Knott the Typical Visit to a Theme Park
Let me state the obvious: Theme parks are fun. But do you know how to make them more fun? Go without your kids. Seriously. I went to Knott’s Scary Farm with a girlfriend and had a blast. No carrying goldfish and granola bars. No forcing small people to go to the bathroom. No one crying because he/she was too short to ride the rollercoaster. No whining. It was magical.
Knott’s Scary Farm is recommended for teenagers and older and, yes, a good portion of the teen crowd were The Biebs’ age, but people of all ages were out in force enjoying the campy thrills of Knott’s Scary Farm.
Girlfriend picked me up at 6:30 and I told husband to expect me home by 10:30. How wrong that was. We kept saying, “Oh, it’s getting late…just one more ride/maze.” And there we were, closing the place down. I got home after 2 a.m.! Thank goodness there wasn’t a babysitter to pay.
Family time is important, date night is important, but old-fashioned fun with a friend is really important, too. Too often moms (and women in general) lose our sense of fun. We meet for hikes and walks and yoga or to get our nails done and have lunch. We see speakers and go to plays and raise funds for important causes. All of which I enjoy. But we leave it to the guys to go have fun. When was the last time you heard about a few moms who got together to go to a friend’s house while the dad and kids were out so they (the moms) could drink and play Wii like college kids? Umm – never. The husbands/dads of the world seem to know how to do that kind of thing.
So, moms, wives, girlfriends, take a (rare) lesson from the guys and go out and have fun. I’ll suggest a little seasonal time at Knott’s. The kids will be happy for you. Izzy and Maggie couldn’t wait to hear which rides I went on (almost all: Excellerator, Pony Express, Silver Bullet, Windseeker…) and whether or not it was scary (it was, in a fun way.)
We had visited Knott’s as a family over the summer and really enjoyed it. The girls are tall enough to go on almost all of the rides and Camp Snoopy was a nice place to visit, but we didn’t have to linger there (it is great for the 6 and younger set.) We rode the new Windseeker, a deluxe version of the swings ride at every carnival, but the Windseeker takes you up over 300 feet. Once I could open my eyes it was great.
Knott’s admission prices are very reasonable when compared to another OC theme park and its size makes it very manageable in a day. The girls loved trying the thrill rides (Maggie wisely sat some out.) The old west town was interesting and we stumbled upon the museum there where we spent some time looking at western memorabilia.
The same old west area was fog-filled and truly creepy to walk through when it was transformed into Scary Farm’s haunted ghost town. Monsters and ghouls roamed the streets, often surprising you with a loud noise or sparks flying from their shoes. At one point, Girlfriend turned to me and said, “There’s a guy with a hatchet following you.” Not words we hear everyday. Hee,hee.
So, Moms, Get Out of the House – without your kids and enjoy!
PS: There are many great events for the entire family in October:
This weekend (both days), head over to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and participate in their free interactive performance art event, “We Built This City,” which lets kids work with artist/construction workers to build a city out of thousands of cardboard boxes. www.SCFTA.org.
Other October events not to miss:
Weekends at the Nix: Amazing Raptors Day on Saturday, Oct. 8. www.OCParks.com/LagunaCoast.
Acorn Day Family Festival is Sunday, Oct. 9, at O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon. www.OCParks.com.
Bat Night, Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary out in Modjeska Canyon. Worth the drive. www.TuckerWildlife.org.
One of my favorite organizations, The Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach hosts its annual Fall Faire on Sunday, Oct. 16. www.ENCenter.org.
Autumn Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Heritage Hill historical park in Lake Forest. www.OCParks.com/HeritageHill.
And, RSVP for Haunted Library Night at the Laguna Beach Library on Tuesday, Oct. 25. 949-497-1733.
Rebecca Meekma is that friend who always knows something fun to do and the Calendar Editor for Parenting OC. She reminds everyone to wear broad-spectrum sunscreen all summer long. Follow her blog at www.ParentingOC.com.
