Lost Theme Park land of Jungle Island - The Forgotten Southern California Attraction 

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I was 8 when my family visited Jungle Island and Knott's Berry Farm back in 1969. Thank you so much for the trip back in time.

I remember going to Jungle Island ..! I was Buena Park born and raised, wed go to the pond and do the row boats and peddle boats, ride the Carousel and feed the ducks and don't forget the Burrow Ride ... It was kind of like an old-fashioned city park over on that side of Knott's ... Thanks for the reminder and memories Justin ...!

I remember seeing jungle Island a long time ago In the OOOOLD WEST! I was about 10 years old and I'm. Now a young 74 and still enjoy going to theme parks. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane and all your interesting adventures !!!

This was an incredibly endearing episode. Why did seeing the (pig) “sea horse” woodamil back home give me all the feels? It belongs there. #bringbackjungleisland 🙏

This guy puts together the best videos of all the theme park stuff out there. The research , information gathering combined with the character acting puts this work in a class by itself in the RU-vid world imo. I’m surprised he’s not producing work for the Disney channel etc. I recently walked thru that area and wondered what it once was….

What an excellent video! After my dad passed away when I was 5 years old in 1978 my mom used to take me here at least once a week to walk and run around! So many memories there. Thanks for allowing me to relive those days with my mom. Keep it up Justin.

What an appropriate name for a Woodamil artist n carver extrordinaire,. Forrest Morrow!!! Unique n exciting find is this Jungle Island!! Someone should resurrect that park for future generations enjoyment!! I am 65 yrs old n I would enjoy going there anytime!!!! Attaboy, Justin Scarred!!! Uniquely interesting find!!!

Thanks Justin for doing this episode on Jungle Island! I visited Jungle Island in the late seventies or early eighties. It was very cool. For years I mistakenly thought that the Catawampus was a woodimal. Thanks for telling us about Stacks Liberty Ranch, looking forward to visiting the museum some day.

This is wonderful. I LOVED (and still miss) Jungle Island. Thank you so much for your first-class detective work!

I remember going there many times. I even went there with Cub Scouts and church groups. Great place for capture the flag and tag games. Lots of open space. Thanks for sharing this.

Thanks for doing this. Used to go here all the time when I was a kid in the 70s. Loved Jungle Island.

I grew up about 10 miles from Knotts. In the 70's my mom use to bring me here to let me run around. She would sit and watch people, which she seem to enjoy. I remember there was a couple of those that were near the water that you could pump water an spray water. They use to rent boats people could use to boat around the lake.

OMG.........I loved Jungle Trail.!!!!My daughter wanted to go there more then Knotts when she was 4!It closed down around 1980...81.

So many great memories! This made me smile throughout the whole thing. I miss Jungle Island more than anything. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and love of the past.

Whoa man, this was a great Themepark History deep dive and the fact that you got to bring a woodimal back to it's home is amazing! that Woodimal Dance song at the end is going in my Tiki playlist right away.

What an awesome video, Justin. I lived in Huntington Beach from 74 to 78 but I was just a kid and we went to Disneyland way more than Knotts so I missed out on Jungle Island.

Mr Morrow was an awesome unique artist n wood carving craftsman who saw potential in scraps of other projects he lovingly created n turned them into even more iconic collectable creations put into use as entertainment that has spanned decades!!! Attaboy, Mr.Morrow!!!

This is so amazing!!! I would love more lost attraction videos from Knotts 😍

Love watching this kind of stuff. I really like how Knott's has a ton of old defunct stuff just hiding in plain sight!

This is awesome -- Thanks for bringing back some great childhood memories (late 70's-early 80's). Love all the historical background and vintage footage.

Mr. Stack preserving n presenting this fabulously unique collection of "Woodamils" at Liberty Park is a wonderfully interesting and forward thinking man,,!!!! Attaboy, Mr. Stack,Liberty Park n You, Justin, for hipping us to this awesome find!!!

Justin, you truly are an inexplicably talented blogger, narrator, n Master of Video Ceremonies!! Major Attaboys. To You Justin Scarred!!!

This was such an amazing and awesome video. Thank you so much Justin!!!

Love 💕 the term "Woodamil for designating wood animal carvings in large size!!!! Gotta put that word back into the lingo of today!!!"

Wow. I never knew of this forgotten Adventureland. Thanks for the History of this lost themed area.

I adored that island as a kid. I couldn't wait to get out of the park, ride the old timey cars (no center rail!!) and then head over to the land of weird wooden pun creatures. Sometimes it would be weirdly crowded and I'd be a bit miffed that other people were in my hidden paradise.

