This past weekend, we got the chance to check out Knott’s Berry Farm while Peanuts Celebration was in full swing for 2023! In this house, we absolutely adore the Peanuts characters. They seem to find their way into so many different family traditions throughout the year. Whether that’s watching It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown during Fall or watching A Charlie Brown Christmas during the holidays. There is always a time for the Peanuts Gang! So coming back to the Farm for another year of Peanuts Celebration got us excited because we’ve loved the events in the past and welcome any opportunity to inject the famous characters Charles Schulz imagined up back in 1950 to all corners of the park. And this year, Knott’s has included some new offerings that we just adore.

NEW ADDITIONS FOR 2023

The first new offering at the park can be found inside the Birdcage Theater and its Charlie Brown’s Trivia Challenge. Contrary to popular belief, there is no bird show within the Birdcage Theater…yes people in line for the Trivia Challenge were shocked to learn this fact. Honestly, I was curious how Knott’s was going to pull off a trivia show while allowing everyone to participate without it becoming a complete disaster of people yelling over each other.

I’m happy to report that the show was in fact the complete opposite and just so much fun. We’ve always said here at TPD that Knott’s has ALWAYS done a great job with guest interactions and guest activities. Charlie Brown’s Trivia Challenge not only gets every single guest involved but everyone completely invested. It seems that a little competition between strangers is what it takes for everyone to have a great time.

As you enter the theater, you’re asked to make teams of 4 people sitting around you or in your group. One person in that group is handed a clipboard with a paper and pencil. They are in charge of tabulating the points after each round and writing the answers down as well. There are 4 rounds and they increase in difficulty. Also, there are 3 shows during the day and they also increase in difficultly. So if you fancy yourself some hard trivia all about the Peanuts, then this is the show for you. Now we saw the second show and it got really difficult at times, but people in our group were far more knowledgable about the Peanuts characters than I was. I did dig deep at times and pulled out some great answers. Huge kudos to the host as well because he kept things moving at a great pace but also injected humor into many places that could have felt boring at times. Honestly, I love this addition so much that I’d love to see it come back to the park for many different celebrations. Imagine a Scary Farm Trivia show during the spooky season!? Overall, if you enjoy trivia don’t sleep on this show. It’s just a ton of fun.

The next new addition is To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with Nasa. This cute meet and greet with Snoopy is located within the Town Hall in Ghost Town. Along the walls are interesting tidbits about Snoopy’s involvement with Nasa. It’s really fascinating, but the biggest thing of all is meeting the Beagle himself in his best space suit. Let’s set it straight here, Snoopy is far better than Mickey Mouse! I said it, okay! I don’t make the rules. All joking aside, I do like that Snoopy has another dedicated meet and greet area within the park that’s outside of Camp Snoopy. The more opportunities to meet Snoopy in the park the better.

Last but certainly not least, we have Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert at the Calico Mine Stage. This show is probably one of my favorite shows that Knott’s has produced for Peanuts Celebration. Hosted by Jelly of the Month Club, guests are treated to a heart warming story about Charlie Brown and his best pal Snoopy that’s accompanied by so many incredible pieces of music that everyone knows. Not only was the show heart warming and endearing, but it got people so excited to sing along. Jelly of the Month Club also did a great job at keeping the energy high through the whole show.

I do have to say, that I am supremely jealous of all the incredible costume changes Snoopy went through during the show. He was Prince, Bob Marley, Elton John, Freddy Mercury, Devo, The Blues Brothers and more!

The show just had me grinning from ear to ear until the show ended. If you’re coming to the Farm for Peanuts Celebration, do not sleep on this fantastic show. It’s the perfect cap to the end of a great day at Peanuts Celebration.

PEANUTS CELEBRATION MERCHANDISE

As always, Knott’s Berry Farm has great merch for this years Peanuts Celebration. You have your quintessential event shirt with the year on the back and the adorable Pig Pen in on the front. Of course back is the shirt pin combo deal. You can get an event shirt plus an event pin for the low price of $22.99 for adults and $19.99 for youth. If you’re trying to stay within a budget, this is the perfect souvenir.

I think if I had any particular feedback on the merchandise is that the variety of it seemed to be less than the years before. I would have loved to see some more unique designs and often unused characters. I mean Snoopy has 7 different siblings that can be used for different hats, shirts, cups or pins. I learned that small fact in the Trivia Show!

FOOD

As with every event, there is a long list of food and drinks that are unique to the event. I’d put Peanuts Celebration along side Scary Farm with some of the more unique, fun and adventurous food offerings. Whether that’s just a punny name or something as strange as a Chocolate Burger, Knott’s always has fun and knows how to make great food. Here are the different unique food offerings at this years event.

