Knott’s 54-Inch Entry Policy Is Height of Folly

Tommie Pagliarulo’s recent predicament with Knott’s Berry Farm (“Woman Says Knott’s Unfair to Tall Children,” Feb. 14) recalls the Monday morning of Easter vacation 1971--the first time my neighbors, younger sisters and I went there unchaperoned!

Then 11 years old, at 5-foot-3 with a 32-A bust, I was questioned about my age. The ticket booth attendant tried squeezing an extra $2 from me because I appeared to fit Knott’s then-Junior (12- to 17-year-old) category.

After telling them I was a sixth-grader who would turn 12 that June and pleading the impossibility of reaching my school during spring break, I was admitted as a child.

Now, nearly 22 years later, I’m appalled to learn that Knott’s imposes 54 inches as the maximum height to qualify for child prices.

The additional $13 for those who exceed the new cutoff will drive most working and middle-class families--the core of Knott’s customers--to other amusement parks. This policy also discriminates against tall youngsters and female youngsters.

First, the average 11-year-old is between 58 and 60 inches tall, according to a number of published sources.

Second, many 11-year-old girls are two to three inches taller than their male counterparts. More girls today enter puberty at that age than they did in my generation.

Knott’s ignorance is furthered when its officials reveal that the 5% drop in ticket sales for children represents possible past fraud.

Magnifying the acts of a few dishonest teens through the news media and then punishing many parents through their pocketbooks smacks of a siege mentality.

Park officials should take a course in proactive public relations, formally apologize to Mrs. Pagliarulo, and revise its youth rate to cover everyone under 16 or under 18.

KELLI BOND

Oceanside