing views together. Keep up the great work! (Edited: And the Xcelerator too!)
Thanks for the Knotts update, David. Love them!
Good times! Your best Knott's video to date. "OMG, OMG, OMG...*BEEP* Lol
David it was so amazing seeing you at Knott’s berry farm. I’m glad to finally meet you in person.
With regards to drinks, most pass holders have the year use cups and that's why the lines for food vending seem longer than usual, also since most APs really take advantage of those cups. As far as I know, there is a "grab and go" place near Hang Time as well as a popcorn cart that I think has bottled drinks, and there is a drink only area (AP cups) near the Boardwalk BBQ. There are also drink refrigerators in most shops where you can grab a bottled water or soda. That one near the front of Ghost Town is usually always the busiest.
New Fresh Baked drinking game, everytime you say queue we have to drink a shot.
39:38 HEY THAT'S ME! With my lil woodstock Boysenberry salesman. 🙂
Hey David. My wife and I went to boysenberry Fest last week after watching your video. Did the hotel package, which came with the tasting card. That alone was worth it. My only complaint about Knotts is they still can’t load and unload rides to save their butts. Such a huge contributor to the long standby times. We’re long time Disney pass holders and Disney KNOWS how to cycle quest through the rides.
Great show. I enjoy the more analytical style comparison videos. Thanks, Fresh Baked!
I feel the same way about Pony Express. It's a nice, short, fun rollercoaster.
Cedar Fair parks like Knotts always max out at 50/50 for fast lane to standby. They also do ADA from the exit every other train or so and you can imagine that standby gets crushed. Assuming a max capacity of fast lane… The full GhostRider queue is 3 hours like you saw, and the full silver bullet queue is 2 hours so you saw a 90 minute one. When I had a pass this was a open-11am only kind of park. The good news is there’s a lot of empty days during the year if you can manage to go on a random school day.
I did wait in the Ghostrider queue that day and can confirm it was indeed a 3 hour wait, it did not move most of the time
Thank you for your sacrifice.
i went on 4/2 with a firend and did ghostrider first. line started a little behind the ride entrance and took 6 hours till we actually boarded. the fact that they only run a single train during peak spring break is baffling.
@@steww1204that’s how i felt at six flags on 4/1 😭 1 train on most rides i wanted to die
Staffing issue i imagine, summer it's usually all trains available
Maybe it was a 3 hour wait because they are letting all fastlane riders on.
I don't know how I feel about that. I assume not many people want to pay an extra $100
Great Video and cinematic experience with the Pony Express ride! Thank you again Fresh Baked 💕
You can't compare Genie+ to Fastlane. Fastlane is unlimited times, and no "return time". These two things justify the price difference compared to Genie+. That being said, Fastlane is only worth it on days like this video shows.
Bwahaha…
Still not worth it. Knott's doesn't have that many attractions. How many times are you going to ride ghost rider over and over
@alucard2010 So you only like GhostRider huh .. Interesting
@@AnanseSavage what else did I say? 🤡 Not many attractions.
Well that, and the fact that a $30 genie plus just means most people in the park buy it. And that means it essentially becomes an extra ticket price.
Industry standard is your express passes are the same price as your ticket (gate) prices because only a few people will buy it. This means if you buy it you really get your money's worth because you wait for nothing, and it also means other people aren't affected by slow standbys because of long express waits.
And the company still makes money because they are priced higher.
I've had a Disneyland annual pass for the last 15 years, this year I got a Knotts pass to go on Saturdays and do Disneyland on Sunday's, so far not a huge fan of Knotts, mostly due to mobile ordering for food , I would of never got the food pass if I knew the lines were going to be so crazy
The last time I took my full family of 8 to Knotts was 2006. We stayed at the Knotts Hotel so we can enjoy Knotts and the area better. So for 2 adult tickets and 4 children tickets and 2 free under 3, it was affordable.
Now to pay 8 adult tickets to get in there plus then pay for the fastlane each, plus food, I would be hesitant because could do a different event for about $1500+ for that one day.
Individual lightning lane at $20 each for e ticket rides x 5 rides = $100. Worth it.
Wait so I’m confused if you get the fast lane one that’s around 100 bucks, does it cover for only one person or could it cover for a party of 4
There's a few Beverage-only stations across the park. You were actually passing one on your right as you were speaking about it lol. There's also one outside of Knott's Beary Tales and outside Boardwalk BBQ.
Is the fast pass price the same online and in person?
I like the inclusion of audio for the rides you couldn’t record on!
