Fiesta Village originally opened at Knott’s Berry Farm back in 1969 to pay homage to California’s deeply rooted Mexican and Spanish heritage. It was also the second “land” added to Knott’s Berry Farm after the completion of Ghost Town. Much like Ghost Town, many families who’ve visited Knott’s over the years have fond family memories of spending time in Fiesta Village. Or quite possibly it was the spot of your very first roller coaster, Montezuma’s Revenge! Over the past (almost) 55 years, plenty of happy memories were made in Fiesta Village.
Obviously for us, we don’t remember a time where Knott’s Berry Farm existed without Fiesta Village. With each visit, we grew fond of the brightly colored land because it was rather…quirky. For us, it didn’t feel authentic in it’s presentation but it did feel fun. Which, more often than not, Fiesta Village was the location for many different “party” style atmospheres during the different Knott’s seasonal events.
When we found out that Fiesta Village was getting a complete overhaul, we were thrilled. While some rides, restaurants and entertainment offerings have come and gone; there hasn’t really been a true makeover of the land that it truly deserved. Fast forward to May 25th, and we were some of the lucky few to experience the reimagined Fiesta Village. Needless to say…we were very excited!
ENVIRONMENTS
As soon as you enter Fiesta Village (from either of it’s 3 entrances) you’ll notice a distinct difference in color schemes used for the buildings and surrounding style. Everything feels much more refined in presentation while still maintaining the personality that we know and love with Fiesta Village.
Something that we found fascinating about this reimagining of Fiesta Village is how it’s now broken up into three distinct areas harmoniously joining different themes. You have your Aztec/Mayan inspired area which is home to Jaguar and (soon to re-open) MonteZOOMa: The Forbidden Fortress.
Then you have the alebrije gardens where you’ll find Fiesta Village’s spirit animal friends. Here you’ll find fan favorite attractions, which all received some much needed TLC to match the new colorful aesthetic of the area. Lastly, you have the main area of Fiesta Village where you’ll find Fiesta Mercado (inspired by Los Angeles’ Olvera Street), Los Voladores, and Carrusel de California.
Something we noticed pretty quickly when visiting was how each area has it’s own distinct sound personality. While siting near the restrooms by Jaguar, you can hear new environmental noises added to the land. For this area, it was drums and forest noises which change depending on whether it’s day or night. Then the alebrije gardens area has a more upbeat and almost party atmosphere; which the bright colors really lend themselves too. Lastly, the main section of Fiesta Village feels authentic with Mariachi music
Additionally, many of the attractions within Fiesta Village (as mentioned previously) received some nice themeing to match the reimagined land. Even Sol Spin and La Revolution look fantastic next to Jaguar and fits in perfectly. The whole land will be tied together perfectly once MonteZOOMa reopens.
At night, it feels like Fiesta Village comes alive! In the alebrije gardens, you’ll find all the colorful alebrijes are now accented with more vibrant lights. You can even catch a lighting moment happen with music when the sun starts to set. What we love the most is the addition of Calle Celebración. As the sun sets, the fun starts to heat up with this new nighttime show.
Spanning the entire village, Calle Celebración is a wonderful projection show atop Jaguar which celebrates Mexican traditions of family, love and community through color, music, dancing, and giant colorful puppets. Also, it’s the first time in years since we’ve seen fire atop the Jaguar temple, and it is glorious.
FOOD & DRINKS
We all know why you clicked on this article, you want to know about the new food and drinks in Fiesta Village! Well, you won’t be disappointed because they are aplenty! Maybe you’re wanting a burrito, Birria Quesadillas or a Tamale; you can find these at the new Casa California.
Casa California resides where the old Fiesta Village store called home. It’s indoor seating area is located in what use to be the arcade.
Or maybe you’re craving delicious Fish Tacos at the new Baja Taqueria, Carne Asada Fries from Papas Mexicanas, and thirst-quenching bebidas served up over at Cantina Del Sur.
What’s very exciting is food within Fiesta Village is now included in this summer’s tasting card, Flavors of Summer. This expansion to include Sabor de Fiesta will have festival booths in Fiesta Village serving up items such as Potato and Chorizo Tacos, Micheladas, and Elotes.
Having had many of these items, I can tell you first hand that the food served up in the reimagined Fiesta Village holds up to the high standards that Knott’s Berry Farm has set for itself. Our favorites were the Fish Taco from Baja Taqueria and the Esquite! During Boysenberry Festival, this can be the new home for the Boysenberry Elote! Or they could even expand and offer Boysenberry Esquite ONLY in Fiesta Village. There are many different exciting opportunities now that Fiesta Village has received this much needed facelift.
MERCHANDISE
As always, Knott’s completely knocks it out of the park with it’s new merchandise options for Fiesta Village. Not only are they serving up fantastic new shirts, hats, and pins; all displaying the new logos of the rides and land. But they also created a line of Fiesta Village hot sauces and released another Tiki Farm Tiki Mug which celebrates Fiesta Village and MonteZOOMa: The Forbidden Fortress.
Prepare to hold tight onto your wallets and purses because I guarantee you’re going to find something you like here!
OVERALL
Knott’s Berry Farm continues to grow and change in the best possible ways. With the reimagining of Fiesta Village, Ghost Town isn’t the only “must see” land while visiting the Farm anymore. Of course Ghost Town will always be synonymous with Knott’s Berry Farm, but plussing the rest of the park helps solidify Knott’s as a true SoCal classic.
But it goes beyond just food, alcoholic beverages and rides. What I love about Fiesta Village now, is how closely it reflects the diversity of hispanic cultures. It’s not just one homogeneous iteration of Latin America; it’s multifaceted much like the people who find familiarities and comfort within the newly designed land. It’s celebrating the many different traditions and concepts that help build the idea of hispanic heritage. Most importantly, everything was done with respect to the many different cultures on display. There’s an extremely fine line between appropriation and appreciation. And that line is created by the tone and intent of the changes made to Fiesta Village. By consulting cultural experts, Knott’s has made a concerted effort to educate themselves on the cultural and historical significance of the changes made to Fiesta Village. As someone with a mixed culture background (Mexican and Native American), I’m thankful for the respect given to the cultures in which the inspiration for Fiesta Village came. Traversing the historical significance of these cultures can get difficult at times because there is a lot of tumultuous history surrounding it all. But Knott’s tries to reconcile this by focusing on the celebration of all cultures that help create what we know and love.
While some people might not like the changes, or quite possibly dislike some of the lightly themed restaurants; you’d have to ignore some of the best work Knott’s Berry Farm has done in quiet some time. Everything feels elevated, refined, and thoroughly thought out. From the environmental sound design, to the re-themeing of the flat rides, to the authentic approach to food; the reimagining of Fiesta Village is bound to become an instant classic.
FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING KNOTT’S BERRY FARM AND FIESTA VILLAGE, CLICK HERE
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