Knott's Berry Farm Previews Details and Characters of Calico River Rapids

© Knott's Berry Farm

One of my personal highlights of the new-for-2019 roster of attractions, Knott's Berry Farm's renovation of their existing river rapids ride into Calico River Rapids has been detailed in two interesting articles from the O.C. Register.

One article gives an in depth look at the park's plans for Calico River Rapids, which will include nine new scenes along with around 20 animatronic characters when it opens.  As expected, one of the characters will be Bigfoot, who previously wasn't in the ride even thought the creature's name was featured in the ride's moniker.

The ride will now contain a theme that links it directly to Knott's Ghost Town, which features both the Calico Mine Ride and the Timber Mountain Log Ride, both rich with backstory and plenty of animated inhabitants.  The news story gives exact details on how all three rides will be linked via story telling, and includes details of each of the ride's major scenes.

© Knott's Berry Farm

This second article from the O.C. Register provides a wonderful look at the creation of all the animatronic characters that will be settled along the route of Calico River Rapids.

All the animatronics are being created by Garner Holt Productions, which has provided a similar cast for Knott's other large themed attractions.  The company is well known in the industry for their high quality animatronics, having provided them for nearly all major theme park companies around the globe.

On Knott's new ride, the cast will include not only humans working to settle the wilderness, but plenty of animals including a raccoon, rattlesnakes, wolves, prairie dogs, a baby bear, grizzly bears, a fox and plenty more.  The story gives an awesome look at the process that goes into creating all these animatronics, from initial art design to the finished product.

Calico River Rapids at Knott's Berry Farm is scheduled to open this summer.