Grew up at Knotts so many memories!
Just wanted to say that your camera work is beautiful. Thanks.
If like my local cedar park with fast lane on extremely busy days fast lane and stand by are super busy (long line of holidays when everyone is off). When comes to a busy day the park fast lane is still busy but save more time. For stand by only people if patient will find that can still get good wait times just got to know prime times to ride.
As much as I love Knotts I have to concede that the majority of attractions are standard theme park fare. There are good rides at Knotts but none of them are truly great. With this pass you get to go on more mediocre attractions as quickly as you like. But I’m not going to pay a premium price for standard quality. For an extra $100 per day I may as well go to Disneyland and brave the crowds. At least Disneyland has attractions worth waiting in line for.
The problem with Disney is that it's always expensive
What day of the week was this?
Does the meal plan for a season pass draw daily visitor's economising on food costs? If you live local that could be two meals covered daily for a year. Very very economical, and could somewhat drive the lines.
With these Knotts evaluations have me wonder if Disneyland park could use more thrilling coasters/attractions sure Space Mountain exists but I’ve always thought the park could use even more modern attractions like Tron would definitely be a good fit for Disneyland i would also like to see a Velociacoaster type coaster at the park i think that would be pretty cool for Starwars land given how much space is there obviously away from the rivers animatronics but i think that would be be a decent idea.
Aloha Dave at Knott's..I love it..that's the way a fast lane should work and it's worth it..I noticed you didn't get the meal plan..last time I figured that out too..hard to get the value of it . especially when the BBQ is not included
What day was this? I was there and did Fast Lane on April 3rd
Is there a limit on how many they sell a day? Genie + I understand will sell as many per day as who will buy it. Right?
They sell out of Genie + at WDW with some regularity. I think they have only sold out at Disneyland about 2 times!
Knott's Fast Lane I understand may sell out, but I don't recall ever hearing it has
Coming from East Coast soon, was this a weekend? How are weekdays? Tuesdays?
If you get it with the Annual Pass, is it unlimited for every ride compared to the $100 one?
You need to start getting some Knott’s and Universal attire so you are appropriately dressed for these vids. 😂
What for… do you pay him big bucks???
What day were you there? I was actually just there yesterday, but I didn't see you there..
I love Knotts but the wait times are unbearable. Plus no mobile ordering isn’t great either. Hope they change those things in the future.
As you've pointed out, Knott's biggest fault is that they are not organized enough to get people on and off those rides in a fast, efficient manner. Those lines would be so much shorter if they did.
Not surprised tbh. Most of them are early college kids with barely any experience in ride operations
We went to Knotts in 2003, a while ago, & I don't remember lines that long.
In the height of summer or Xmas time it is worth it if you can afford it. However if you go next Wednesday the place will be dead empty.
One other thing to mention is: If you are staying at the Knott's Hotel, your hotel package may include a single use Fastlane for each registered guest also.
years ago My parents and I were at Knotts Berry Farm with one of my mom's Sister and her husband...they had a great time......one interesting thing happen...while walking thru the park my Dad felt a tap on his shoulder and a tall guy wearing western outfit a Cast member motioned my dad to step back..he joined the group...my mom didn't notice the switch she was busy talking to my Aunt...at one point she looked down she noticed the western boots and outfit,,,,she knew my dad was not wearing a western outfit and she let out a startled scream as she looked up...... which got a laugh from their our group everyone in our group noticed the switch and ...........the cast member just walked next to her. the whole incident was funny and over the years we would talk about it......that was a fun day at Knotts Berry Farm.
You really should recommend people who are going for the day to buy a souvenir cup. You get free refills for the whole day and there are refill stations throughout the park that aren't anywhere near as long as waiting in a queue to buy an individual drink...
I don't even need to watch this video. For me, as an out-of-state guy who only visits Knotts once a year at most, the fast pass is an amazing value. There's no if, ands, or buts about it. It is worth it! In fact, I would buy it just for Ghost Rider, because they have terrible loading times.
I looked for the day I'm going in May - Knott's website quoted $119
Saw the same thing. I guess summer season is very premium. But if knotts has it that high they must be anticipating insane crowds which for someone like me coming out of state, it'll be well worth the cost.
@@andrewscasualmtb True, especially if it's already showing 3 hours in standby for a day in April.
