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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 |
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Did you know there are seas deep beneath the Boardwalk at Yester Knott’s Berry Farm? Mysterious creatures live in those waters. They’ve been awakened by the construction of Coast Rider (2013) and Surfside Gliders (2013). They’re hungry, but these creatures don’t eat fish or seaweed. They eat steel. |
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According to Knott’s, “The Kraken Queen and her aquatic army have surfaced to feed on the steel of any attraction within their grasps. Their unquenchable appetite for coaster metal has turned these creatures into swimming mechanical monsters unlike anything ever before seen on the ocean floor.” You wouldn’t want them to eat all the great roller coasters. Now, it’s your job to save Knott’s! |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Entrance |
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Head to Voyage to the Iron Reef. The entrance is on the ground but the ride is on the second level. The queue usually looks empty, but pay attention to the wait time. There’s a big hidden queue upstairs. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Safety Guide |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Inside queue on the upper level |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Backstory while you wait |
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In the queue, you can learn about the old sailor whose boat was ripped apart by a mechanical crab. Riders must save Knott’s from suffering a similar fate. Or you can just play on your iPhone and ignore that whole backstory. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 The final stretch |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Load area |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 3-D glasses |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Four-person “submarines” |
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Grab your 3-D glasses, board your “submarine,” and prepare to dive deep below Knott’s. Ready to begin blasting? Here’s how Knott’s describes what you’re about to experience: “If you have what it takes to become a brave deep sea navigator, climb aboard the four-person submarine and embark on the four-minute gaming adventure into the Iron Reef. Equipped with your interactive freeze ray, aim for ballooning puffer fish, an iron clad octopus and hundreds of other menacing 3-D creatures to save Knott’s from a watery doom. You are surrounded at every turn by enchanting underwater forests, disorienting ocean current tunnels, and mysterious mechanical wreckage that is brought to life through high definition 3-D animation and other special effects.” |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Freeze ray blasters |
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Art © Knott’s Berry Farm Mechanical octopus |
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It turns out that the creatures are mechanical, not traditional undersea life. That explains their unusual diet. It also means nobody can complain that this attraction glorifies the destruction of sea life. |
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Art © Knott’s Berry Farm Submerged coaster tracks |
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You move past various projection screens, allowing you to blast an array of scary creatures coming at you in 3-D. In the finale, you encounter the Kraken Queen herself. She is quite unhappy with you. Keep blasting! |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Time to see the scores |
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Congratulations! You have defeated the Kraken Queen and her mechanical army. But did you defeat the other riders in your vehicle? |
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Voyage to the Iron Reef opened on May 15, 2015, in the Boardwalk section of Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. The 4D interactive dark ride was designed and produced by Triotech, a theme park attraction company founded in 1999 and based in Canada. It was the third attraction in the building. |
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Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives, from the Knott’s Berry Farm Collection Knott’s Bear-y Tales in what was then the brand new Roaring 20s |
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Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives, from the Knott’s Berry Farm Collection The Boysenberry Factory, one of the detail-rich scenes of Knott’s Bear-y Tales |
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The first was Knott’s Bear-y Tales (1975–1986), a dark ride about the circuitous journey of boysenberry pies from the Boysenberry Factory to the County Fair, through locales such as Frog Forest and Weird Woods. The charming ride was packed with inventive details by the ride’s designer, Disney Legend Rolly Crump (after he left Disney). It’s a real shame the ride was removed. |
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Photo, 1985, courtesy of the Orange County Archives, from the Knott’s Berry Farm Collection Kingdom of the Dinosaurs |
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Then came Kingdom of the Dinosaurs (1987–2004), a ride past animatronic dinosaurs. It must have seemed like a good idea. After all, most kids and adults like dinosaurs. But the ride paled in comparison to Knott’s Bear-y Tales. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 No attraction for ten years |
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There was no ride for ten years. As Knott’s Berry Farm concentrated on thrill rides, the dark ride space was allowed to sit empty and go unused. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016 Finally another ride—Voyage to the Iron Reef |
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As already noted, Voyage to the Iron Reef opened May 15, 2015. Despite a story that tried to make a logical link between mechanical sea creatures and the roller coasters of Knott’s, the ride was an odd fit for the park. Unlike the 3-D screen-based games of Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney California Adventure, the various screens of Voyage to the Iron Reef just involved firing endlessly at a barrage of creatures, screen after screen. However, the technology was impressive. After a shorter run than either of its predecessors, the ride closed permanently January 5, 2020. The folks who run Knott’s and the wizards at Triotech had a better idea. |
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Photo by M.H. Habata, 2021 Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair |
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Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair was scheduled to open May 15, 2020. Because of the park’s 13-month coronavirus closure, the official public grand opening became May 21, 2021. |
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Photo by M.H. Habata, 2021 Former “submarines” remade into Knott’s Bear-y Tales cable cars |
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Photo by M.H. Habata, 2021 Former freeze ray blasters replaced by boysenberry jam blasters |
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Concept art © Knott’s Berry Farm An interactive experience, quite different from the original 1975 ride |
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The new ride combines Rolly Crump’s creative ideas, characters, and locales from Knott’s Bear-y Tales with the infrastructure, technology, and interactivity from Voyage to the Iron Reef. Seems the fourth time’s the charm! |
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© 2023 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated November 10, 2023 |
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