Are you ready to take a trip back to the late 80s to relive classic Knott’s Berry Farm attractions? Let’s use Professor Well’s time machine to go back about 30 years in time to visit some Knott’s Berry Farm attractions that have been lost to time like Wacky Soap Box Racers, Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, the Corkscrew roller coaster, Parachute Sky Jump and countless more.

All of these videos are taken from a VHS that I discovered during a visit to the Knott’s Berry Farm Company Store. Back in the day, the park sold video tours to guests on VHS tapes. The Merchandise team discovered a case of video tour tapes from the late 1980s last year and sold them in the store for just $1. My $1 purchase included over 40 minutes of nostalgic filled footage. Below are a few of my favorite clips from the video. The entire video is available at the end of the post.

Kingdom of the Dinosaurs

Kingdom of the Dinosaurs was my all-time favorite attraction when I was a kid until it was surpassed when I was finally peer pressured into riding the “terrifying” Timber Mountain Log Ride (Known as the “Calico Log Ride” back then).  I grew up in the 1990s during the golden age of dinosaur films, merchandise and rides. My entire room was outfitted with dinos. You name it, I had it, from bed sheets to posters to action figures. Kingdom of the Dinosaurs brought the Land Before Time and Jurassic Park movies to life right before my eyes. As much as I miss the ride, part of me is glad that it’s no longer around for selfish reasons. I’m not sure any ride could ever live up to my nostalgic childhood memories.

Wacky Soap Box Racers

I wish could have been a fly on the wall during the concept meetings for Wacky Soap Box Racers. What a fun, weird, crazy and unique attraction. Eddie Sotto took the problem plagued Motorcycle Chase ride and brilliantly redesigned it into the widely beloved and missed Wacky Soap Box Racers experience.

Corkscrew Roller Coaster

I never had a chance to ride the Corkscrew roller coaster, but a number of Knott’s employees and guests still sing the ride’s praises nearly three decades since the ride left the park in 1989. Luckily, Corkscrew wasn’t sent to the scrap heap, but instead found a new home in Idaho at Silverwood Theme Park.

Parachute Sky Jump

Parachute Sky Jump is a great example of a crazy ride that could never be built today.

Knott’s Berry Farm 1980s Video Tour

Here’s the entire video containing the 40 minute video tour of Knott’s Berry Farm from the late 1980s: