Knott's Berry Farm got its start in 1934, when Cordelia Knott began serving chicken dinners on her wedding china to supplement her family's income. The dinners and her boysenberry pies proved more profitable than husband Walter's berry farm, so the two moved first into the restaurant business and then into the entertainment business. The park is now a 150-acre complex with 100-plus rides and dozens of restaurants and shops. While it's got some good attractions for small children, the park is also known for its roster of awesome thrill rides.

Ghost Town is made up of authentic old buildings relocated from their original mining-town sites. You can stroll down the street, stop and chat with the blacksmith, pan for gold, crack open a geode, ride in an authentic 1880s passenger train, or take the Gold Mine ride and descend into a replica of a working gold mine. A real treasure here is the antique Dentzel carousel. GhostRider towers over it all; it's Orange County's first wooden roller coaster. Traveling 56 mph at its fastest and reaching 118 foot at its highest, the coaster is riddled with sudden dips and curves, subjecting riders to G-forces comparable to three times the force of the Earth's gravitational pull.

Smaller fry may want to head straight for Camp Snoopy, a miniature High Sierra wonderland where the Peanuts gang hangs out. At nearby Big Foot Rapids you can ride white-swater in rafts. At The Boardwalk, you'll find the Boomerang roller coaster and the Perilous Plunge, billed as the world's tallest, steepest and -- thanks to its big splash -- wettest thrill ride. The 1950s hot rod-themed Xcelerator opened in 2002; it launches you hydraulically into a super-steep U-turn, topping out at 205 feet. Over in Fiesta Village are two more musts for adrenaline junkies: Montezooma's Revenge, a roller coaster that goes from 0 to 55 mph in less than five seconds, and Jaguar!, which simulates the motions of a cat stalking its prey, twisting, spiraling, and speeding up and slowing down as it takes you on its stomach-dropping course. It's a good idea to confirm the park's opening hours, which are subject to change. Each October, the park celebrates Halloween by shifting into Knott's Scary Farm mode at night. The attractions take on scary new guises, and costumed cast members prowl around to spook you. The Scary Farm is not open for kids under 13. COST: $40. June-mid-Sept., daily 9 AM-midnight; mid-Sept.-May, weekdays 10-6, Sat. 10-10, Sun. 10-7. Closed during inclement weather.