The concept sounded like a winner, and gave the go-ahead to Hurlbut.įunding the Calico Mine Ride did not come from the Knott family. Bud Hurlbut approached him with the idea for a historically educational, completely immersive dark ride that would allow Knott’s guests to see the inner workings of an old mine trains loaded with curious guests would take people on a 7-minute excursion through chambers filled with steam geysers, underground waterfalls and a huge centerpiece filled with equipment and miners hard at work. In the late 1950s, Walter Knott was looking to add a major new attraction to his already-popular Ghost Town. However, before we celebrate the present, it’s important to understand the past, as well as the historical worth of the Calico Mine Ride… Practically none of the animation worked any longer, the show lighting throughout the mountain was in dire need of updating, and the blasting tunnel was no more than a sad fizzle of a finale. Truth be told, by the time Knott’s closed the Mine Ride this year in advance of its massive renovation, the attraction was in really bad shape. That close bond that we’ve shared with this attraction has helped diminish the fact that more than five decades of wear and tear had really taken a toll on the beloved mountain.
We’ve taken umpteen journeys into the shafts and underground chambers of the attraction, marveling at the bubbling mud pots, peering into the dark water of its underground lake, straining to see just how deep the “bottomless pits” truly are in the majestic Cavern Room, and gazing in wonder at the ride’s massive Glory Hole, bustling with an entire team of miners drilling precious metal from the core of the mountain.
Many of us have grown up with the Calico Mine Ride. In January of 2014, Calico Mine Ride shut down, and Knott’s designers along with Garner’s team of creatives rolled up their sleeves and went to work inside the famous mountain! The renovation would follow in the footsteps of the astonishing Timber Mountain Log Ride refurbishment that the two companies had just completed. In 2013, Knott’s Berry Farm and Garner Holt Productions entered into a partnership to fully restore the Calico Mine Ride to its former glory and then some, with updated animatronic characters, creatures, and scenes. Opened in 1960, the Mine Ride has taken countless visitors on a fascinating, historically educational trip through the winding passages of a 7-story-tall mountain smack in the middle of the Farm, and has ignited the imagination of future theme park designers ever since. One of the most influential and iconic dark rides in the history of themed entertainment is the Calico Mine Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.
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