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The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

P. 651: Montezooma's Revenge project terminated?

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^ Yeah, I nearly fainted when I read their beer list, as I checked their site out, before the trip.

 

And after just re-checking where it was in Buena Park - I could have easily walked there from the

Knott's Hotel! It was just beyond the bus stop, where I got the early bus for Disneyland Magic Morning.

Most definitely passed it on that stretch of road, and made a note of where it was, I remember.

 

#missedgreateatsbeers

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I went on Thursday, October 27th from 11 am - 2:30pm. There were two trains on GhostRider but they can only load one-train because they don't have enough rider operators scheduled to load the second train. This created my only line in the park of approx 12 to 18 minutes, 2 to 3 train wait. I guess Ghost Rider needs 2 people checking belts for 1 train operation but 4 people checking to load the second train. Hopefully, there is some two train weekday operation after Halloween.

 

The Rapids Ride is running like normal and getting people wet.

 

I asked one of the ride operators if he knew anything about Monte closing. He said he didn't think so as he thought it was one of the rides that Cedar Fair agreed not to touch or remove as a condition of purchasing the park. Anyway, watch me say that and have the ride disappear before people have a chance to say goodbye.

 

I wish SFMM was open during the week year during the off season. They need some unbusy days like Knott's.

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Ready for launch

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They were going backward so quickly

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Weekday wait for Xcelerator

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Second train looking good so the first must need maintenance

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Horsey drinking fountain

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All horses get a turn

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Rapids time

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Ramp shot

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I went on Thursday, October 27th from 11 am - 2:30pm. There were two trains on GhostRider but they can only load one-train because they don't have enough rider operators scheduled to load the second train. This created my only line in the park of approx 12 to 18 minutes, 2 to 3 train wait. I guess Ghost Rider needs 2 people checking belts for 1 train operation but 4 people checking to load the second train. Hopefully, there is some two train weekday operation after Halloween.

 

The Rapids Ride is running like normal and getting people wet.

 

I asked one of the ride operators if he knew anything about Monte closing. He said he didn't think so as he thought it was one of the rides that Cedar Fair agreed not to touch or remove as a condition of purchasing the park. Anyway, watch me say that and have the ride disappear before people have a chance to say goodbye.

 

I wish SFMM was open during the week year during the off season. They need some unbusy days like Knott's.

 

I think the issue is that the load time is so slow with only 2 ROs on the dock that it would create an obnoxiously stacking wait for the train on the brakes.

 

Also: Nobody working on Zoom in 2016 knows anything about the terms of Cedar Fair purchasing KBF in 1997. ROs are the WORST source for information because they repeat whatever rumor they heard 4th-hand from someone on a blog. Maintenance, however....

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Warning: My coaster nerd is going to show here. But OMG, this photo, with that support for the cobra roll on the right which swings OVER the track, is a perfect representation of a supported cobra roll that has haunted me aesthetically ever since this ride was installed.

 

WHY OH WHY COULDN'T THEY MAKE IT LIKE THE ONE ON THE LEFT?!?! It's like the exact same support!

 

knotts__17_of_19_.jpg

 

It would be SO symmetrical and beautiful. I know the one on the left has a kicker angle a little bit different than the one on the right but come on. I'm sure nobody's ever noticed it before but to me it's always driven me nuts and been so weird looking. I think part of it had to do with not wanting to disturb the Wild West Stunt show but I wish they could have done something to avoid that over the track support.

 

By the way thanks everyone for the great photos!

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Warning: My coaster nerd is going to show here. But OMG, this photo, with that support for the cobra roll on the right which swings OVER the track, is a perfect representation of a supported cobra roll that has haunted me aesthetically ever since this ride was installed.

Ha! yeah, it's kind of ugly. It's a tight space, and I would assume that the most logical placement for that over-the-track support would have been smack in the middle of the walkway which is already kind of cramped. I think it depends on the angle that you're approaching it from as well.

1753742712_KnottsWalkway.thumb.png.01187eefe756f9d8f80bc98a003a88b6.png

Walkway view

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I am going to get the Platinum, as that is the only one that covers parking, and I fully plan to visit more than the 6 times it takes to make it worth while.

