Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [203]
In October Knott’s hosts what is regarded as SoCal’s best and scariest Halloween party. On select dates from late September through to Halloween, the park closes at 5:30pm and reopens at 7pm as Knott’s Scary Farm. Horror-minded thrills include creepy mazes including the Doll Factory and Killer Clowns, monster-themed shows, and horrific scare zones, not to mention 1000 restless monsters roaming the park.
There are plenty of eateries here but the classic meal is the button-busting fried chicken and mashed potato dinner at the nuthin’-fancy Mrs Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant (chicken dinner $14, mains $15-20). In a hurry? Grab a bucket from Chicken-to-Go next door. Both are in the California Marketplace, a shopping and dining mall outside the park’s main gate.
Next to Knott’s is the affiliated water park Soak City USA ( 714-220-5200; www.knotts.com; adult/3-11yr $28/17, after 3pm $17/17; May-Sep), with high-speed slides, tubes and flumes. You must have a bathing suit without rivets or metal pieces to go on some slides. Bring a towel.
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MEDIEVAL TIMES DINNER & TOURNAMENT
Hear ye, hear ye! All those who have sired knights-to-be and future princesses, gather ye clans and proceed forthwith to Medieval Times ( 714-523-1100, 888-935-6878; www.medievaltimes.com; 7662 Beach Blvd; adult/under 12yr $53/36) for an evening-long medieval feast and performance. Yep, it’s over-the-top but in a harmless, party-like-it’s-1199 sort of way. Guests root for various knights as they joust, fence and show off their horsemanship (on real live Andalusian horses) to protect the honor of the kingdom and the beautiful princess. Dinner is OK – roast chicken and spare ribs that you eat with your hands – but the show’s the thing. Make reservations and accept that you’ll be wearing a cardboard crown for the evening.
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RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Cannibals, deformities and The Last Supper designed in toast: exactly what you’d expect from Ripley’s ( 714-522-7045; www.ripleysbp.com; 7850 Beach Blvd; adult/4-11yr/senior $14/10/12; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm Sat & Sun), one block north of Knott’s. For those unfamiliar with the museum and its founder, Robert L Ripley was an adventurer, reporter and collector who traveled the globe in the 1920s and ’30s in search of curiosities. His documentation of human oddities has provided twisted entertainment for years. Kids will rave or be scarred for life – know your child before entering. At this particular Ripley’s there’s a rather unfortunate tennis ball–sized exhibit on the left as you exit the jungle corridor. We can say no more: see for yourself and join us in suffering the unforgettable imagery.
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DETOUR: RICHARD NIXON LIBRARY
The bad boy of presidential libraries recently got a reality check. Long maligned because of inaccuracies in the Watergate exhibit room, the privately run Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Birthplace ( 714-993-5075; www.nixonlibrary.org; 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd, Yorba Linda; adult/7-11yr/student/senior $10/4/6/7; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun) was transferred in 2007 to federal control with oversight by the National Archives. The old Watergate exhibit – which called the scandal a ‘coup’ instigated by Nixon’s rivals and provided favorably edited White House tapes – was completely torn out; a bold move considering Nixon is buried just outside. In exchange, the library will receive 42 million pages of the president’s papers and almost 4000 hours of tapes. The Watergate exhibit will be completely revamped. The museum offers a fascinating walk though America’s modern history. Noteworthy exhibits include excerpts from the Nixon and Kennedy debates, the pistol given to Nixon by Elvis Presley, audiotapes of conversations