Number of Miles Driven: 225 

Drive Time: 7:30 am - 9:30 am; 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm 

States Driven through: CA (1)

Our goal was to get to Knott’s Berry Farm by 9:30, so that meant leaving by 7:00-7:30. We left around 7:30 but then had to turn around shortly after leaving to get masks that we left behind. Nonetheless, we made good time in the traffic and arrived shortly after 9:30, got parked, and were walking into the park right at the time it opened. 


We started at Camp Snoopy, and the big kids started strong with a roller coaster (Sierra Sidewinder). Matthew got in line with us but changed his mind as we got closer to the roller coaster. The big kids were excited right up until we started slowly inching our way to the top of the first drop. Then the nerves hit…it was their first roller coaster and they didn’t know what to expect. And honestly I didn’t either because this roller coaster had seating pods of 4 that spun around as it was going down the track (like the Teacups at Disney, but you’re on a roller coaster and don’t have to spin them yourself). It was pretty awesome and my favorite ride of the day! Andrew looked a little pale and was wide-eyed when the ride ended but Carolyn was excitedly begging for more! 

So - we went straight to the next big coaster - Montezooma’s Revenge. Andrew expressed reservations at the very beginning but got in line anyway. The coaster was the same as The Viper at Six Flags - it accelerates really quickly as soon as it starts, and does one loop before going up a steep incline and then going backward along the track. As we got closer to the front of the line, Carolyn started freaking out about the loud noise and the fast speed - I ended up riding Montezooma’s Revenge by myself. 


We met back up with Michael, Matthew, and Dani and did the traditional kiddie rides in Camp Snoopy (ferris wheel, mini-swings, airplanes, small train ride, a flying ride that let you lay on your stomach) and all the kids had fun - especially Danielle. Dani and Matthew’s favorite was the airplanes. They also did a mini-roller coaster and Dani was smiling the whole time but didn’t love it (she bumped her head). Another favorite ride was a monster truck ride where they got to “pretend” to drive. There was a ride that dropped straight down (20 feet?) and I was nervous Dani would get scared after she got to the top and then dropped, but she laughed and smiled the whole time. There were short lines and the kids were having fun - even the big kids. 














We took a break for lunch and then continued to the Ghosttown part of the park. We hopped in line for the Log Ride (a mimic of Splash Mountain) - we timed it perfectly because it had just been closed and we walked by right when they opened it so the line was short. Michael “offered” to take the big kids on the log ride while I took the small kids on the large train ride. I thought he was offering to do me a favor to give me break, so I turned it down because I wanted to ride the log ride. Turns out…that was the one ride Michael really wanted to ride (he’s not usually a fan of roller coasters), and that was his way of nicely asking but giving me first dibs (oops..missed that). 


We did a few rides together before separating for the rest of the day. One of the rides we did together was a stagecoach ride (pulled by horses) around the whole park. Michael, Andrew, Carolyn, and Matthew got to ride on top of the coach and got to talk to the stagecoach drivers about the horses. Everyone also loved the scrambler - Dani asked to do it again several times. 




Andrew, Carolyn, and I decided to do another roller coaster (The Jaguar) and the estimated wait time was 45 minutes - not great but not too bad. A lot of roller coasters were up to a 120 minute by that time of the afternoon. It ended up being closer to an hour, but the kids agreed it was worth it and seemed to enjoy it.




By this time (5:30ish), Dani and Matthew was exhausted and were starting to show how tired they were; but Carolyn had been begging to ride one particular ride all day (from the moment she saw it from the road) - a 252-foot straight drop called Supreme Scream. It literally goes up 252-feet and then drops straight down in a free-fall. My thought was if she didn’t want to do Montezooma’s Revenge then I didn’t want to get in line for Supreme Scream just to have her freak out as we got closer - the line was 60 minutes, and I had no desire to ride the roller coaster. However, after she successfully did a couple of other roller coasters and continued to beg to ride it, I agreed to let her do it. Michael didn’t love the idea because he thought we should leave since the others were so tired, but he didn’t object. We got in line while Michael tried to keep the others occupied for another hour. During that time, Matthew got to ride a ride all by himself because the ride only held 2 people and Michael had to be with Dani. He was tall enough to ride by himself, and he proudly showed the ride attendant that he was tall enough to ride by himself. 

Matthew riding the glider all by himself






I honestly thought Carolyn and Andrew would get cold feet when it came time to actually get on the ride, but instead, Carolyn asked to take the ponytail out of her hair so she could “feel the breeze” through her hair. She had seen a girl on the ride who had long hair and thought it was so cool how it was flying all around her when she dropped. I was by far the most nervous one. Andrew truly surprised me. He has a fear of heights but he hopped on the ride without a second thought. As we were going up he had his eyes closed and I think he might have been second-guessing his decision - but he didn’t say anything. We dropped and we all screamed - of course. Carolyn look exhilarated when we finished, Andrew looked like his life flashed before his eyes, and I was just glad it was over (jello legs and all). Andrew said his favorite part was having his butt come off the seat. 

252-foot drop

We're next!

No turning back now...


Michael, Dani, and Matthew met us at the ride and we started our trek out. We hit a couple of souvenir shops, but Andrew was getting a bad headache so we decided to order some of Mrs. Knott’s famous fried-chicken to go and hit up a last souvenir shop for Carolyn. She got a train-shaped pop-it thing (apparently they are all the rage right now…I don’t see the fascination with them), and I grabbed wooden train whistles for Dani and Matthew since they loved the train so much. We also grabbed a jar of Knott’s Berry Farm’s infamous Boysenberry Preserves. We also got the Boysenberry punch and Boysenberry pie with our chicken because it came highly recommended. All were absolutely delicious! 


Unfortunately, Michael’s prediction that we needed to leave earlier proved to be correct - by this time it was 8:30 (only continue reading if you aren’t nauseated by talking about vomit - I’m talking to you Michael…) Andrew’s headache got so bad (despite medication) that he got sick to his stomach. Luckily, he had the trash can by him so he didn’t get it all in the car (THANK GOODNESS - that would’ve made for a LONG ride home…). However, right after this happened and Michael was trying to clean it up, several teenagers came running by our car. They looked like they were on a mission to be the fastest across the parking lot. Then, one of them stopped, and told us there was a shooter in the park - WHAT?? At that time we glanced around and we saw droves of people leaving the park - so we hurriedly packed everything up (mind you, we were leisurely eating our chicken out of a bucket and we all had plates in our laps…). In the hurry, Michael ended up getting the puke all over his arm - YUCK - and he just left our perfectly-sized trash can in the parking lot - probably a worthwhile loss. We got going very quickly but not before the traffic backed up. We tried to find a detour and Waze did not disappoint us. We actually got past the traffic right away and back on the main road and headed home safely. 


We were scouring the news on our two-hour drive home and discovered it was a drive-by shooting at the entrance to the gate - where we had only been 10 minutes before. A wave of gratefulness washed over me after I had time to process what had happened. Luckily, NO ONE was seriously injured in the incident. 


We made it home safely by about 10:30 - all the kids had fallen asleep in the car, so we just ushered them and let them crash in their beds. By that time Andrew was feeling much better, and Michael and I passed out from exhaustion. Aside from the final 30 minutes (well, maybe final 3 hours for Michael, Matthew, and Dani), it was an amazing day and the kids were asking to go back the next day - ha!