I do remember seeing these creatures when we visited in 72!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love history of family run California theme parks.

Thank you. The fir pit, Woodamoles, but best the waterfall…it was just a run-amuck land of fun. I adored the "wildness" as a kid from 1959 til I moved away to college in 1970!…Barbara Ganschow

I knew I saw those creatures somewhere in Illinois. I never have been to any other lands other than in illinois. Santas Village, Adventurland and Riverview! Thanks for the knowledge that I did not know about.

This was fantastic! I have visited Knott’s a ton and had no idea. Loved learning all of this!

I had never heard about this place before. Thanks for the history lesson!

This was awesome. How amazing is that original Boysenberry Island map drawing. Loved all the old photos and history. Really appreciate how much you put in to these videos.Great work Justin. Cheers

I’d never heard of Jungle island before, this was so fun to learn about!

That's awesome it would be awesome to see those wooden animals at Knott's berry farm if they want to acquired them back and put them up on Display at Knott's hotel or build a museum on property

Hey Justin good vlog and thank you and keep up the good work you do love jari

i remember jungle island and the woodamals very well.(my 1st time going the knotts was in 1969....and the island was part of a class field trip to knotts....3rd grade.)i remember the water spraying woodamals....and the giant feet where you stepped on pedals,and the giant feet splashed in the water near the lagoon....a lot of exploration happened on jungle island...it was a kids paradise.

I was born and raised in OC, I used to go to Knott's when I was a kid, pre fence, I also was a sweeper there in the the late 70's and I never knew this place existed. My dad like others where the king of cheap so I am surprised I never went there. We used to drive the cars in the back all the time, run around Independence Hall. We used to go to Alligator farm across from Knott's.

Your information & video was great, I loved learning about something I didn't know existed. I hope you will soon be finding more of these creatures coming out of the woodwork (? 😉). I have to tell you, I absolutely love the music video at the end. I thought while I was watching it, "This is very artsy fartsy, in a very good way!" Its very creative, a little serious, a little humor, and the music is actually pretty cool!! Im not teasing, I really enjoyed it!!! Great job 👍👍 + 👏👏👏

My son, Noel, and I once saw Walter Knott across the street there riding in a golf cart. I remember that he wore high top old fashioned boots.

When I saw the Jungle Island I got a feeling, like, I almost remember going there as a kid, but in my memory back then there was a croc farm. Where was that? Still love that you can still drive right up to Knott's. And their fried chicken dinner is still the best. I've driven all the way from Santa Monica just for dinner.

Wow, once again a well researched video, thank you for taking us along on this adventure

We peed in the bushes when we were kids. We weren’t wasting any time walking back to Knott’s just to go number one. Ahhhh the days… I consider you an expert at anything Knott’s, Justin. By the way, I know you have your comments disabled on your other channel, Live Free Die Poor, but I really wanted to let you know something. Dude, it totally cracked me up when you did the intro to the Sometimes Vlog at Magic Kingdom a while back. The look on some of the people’s faces was absolutely hilarious! You have to do more of that…please. 👍👍👍

This was so interesting and your enthusiasm Justin as always makes me enjoy watching and learning the history about it all. Xx

Probably one of your most significant videos. I can't wait to visit Liberty Ranch. Who wrote/performed Woodimal Dance? It's on top of my playlist!

Justin, I went to Knott's a bit as a kid. I remember one year we went to the "stuff across the street" before going into Knott's. I remember the Independence Hall, and a covered bridge. I was in 2nd grade in 1982. It's possible I saw the woodimals...? I don't remember them.

This was my favorite place to play as a kid. My favorite attraction was the giant wooden feet you could stomp on to splash the water in the “river”.

Another really cool 'lost' find. Thank you, Justin 😃

I loved the guy cooking in the pot and btw, once I told some younger folks about this place and they accused me of making it up!

Great! Now I have to find that Woodimal record!!! Fun vid!

Never stop Justining! We love you my brother.

Justin you should forget about youtube and bottle up your energy and get rich on that! Wowsie! Love it❤❤❤

Everytime you say shrubbery I just crack up repeating the line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail much like you do with Back to the Future dialogue.

Thanks Justin for bringing back the memories

IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE!

Thank you so much for this! Love those Woodimals!!

This is so well done! Nice work!

