Knott’s Tries to Put Its Best Foot Forward at Wilderness Attraction

Knott’s Berry Farm will soon have some famous footprints that even the late Sid Grauman would envy.

Sasquatch--also known as Bigfoot--is coming to Orange County.

Yes, after years of everybody searching high and low from Moscow to Washington for the legendary big ape, Bigfoot’s tracks will soon be found wandering through Knott’s new Wild Water Wilderness attraction.

When the $10-million water rapids ride was announced in December, Knott’s innocuously called its splashy new attraction simply Wild Water Wilderness. And while the alliteration is kind of catchy, it is not the stuff that marketing dreams are made of.

Enter Bigfoot--the creature that has been described as taller than a grizzly bear, with the head of a man and an odor that is, er, indescribable. The ride is now officially Bigfoot Rapids, located in Wild Water Wilderness--paving the way for all sorts of marketing gimmicks with mementos of the mythological hunk.

“We’ll have lots of things with the Bigfoot logo--furry bedroom slippers, candy in the shape of a big foot,” said Stuart Zanville, Knott’s spokesman--and, of course, loads of towels, terry cloth hats and rain gear for when customers get soaked riding the rapids.