The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[Mater]

Wow that ghost has a lot of eyes.

[VegasBaby]

Knott's Soak City has announced they will open two new slide towers in 2017. Not two new slides. Two towers. With multiple slides each. They haven't announced what type of slides they will be, yet how much you want to guess one will be a drop slide?

 

I think it's pretty safe to assume one of the towers will have some drop capsule/trap door slides. Looking at the recent slide towers that CF has installed at other parks, I'd even say it's a certainty.

 

Valleyfair Tower - 6 total slides, 4 trap door and 2 straight down body slides, installed in 2015

 

Kings Island Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2016

 

Kings Dominion Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2015

 

Carowinds Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2016

[Oryp]

Knott's Soak City has announced they will open two new slide towers in 2017. Not two new slides. Two towers. With multiple slides each. They haven't announced what type of slides they will be, yet how much you want to guess one will be a drop slide?

 

I think it's pretty safe to assume one of the towers will have some drop capsule/trap door slides. Looking at the recent slide towers that CF has installed at other parks, I'd even say it's a certainty.

 

Valleyfair Tower - 6 total slides, 4 trap door and 2 straight down body slides, installed in 2015

 

Kings Island Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2016

 

Kings Dominion Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2015

 

Carowinds Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2016

 

Not to mention

Dorney Park Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2014

[PKI Jizzman]

Wow, the ride looks incredible. I'm really impressed by thag POV!

[Condor]

I rode Ghostrider four times now over this week so here are my thoughts.

 

Obviously a huge improvement from what we've known for the last 10-15 years. My memories of Ghostrider prior to that are too vague for me to make a good comparison from when it was new. My first ride on the new Ghostrider in row 11 was not all that impressive. In fact I thought it felt tame, but at least it was fast and smooth.

 

Rode another three times yesterday, all in row 12. I liked it a lot more, but I'm still not convinced it's the top 10 woody I prematurely assumed it would be. There's mild floater air on the first drop and two or three other hills, and good ejector air on "the drop" and the left-turning hill following. I'm impressed that GCI left the strong laterals intact on the two Beach Blvd turnarounds and the helix as I really thought they might neutralize them. Millennium Flyers are my favorite wood coaster trains and they run great here as expected.

 

I might shift my opinion as it breaks in over the summer and I ride it more, but so far I don't think the new Ghostrider is quite as good as other CCI's I've ridden. It's a lot better than Boss, but for now I'd place it slightly behind Legend, Raven, Timber Terror, and Tremors, and well below Boulder Dash. I'm also not sure I even like it better than GCI's Thunderhead which I rode last month. So for now it resides just out of my top 10 wooden coasters.

 

So is Ghostrider world class? I'm not sure yet. But as a SoCal local it's at least good enough to bring me back to Knott's on a regular basis for the first time in a decade and that's honestly enough.

[CedarFlags]

Finally got myself over there and on it yesterday. WAY more comfortable, but I definitely noticed the reprofiling in some places, and I don't think it was changed for the better. One spot in particular stood out instantly, and I was pretty disappointed about it: the first bunny hop after the midcourse turn around drop.

 

Old GR:

 

New GR:

 

Notice how in the original design, the hill itself was banked before going into the turn. So it was a crazy mix of air time and lateral that made it feel really out of control. In the refurb, they have leveled out the first part of the hill and the banking doesn't start until you crest the top.

 

Looks like a small change visually, but I think it makes a BIG difference in the experience.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Knott's Soak City has announced they will open two new slide towers in 2017. Not two new slides. Two towers. With multiple slides each. They haven't announced what type of slides they will be, yet how much you want to guess one will be a drop slide?

 

I think it's pretty safe to assume one of the towers will have some drop capsule/trap door slides. Looking at the recent slide towers that CF has installed at other parks, I'd even say it's a certainty.

 

Valleyfair Tower - 6 total slides, 4 trap door and 2 straight down body slides, installed in 2015

 

Kings Island Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2016

 

Kings Dominion Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2015

 

Carowinds Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2016

 

Not to mention

Dorney Park Tower - 6 total slides, 3 trap door and 3 tube slides, installed in 2014

Yep, and WoF built the same tower that Dorney did, the year before.

[Condor]

Old GR:

GR new.jpg[/attachment]

 

Notice how in the original design, the hill itself was banked before going into the turn. So it was a crazy mix of air time and lateral that made it feel really out of control. In the refurb, they have leveled out the first part of the hill and the banking doesn't start until you crest the top.

 

Looks like a small change visually, but I think it makes a BIG difference in the experience.

 

I actually thought that hill was the second best part of the ride even in its new form. Didn't make much difference to me.

[livai]

why they removed the intermediate brakes? I do not understand why they have not bought the third train

[Arthur_Seaton]

Looks like a small change visually, but I think it makes a BIG difference in the experience.

 

That's the one part of the ride I thought needed re-profiling the most as that particular turn always felt like it was going to tear the train apart.

 

I'm surprised that this part saw so much re-profiling though — it never seemed quite that bad at that spot.

Original:

Original

New:

New

[Manic Monte]

^ Oh man, that turn was deadly on the ribs as the ride aged. Couldn't be happier they changed it.

[Arthur_Seaton]

^ Right. These changes look like they were necessary in order to keep the ride from tearing itself apart and to get rid of the mid coarse. I'm not sure how anybody could be disappointed by that.

Yeah, the MCBR was clearly ramped up to minimize the speed that the train went through the second part of the ride — especially that first turn following the hidden drop. Maybe some of the intensity of those turns was lost, but taking that drop at a decent speed would be worth it. That, and not having to dismantle the ride a few years from now.

