Orange County Featured City: Buena Park

Ten and a half square miles of Orange County suburbia mixed with Los Angeles metropolis comprised of 80,530 residents. Right on the border of Los Angeles County, Buena Park serves as another Orange County city host to a theme park, Knott’s Berry Farm. The Knott family had been around since the turn of the 20^th century and started out selling berries, pies, and preserves in 1920. Bored of the monotonous sale of berries to passerby’s on the Interstate 39 Highway, Walter Knott decided to construct a mock ghost town on the property to attract customers and through the 1950’s the ideas of amusement parks really caught traction. By 1969 Knott’s Berry Farm had made fame though the Calico log ride while admission was being charged for the first time at 25 cents. After Walter and Cordelia Knott passed away, their children decided to sell the theme park. Disney offered to buy it but the Knott’s refused hoping to preserve the work of Walter.

 Not only is Buena Park host to Knott’s Berry Farm, but also to Medieval Times, which is a Grand Ceremonial Arena where guests cheer for one of six Knights as they compete in medieval games, joustin, and ground game using a sword and shield. One by one they get eliminated throughout the competition and the search for a Knight to be crowned intensifies. Dinner (or lunch) is provided for the guests and the interactive show leaves guests feeling satisfied with good food and entertainment. High Schools from all over the county go to Medieval Times as a part of senior activities, and have been doing so for decades since 1986 when it first opened. Although Buena Park is known for it’s happy-go-lucky park that attracts parents and children alike from miles away, it also has a dark side.

Stuart Tay, a student at Foothill High School was brutally murdered after a group of fellow students (at Sunny Hills High School) got suspicious that Tay was going to turn on them before a plotted electronics heist. The perpetrators lured Tay into a Buena Park backyard, having dug a grave prior to the encounter, and struck him over the head with a baseball bat. All plead guilty to the murder charge, serving 25-life sentences at state penitentiaries. Although Buena Park may seem like a quiet town, there is actually a lot going on, both good and bad so stop by Knott’s for some good family fun!