We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
A couple of weeks ago, my family enjoyed an amazing vacation in sunny southern California. We spent time at the beach and enjoying our favorite theme parks in the area. We stayed at a hotel in Buena Park, kiddie-corner from Knott’s Berry Farm. We decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to explore Knott’s Berry Farm with our toddlers (twins) and our 7 year old.
We also brought along our friend’s (who went on vacation with us) teens. Today I am going to share all the fun and exciting things you can find at Knott’s Berry Farm this summer, and talk about if you should make this part of your trip if you have toddlers in tow.
(My family received complimentary tickets to explore the park in exchange for my honest review. Our friends teens paid for their entry.)
Our Day At Knott’s Berry Farm
When we got to Knott’s Berry Farm, the first thing we saw was our good friend Charlie Brown. He welcomed our family and took a picture with us. My oldest loved giving him high fives.
When you get to Knott’s Berry Farm, you see lots of roller coaster tracks all around, and it can get a bit overwhelming wondering what you can do with kids. Thankfully, I had visited before and knew there was an area perfect for our family. So we headed over to Camp Snoopy.
This area is perfect for families with small children. Many of the Knott’s Berry Farm rides have no height requirement if there is an accompanying adult with the child, but others do have some low height requirements. My oldest was able to ride most of the rides alone, and all of them with an adult.
My twins probably could have ridden most of them, but they both have sensory issues, so we knew some of the rides would not be a good fit for them. Even with my twins sensory issues we still found plenty of rides for them to do.
Camp Snoopy has a lot of fun rides and is also a great area to let the kids roam a bit. One thing I love about Knott’s Berry Farm is that it is not as crowded as other theme parks. During the week, the crowds are low enough that I feel comfortable letting my kids walk around a little bit. This is so refreshing.
After we explored Camp Snoopy, we checked out some of the famous Boysenberry items available at Knott’s Berry Farm. I let the kids pick out what we should buy and they chose the Boysenberry Popcorn. It was SO GOOD!
Another favorite we picked up and brought back to the hotel was the Boysenberry Pie. This is a definite must-try! Another item I splurged on was the souvenir cup of soda. I LOVE that Knott’s Berry Farm has this and offers FREE refills the day of purchase (and AP holders can get discounted refills all year).
My family ended up refilling it about 8 times, so it was definitely worth the money. One flavor we are so happy we tried was the Knott’s Berry Punch (It is Boysenberry flavored!). We definitely got our money’s worth, and I really wish the mouse would offer a cup with free refills…(Hint, hint….anybody listening….)
About this time, we decided to head back to our hotel (right across the street) and eat lunch and then put the twins down for a nap. While they napped, Mike and the Goof headed back to the park to hit up some of the bigger rides. It was great for them to have some father son time doing the rides that the twins could not do.
Mike and the Goof came back for an early dinner (though I had originally planned on us getting some delicious Mrs. Knott’s Famous Chicken…oh well, I guess next time) and then we checked out some entertainment. I brought the kids back for an early bedtime, and Mike met up with our friends’ teens to do the rides that none of my kids could do. They closed out the park!
We had such a fun time at Knott’s Berry Farm. And I will admit I went into it thinking there would be nothing for my kids to do. When I think of Knott’s Berry Farm I think of all the big roller coasters and rides, so I was sure they would be bored all day. My family had a lot of fun!
We also enjoyed all of the new offerings Knott’s Berry Farm had going on this summer.
One thing that had my family mesmerized (seriously, even our friend’s teens were engrossed in this) is the Ghost Town Alive! Guests are emerged in the story with robbers, cowboys, hoedowns and so much more happening right in front of them. I didn’t think our friend’s teens would want to stop their roller coaster marathon for anything, but this had their attention from the get go. Check out this video (courtesy of Knott’s PR)
The last spectacular I want to share with you is the Circus of Wonders. This amazing show takes over the Calico Mine stage at night and is a must-see for those that love to be amazed.
What were the downsides of Knott’s Berry Farm?
I always give you guys my honest opinions, and so yes, there are some downsides to Knott’s Berry Farm, and I am going to share those with you.
First, I really wish they had posted wait time for rides. It would really help families trying to decide how to spend the day. It was hard to judge the wait times on many rides.
Second, I feel like there was not very much seating around the park, so if I sat out a ride with a sleeping child, I mostly had to walk around (which is the main reason we returned to the hotel for the twins nap).
Honestly, these are pretty minor things, and we still had a great day.
So is Knott’s Berry Farm a good fit for families with toddlers?
YES! While this park is definitely a MUST-DO for those with teens, do not be detoured from spending a day here if you have younger kids. There is a lot to do for little ones. This park is great if you have kids of various ages because you can let the teens go off and ride the roller coasters while the little ones can explore Camp Snoopy with mom or dad.
Have you checked out Knott’s Berry Farm? What were your thoughts about this theme park?