The Two Walt's of Disney and Knotts

Both of these SoCal Destinations operate in the same county and in 2 different cities. Both are just 10 minutes apart. What most people outside of SoCal don't know is that these 2 have a history that stems from both of their creators who both are named Walt and the two had a friendship.

Walter Marvin Knott was a Californian born farmer that struggled in his early years of farming until his attempts at nursing several berries from an abandoned farm changed his fortunes for him and his wife. The Boysenberry plant would later be cultivated and sold on its own or as jelly. The berry proved to be a success and soon his wife would begin selling chicken dinners in order to combat the Great Depression in the 30s. 

As more and more people flocked to the Chicken Dinner Restaurant, Knott decided to create a western "Ghost Town" on his property in order to entertain the hundreds waiting for a table at their restaurant. This would be the basis for Knotts Berry Farm's Theme Park. Walter Knott passed away in 1981, 7 years after his wife died and he turned over Knotts Berry Farm to his children. 

Walter Elias Disney on the other hand wasn't born in California having been raised in Illinois and moved to California in the early 20's with a dream of creating cartoon characters. By the late 20's, Walt lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Universal Studios and soon created Mickey Mouse who would jumpstart his animation studio. In 1955, Walt decided to build a place where the parents and the children can have fun together and that would create Disneyland. Walt eventually passed away in 1966, 11 years after he opened Disneyland. Disneyland would eventually become a full fledge resort with the addition of a new Theme Park in California Adventure, a shopping district and a new hotel in 2001. 

The 2 Walters didn't see each other as competitors when Disneyland opened but saw each other as friends. Walt Disney on occasion would visit Walt K's Ghost Town and was inspired by his Calico Mine Ride to build on of his own. The Knott couple was invited to Disneyland's opening day and on the same day, realized that their own business can feed off Disneyland's eventual popularity as tourists can make the quick time to visit their property. Walter Knott would later fence his property and charge admission in 1968, 2 years after Walt Disney's passing effectively turning his own property into a theme park. To keep up with demand with Disneyland and to ensure there was something for locals to do, Knotts Berry Farm got the deal to include Charles M Schultz's Peanuts in their own land of Camp Snoopy and created the first ever Halloween Event in "Knotts Scary Farm" which would give birth to other Halloween Events such as Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland. 

As seen by this ad in celebration of Disneyland's 25 anniversary, Knotts has always seen Disneyland as a neighbor and Disneyland in return would also list Knotts as a place for tourists to check out in the list of SoCal destinations they can see. In 2012, the two Theme Parks would be connected when the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) introduced a line that would start at Disneyland and end at Buena Park with Knotts Berry Farm being included as a stop. To this day, Knotts continues to live off Disneyland's ever growing popularity and also continue to grow as a local's destination.