Wags

This ride scared the living hell out of me, the brakes were rough and noisy and that was years ago.

If Knott's removed Jaguar, they'd have a good footprint for a customized Eurofighter. I can see why families like Sierra Sidewinder and Coast Rider, but Jaguar is just boring and rough, it's never been good. It would also clear up some of that ugly "forest" of coaster supports. Does the carousel get many riders?

Hopefully Knott's will announce that rumored investment in the mine ride, personally I'd love to see them do something to liven it up like Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain but that won't happen. If they put a new dark ride in the old Bear-y Tales/KOD building everyone will complain it can't compare to the original(s). I'd rather see them try another location.

Windseeker is still down? Ridiculous.

So, so sad. Many moons ago - 1990 - I was boarding the Demon at CGA; there were two morbidly obese women in front of me who couldn't get their restraints to lock, so the ride ops applied all their weight to staple them in, just one click. Still have a picture of that somewhere.

WDW Magic Kingdom was full, we went to the Hollywood Studios instead, it was packed. Standby wait time for Midway Mania was 110 minutes. The Great Movie ride was a 20 minute wait.

Thanks! So far I am loving it, people are very friendly here, and its quiet - that's the biggest surprise so far.

So I made a big move, a really BIG move, from Arizona to Celebration, Florida. I studied the new urbanism planning principles of Celebration almost a decade ago, so living here really is a dream come true for me. I have been a resident for a week now, bought my Premium Annual Passport, and visited the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. The best aspect of living here is the proximity to the parks; I can pace myself and enjoy the parks in different way. My observations so far: The level of detail in Animal Kingdom blows me away; the theming in the queues for Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and Kilimanjaro Safaris are the most authentic I have ever seen in a theme park. Everest is like a modern cross between the Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain, but way more thrilling than both of those rides. I barely saw the yeti, it went by so fast doubt I could even tell if it was operating. The new Little Mermaid ride is ok, at least there is no wait due to the large capacity. I'm not a suitable critic for this ride because I'm not a child - they seem to love it. The queue is very nice. The Pooh ride is vastly better than the DL version, now I see why people familiar with the MK version complained about its DL counterpart. Rock 'N' Roller Coaster was rough. I know it has its fans, but IMO the theming seems cheap and doesn't live up to Disney's reputation. I don't think I ride it again due to the roughness. People were trying to abuse the single rider line, glad to see the cast members wouldn't allow it. Holy crap, this Tower of Terror is way better than DCA's! No comparison. That's all for now, pics to come.

"I know theres issues with land, but I was thinking. All their family rides are pretty new (heck even fun) but one that's not so fun (in fact quite boring) is Jaguar. Now Jaguar has been there for 18 years (will be 20 in 2015) and takes up a decent amount of room. I could see the park using that room and adding something (I don't think its enough room for a giga/hyper per say) but I think something a lot better could replace it. Any thoughts, ideas or anything new being said?" A customized Euro-Fighter would fit nicely in Jaguar's footprint, with some modifications. I know it would be sacrilegious, but I'd like to see what could be done to make the Calico Mine Ride a little thrilling, something along the lines of Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain at Indiana Beach.

Thanks for the video, the "new" ride looks so good it reminds me of my first ride 30+ years ago when it seemed amazing and we'd ride it about 10 times. We'd go to Knott's for TMLR, the Soap Box Racers, and the Beary Tales ride. The rest of the rides were good, but those three were special. I'm so thankful they have restored this jewel.

So happy to see the difference at Knott's since Ouimet and Raffi took over. They didn't cheap out on the landscaping, fencing, lighting, station, and with the redesigned log ride opening as well... It's a Knott's renaissance. Regarding Plunge, I was always creeped out by it after the lady's death. I always thought of the kids riding with their mother, seeing her die... it was just too awful for words, totally unnecessary and preventable. Glad to see it go.

The revamped Boardwalk will be kinetic with the three new attractions running. I love Knott's and really wish they would plant more trees along the back property line, within a few years they could block out Western Ave.

This was taken from Knott's Facebook page, I think it will look great at night with the enhanced lighting package reflecting off the water and its cool kids can enjoy a ride with their parents - what Walt Disney said was his objective with Disneyland.

I am so thrilled about TMLR finally getting some love, Garner Holt did a fantastic job! Boardwalk will look really cool at night with the upgraded lighting packages reflecting off the water. I can't believe Mondial manufactured a tower with NO safety mechanisms for the ladders inside; I bet CF is sick they chose them.

Yeah okay... As compared to what? As compared to Xcelerator's top hat. YOLO coaster looks fun to me, kind of like California Screamin' with a bigger loop.

The top hat looks tame for SFMM.

The thing is they are not competition for Disney, even Matt Ouimet said that he never considered Knott's competition. I have friends with kids who drove past Knott's to go to Medieval Times during a recent trip to Disneyland. That's sad, IMO. At its peak, Knott's was pulling in 5 million guests per year with far less attractions and they weren't giving away annual passes like they are now.

I've been going to Lagoon since the early 1980's, always have a good time. It's a throwback to another era, it has that charm some parks just have. They had an awesome fun house into the 90's complete with a spinning tunnel, moving planks made of wood, bursts of air from the floor, and in indoor slide. Good times. Don't go expecting a Cedar Fair or Six Flags park and you will have fun.

^^ That would be a losing battle due to noise complaints from the neighbors. The better choice for expansion would to relocate the offices and storage structures between Ghost Town and the hotel, and use the parking lot that Ghostrider is partially in. Matt Ouimet stated on the podcast posted yesterday on Micechat that he is committed to refurbish the mine ride and put a new dark ride in the old Kingdom of the Dinosaurs building, so the next big coaster is probably at least three years away. Three years should be plenty of time to relocate those admin/storage buildings. The photo below shows how much space would still be left for parking on the west lot if those buildings were relocated; of course the options for coaster layout are infinite, I just doodled one possibility.

I think I was the only person on the planet that liked Maliboomer, I got a nice feeling of weightlessness at top but HATED the scream shields that defined claustrophobia.

Glad you all like it - I see the resemblance in the Gerstlauer ride, too. I think that large drum rotating in the background is an early version of a Madhouse (those optical illusion attractions where the room rotates around the riders). Also, if you look in the background there is a tall plane ride sitting still, I believe that ride operated into the mid 60's at Pacific Ocean Park; after that park closed, the ride stood eerily on the ruins of the pier until it was finally demolished in the mid 70's, shown below.

Check out this cool 80 year old footage of a unique flat ride, the Acroplane, at the defunct Venice Pier. Ride footage starts at :59, intense for a ride from the 1930's

We're seeing a renaissance at Knott's, at last. So glad Raffi and Ouimet are in charge, they rock. About that Windseeker evacuation device... I'd rather sit and wait five hours, thank you very much; on video you can see it bounce and sway.

Can't go wrong with white supports, they will not fade as bad as color... The Boardwalk is shaping up to be one of the nicest areas of the park now.

Check out this link for photos of Knott's spanning back to the 1930's: http://www.flickriver.com/groups/knotts/pool/interesting/ Cool stuff - construction of everything from the Independence Hall to the Sky Tower, Catawumpus, Knott's Bear-y Tales, Gypsy Camp, seals, elephants, tigers, and on and on...