Wagon Wheel Pizza

Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeno Double Stuffed Baked Potato

Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeno Pizza with Cilantro

Calico Tater Bites

Pepperoni Pizza Tater Bites

Sweet Chili Tofu Tater Bites

Sutter’s Pizza

Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Pizza

Sutter’s Grill

Chocolate, Bacon and Jam Cheeseburger

Wilderness Broiler

Thai Curry Fries with Chicken Peanut Satay

Mac and Cheese Bites (while quantities last)

Strictly-on-a-Stick

Buffalo Chicken Crunch Sticks

Mac and Cheese Crunch Sticks

Prop Shopy Pizzeria

Spicy Sausage and Bolognese Rigatoni

Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeno Pizza with Cilantro

Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Pizza

Coaster Diner

Cubano Panini Burger

Avocado and Shrimp Citrus Salad

Boardwalk BBQ

Mashed Potato Casserole with Rotisserie Chicken

Sesame Peanut Green Beans with Tofu

Grizzley Creek

Chipotle Chicken Toastie Sandwich with Tomatoes

Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Pizza

Sutters Funnel Cake

Berry French Toast Funnel Cake with an Acai Berry Soft Serve

Corn Bread Funnel Cake with Honey and Pulled Pork

Aside from savory food, there is a crazy amount of sweet treats scattered throughout the park as well. But let’s just talk about the items that I got to try on my visit. Let’s start with my least favorite.

Chipotle Chicken Toastie Sandwich with Tomatoes

While the flavor of this item was great, it’s presentation and how the sandwich was built really was a hinderance. The bread itself was buttery and tasty, but the chicken wasn’t big enough so you’d get big bites of just dry crunchy bread. If the bread was smaller and had a few more tomatoes, this would be a real winner.

Pepporoni Pizza Tator Tots

These were the most surprising dish of the day for me. I had the pizza fries back in 2020 and then I had the infamous pizza fries at Halloween Horror Nights and I wasn’t sure what the big hype was about. But I figured I’d give this ago and I loved it. There was plenty of pepperoni to tater tot ratio. It also wasn’t drowning in sauce. If I had only one critique, it would be that the cheese didn’t melt in it’s cubed up form. Visually it wasn’t pleasing, but as soon as I mixed it together it get melty very quickly. Highly recommend getting this and relaxing in the shade in Calico.

Carnitas, Pineapple, Bacon and Jalapeno Pizza with Cilantro

This was probably my favorite item of the day. The jalapeños were spicy, coupling that with sweet pineapple and savory carnitas and you have a winning combination. This slice of pizza disappeared much faster than I’m willing to admit.

Almond Butter Ganache Brownie

This thing was massive. It was much larger than I was anticipating and you can easily spit this between 2 and 3 friends. This brownie was moist, decadent, and delicious. It was just too much dessert for one person to handle.

UPDATED: Corn Bread Funnel Cake with Honey and Pulled Pork

We tried this one on our most recent trip because it was one of the few items that really wowed us in terms of it imagination. Who would ever think to put pulled pork on a funnel cake? Let alone the idea to use corn bread instead of the normal funnel cake. We loved the amount of pork you get on this dish, but the funnel cake we got seemed to be breaking apart rather than create those swirls of deliciousness that we all know and love. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though because there were so many tasty crunchy pieces to offset the soft and sweet pork.

OTHER RETURNING ENTERTAINMENT

Most of the big fan favorite activities at Peanuts Celebration makes its return for 2023. Of course, you have to visit Pig Pen’s Pig Pen inside the Livery Stable in Ghost Town. Of course you can get your photo take with the man of the hour…Pig Pen. But you can also see some adorable piglets as well.

Over in Charleston Circle, you have the Peanuts on the Go” Cavalcade. I remember in the past, they had the characters come out on little cars which was adorable. This time around, they just marched from backstage and set camp around the water fountain. I do have to say the cars were a much grander entrance, but the entrance isn’t really what matters in this instance. It’s the guest interactions. And let me tell you the faces that I saw light up when they heard the music start.

Although this show very much has it’s times listed, it feels very impromptu in the best of ways. People were shocked to see the characters march out into the Charleston Circle and teach some fun 20’s flapper dances,

Also in the Birdcage Theater is Sketch School. This where you can learn how to draw your favorite Peanuts character. This is always such a fun activity to do with the family because the kids are always so proud of their work and they then have a free souvenir to take home.

Over in Calico Park, you have the Peanuts’ Cowboy Jamboree. This is another great example of Knott’s Berry Farm’s ability to create wonderful guests interactions out of the blue with their shows. I witnessed first hand, kids running from all over to get in line for this interactive show. Honestly, it warms to the heart to see so many happy families at the park enjoying some good ol’ fashioned Peanuts fun.

Then you have “It’s Your Life, Charlie Brown” on the Calico Mine Stage. This absolutely adorable show brings in the high quality song and dance numbers that we come to expect from Knott’s Berry Farm shows. Then wraps it around a heart warming story about Charlie Browns life. Funny enough, it was the first time I realized that Charlie Brown kinda got a happy ending. Nobody gave him a rock, nobody took the football away before he kicked it…he just got to be good ol’ Charlie Brown with his friends.

Lastly, in the Camp Snoopy Theater, you have “Music Goes Round and Around”. This fun and music packed show teaches kids about the different styles of music and allows them to dance along to the beat. It’s another fantastic opportunity for kids to be involved in all the fun.

OVERALL

Knott’s Berry Farm’s unique and fun approach to the Peanuts characters keeps this event feeling fresh and fun every year. With this years stellar new additions along side some incredible food offerings, this years event is another hit! While there maybe some areas for improvement, they didn’t hinder our experience in the slightest. The wholesome family fun of the Peanuts Gang is alive and well at Knott’s Berry Farm during the 2023 Peanuts Celebration. If you’re a fan of these characters likes we are, then you’re not going to want to miss it.

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