Some of the queue congestion will be lifted when the Log Ride reopens... and down the road when Montezooma re-launches!
there's honestly no urgency at knott's no matter where you go, whether that be rides or food or even retail. i went for the boysenberry festival recently, and it was the last week of spring break for socal public schools, so i knew there'd be crowds. what i didn't anticipate (or even remember lmfao) was knott's using what felt like the same skeleton crew they have on off-season days. we waited in that lemonade/ice cream line for an hour lol. when we were eating next to ghostrider, the fastest turnaround time for the drop we witnessed was probably every 7ish minutes, a train would finally drop down.
i think it's become a catch-22 type of situation where knott's doesn't want to have better systems in place for things to run efficiently because more/better employees cost more money. maybe they just don't have the money to fund that? but then because they're not implementing more efficient systems, at what point do people just not visit the park anymore?
While I live the charm of Knott's Berry Farm, the crowds pretty much any weekend or non-school period has become unbearable. On top of the crowds, the operations are horrendous. Ride times 2-3 hours and food lines 45-hour all day. Not enjoyable
I agree and same thing with Disneyland except it it happens every single day
We went 2 weeks ago and it was unfortunately very busy and we only went on a few rides. I was so surprised we enjoyed Disneyland way more (with Genie+).
Isn't Disneyland more packed than Knotts?
This has me jonesing so hard for a trip to Knott's Berry Farm 😮
The fast lane pass is very reasonable. For me it’s a must when attending Knotts Scary Farm.
In general, line waits are a zero sum game. You can't sell a 'fast pass' without making everyone else wait longer (or not get in line at all) and while you can mitigate the damage it does to the general admission visitors by limiting passes or keeping the price high, there's no getting around the fact that selling line skipping is profiting off making your regular customers' experience literally worse. The more people that take advantage of a 'fast pass' system, the more money the park makes, and the less benefit the pass holders get while generating an even worse the experience for everyone else. That has to be damaging park satisfaction, even if they're still crowded. I came to this conclusion as I walked passed the massive line in Radiator Springs with individual Lightning Lanes for my family for about $60. Worth it to me, that day, but still bad for everyone else. There has to be ways to make money off folks who have extra to spend without making everyone else's experience worse. There just has to be.
Well said
You're formula doesn't account for if there isnt a skip the line pass for x%, that population rejoins the regular wait also making it a longer wait...
@@gdy2shus Sure, the average is the same. Except, for the stand by line, nobody is cutting in front you of you. Every minute the line cutters save, is a minute more everyone else waits. There's no getting around it.
I haven’t been to Knott’s berry farm in a long time
ODV just left of Calico Mining Co., but that’s the only one I can think of. Has popcorn and sodas.
I’m 11 minutes in, does he say how much it costs and what day he went in?
I' m glad they're taking that extra time for the safety checks because, the "last time" my adult daughter rode this attraction, the safety bar came unattached right after the first dip. She spent the rest of the ride holding on for dear life with one hand while the other arm and hand held her child in the car, scared her to death. When she disembarked she immediately complained about the hazardous ride. She was told, "I'm sorry." Not as sorry as my daughter was. None of us have ever ridden Ghost Riders since then. Even if there was no line, we wouldn't.
Lab bars don't just unlock and fully release mid-ride. Most likely, the lap bar released one notch and the mom freaked out. Lap
It’s not physically possible for those lap bars to completely unattach. Maybe it wasn’t fully locked in to one notch like the other person said. These are ratcheting type restraints and rides have to have double redundancy so there are two ratcheting locks.
Bring your own snacks for lunch and eat just outside the park for both breakfast AND dinner elsewhere. Cheaper and more variety
I was there yesterday. All of the snack/beverage stands only had one employee to service customers, moving at snail pace. The wait time to get a burger at camp snoopy took 45min to get to the service desk who only had three people working!!!! There is clearly a lack of staffing in all areas triggering extreme lines FOR ALL. Broken down rides throughout the day. I heard log ride has been down for 6months! Coast Rider was a 90m wait. ONLY TWO carts (INSTEAD OF MULITIPLES) that hold four ppl at time were running. The park is slacking, cutting out use of multiples at all their attractions. I understand Six Flag took ownership about six months ago. Clearly, they are cutting big corners on service and attraction experience at this park. I’ll never revisit.
Gotta take some dramamine for some of these!
When I use to go to knots it did not feel safe lol. Looks a lot nicer now. There were legit gangs same with six flags.
Their new chaperone policy has helped a great deal. Started I think about 2 years ago.
I never realized how many stairs places like Knott's has in rides. How do people who can't use stairs get to the ride?
They have elevators tucked in inconspicuous places for rides. In this video you see the one for calico when he walks by it.
