A Gold Mine of Innovation Rosco Fog Inside the Calico Mine Ride

Rosco Spectrum: The Calico Mine Ride opened in 1960 and was a major part of Knott’s transformation from a twenty acre farm to the 160 acre amusement park that we know today. Bud Hurlbut, the ride’s original designer, implemented major innovations in the ride that theme parks all over the world continue to employ in their ride designs. Two notable developments include a themed queue line that brought riders into the world of the mine while preventing guests from seeing the actual length of the line, and the ride featured more than 120 animated figures – a full seven years before Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland.