Knott’s Berry Farm to Close 2 Days a Week : Tourist industry: ‘It’s a maintenance thing,’ a company official says, adding that the shorter week is unrelated to attendance or the economic downturn.

In a possible sign of the recession’s effect on tourism, Knott’s Berry Farm officials said Thursday that the theme park will close two days a week for the first time in five years.

The park area will be shut down Tuesdays and Wednesdays starting next week. The five-day schedule will continue for six weeks, after which Knott’s will resume its seven-day-a-week schedule, said Stuart Zanville, a Knott’s spokesman.

The shortened schedule will apply only to the theme park. The restaurants and gift shops that Knott’s operates outside the park will continue to be open daily.

Zanville said Knott’s decided to temporarily close the park two days a week to perform maintenance and repairs during the day that otherwise would be done at night, speeding the winter maintenance schedule. He also said the post-holiday period is the park’s slowest time of the year.

“It’s a maintenance thing,” Zanville said. “It was getting too difficult to do the off-season maintenance we have to do.” He said the decision to close two days a week is unrelated to attendance or the economic downturn.

Disneyland and Knott’s used to operate five-day schedules during slow periods until 1985.

Disneyland opened daily to be more convenient to guests, said Disneyland spokesman Bob Roth. He said Disneyland has found that heavy maintenance can be performed at night or by fencing off a ride or attraction from visitors’ view for a few days or weeks. Over the years, he said, park officials have become more relaxed about letting visitors view repair operations because it allows them to see the care that goes into the park.

During the days that Knott’s is closed, workers will rehabilitate rides, fix waterlines and build new attractions.

The Knott’s move comes as California theme parks are facing lean times. A survey by Amusement Business Magazine, a trade publication, estimated that Disneyland’s attendance declined 3% last year and that Knott’s attendance was flat. The figures, however, are primarily based on reporting by theme park executives and are difficult to validate.

Zanville said 4 million people visited the theme park and 1 million visited the adjacent gift shops and restaurants in 1990.

The park’s recent decision to cut the children’s admission price by more than 40% to $9.95 has increased attendance by 20% since Dec. 21, Zanville said.