Additionally, a complete restoration of Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant is underway and will re-open in spring 2016.
Highlights coming to Ghost Town in summer 2016:
– The centerpiece of the summer 2016 celebration is the interactive entertainment experience, Ghost Town Alive!, which immerses guests in new stories and adventures in the familiar town of Calico
– 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
– Guests play an active role in shaping the events of the day
– 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 west is about to get even wilder when GhostRider, the longest, fastest and tallest wooden rollercoaster on the West Coast, returns from its nine month restoration with all new trains that will gallop along over 4,500 feet of new wooden track
– Since September 2015, work has been in progress to completely restore and preserve this classic wooden rollercoaster. The project is a partnership with Great Coasters International and includes re-profiling and a complete wooden re-tracking of the entire 4,533 ft. long track.
– All of the coasters trains will be replaced with new state of the art 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.
Complete refurbishment of Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant:
– The restaurant will close on January 4 the grand re-opening in 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
o Throughout the restaurant’s four main dining rooms and two banquet rooms, all furniture, flooring, lighting, and décor will be renovated
o 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
o The main dining room accessible from the courtyard entrance will be divided into two smaller dining rooms, with a theme inspired by farmhouse motifs
o 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.