Hibernation Ends
On November 19, 2019 representatives from both Knott’s and dark ride firm Triotech hosted a joint announcement at the annual International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in Orlando. Just five years after it had debuted, the mediocre Voyage to the Iron Reef was sunk. (A Knott’s spokesperson suggested that the ride had only been planned to last five years anyway, which seems questionable.)
In its place, the hallowed ground once home to the the Bear-y’s Boysenberry Bakery, a new adventure would soon begin…
Voyage to the Iron Reef closed forever on January 5, 2020 to make way for Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair – a concept so obvious in retrospect, it’s shocking that Knott’s hadn’t done it to begin with!
Re-using the physical ride system and layout created for the former gaming ride (but replacing trigger-activated “freeze rays” with pull-popper “jelly-blasters”), the new attraction would see guests return to the Boysenberry Pie Factory 35 years after their first visit. Riders would revisit Frog Forest, the “Fortune Teller Camp,” Thunder Cave, and Weird Woods, culminating in a celebration at the County Fair, all while blasting Crafty Coyote and his mischievous, thieving pups as they try to steal Boysen Bear and Girlsen Bear’s blue-ribbon boysenberry pies.
“Knott’s Bear-y Tales carries a great significance and evokes an intense sense of nostalgia for those who first experienced the ride as children in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Triotech vice president and creative director Nol Van Genuchten said. “It’s our goal to capture the spirit, creativity and originality that made this dark ride such a success and thus [honor] the cherished memories of the original attraction.”
One part of honoring the original? Rolly Crump’s son, Walt Disney Imagineer Chris Crump, joined Knott’s and Triotech as consultants on the attraction. With Knott’s archive of concepts, Triotech’s easily-swappable screen-based animation, and Crump’s own know-how, there could be no more fitting an attraction to anchor Knott’s 100th Anniversary in 2020 than the reappearance of the bears and their Return to the Fair.
Except… In March 2020, just a few months into the installation of “Return to the Fair,” the COVID-19 global pandemic forced the closure of Knott’s Berry Farm and all of California’s theme parks. Given the state’s cautious approach to reopening, Knott’s missed its 100th Anniversary season almost entirely.
Unlike the fire that delayed the original ride’s opening, though, the park’s extended closure gave designers the rare chance to slow down, adding more depth to physical sets, crafting new props, and tweaking the attraction’s flow. In an in-depth feature on the new ride’s development by Blooloop’s Charlotte Coates, Knott’s VP of Rides and Maintenance Jeff Gahagan reported:
“The pandemic helped us. Although it’s weird to say that. We were on a tight deadline to turn [the ride] around. But then we had an extra year. We were able to do a lot of tweaking and adjusting, basically upgrading the attraction. A lot of times, you have a ride or an attraction that opens and you adjust after the guests’ reaction comes out. With this ride, we were able to spend that entire year making those adjustments. So that the reaction from the guests is ‘You nailed it, you got it perfect.’”
Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair (2021)
Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair held its grand opening one year late, one May 21, 2021 – its marquee adorned with very “Crumpian” propellors. Even for those of us who prefer our dark rides without laser guns, there’s so much to love about the new jelly-blasting attraction. With familiar locales so joyfully recreated, the ride includes the delightful smell of boysenberry permeating the factory and an awesome queue.
The ride wonderfully redressed the vast, cold Iron Reef showspace, benefitting greatly from the Bear-y Tales’ moonlit forest aesthetic. Trees cover the “seams” between screens, and the contents of any two screens become one continuous environment. Weeping willow branches lower the room’s ceiling and sound level, making Return to the Fair feel warm and personal; blacklight returns a whimsical storybook aesthetic to the attraction.
In the new Bear-y Tales, guests are whisked through glowing cartoon environments, passing significant physical sets and adorable setups. While the addition of even a single animatronic character might’ve put the ride over the top, it’s still an absolutely excellent redux and a very good ride even without the nostalgic element factored in.
Take a ride through Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair below, and be sure to marvel at not just how it manages to revisit the original’s locations, but within the “Iron Reef” ride footprint!
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