@@remlecat8511 I saw what I would guess was one for Calico.
I'm curious if the FasLane line is effecting access.
Also it looks like, for some, FastLane is at the exit and can creat a pinch point of guests trying to get out.
@PhoenixVic21 You're right. I'm challenged from breaking my back 8 years ago, I can't do most of the rides, but I've used that one in particular. It can clog sometimes, but rarely, the majority of people are very considerate and kind. I'm very patient and don't rush . On Calico, I wait till all the able bodies go by, then take the elevator .
We went on the last Sunday of June. My kids are under 12yo, so we didn't need the fast pass since we weren't doing the big coasters. All other rides were under 45 minutes. Pony Express was just 20 minutes and was my son's first big boy coaster. The Knotts Hotel was fantastic with friendly staff. The breakfast buffet was 6/10, nothing special.
The biggest disappointment was Ms. Knotts Chicken restaurant. The fried chicken meal portions were TINY. A shame because it was pretty good, just not enough for an average adult imo.
Edit: I forgot to talk about the minecart train ride. The brakes on it are absolutely horrendous. The decibel level is enough to cause ear pain, especially on declines. How this hasn't been addressed yet is beyond me. You have to experience it to believe it.
All that said, my kids had an absolute blast. I would definitely go back. Can't say the same for Disneyland. They have zero interest in anything Disney.
David ❤❤❤❤
I like Knotts but their operations is terrible. Every time I go I cant believe how long it takes to get on a ride. Why can’t they have more staff on rides??? A lot of the rides, especially camp snoopy, have only one ride operator doing everything. Bumper Cars is a brutal wait. Again only one operator. They could move guests so much faster having at least two operators. Thanks for the video. Great information.
Wait its not because a lot of people are waiting in line?
I love the joyous whistling music accompanied by David just screaming while riding Ghost Rider 😂
We're going tomorrow. Fastlane is NOT an option for our family of 4. Thankfully, our kids are 7 and 12 so big coasters aren't on the itinerary. We lso bought the all day food passes. I wish i would have seen your video earlier, lol.
Go to Chili's two blocks away for lunch!
Or TGI Fridays which is literally across the street
Freshbaked: "I don't know....do I want to try another thrill ride"
Me: Do it do it do it do it.....
Flip that to me if I was in Freshbaked's shoes, I would be very hesitant. Last time I went to Disneyland, we had the lightning lane and were able to hit all the big thrill rides. My kids are all bigger now, so we could do single rider. It was too much for me by the end of the day.
The magic at Disneyland doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of hard work and extreme detail to pull it off every day.
I appreciate Disneyland more by visiting its competitors…
Fresh baked I add fastlane to my pass I it’s was a totterl of 692 payments 62 of moth I find it was worth it
Yeah next time I know to get the fast lane I only rode 4 rides this last weekend and they let all the fast lanes on first Everytime regardless if they "just " walked up and we were waiting for soooooooooooooooooooo long
They have always had long long wait times for food, not efficient at all.
FRESHBAKED is DISNEYLAND!!
Waiting for Freshbaked to hit 197K Subs!!! Soon?
Hi have fun at knott Berry farm
Ok, i know that i am just an old curmudgeon, but tell me what happens if everyone gets the fast pass ticket, and nobody uses the standard waiting line? If these parks want the extra money that badly, why not just charge everyone the extra ticket prices, and treat everyone the same, instead of treating some guests better than others. I use to love Knotts, mostly for the quaint ghost town experience, but at these ever increasing prices, i guess i will just settle for Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner restaurant. And leave it at that. Thats why i love Disneyland, they don't feel they need to have all these exhilarating roller coasters, Knotts has put in to compete with Magic Mountain.
Thanks David for this review.
You know, the actual length of the fast lane doesn't really matter. Just like at Disney, if there's anyone in the Genie Plus lane, they get priority, which makes the standby line wait longer. So, if there's a line in the fast lane, you can be sure the standby line is suffering.
I do know, yes.
Fast Pass feels like a requirement, whereas at Disney, I never feel like I _have_ to do Genie+.. but then, at Disney, there's so much else to do besides rides...
Universal studios has an unlimited ticket, but it's really really expensive.
Hello!!!
👋
FRESHBAKED!!!
😂 I would DEFINITELY pay the extra $100 for Fastlane.. I would pay $200 to walk on rides..
After yesterday‘s experience going to this park, this will probably be the last time I go. And I do not intend to renew my pass. Even a month later the line for Hang Time was well over four hours. And the lines to get food are even more ridiculous.
