Prepare for battle and dive in at Knott’s Berry Farm
Some years ago, without forsaking its Old West-ghost town feel, Knott’s Berry farm began frontloading a dozen or so thrill rides which then polarized its clientele: the younger set could head for the coasters while the older folks could still visit the quieter gold rush-era shops, museums, and other attractions.
“Voyage to the Iron Reef” is essentially an immersive-submersible video game, but it’s also pretty much age-friendly, meaning that grandmothers and grandkids can enjoy it together. In short, it bridges the extreme and the sedate.
Presumably inspired by California Adventure’s successful “Toy Story Midway Mania,” an interactive dark ride where visitors don 3D glasses and then fire away at targets in an imaginary arcade, “Voyage to the Iron Reef” carries the concept, as they say, to the next level. Thematically, it draws heavily from steampunk, a Neo-Victorian, retro-futuristic style of design, decor, and even fashion.
Jules Verne and H.G. Wells were steampunkers and didn’t even know it. To put it another way, it’s as if the practitioners (William Morris, etc.) of the English Arts and Crafts movement had sat down together and designed all the sets and props for a movie set 100 years in the future..
However, one gets more of a sense of this in the souvenir shop next door which is called “Nautilus,” as in the submarine from Walt Disney’s filmic version of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” More on this in a moment.
Riders trudge up a staircase and wend their way to a loading dock. Although Knott’s calls them “submarine-inspired ride vehicles” the vehicles themselves–eight trains, two cars per train, four riders per car, thus eight riders per train–aren’t very distinctive in appearance. By way of contrast, picture the vehicles you step into when you board “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” (an old motorcar) and “Peter Pan’s Flight” (a galleon) at Disneyland.
Like those traditional dark rides, “Voyage to the Iron Reef” follows a set track and is constantly on the move.
Our personal blaster is holstered into the dashboard in front of us. Each gun is color-coded to match the flashes and bursts of color that emerge when we fire and hit something. You’ll be shooting at a lot of angry targets, so give your trigger finger a lot of rest before embarking on this attraction.
We are first swept into a launch port, and our Captain gives the command: “Prepare to dive!” (or does he say “Prepare to die”?) We briefly gaze out upon the watery surface, and then the fun begins.
For the next four minutes riders are whisked in front of some ten interactive scenes which are splendidly detailed and, what makes it a 4D adventure, everyone gets a swirl or two of cold air and mist
plus a steady dose of intense music. Meanwhile, we’re exposed to the underwater ruins of an amusement park and a graveyard of ships. Personally, I’d have liked to have sat back for a few moments just to take it all in. However, that’s not the way the ride is geared. By the very nature of the setup we’re competing with our co-riders, or shipmates, to rack up the highest number of kills. The goal is to be the master blaster, our points illuminated for all to see on the console in front of us.
What are we killing?
Here’s where the murky backstory comes in. As Knott’s phrases it, construction activity on the Boardwalk sector of the park has disturbed the Kraken Queen and her minions. They’ve somehow infiltrated the subterranean waters beneath Buena Park, etc., to pilfer metal and steel from the roller coasters. Something like that. Our mission, at any rate, is to drive them away and save the Boardwalk.
Because no one these days wants to be accused of insensitivity towards living things (fleas and cockroaches excepted), our targets aren’t “real” creatures but rather mechanical eels, jellyfish, puffer fish, a giant octopus, but also a female kraken–picture Medusa as a Mermaid–that’s not “mechanical” but so inhuman and fierce that no one will think twice about firing away at her. These underwater or subterranean denizens come at us in droves, with the Kraken Queen herself providing quite a finale.
And then the Captain says, “Let’s go back to the surface.”
Well, “Voyage to the Iron Reef” is an exhilarating attraction and clearly a harbinger of thrilling dark rides to come, but there’s room for a little improvement. First of all, what does our submarine
look like and where exactly are we? Second, what does our Captain look like?
I think he should resemble a middle-aged Herman Melville, or perhaps Vincent Price in “Master of the World” or James Mason in “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” These movies provided urban gentlemen, although they were also rather eccentric inventors-explorers. Or Rod Taylor in “The Time Machine.” All three of these films were proto-steampunk in a way, but with a strong lead actor to give them ballast. This ride could use that.
Also, there’s not much atmosphere outside of the ride itself. The approach up the stairs and the waiting areas need additional decor: There’s more of this in the Nautilus storefront window than anywhere else. Knott’s should do a little more to put riders in the mood–waits can be two hours or so right now–and to build up the suspense. At this time the waiting areas are pretty barren. One more thing, why not attire the ride operators in outfits more conducive to the starpunk genre?
When the attraction opened, traffic flow was spotty, although I suspect this issue will be or has already been ironed out. “Toy Story Midway Mania” at Disneyland seats two riders per car instead of four, which makes it more fun and intimate. But of course the rides differ in that one is the height of levity while the other reaches for intense dramatic effect.
Perhaps “Voyage” shouldn’t be overly intellectualized, except that its creators have already invested us in a backstory of sorts. Putting that aside for the moment, it’s without doubt an enthralling experience. But with a few more touch-ups it can actually be even more memorable.
“Voyage to the Iron Reef” (on the former site of Bear-y Tales and Kingdom of the dinosaurs) is now open at Knotts Berry Farm Theme Park, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. (714) 220-5200 or go to knotts.com. ER
