This one hurt.
Closures are an inevitable stage in attractions’ lifecycle — especially in a park such as Knott’s Berry Farm that has almost no space for expansion. To make room for something new, something old has to go.
But that did not make the news that the Huff and Puff would be closing hurt any less. I never went on the unique little ride in Camp Snoopy. Yet it provided some of my most cherished memories while visiting Knott’s Berry Farm.
Huff and Puff was a toddler-sized rail handcar ride that opened with Camp Snoopy in 1983. Kids sat by themselves in each cart, “huffing and puffing” to pump the car’s handle to propel themselves around the track. As the name implied, it was not always easy, and that difficulty hurt the appeal of an attraction that already had a very limited audience due to its size restrictions.
Theme parks are in the business of providing attractions that actually attract people, so you can’t blame them for closing rides with limited appeal to clear space for something new. But few rides in the park were as beloved by its fans as Huff and Puff.
First, it was unique. I can’t recall having seen a ride like it in any other major park. That alone would elicit admiration from well-traveled fans. More important, however, Huff and Puff illustrated what makes people fall in love with theme park attractions.
The most popular trope on theme park rides is that something will go terribly wrong, or an obstacle will fall into your way. As former Universal Creative designer Thierry Coup once told me, “It has to. It gives us a chance to be heroes and to try to save the day.”
The most powerful joys might be the ones you have to work the hardest to earn. That’s why attractions based on fear and apprehension work so powerfully. Knott’s, of all theme parks, knows this, being the home to the industry’s original Halloween attraction, Knott’s Scary Farm.
I remember questioning my life choices after boarding The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Orlando for the first time. I was facing a two-second, zero-to-40 mph launch up a tunnel into a Cobra roll, which would lead immediately into a 100-foot loop. It’s perhaps the most audacious start to a roller coaster in America. As soon as I flew through that Cobra roll, however, my apprehension melted into joy for I remembered that audacious roller coasters are freaking awesome.
I felt the same thrill watching my kids jump off the Huff and Puff after successfully pumping themselves around that track for the first time. That day, they were heroes. No one had to push them around the track. No automated vehicle did all the work. They got to play the main character, and win.
Whether it is by summoning the courage to get on an intimidating roller coaster or the strength to push yourself around a Camp Snoopy track, people love feeling like the hero. Great theme park attractions provide us the chance to do that. That’s why I loved the Huff and Puff and will miss it.
