Following the incident on the evening of Saturday July 16, when Knott’s Berry Farm was forced to close three hours early after multiple fights broke out, a chaperone policy was put into place on certain evenings in order to try to prevent further instances of fighting and unacceptable behavior in the park and to return it to being a park which can be enjoyed by everyone.
On Friday, Knott’s Berry Farm posted on their official twitter page that the chaperone policy will no longer be in place on Saturdays meaning guests aged 17 and under are no longer required to have a chaperone when visiting the park.
Knott’s Berry Farm’s chaperone policy will no longer be in effect on Saturdays. We are always evaluating our safety policies and will continue to make modifications based on the needs and behaviors we are seeing in the park. Safety is and always will be our top priority. pic.twitter.com/cVaOWvGdg3
— Knott’s Berry Farm (@knotts) February 3, 2023
For younger guests the complete removal of the chaperone policy will undoubtedly be positive news but it will be interesting to see if it puts other guests from visiting on a Friday or Saturday night, knowing that there is more chance of unrest in the park. We assume Knott’s Berry Farm will monitor how this goes over the next few weeks and months. They will obviously hope that younger guests will have learnt their lesson and behave appropriately while in the park if not we expect the chaperone policy will be reinstated.
From it’s initial implementation, the chaperone policy saw a number of modifications. On July 22, the chaperone policy came into effect on Friday and Saturday nights and then included Sunday nights as well from July 27. It was also in effect on every night of the popular Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween event.
In November, Knott’s Berry Farm then changed their chaperone policy meaning it would only be in effect on Saturday evenings over the winter months.
The chaperone policy aimed at preventing further instances of fighting and unacceptable behavior which was seen at the park and outside in July. As a result of this anti-social behavior there were a lot of concern online from guests about safety with some deciding to cancel their season passes as a result.
The initial incident was reported by the LA Times that Knott’s Berry Farm was forced to close three hours early on Saturday night, July 16 after multiple fights broke out in the park and numerous calls were made to 911 from guests saying they had heard shots fired.
Buena Park police officers determined after investigating the incident that no shots were actually fired. Guests frantically fled the park to escape the commotion with staff exits also opened to ensure guests could leave as quickly as possible.
A statement released by Knott’s Berry Farm said, “On Saturday evening, the decision was made to close the park three hours early due to unruly behavior and altercations involving a number of teenagers. This behavior did not align with our park’s values, and was not the experience we want any guest to have while visiting Knott’s Berry Farm.”
It has been reported by Fox 11 that three people were injured in the fights with two of those taken to hospital. Knott’s Berry Farm was supposed to be open until 11:00PM on Saturday night it reopened the next day.
— Knott’s Berry Farm (@knotts) July 17, 2022
Unfortunately, at any large gathering there is the potential for there to be altercations which can lead to fights, unacceptable and dangerous behavior forcing closures in order to keep guests safe. We hope guests can enjoy everything Knott’s Berry Farm has on offer during 2023 without any further instances of fighting.
We will update you with further news on this if and when there are any further changes. Are you happy that the chaperone policy has been removed at Knott’s Berry Farm? Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page. Let us know by voting in our poll below or by leaving us a comment below.
