Knott’s Berry Farm officially opens Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair

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Artwork for Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair © Knott’s Berry Farm

Today Knott’s Berry Farm (CA, U.S.A.) opens their new dark ride Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair for the general public. After several weeks of limited opening, the general public is welcome to visit the park including the new ride from May 21st. The dark ride marks the celebration of the parks 100th Anniversary. The celebrations and the new ride were scheduled for 2020, but needed to be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the new ride, the park pays tribute to the former dark ride of the park, which was called Knott’s Bear-y Tales. This ride opened in 1975 and depicted a bear family on a journey to the fair. The ride lasted until 1987, when it was rethemed to Kingdom of the Dinosaurs. This ride eventually closed in 2004, and it was not until 2015 that the ride’s building was used again. This time, the park opened the brand new interactive 3D dark ride Voyage to the Iron Reef.

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Artwork for Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair © Knott’s Berry Farm

The ride re-uses the ride system and 3D interactive system from Voyage to the Iron Reef, constructed by ART Engineering and Triotech. The story of the ride takes place 34 years after the original Knott’s Bear-y Tales ride. Riders follow the characters Boysen Bear and Girlsen Bear as they travel to the County Fair. They are to earn a prize for their boysenberry pies, however but Crafty Coyote is on the prowl to steal all the pies for himself. Riders are equipped with jelly blasters to recover all the stolen pies.