Knott's Berry farm Announces " Voyage to the Iron Reef " a 3D High-Tech Ride Opening in 2015 !

Knott's Berry Farm announced a new attraction named "Voyage to the Iron Reef" that will submerge the guests under the Boardwalk for an adventure to save the theme park. It looks extremely promising and the ride will be built where were before the Kingdom of Dinosaurs and Knott's Berry Tales rides. Most of all, it will be a sophisticated 3D ride system, something new for Knott's, with riders being able to shoot at what will happen on the 11 screens all along 600 feet of track, including to what looks to me as a "steampunk" version of a giant squid!

According to the L.A Times "Knott's Iron Reef ride will combine 3-D images, ray guns, vehicles that roll along a track, plus atmospheric effects like fog, bubbles and wind to bring the scenes to life. Some of these effects are already featured in Universal Studios' Transformers: The Ride-3D and Disneyland's Toy Story Midway Mania.

The Knott's ride will take passengers into an underwater world where they use ray guns to try to freeze the Queen of the Kraken and her minions to stop them from pulling roller coasters and other rides down into her watery world. The ride is designed to move 800 guests per hour.

The attraction replaces an animatronic dinosaur that opened in 1987 and closed in 2004. The new ride will include 600 feet of track and 11 screens in an 18,000-square-foot building. One advantage to the ride, according to its designers, is that the scenes and monsters are digital creations that can be updated or re-created in the future. Also, by allowing riders to score points, the attraction encourages park visitors to return to improve on their score.

One more thing: who is the president and chief executive of Cedar Fair Entertainment, the parent company of Knott's? Matt Quimet... former ( and excellent ) President of Disneyland Resort. In two words, someone who know well Disney, what guests can like and how to do to increase Knott's attendance. Matt Quimet  said that "the Iron Reef ride does not signal that Knott's is changing its focus solely to high-tech attractions to compete with Disney and Universal". Instead, Matt said the park will invest in rides that appeal to a wider audience so the park can thrive for the next decade or two. "If we can do more rides where everyone in the family has fun, we will be even more successful". For sure, Matt is right and Disneyland may start to worry about a competitor which might be more competitive than before if he starts to introduce sophisticated rides!

Here is Knott's Berry Farm official announcement:

VOYAGE TO THE IRON REEF - SURFACING SPRING 2015

A spectacular new interactive 4-D attraction is coming to the Boardwalk at Knott's Berry Farm next year. Surfacing in spring 2015, Voyage to the Iron Reef adds high-tech fun for everyone.

Ever since construction crews finished expanding the Boardwalk pier in 2013, guests have happily enjoyed the many new attractions like Coast Rider and Surfside Gliders. But all that activity on the Boardwalk shores has reawakened a mystic lair in the depths below, filled with creatures who have risen up to wreak havoc on the classic So Cal theme park.

The Queen of the Kraken and her aquatic army have surfaced to feed on the steel of any attraction within their grasps. Their unquenchable appetite for coaster metal has turned these creatures into swimming mechanical monsters unlike anything ever before seen on the ocean floor. Only you can save Knott’s from the mysterious creatures that are emerging from the seas beneath the Boardwalk!

If you have what it takes to become a brave deep sea navigator, climb aboard the four-person submarine and embark on the four-minute gaming adventure into the Iron Reef. Equipped with your interactive freeze ray, aim for ballooning puffer fish, an iron clad octopus and hundreds of other menacing 3-D creatures to save Knott’s from a watery doom. You will be surrounded at every turn by enchanting underwater forests, disorienting ocean current tunnels, and mysterious mechanical wreckage that will be brought to life through high definition 3-D animation and other special effects.

The attraction reacts to your actions making each interactive voyage a different experience. In addition to battling the Queen of the Kraken and her hundreds-strong aquatic army, compete head-to-head with the other sailors in your submarine to see who can blast the most creatures.

Voyage to the Iron Reef is the centerpiece of an exciting 2015 at Knott’s Berry Farm.