[coloradocoasterguy]

I might shift my opinion as it breaks in over the summer and I ride it more, but so far I don't think the new Ghostrider is quite as good as other CCI's I've ridden. It's a lot better than Boss, but for now I'd place it slightly behind Legend, Raven, Timber Terror, and Tremors, and well below Boulder Dash. I'm also not sure I even like it better than GCI's Thunderhead which I rode last month. So for now it resides just out of my top 10 wooden coasters.

 

So is Ghostrider world class? I'm not sure yet. But as a SoCal local it's at least good enough to bring me back to Knott's on a regular basis for the first time in a decade and that's honestly enough.

 

Well, considering that 99% of SoCal residents will never leave SoCal to ride a roller coaster, they will never ride all those woodies you listed. GR is the best woodie they will ever ride

[trj820]

Looks like a small change visually, but I think it makes a BIG difference in the experience.

 

That's the one part of the ride I thought needed re-profiling the most as that particular turn always felt like it was going to tear the train apart.

 

I'm surprised that this part saw so much re-profiling though — it never seemed quite that bad at that spot.

Original:

Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 5.18.14 PM.png[/attachment]

I for one, would disagree. My ribs were not a fan of that turn.

[thrillseeker4552]

I can't wait to ride this "new" GhostRider. As much as I love RMC, it is kinda nice to see a major re-profiling with new trains while still keeping it a classic wooden coaster. I have a feeling we will see a lot of this in the Cedar Fair chain.

[Vonni]

I can't wait to ride this "new" GhostRider. As much as I love RMC, it is kinda nice to see a major re-profiling with new trains while still keeping it a classic wooden coaster. I have a feeling we will see a lot of this in the Cedar Fair chain.

 

 

[CedarFlags]

Looks like a small change visually, but I think it makes a BIG difference in the experience.

 

That's the one part of the ride I thought needed re-profiling the most as that particular turn always felt like it was going to tear the train apart.

 

I'm surprised that this part saw so much re-profiling though — it never seemed quite that bad at that spot.

Original:

Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 5.18.14 PM.png[/attachment]

I for one, would disagree. My ribs were not a fan of that turn.

 

But these complaints are about how it felt when the ride was at its worst overall. I have a pretty low threshold for ride discomfort, and that turn was never an issue for me until 5-ish years ago. With new track and new trains and different material, there's no reason they couldn't have retained some of that banking (even if they reduced the angle)

[CedarFlags]

I guess it's more of a personal thing than I thought. Even the pitiful new first drop bothered me less than losing that other moment.

[Manic Monte]

Looks like a small change visually, but I think it makes a BIG difference in the experience.

 

That's the one part of the ride I thought needed re-profiling the most as that particular turn always felt like it was going to tear the train apart.

 

I'm surprised that this part saw so much re-profiling though — it never seemed quite that bad at that spot.

Original:

Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 5.18.14 PM.png[/attachment]

I for one, would disagree. My ribs were not a fan of that turn.

 

But these complaints are about how it felt when the ride was at its worst overall. I have a pretty low threshold for ride discomfort, and that turn was never an issue for me until 5-ish years ago. With new track and new trains and different material, there's no reason they couldn't have retained some of that banking (even if they reduced the angle)

 

No. I have heard complaints about that turn since the ride opened. And it got progressively worse as the ride aged. I'm all for great laterals, but not when they hurt. For me, Ghostrider is much more re rideable now that I don't get off in pain. I feel like the changes made to the ride were needed.

[JoeDoe13579]

Isn't it obvious that, at least some of, the re-profiling was done so it doesn't get bad again, once it ages?

 

[coloradocoasterguy]

/\ This

[Gnome]

I have yet to ride, but despite the ride being "tamer" it still sounds like it's better than what it was before, so it still sounds like a win to me. And I'm really hoping it ages well.

 

For the really intense CCI's, guess I'll still need to go to Idaho or Indiana to get my fix

[Trogdor: The Burninator!!]

I think what made Ghostrider so awesome and intense in the first place is what made it so rough and unbearable a few years later. Typical for a lot of CCI coasters and those big ass Dinn Corp coasters in the 90s, what we've been saying about Ghostrider is what a lot of people people were saying about Hercules at Dorney, it got rave reviews and was considered one of the best wooden coasters ever but the bigger the climb the harder the fall, that freakishly intense drop followed by the long turn took its toll after just a few years and ultimately got replaced with a fun but meh by comparison B&M floorless.

 

I think GCI, in an attempt to prove the skeptics wrong with concerns over the botched Gwazi refurb, is taking the long view by re-engineering it a way that may not be quite as intense as the original but will still be an kick ass ride that will endure much longer. Here's to Knott's and CGI hoping this thing works out in the long run!

[fatdaddy]

I hear the complainers, but that's all they are. I doubt they'd be happy regardless of what they did to Ghostrider. It's been smoothed, a lot of rough laterals taken out, much improved trains. Yes, it's still a little sluggish, but it just reopened and needs time to get to its full potential The turnaround with no brake keeps the speed through the second half and the finish has no bruises or brain trauma. It's epic, complain and nitpick all you want, the rest of us will have fun riding an amazing wood coaster!

[thrillseeker4552]

I hear the complainers, but that's all they are. I doubt they'd be happy regardless of what they did to Ghostrider. It's been smoothed, a lot of rough laterals taken out, much improved trains. Yes, it's still a little sluggish, but it just reopened and needs time to get to its full potential The turnaround with no brake keeps the speed through the second half and the finish has no bruises or brain trauma. It's epic, complain and nitpick all you want, the rest of us will have fun riding an amazing wood coaster!