Summer Splash : At Knott’s, Ancient Stories Told in Smoke

The newest attraction at Knott’s Berry Farm isn’t a roller coaster or thrill ride--it’s a high-tech special-effects attraction where images seem to form out of thin air. This illusionistic show isn’t based on a hit movie or a cartoon character--it’s built on the cultural traditions of native North Americans of British Columbia.

Sound different from typical amusement park fare?

It is. Mystery Lodge, which opens this weekend at Knott’s Berry Farm, uses the latest in theatrical effects “magic” to tell a story, rather than simply impress viewers with technology.

The attraction is part of Thunder Falls, Knott’s Berry Farm’s $10-million new area, which also includes a man-made waterfall and a store that will sell authentic native North American crafts.

In the Mystery Lodge show, a Native American storyteller talks about his life, using symbols from the culture of the Kwak’wala-speaking people. He illustrates his story by making colored images take shape in the swirling smoke that comes from what looks like a small fire near center stage.

“It’s ancient art meets state-of-the-art,” said Pat Scanlon, executive vice president of BRC Imagination Arts, the Burbank-based attractions development company that designed and produced Mystery Lodge.

That combination of technology and storytelling was one of the things that impressed Knott’s President and CEO Terry E. Van Gorder about Spirit Lodge, the early version of Mystery Lodge he saw at the 1986 World’s Fair in Vancouver.

“I was so stunned by it,” Van Gorder said. “What struck me was how effectively the message was delivered. I remember thinking (that) if I could change the story, how great it would be for Knott’s.”

The option for the attraction was locked up then. Van Gorder started negotiating with BRC in 1991, and by the end of the year, the project was in development.

BRC changed the story, giving it a family focus designers thought would appeal better to Knott’s visitors. Knott’s built a theater for the show, as well as the Thunder Falls area, the park’s biggest expansion since the addition of Bigfoot Rapids in 1988.

*

Visitors enter Mystery Lodge on a wooden walkway that runs next to the waterfall. After waiting in line, they’re ushered into an indoor pre-show area, about 280 at a time. There they find themselves in a Northwestern forest atmosphere, listening to wild animal noises and looking at the painted front of a “big house,” a native North American building.

The 13-minute pre-show puts people in the mood for the main event, according to Bob Rogers, founder and chairman of BRC. “The story line is that a storm is coming closer and we’re going to have to go inside,” Rogers says.

As the storm approaches and “rain” starts falling, visitors enter the house, which is the theater where the main show takes place. After the audience is seated on benches, the storyteller, who seems to be a live actor, appears on the stage out of nowhere.

He says, “Oh, it’s only you. Good, I need someone here with me tonight because something just happened.” The storyteller confides that as he was walking home, he heard an owl whisper his name, a sign that his death may be near.

“(That’s when) our Knott’s Berry Farm audience grabs their kids by the hands and goes, ‘Whoa, I thought we were in Camp Snoopy,’ ” Rogers says. “It’s a heavy-duty show. This isn’t the funny, pretend death of roller coasters--this is the real death we’re talking about.”

Though the show itself isn’t frightening, the storyteller seems to believe he may soon die, and he starts reminiscing about his life, conjuring up images to illustrate his story from the rising smoke. Images from his childhood appear in the smoke and move at his command--then disappear when the story moves on. He talks about a canoe, and a yellow one moves through the smoke; he mentions fish, and they jump around in the column of gray haze.

Other characters take shape during the show, which is also 13 minutes long, including the storyteller’s wife and their children. He talks fondly of them and regrets that he doesn’t have more time to spend with them. But as the story continues, the threatening owl turns into a playful yellow raven, which flies out of the smoke and lands on the storyteller’s hand, making him think that death isn’t near after all.

The owl and the raven are taken from the myths of the Kwak’wala-speaking people, as is much of the story told in the Mystery Lodge show. The art on the front of the big house was painted by Native American artist Doug Cranmer, and Native American advisers choreographed the dance sequences and ensured that their culture was portrayed accurately.

*

It’s pretty serious stuff for an amusement park attraction, and Rogers thinks the story is just as important as the technology used to tell it. “It’s something that’s a universal message that happens to come from a Native American culture,” Rogers says. “As the guy starts thinking over his life, he begins to think about what was really important to him. He wishes he spent more time with his kids, (and) that’s exactly what our audience is doing.”

Mystery Lodge is as much a magic show as an amusement park attraction, and those not charmed by the story may still be entertained wondering how the illusions work.

Some may form theories explaining the magic, but even they’ll be thrown for a loop when the storyteller disappears in a flash of lightning at the end of the show. He looks too real to be a projection, and there doesn’t seem to be a trap door for him to escape through.

Where does he go? That, it seems, is one of the real mysteries of Mystery Lodge. “It’s magic,” Rogers says. “It’s like asking David Copperfield how the Saw of Death works.”

Fair enough. What he will say is that the show is based on “Holavision,” BRC’s patented effects system that “magically suspends a dimensional image in the air.

“The technology is a light-year ahead of what we did (in Vancouver). We thought of a long list of things we’d love to do someday if anyone would give us the chance. Knott’s gave us the chance.”

BRC previously has produced mostly large-format, film-based attractions for world’s fairs and Walt Disney’s Epcot Center.

Marketing an illusion-based attraction can be difficult, according to Tim O’Brien, an editor of the trade magazine Amusement Business. But in addition to its advertising, Knott’s is counting on positive crowd reactions to spread the word.

“It has to ignite through word of mouth,” said Van Gorder--who believes it will.*