I don't understand the Knott's hate

[a7x4ever000]

In all honesty, i do like knotts a little more than Magic Mountain.

 

But if they do close SFMM, then they should at least relocate the good coasters (X, Goliath, Revolution, Scream!) to Knotts Berry Farm.

[lapseofreason]

^They're not going to close SFMM.

[Electerik]

Knott's used to be my favorite park, bar none. But there have simply been too many negative changes in the last few years.

 

True, a couple of (okay) things have been added, but look at what's been removed recently: Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, Gran Slammer, The Tampico Tumbler, The Haunted Shack, and The Sky Jump. Plus, the Boardwalk section has been turned into a big ugly concrete and mud zone. And the indoor part of the indoor scrambler was lost in that ride's relocation.

 

Operations have also slipped badly, as others have mentioned. And many rides that used to have "Greeters" now do not. I think that one is particularly telling, as the KBF I used to work at preached that "Greeter is the most important position on the ride."

 

Still, I don't hate the park by any means. It's still top 10 in my book. It's just not my number 1 anymore.

[robbalvey]

Knott's was a great park. But even the great park I knew 10-15 years ago growing up is dead. Cedar Fair has sucked the charm out of the park. Who needs history/theme when you can have concrete, roller coasters, and trash cans?

 

The good operations that earned KBF the reputation as the "friendliest place in the west" are also gone. They have been replaced with operations that rival SFMM's in terms of crapyness (of course that is what you get when you are the lowest paying amusement park in so cal).

 

Then there is the fact like 2 drops of rain are used as an excuse to close the park to save money, the fact the ridiculous height requirements leave not much to do for children under 48", heavy discounting has invited some shady people to visit the park (sound familiar?), Haunt has lost a lot of its luster (because Cedar Fair thinks of it as a cash cow---not the biggest/best/longest running Halloween Event like it used to be treated...), Ghostrider went from being a top 5 ride to a POS, and so on.

 

Bottom line: KBF blows. Which is unfortunate because the park has so much potential and some good rides.

Jewy pretty much nailed it.

 

The only thing I would add is that to me, Knott's used to be what I would call completely "hassle free" and prior to 2002, I would actually say that Knott's was my favorite park in the country. But now it's just painful to visit.

 

- The height restrictions that have been raised that no longer make it a family park.

- The Clientelle which has gone from bad to worse to "wow, I'd rather be at Magic Mountain"

- The horrible slow crews who obviously don't seem to care.

- That "small family park" charm which has totally been removed.

- The lack of upkeep on all the coastes (GhostRider is unridable now)

 

It's just not someplace I care to visit anymore, and haven't since what...2004?

 

If you like it, GREAT! But I for one won't be stepping foot in the place anytime soon.

 

--Robb

[pkdcoaster]

Man, reading all of this is really sad, When I went in June 2000, I thought the park was great. Ghostrider was Amazing and every other part of the park was fun and clean. That really is a shame to hear about Ghostrider cause it was easily top 5 for me.

 

JEFF

[Twister II]

I visited last Winter, and I liked the park. Id say one of my favorites. But my first impression of walking into the park was, "Where is all this charm?" For example, a midway.

 

For me the Silver Bullet crew and Xcelerator crew were quite friendly, and (from what I could tell) worked quite hard on getting the ride going.

 

GhostRider on the other hand. I received 3 bruises, I agree, its is unrideable.

 

I know my family loved the atmosphere of the Western part of the park with the shops, I thought that was pretty cool!

 

But overall, I still prefer SFEG to Knotts.

[TheGreatOne]

My only visit was in January. The one thing that killed me the most is that I could see how the park could be soo much better. Both Robb and Joey covered how I feel about the park in general.

 

The park has a soul-less feel to it (outside of the Ghost Town area), Ghostrider was just awful (which disappointed me really bad). They have some good rides, but the last time I checked, it takes more than just rides to make a great park (Sea World is a great example of this).

 

-Bryan "I got served my dinner at Mrs. Knott's kitchen faster than I got dispatched on Silver Bullet" Wood

[the_rock401]

My only visit to Knott's was during Solace 2005. Me and another Minnesota guy split the hotel deal, so we were there during both nights of ERT. I was one of the few people on this board who didn't think Solace was a total bust. I thought the folks who hosted us at the Solace functions were very nice folks who went out of their way to have us enthusiasts in there.

 

Comments made earlier in this thread about normal ops are, unfortunately, right on. They did a decent enough job with the theming back by Perilous Plunge and Xcel with the boardwalk style theming, but they did do a number over in the Old West portion of the park.

 

I did not think Ghostrider was as terrible as you all seem to think it is, at least on Friday night. Ghostie had two very different phases on that particular weekend. Friday night during the out-of-towners event it was running great. However, Ghostie was kicking a$$ and taking names during the Saturday night ERT, and if this is the Ghostie that everyone is riding, I can understand why it has fallen from grace.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

Knott's was a great park. But even the great park I knew 10-15 years ago growing up is dead. Cedar Fair has sucked the charm out of the park. Who needs history/theme when you can have concrete, roller coasters, and trash cans?

 

The good operations that earned KBF the reputation as the "friendliest place in the west" are also gone. They have been replaced with operations that rival SFMM's in terms of crapyness (of course that is what you get when you are the lowest paying amusement park in so cal).

 

Then there is the fact like 2 drops of rain are used as an excuse to close the park to save money, the fact the ridiculous height requirements leave not much to do for children under 48", heavy discounting has invited some shady people to visit the park (sound familiar?), Haunt has lost a lot of its luster (because Cedar Fair thinks of it as a cash cow---not the biggest/best/longest running Halloween Event like it used to be treated...), Ghostrider went from being a top 5 ride to a POS, and so on.

 

Bottom line: KBF blows. Which is unfortunate because the park has so much potential and some good rides.

Jewy pretty much nailed it.

 

The only thing I would add is that to me, Knott's used to be what I would call completely "hassle free" and prior to 2002, I would actually say that Knott's was my favorite park in the country. But now it's just painful to visit.

 

- The height restrictions that have been raised that no longer make it a family park.

- The Clientelle which has gone from bad to worse to "wow, I'd rather be at Magic Mountain"

- The horrible slow crews who obviously don't seem to care.

- That "small family park" charm which has totally been removed.

- The lack of upkeep on all the coastes (GhostRider is unridable now)

 

It's just not someplace I care to visit anymore, and haven't since what...2004?

 

If you like it, GREAT! But I for one won't be stepping foot in the place anytime soon.

 

--Robb

 

You left out the fact that they took out the Steeplechase/Soapbox Derby Thinngy.