It’s finally November and Knott’s Berry Farm just made a marvelous 2016 announcement. It’s Ghost Town’s 75th year, and Knott’s will be going big by changing up some of Ghost Town, and the classic Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant will be refurbished. Perhaps the most exciting for all coaster enthusiasts… GhostRider will receive new trains, and some incredible alteration. Let’s take a look at all the changes coming to Knott’s Berry Farm in 2016!
Let’s start off with the Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant!
Construction began November 2, 2015 and a grand reopening is planned for spring 2016. The project will refresh and preserve the original “tea room” dining room and bring cosmetic and thematic upgrades throughout the restaurant’s other dining areas. Throughout the restaurant’s four main dining rooms and two banquet rooms, all furniture, flooring, lighting, and décor will be renovated. The large dining room to the right of the main entrance will be remodeled with a look inspired by Mrs. Knott’s kitchen pantry, as the room will be adorned with a potbelly stove and nods to Cordelia’s home kitchen, evoking themes of warmth, family, and togetherness. The main dining room accessible from the courtyard entrance will be divided into two smaller dining rooms, with a theme inspired by farmhouse motifs.
For the first time, a new outdoor seating area on the restaurant’s north side will allow guests to dine al fresco with beautiful and unique views of the MarketPlace fountain, the theme park’s Ghost Town, and the newly restored GhostRider roller coaster. The restaurant will feature a new, welcoming lobby area, where diners who provide a cell phone number will be sent a text message when their table is ready, allowing more time and flexibility to explore the Knott’s MarketPlace or to grab a drink around the restaurant’s new full service bar, which will replace the restaurant’s Garden Room.
The restaurant will close on January 4 until the grand re-opening in spring 2016. During construction, Chicken To Go, the counter service take out dining location that serves staples of the Chicken Dinner Restaurant menu will remain open. Brunches held on the first Sunday of each month, the “Winterfest” buffets, and the seasonal “Breakfast with Santa” will not be offered in 2015.
It’s absolutely wonderful to see Knott’s Berry Farm refurbish what it all started with. The food is incredible, and the experience is classic. With these new changes such as the full service bar, and the outside seating areas are wonderful for the future of the restaurant! Make sure to come back next year and grab a meal there!
Next up, Ghost Town! In summer 2016, Ghost Town Alive! will allow guests young and young at heart to live the west through inventive new ways to interact with characters and environments as each day, a different story will unfold throughout all of Ghost Town. From pledging one’s allegiance to notorious bandits, to saving the day alongside courageous cowboys, guests play an active role in shaping the events of the day. Every evening, the day’s story culminates with a town wide celebration of 75 years of Calico.
Next summer, select peek-ins will be transformed into authentic working establishments, and guests will be welcomed to step inside. At the Barber Shop, guests can walk in and meet Calico’s trusted barber who’s rife with town gossip. In the Sheriff’s office, guests can try their luck at a game of cards with the sneaky Sheriff and other Calico townsfolk.
In the heart of Ghost Town, the Barn will close on April 4, and when it reopens for Ghost Town Alive!, it will have been transformed into a working horse stable where guests can visit with Calico’s friendly equestrian team.
Construction is underway on a new Calico Stage, which will open across the train tracks from its current location, in the area Screamin’ Swing formerly occupied. The stage, themed after an old abandoned mine, will feature an all-new show for summer 2016. The standing viewing area for the new stage is nearly twice as large as the current viewing area, ensuring even more guests can enjoy seasonal live entertainment. The new venue is scheduled to open in Spring of 2016.
When the new Calico Stage opens, the space that the existing stage and viewing area currently occupy will become Calico Park. Here, guests will enjoy a shady respite from the hustle and bustle of the Town, with a small stage for live performances, and twinkling lights adorning the trees after the sun sets. Calico Park is set to open in Summer 2016. Adjacent to Calico Park stands the iconic Calico Saloon, which will feature a raucous new show next summer. A new western stunt show in Wagon Camp will also debut in summer 2016. Both the Calico Saloon and Wagon Camp will close in early 2016 in for renovations and new show preparations.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST… GhostRider!
GhostRider will reopen in the Spring. When GhostRider re-opens, the queue will snake past Panning for Gold, which returns to its original Ghost Town home next summer. All of the coasters trains will be replaced with state of the art new Millennium Flyer trains designed to look like mining cars, each with gold, silver, or copper accents. As part of the construction, the mid-course brake run will be removed, allowing riders to enjoy a relentless, ride from the moment the train descends the first 108 ft. drop to the moment it returns to the station’s new, smooth magnetic brake run. There seem to be several more alterations to the track, such as steeper drops and better banked turns. This hasn’t been announced by the park, but it looks like the new GhostRider will be a crazy-good experience! Here are some renderings of the new trains:
The use of Millennium Flyers trains is truly a gift to the experience. The ride has a wonderful layout, and it’ll be wonderfully complimented with trains that will move along the new track smoother. We can’t wait to experience the new GhostRider!
LET US KNOW What you’re more excited for regarding the 2016 announcements of Knott’s Berry Farm!
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Knott’s Berry Farm also just announced their 205 Merry Farm event! For more details, click the picture below! 
This is fantastic news! Although I have only ridden the previous form of Ghostrider once I still enjoyed it. I can only imagine the wonders this refurb will do!
will the new trains come from Roar and just be rethemed or are they brand new trains. If they are gonna be brand new, what ended up happening to the old Roar trains?
They are not the Roar trains. They’ll be newly manufactured. Let me try to find out what happened to the Roar trains!
Knott’s Could Have Added Another ThillRide, In Place Of The Screaming Swing!
But Love The New Look For GhostRider