The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[bgtlover]

^ Yes, they are going to upgrade the ladder and catwalk. I though that just meant they were going to work on it.

Upgrades require a permit.

[CP Maverick]

Anything considered more than maintenance or repairs needs a permit. New lighting packages need permits because of electrical. Rerouted ramps need permits because of the ADA. Etc.

[ESRLoop]

^ Yes, they are going to upgrade the ladder and catwalk. I though that just meant they were going to work on it.

 

Buena Park Building Division requires permits to construct or modify a building or structure. Upgrading ladders and catwalks likely qualifies as modification ("upgrading" catwalks at DL always did for Anaheim). The only except for a catwalk is if it's less than 30" off the ground.

[thrillseeker4552]

I noticed something interesting while perusing around Knott's website... Apparently the official name for Xcelerator is "Xcelerator the Ride" with a copyright symbol. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's ever been like that on the website before. Not a big deal, just strange. Anyone know why?

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

^The "the Ride" part has been on the actual ride sign for a while, just in very tiny text compared to the rest of the name. You can see it at the beginning of this:

[WestCoasterKing]

Seems dumb. It's not like Xcelerator was a previously existing property. Batman the Ride makes sense. Superman the Ride. Silver Bullet and GhostRider aren't called "the Ride".

[WolfBobs]

Shame with Xcelerator being down for so long they haven't started a repaint. That faded paint could really use a refresh!

[WestCoasterKing]

Shame with Xcelerator being down for so long they haven't started a repaint. That faded paint could really use a refresh!

[DoinItForTheFame]

Shame with Xcelerator being down for so long they haven't started a repaint. That faded paint could really use a refresh!

 

[VegasBaby]

Knott's Network just posted this construction photo of Hangtime, looks like the lift motors are partly in place and the lift track is going up. Makes me wonder which ride is going to open first, Hangtime or Xcelerator? I just hope both of them are open in time for the Boysenberry Festival in April.

[WestCoasterKing]

I've seen some other videos and photos that show the supports sitting down inside of those openings in the tops of the footings. Is this common for Gerstlauer to not bolt their supports onto the footings?

 

Oh, and the blue and tan combo looks like barf. Yuck.

[thrillseeker4552]

I've seen some other videos and photos that show the supports sitting down inside of those openings in the tops of the footings. Is this common for Gerstlauer to not bolt their supports onto the footings?

 

Oh, and the blue and tan combo looks like barf. Yuck.

 

I don’t understand why people don’t seem to like this color scheme much (not so much on here, but mostly whiny 12-year-olds on Instagram).

 

I love the colors, and they fit the beach boardwalk theme perfectly. Honestly I think Xcelerator’s scheme is more “barf” than HangTime’s.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

Much better color palette compared to what it replaced, in my opinion.

[Nrthwnd]

Whoever finally invents a paint that doesn't fade at - all,

under the California sun (or any state's sun)...will make a for-tune, I'm sure.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

-But I actually don't think they need to relocate any of the backstage area across the street. If they just build a new administration building and the costume shop in the area to the south of the main warehouses that would only cost maybe $10 million, and it would still open up 17 acres for expansion. That's still a good chunk of land. To give you an idea how big that is all of the real estate encircled by the railroad is a little more than 13 acres. Then a five story parking structure would cost between $30-50 million. Plus a new hotel (which is actually much needed) would probably be another $25 million. Yeah that's a high price tag but sometimes you have to invest in the future. If Knott's can't expand they will NEVER compete.

 

So even using your math of $10mil+$30mil+$25mil, that would 40-50% of Cedar Fair capital expansion budget for the entire year. And that is not even factoring in the cost of whatever hypothetical expansion actually is. But you are not likely going to get a 320 room 3* hotel demolished and rebuilt for $25 million.

Nah, my buddy Jimmy Bob'll do it for $25 million. He's got hisself a big ass truck and he done hauled some wide loads in his time.

 

[thrillseeker4552]

Whoever finally invents a paint that doesn't fade at - all,

under the California sun (or any state's sun)...will make a for-tune, I'm sure.

 

Somebody did it for X2. That thing was repainted almost 10 years ago, and it still looks almost brand new.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Well then, get those guys!

[cal1br3tto]

I haven't been too excited about the coaster (and I'm not a fan of the name), but I must say it's lookin' good! I'm liking that color scheme. The ride already looks right at home in the park.

[WestCoasterKing]

Maybe it'll look better to me once there is more up.

[thrillseeker4552]

HangTime is rising pretty quickly. It might be even taller than pictured here, since it isn’t in the webcam frame. This thing could be topped out very soon, since placing the vertical track shouldn’t take too long at all.

[WestCoasterKing]

^ You can see what looks like another section of lift hill lying on the ground to the right.

[coasterlvr]

ran by Knott's to take some pics of the new construction. sky cabin went up while i was there. i probably wouldn't have noticed because i was looking at xcelerator, but the 3 point basketball guy started saying it was moving and to look since it doesn't happen often. lol all the windows are out of it and it wasn't rotating. mechanic got out at the top and climbed up the ladder. nothing going on at xcelerator. train in the station. not sure how tight the launch cables are but they didn't look super tight. anyway, here's a bunch of pics i took today.

 

[CaptainUnknown]

IAAPA starts in a week and we still don't have an official Hangtime POV. I wouldn't be surprised if it debuts at the Gerstlauer booth.

[MF4lyfe]

First off, thanks for the photos! However, I am super confused about those footers for Hang Time. Never seen them like that before.

 

Does anyone know why they're built that way? Perhaps they're going to fill them in with concrete after the supports are installed? Seems like that wouldn't work.

 

But if they don't, it seems like a bad idea to have a "pit" where water and dust can collect, and also kind of a pain in the butt to install the nuts on the bolts where the footers connect to the concrete? I'm sure I'm missing something but maybe someone on her can explain.

[WestCoasterKing]

What's up with those footings? The supports are set down inside rather than bolted on top. Is that normal for Gerstlauer? I googled it and can't seem to find answer.

 

EDIT: ^ Beat me to it.

Edited November 8, 2017 by WestCoasterKing