I cried laughing when that thing was revealed under the tarp 😂

I am 66 years old and played their when I was a child

I grew up across the street from Independence Hall on Stanton Avenue so I use to play in what was Jungle Island after it had closed down in the 80s and 90s when it was free to enter until they expanded the corporate event venue on what was originally the Gold Rush Camp into the rest of jungle land which is now the Island venue around the time they built Splash City around 1999-2000. I use to chase all the chickens, ducks and rabbits around the lagoon but god helped you if you accidentally slipped into the dirty water back then. My dad and my brothers use to fly string operated flying planes but we’re not RC. The security would kick us out of the old parking lot back then but we don’t miss all the petty crime, car accidents, homeless people, taggers and hookers who use to cut through the parking lot there at the Pine tree lined parking lot exit on Stanton which is now the emergency exit gate for the water park. That’s when they moved the exit gate down past Maple to the light on the street where the Buena Park Mall parking lot is. My dad use to call Knotts Security whenever they ran the street sweepers at 3 am in the morning. Knotts also had a tram in the parking lot just like Disneyland does now from the parking structures. I use to run across the wooden covered bridge all the time but the gift shop and ticket booth windows were closed off with chicken wire by the time I was running around there as a kid in the 80s and 90s. I took my kids to Independence Hall for the first time there and told them all the stories about what use to be there a long time ago. I was born after they closed the lake that use to be behind where a little strip mall was at until the 90s. My parents house got ants in the house bad after they drained and filled in by what is now the green grass lot next to what is now the entry gate for the parking lot. My childhood neighbor was the head waiter at the Disneyland Hotel for 40 years. He started working there about a year after it opened in the 50s and his wife at the time use to work in the jam & preserves factory for Knotts.

We lived in Buena Park in the early 60's. My Dad took us there and also used to pick rhubarb on the other side of it

Omg “No !! is your grandfather Forest Gump “ Hahahha I am still laughing

You should have taken Julio with you to be on this video he would have liked to be in the jungle lol great video thoe!!!

I remember calling them "woodniks".

I've been telling people about this place they kind of don't believe there was ever there but what I used to go there when I was a kid I grew up just a few miles from Knott's Berry Farm😊

My brother and I used to go here... I had forgotten the name of the attraction. Don't remeber a "covered" bridge but one with logs for the handrails. Used to love the log animal where you could pump water with your feet and it would shoot the water into the pond... Also the tunnel was pretty neat. This was late 60's and early 70's... I wonder if you can find some of the other "lost" attractions.... I know the streetcar is at the Perris train museum but I wonder if there is anything left of the seal enclosure that was in Fieta village...

Omg loved that place with my brothers!

Awesome video thank you for sharing this part of History 😎

Thanks!

Such a cool woodimal.

Great video,love your enthusiasm 👍👍

sorry i don't do facebook. i used to go to that little island attraction all the time. it was a great spot for exploring or just hanging out. i loved the woodimal/woodnik characters that populated it. when i was about 16 i raised a duck in my house. when it got to be too much to handle (the poolman didn't like cleaning poop out of the filter) i took him to knott's and released him at the lagoon by independence hall. i visited him a couple of times and he seemed to adapt well to his new home .who knows,maybe some of the ducks there now are related to good ol' "yackey".

ANOTHER LOST ATTRACTION!

JUNGLE ISLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super cool find!

Good job man this is awesome!

Dude! I was born in 1966 and ember going to Knotts as a child but I never knew about Jungle Land! I was in high school by 1982, so I'm trippin that I didn't know!! We do remember that there was a Gatorland across the street to the north that we never got to go to. Was it a myth? Do you have a video of it? Have you heard of it?

Have you ever done that park off the 22 freeway, it had a giant snake slide or something like that, they started to charge people to use it so there was a big up roar.

I missed it by a few years I Will keep an eye out here in northern Illinois see if I come across one

Seeing you there

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!

Really great history.

Your too funny dude love the videos keep going will you have a meet up again

I haven’t noticed that when I was at Knotts Berry Farm last month 😳

Nice video! My kids and I enjoy watching your Randomland Adventures. One question: what happened to Julio?

Welcome home woodamal!

Never knew about this land and I live in Anaheim I need to go

Great video!

Very cool.

Great video

It's funny, I grew up in OC but I had no idea this place ever existed

WOW!

There not really Amusement Parks but does anyone else remember the Alligator Farm across the st from Knott's on the north side or the Movieland wax museum and the Cars of the Stars with famous movie vehicles and props from the classic to the modern stuff..

Yup, remember it.

I think the "pig" is really some sort of bird.

I love you vids

SIC!!!

Dude hell YES WHOA

Jeepers Camptosaurus!