Theme park Buena Park, United States
Knott's Berry Farm Tickets & Visitor Guide
America's first theme park started as a berry stand and still out-charms its Anaheim neighbor at half the price. Buy online — the gate charges up to 40% more.
ⓘ Independent guide — not the official Knott's Berry Farm website. Verify details on the official site before visiting.
Knott’s Berry Farm is the park that invented the genre. Walter Knott sold berries from a roadside stand here in the 1920s, popularized the boysenberry in 1932, and built a replica Ghost Town in 1940 to entertain the crowds queueing for his wife’s fried-chicken dinners. That Ghost Town is still the heart of what is now a 57-acre park with some of Southern California’s best roller coasters.
Today Knott’s is the value play of the Anaheim area: single-day tickets start around $65 online (about €60) against Disneyland’s $104+, and the coaster lineup is stronger. This guide covers real ticket prices, when to go, and what actually deserves your queue time.
Quick Summary
| Quick fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tickets from | $65 online, date-based; $110 at the gate — [source: official Knott’s daily-tickets page] |
| Opening hours | Opens 10:00 most days; closes 20:00 midweek, 22:00 or later on weekends and summer nights. Check the official calendar |
| Advance booking | Recommended — the online discount is up to 40%, and Scary Farm nights (separate ticket) sell out |
| Time needed | One full day covers the headline coasters and Ghost Town at a relaxed pace |
Ticket Types Compared
Knott’s keeps its ticket menu simpler than the Disney parks. Three decisions matter.
Standard single-day ticket
Date-based online pricing from around $65, rising on peak Saturdays and holiday weeks; the walk-up gate price is $110 [source: official Knott’s website]. Everyone aged 3+ pays; under-3s are free. GetYourGuide listed a comparable entry ticket around €60 at the time of checking.
- Best for: almost everyone — buy online the night before and you still get the discount.
- Skip if: you might visit twice in a season — a season pass often costs less than two peak-day tickets.
Fast Lane (queue skip)
A wristband add-on that shortens waits on the major coasters, priced dynamically per date. On quiet weekdays waits rarely pass 20–30 minutes, so it’s wasted money. On summer Saturdays, when GhostRider posts hour-plus queues, it pays for itself.
- Best for: peak Saturdays, holiday weeks, and coaster fans doing laps.
- Skip if: you’re visiting midweek outside school holidays.
Soak City and dining add-ons
Knott’s Soak City is a separate seasonal water park across Beach Blvd with its own ticket — it is not included in park admission. All-day dining plans sold online can undercut buying two counter-service meals separately; do the math against roughly $20 per in-park meal.
- Best for: hot-weather trips with kids (Soak City) and full-day visits with two meals inside (dining plan).
- Skip if: you’re leaving mid-afternoon or planning a proper sit-down at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant instead.
Timing Is Everything
Knott’s is a locals’ park, which makes its crowd pattern predictable: school schedules and season-pass visits drive everything.
- Quietest: Tuesday–Thursday outside California school breaks, especially January–February and early May.
- Busiest: summer Saturdays, spring break, and daytime weekends during the Boysenberry Festival (roughly March–April) and Scary Farm season (late September–October).
- Best photo time: Ghost Town in the first hour, before the streets fill — the wooden storefronts photograph best in low morning light.
- Arrival tactic: be at the gates 20–30 minutes before opening and go straight to GhostRider or Xcelerator; the two biggest queues of the day build within an hour.
Autumn is a special case. Scary Farm runs on select nights as a separate hard-ticket event, and the park closes early on those days to reset. Check the calendar so a 17:00 closure doesn’t ambush your afternoon.
Seasonal Events Worth Planning Around
Knott’s runs a year-round event calendar, and two of the entries genuinely change the value of a ticket:
- Boysenberry Festival (spring): included with regular admission. The park rolls out dozens of limited boysenberry dishes — pizza, wings, fudge, beer — plus craft stalls and live music. Food is pay-as-you-go; the tasting card is the economical way to graze.
- Ghost Town Alive! (summer): an interactive, day-long storyline where actors run the Ghost Town and visitors join in — included with admission and excellent with kids aged 6–12.
- Knott’s Scary Farm (autumn nights): separate ticket, mazes and scare zones across the whole park, no costumes, not aimed at young children. It sells out — book weeks ahead.
- Knott’s Merry Farm (December): included with admission; craft fair, snow zone, and the Calico Mine Ride’s Christmas overlay.
