For families looking for more things to do with little one Knott's Berry Farm has a lot to offer. Here is an article in my newspaper today.

Saturday, July 19, 2003
Kids' best friend
Knott's Camp Snoopy, a park-within-a-park for youngsters, turns 20.

By JUDY CHIA HUI HSU
The Orange County Register


BUENA PARK – Kids love meeting Snoopy - even after 20 years.

"It's nice, 'cause we haven't seen Snoopy on TV for a while," Arianna Rios, a 12-year-old from Liberty Lake, Wash., said after she had her photo taken with Charlie Brown's mischievous beagle.

Arianna and her family visited Knott's Berry Farm this week and became part of Camp Snoopy's 20th anniversary party.

Back in July 1983, Knott's was among the first to build an area within an existing amusement park exclusively for young children. Based on Charles Schulz's beloved "Peanuts" characters, the 6-acre Camp Snoopy, with more than 20 rides and attractions, became a successful model followed not only by Ohio-based Cedar Fair, the theme-park operator that years later would buy Knott's, but also by competitors, including Walt Disney Co.

Disney created Mickey's Toon Town, a child-size play area within Disneyland, about 10 years after Camp Snoopy was built. In October, Disney opened A Bug's Land, based on the hit movie "A Bug's Life," at its California Adventure park.

Like Camp Snoopy, A Bug's Land was created as a response to guests who wanted more for parents and their children to do together. "I think it probably broadened the appeal of the park," Disney spokesman John McClintock said.

Over the years, Camp Snoopy has evolved. This year, Knott's opened the Camp Snoopy Theater, a child-size amphitheater that seats 200.

"Camp Snoopy is one of the nicest things that Knott's does for our guests," said Charles Bradshaw, the park's entertainment director.

THE Concept spreads

Camp Snoopy and the Peanuts gang helped Knott's attract about 3.6 million visitors last year, which makes it the 14th-most popular theme park in the nation, according to Amusement Business.

A PROFILE OF CAMP SNOOPY
• When the 6-acre area opened in 1983, it became the park’s fourth themed area

• Design: The Knott’s Berry Farm Design and Planning team modeled the area on the High Sierras of California.
• Based on: Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” gang

•Original rides: Flying Ace Balloon Race, Grand Sierra Scenic Railroad, High Sierra Ferris Wheel, Huff ’n’ Puff, Red Baron Timberline Twister and Walter K. Steamboat.

• Two other original rides – Tubs of Fun and Beagle Ballroom – have been removed


Richard Harris, an amusement-park consultant from Yorba Linda, was working at Knott's before Camp Snoopy opened. "At that point Knott's really didn't have a lot to offer for kids," Harris said, adding that the few rides and attractions tailored to youngsters were scattered throughout the 160-acre property.

Cedar Fair, which bought Knott's six years ago, continues to invest in the Camp Snoopy concept, perhaps because the Buena Park landmark is the most popular of the company's six properties. For the past three years, Knott's has surpassed the other Cedar Fair parks in attendance, Amusement Business reported. Cedar Fair, which recently reported first-quarter revenue of $21 million, operates five Camp Snoopys around the country.

"Cedar Point is synonymous with Snoopy," said Jack Falfas, general manager of the company's West Coast operations.

But the value of Camp Snoopy clearly extends beyond the park's signature wooden roller coaster.

"You notice that, not just out in Knott's Berry Farm, that Snoopy's on the logos and on the name tags of our other parks," Falfas said.

Still popular

Snoopy turns 53 this year, but, like the rest of the late Charles Schulz's characters at Camp Snoopy, he remains youthful in the eyes of visiting children and adults.

"It springs eternal because the market is always renewing itself, because there's always a new generation of 3-year-olds coming in," said Carolyn Kehler, a senior vice president of marketing for Cedar Fair.

Knott's has licensed the "Peanuts" characters since 1983, contributing to the Schulz estate's annual income of $28 million from the characters, Forbes magazine said.

Schulz's daughter, Jill Schulz, who has worked at Knott's in various managerial capacities for almost 20 years, said that she has the unspoken responsibility of overseeing the overalluse of the Peanuts property at Knott's.

"Now that I have kids, I actually enjoy Camp Snoopy for the rides, because it's hard to find rides that you can actually take your young kids on," she said.

For Renée Rios, Arianna's aunt, Camp Snoopy is just good fun.

"It's for the kids," she said. "They enjoy Snoopy, and I grew up on Snoopy."
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http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/oc...month=7&day=19