Knott’s Will Cut Children’s Prices 40% This Month
Hoping to lure more families, Knott’s Berry Farm is planning to cut the admission price for children by more than 40% later this month.
The theme park will reduce the ticket price for children ages 3 to 11 from $17 to $9.95. Children under 3 will continue to be admitted free.
In effect, the park is rolling back children’s admission to 1985 levels. Knott’s officials said the change is not a brief promotion but a long-term pricing commitment.
At the same time, Knott’s plans to boost the price of an adult ticket 95 cents--to $21.95. The new prices, which take effect Dec. 21 at the start of the busy Christmas vacation period, mean that the cost of daily admission for a family of four will be $63, down from $76.
“Theme parks are for children, and we were starting to move away from affordable family entertainment,” Knott’s President Terry E. Van Gorder said.
Families that include at least one child account for 65% of attendance at the Buena Park institution.
Knott’s decision breaks a pattern of steady across-the-board price increases at major Southern California attractions over the past decade. It comes just two months after Knott’s major rival, Disneyland, announced its 11th price increase in eight years.
The move is aimed at drawing price-conscious Southern Californians to the theme park, which started as a berry farm and chicken dinner restaurant in the 1930s. About half its customers live in the Southland.
While neither park will disclose attendance figures, officials at both Knott’s and Disneyland have said privately that summer attendance was flat, making the local market all the more important.
Van Gorder said a drop in attendance is not the reason behind the price reduction. He said the new pricing strategy is in response to a steep rise in children’s admission fees the past five years that had begun to price families out of the market.
In 1985, a child was admitted for $9.95. That increased each year until it reached $17 this year, he said.
“We wanted to make a pricing move, given the economic realities” facing a family, Van Gorder said.
Anaheim-based Disneyland announced a round of price increases in October that boosted the price of a day’s visit to $100 for a family of four. Prices at Disneyland have risen 129% since 1982.
Children’s admission is $15.95 to Sea World in San Diego, $16.50 to Universal Studios Hollywood and $22.50 to Disneyland. Most area parks admit children under 3 for free. Magic Mountain in Valencia charges by height: Those under 48 inches are charged $14.
Van Gorder added that Knott’s pricing strategy change was unrelated to Disneyland’s price increases two months ago.
John McClintock, a Disneyland spokesman, said the Magic Kingdom has tried to cater to the local market and families by offering corporate discounts and two- and three-day passes. “The real thrust of our local marketing is to have something new in the park almost every time the guest comes,” he said.
Courtney Simmons, a spokeswoman for Magic Mountain, said the park has rides and attractions specifically aimed at children, but has a different appeal than other theme parks. The park, too, offers deep corporate discounts and other price-related promotions.
SOUTHLAND TICKET PRICES Price comparisons for Southern California theme parks
Park Children (ages 3-11) Adults Disneyland $22.50 $27.50 Knott’s Berry Farm $9.95 $21.95 Magic Mountain $23.00/$14.00* $23.00 Sea World $15.95 $21.95 Universal Studios Hollywood $16.50 $22.00
* Magic Mountain’s children’s admission price is based on height and is valid only for youths under 48 inches tall. The average age of a 48-inch child is 7 years old.