If your dates are flexible, aiming at the Boysenberry Festival on a weekday gets you the best food event in the park’s year at no ticket premium.
How to Save
- Book online, even last-minute. The $65-vs-$110 spread is the single biggest saving at this park [source: official Knott’s website].
- Under 3s are free. No ticket needed for toddlers.
- Pick a cheap calendar date. Pricing is date-based; midweek dates off-season sit at the bottom of the range.
- Season pass math: Knott’s passes are among the cheapest in California — if there’s any chance of a second visit within the year, price one before buying two day tickets.
- Eat the boysenberry stuff, skip the generic stuff. The famous chicken dinner and boysenberry pie at Mrs. Knott’s (outside the gate, in the free-entry Marketplace area) need no park ticket — a useful trick for a cheap taste of Knott’s without admission.
How to Get There
Knott’s sits at 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park — about 6 miles northwest of Disneyland and 25 miles southeast of downtown LA.
- Driving: exit the 5 or 91 freeways onto Beach Blvd. The main paid lot is off Beach Blvd; arrive early on weekends as the closer rows fill fast.
- From Disneyland/Anaheim: 15 minutes by car or rideshare; OCTA buses along Beach Blvd stop near the entrance.
- By train: Metrolink and Amtrak stop at Buena Park and Fullerton stations, both a short rideshare from the gate.
- From the airports: LAX is 35–60 minutes by car depending on traffic; John Wayne (SNA) about 30 minutes. No direct rail link — budget for a shuttle or rideshare.
Inside the Park: What’s Worth Your Queue
GhostRider is the headliner — a 1998 wooden coaster rebuilt in 2016 that regularly ranks among the best woodies in the country. Ride it first or last. Silver Bullet (inverted), Xcelerator (0–82 mph launch in about 2.3 seconds) and HangTime (beyond-vertical drop over the Boardwalk) round out the big four.
Don’t skip the heritage rides: the Calico Mine Ride (1960) and Timber Mountain Log Ride (1969) are lovingly maintained originals that predate most of Disney’s mountain rides, and Ghost Town’s walk-through streets, blacksmith and saloon shows are what make Knott’s feel different from a generic coaster park. Camp Snoopy handles the under-8s with a full set of Peanuts-themed kids’ rides.
One-day plan: coasters at opening, Ghost Town and the mine/log rides midday when coaster queues peak, Fiesta Village and repeat rides in the final two hours as day-trippers leave. Budget 45 minutes for a proper sit-down boysenberry meal — eating is half the point of this park.
Where the Data Comes From
Prices, hours and ticket rules here come from the official Knott’s Berry Farm website and partner listings (GetYourGuide), checked on the date shown on this page. Knott’s uses date-based pricing and a seasonal calendar, so treat every number as a starting point and confirm on the booking page before you pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are Knott's Berry Farm tickets?
Single-day tickets start around $65 online (date-based) and run up to $110 at the gate, so booking ahead saves up to 40%. Kids under 3 enter free.
Is Knott's Berry Farm cheaper than Disneyland?
Yes, considerably. A Knott's online ticket starts around $65 while Disneyland's cheapest date is around $104. Knott's also has more big coasters, though fewer dark rides and shows.
Do I need to book Knott's Berry Farm tickets in advance?
It rarely sells out, but online tickets are date-based and up to 40% cheaper than the $110 gate price. Book at least the day before for the discount.
What is Knott's Berry Farm famous for?
It's widely called America's first theme park. Walter Knott popularized the boysenberry here in the 1930s, and the Ghost Town he built in 1940 to entertain diners waiting for fried chicken became the park's core.
Is Knott's Scary Farm included with regular admission?
No. Knott's Scary Farm, the park's famous Halloween event on autumn nights, is a separate ticket and regularly sells out. Daytime visits in the same period use normal tickets.
How far is Knott's Berry Farm from Disneyland?
About 6 miles — roughly a 15-minute drive along Beach Blvd or the 5 freeway. Many visitors pair one day at each park.
Is Soak City included with a Knott's ticket?
No. Knott's Soak City, the water park across the street, is a separate ticket (seasonal, summer only). Combo and season-pass options covering both exist online.
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See Prices on GetYourGuideGuide last updated: 2026-08-18. Facts are sourced from the official Knott's Berry Farm website and our ticketing partners; always double-check before you travel.