Jim S.

I was there last night and the Flyer op was slowing it down whenever anyone started snapping, but he did NOT ever say a single word to anyone about it, turned it back up later, and gave decently long rides. This seems like a good compromise solution and I hope it continues.

Did anyone notice the bunch of old woodie cars behind one of the buildings on the way into the park? They definitely weren't from Knoebels, they were the wrong colors and two of them had "Left Twix" and "Right Twix" painted on the back. What park/coaster did they come from?

Long time no post. I was there last Wednesday and wanted to share some ride updates. The Good: Fandango was back up. The Bad: 1001 Nacht, Italian Trapeze, and Over The Top were still down. The Ugly: Some of the ops are now making adults use the seatbelts on the bumper cars...

They've fixed it now. I think whoever gave the bumper cars an intensity rating of "1" hasn't been on them enough. I'm disappointed that they jumped straight to $3 for Phoenix and Twister this year.

"Look at the lift hill on this thing... it's not even straight, it's not even close to being straight... look at the track, it comes off the wood over here... oh Jesus Christ, this is just not cool..."

I rode Stinger last year and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it DIDN'T live up to the horror stories that people tell about Invertigos. It was a very intense ride, but I've had more headbanging on a non-inverted Boomerang. Hydra, I just don't know what its problem is. For years now, it's had this terrible rattle throughout the course, like the wheels are running on gravel! On a hot day when I'm not properly hydrated, it's given me more of a headache than anything I've ever been on except for Mantis. On a good day though, I love the way it's constantly twisting and following the terrain. I like to ride the back row so I can watch the train in front of me. And the JoJo roll performs the vital function of emptying loose items out of the train before it gets up to speed! (Look underneath it sometime.) Thunderhawk has one moment of violent ejector airtime that makes it worthwhile despite the complete suckiness of the rest of the ride! You just have to know it's coming so you don't crack your ribs...

The only times I remember ever encountering inept patrons at Knoebels have all been at the bumper cars. Sometimes it's been because they didn't speak English, but generally it's kids that are too young to be driving even though they're over the height limit.

I never seem to be able to make opening weekend anymore. I always make it to Phunfest, but they never seem to be there lately.

I saw a few construction markers around the area last night, but nothing major. Also had the worst Flyer operator I've ever seen, and it wasn't even one I had seen before. Is it just me, or are there no good Flyer operators left?

It wouldn't be spring without Knoebels waiting on parts for something from Zamperla! Luckily, I don't ride any of them.

There's always an empty fold-up wheelchair sitting on a scale plate on the unloading side. I assume that it's so they can get the weight of the passenger for balancing the train, since they're not going to know how much weight to subtract for a wheelchair that someone brings with them.

So what's next, banning the Rocky Horror Picture Show because it depicts negative stereotypes of gays? Funny how it's been around for decades and I've never heard anybody suggest that. Quite the contrary, gays love it. In fact, the gay rights organization at the local university even sponsors a showing of it every year! (But I guess the difference between Pennsylvania and California is that our liberals aren't so dogmatic as to be incapable of rational thought.)

They shouldn't cave to people who use the word "homophobic" without even knowing what it means...

For as long as I can remember, they've had a similar sign at Twister (and I think Phoenix) about having to be able to walk up the ramp if they're running more than 1 train. The only thing I can think of for a reason is that if the exit ramp gets obstructed, the station might end up over capacity. (However, I've never seen any capacity signs in either station. Contrast this with Dorney, where on my last visit there was a sign in Hydra's station saying 36 people, which is ridiculous since the train seats 32!)

Yeah that's basically it -- it's even quieter off-ride though, you can barely hear it sometimes over the noise of the crowd and whatnot. The only thing that's not as depicted is that with three trains running, often lift chain #3 isn't running when you come up on it, so the train goes halfway up the lift and then rolls back and catches it with a mighty thud. I'm not sure whether that's something that can be eliminated as they gain experience or not, because the dispatches were already going at a reasonable pace.