Not only that, I found out that they have a new policy for people with disabilities. They are not allowed to actually physically guide you to the Rides. This applies to both Knotts and soak city.
Even my girlfriend said that after 20+ years having a season pass, they have lost a loyal customer. She almost fell on the tracks for Sierra sidewinder. Because of this ridiculous new policy. They are going to get sued eventually. If somebody does get hurt. Not everybody is going to report somebody for touching them for simply asking for assistance. This is really getting ridiculous.
And I will not support a park that has these kind of policies.
F fast lane and paying extra for "front of the line" bullshizz at any park. it ruins the whole overall park experience.
Knott berry farm only have refill station ss
The Ghost Rider queue is one of the most brutal I've ever waited in. Hard pass on a day like this one.
Ikr and I'm so sick and tired of it when that happens. I guess it's everyone’s favorite ride at the park that's why it's crazy busy during peak times
deal breaker/maker for me is DO I GET TO CHOOSE MY SEAT.
People appear miserable with those food lines…I I’m really really happy to mobile order at Disneyland! No matter the crowds I can always get food and drinks easypeasy
Easy and fast have not been my experience with mobile order, Disneyland or otherwise. Still clunky and not very satisfying. And Lord, if you miss anything on your order there is no helping you.
Dang, this is Knotts?! Eeesh.
Even on the busiest days At Disney you can still find rides that are under 30 minutes. Also there’s no ride that gets to 3 hr wait limit, I think Disney would have it be a virtual queue. I am so grateful Disneyland pickle lines are 2 minutes 😂 I never complain about Disney, but after watching this video I never will 🤣
It's not always the case. A few rides like incredicoaster and the star wars ride have ridiculous wait times. I remember I waited 2 hours for a star wars ride
@@jasonn4597 that’s rise for ya. Super popular. Plus it opens later and closes earlier than the other rides because of its operating system. I’ve never seen incredicoaster more than 60 minutes which isn’t that crazy on a crowded day because they can only have a few trains running at the same time. It’s an insanely popular ride too.
If you buy the fast pass then it is about the cost for a day at Disneyland. I would rather go to Disneyland in that case….
Yeah, I’m not paying $100 to be to the front of the line at Knotts Berry Farm…. I don’t even like paying for Disneyland genie+
$100 sounds expensive compared to universal and Disney.
it's more money but the benefit is higher. you just walk up to the ride and cut most of the que, and you can do that as many times a day as you want and on whatever rides you want. there aren't return times like with genie plus and there isn't a ride limit like with universal. If you want 50 rides on a premium rollercoaster in a single day you can do it. compare to maybe getting 6-7 more rides out of a Genie Plus.
I did the fast pass at Cedar Point two years ago after having not gone to the park in 15 years. My fiance and I rode everything in the park in about 2 hours. We did in half a day what would take most people 2-3 trips.
Universal is roughly the same price and disneys sucks so
@@melissanicole4357 when I went a couple of years ago, universal was only like $20 from what I remember.
Place is a death trap. I wouldn’t ever ride there non kept up rides. Do your research on places like this. They have a lot of fatal accidents. I was almost in one at knot berry farm. I went on a ride with a friend, well the safety bar doesn’t support a skinny person and a husky person at the same time. I was 17 back then I didn’t think like I do now. I almost flew out of the seat multiple times. My friend held me down like a pinned to tooth pick to that seat. Never went back and the fact the ride person let us go like that. Knowing the safety bar want secure for me as well.
Research? Roller coaster and ride accidents at amusement parks are very, very rare. They are actually extremely safe.
growing up I had been to Knotts Berry Farm a couple times it's ok..but Disneyland is my Favorite.
Hilarious how fast passes used to be free. Now ppl are actually paying to get on rides along with paying for your ticket ya thats such a huge scam
Disneyland would NEVER charge an admission fee AND charge for individual rides.. especially during Walt’s time! He would never have allowed it!
I don’t remember fast pass being free at knotts only at Disney
I'll pay anything to keep the unruly, rude teens who go to Knott's away from me and my family.
I dont think $100 a day is worth it considering the type of rides that they have are mostly found in Six Flags. If they have more big budget dark rides then sure.
Yuck... who goes to Six Flags
Dark rides with screens? $100 a day is cheap for unlimited rides on actual rides and thrilling coasters.
There is no merit to any of these line skipping products.
Saving time in line and getting to experience more during your visit is meritless, in your opinion?
Wait!!!?? You spend $100 but refuse to spend $30 at Disneyland? Cry me a river