 

If you aren't planning to go to other Cedar Fair parks throughout the year, I recommend a lower tier pass. You can then add a parking pass onto your pass by going to customer service. I've had a basic Knott's pass for three years now, and the "one-time-pay" parking pass has come in handy more times than not.

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Warning: My coaster nerd is going to show here. But OMG, this photo, with that support for the cobra roll on the right which swings OVER the track, is a perfect representation of a supported cobra roll that has haunted me aesthetically ever since this ride was installed.

 

WHY OH WHY COULDN'T THEY MAKE IT LIKE THE ONE ON THE LEFT?!?! It's like the exact same support!

 

knotts__17_of_19_.jpg

 

It would be SO symmetrical and beautiful. I know the one on the left has a kicker angle a little bit different than the one on the right but come on. I'm sure nobody's ever noticed it before but to me it's always driven me nuts and been so weird looking. I think part of it had to do with not wanting to disturb the Wild West Stunt show but I wish they could have done something to avoid that over the track support.

 

By the way thanks everyone for the great photos!

 

Don't quote me on this, but I believe that support is like that because there was some piping underground they had to navigate around (or something along those lines). These are designed by engineers...if it could have been symmetrical, I'm sure it would have.

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Made it to Haunt last night — much later in the season than normal for us. Although it was still busier than we’d hoped, the crowd patterns were predictable in some ways. Knowing that operations are slow, we knocked out Ghost Rider first as members of our group hadn’t ridden the revamp. Lots of people waiting at the gate rushed to it at opening, and by the time we got to the entrance (7:05), the line was at 60 mins. It averaged between 60 and 120 mins for the rest of the night. Aside from that, the park was running all rides at maximum capacity (including two trains on Xcelerator). We were there for the mazes primarily, but did get to ride La Revolucion, Timber Mountain, and Calico Mine Train — the latter of which had no line whatsoever.

 

Lines for mazes varied with Paranormal Activity, Shadowlands, and Infected all clocking in between 45 and 60 mins. Attendance dropped noticeably around 10pm and a number of mazes were walk-ons for the remainder of the night (Red Barn, Gunslingers, Trick or Treat, Voodoo, Tooth Fairy). We were able to get through all of them, and oddly enough, Gunslingers was the popular favorite this time around. Despite what appeared to be staffing problems in some of the mazes, the park worked with what they had by making sure that scare zones were all well-staffed and the newer mazes loaded with monsters. Some of the older mazes were neglected a bit as the result leaving a surprising amount of dead zones, but apparently it’s the norm in this industry for staff to fall off around the day of Halloween.

 

Paranormal Inc. — Still one of the park’s creepiest and most effective mazes. The line was deceptive as instead of queuing just in front, it also snaked all the way down the side to Tooth Fairy and back. The delay is largely due to the opening scene, but they were cranking people through that room really effectively. It felt a little rushed, but understandably so. Compared to last year’s version, the scare actors had been dramatically reduced and there were several extended scenes with no monsters at all as well as a number of mechanical effects that didn't seem to be working. Although this did make the maze feel a little neglected, it’s still one of the best around in terms of atmospherics and design. 8/10

 

Shadowlands — The sets are elaborate and quite impressive, and this was fairly well populated with scare actors, but the experience itself was flawed. Although they tried to stagger entry to prevent traffic congestion inside, it didn’t work and so much of the maze felt like we were standing in a queue. Of course this ruined many of the gags as you could see them well in advance, and there were as many security guards roaming around trying to control the crowds as there were scare actors trying to scare them. It’s highly stylized and contains lots of references to Japanese horror, but without a better system of crowd management, much of that was wasted. 7/10

 

Red Barn — This was one of the most effective mazes overall with some fantastic lighting effects throughout. Having to crawl through cages, and climbing gradually elevating floors that pushed you up into the ceiling were a nice touch. This was well populated by scare actors, and the pacing was much better than Shadowlands, so it was more effective overall. Much of the layout and some of the effects were clearly borrowed from past mazes, but it all worked well together. 9/10

 

Infected — We weren’t sure how this would translate to a smaller space but it made far more sense. This is what Fright Fest’s Aftermath wishes it could be and it was very well done throughout. The sets and costumes were excellent (they clearly had some of the same effects that Universal used in The Walking Dead such as the TV screens). Although staffing problems resulted in our group just wandering through unguided, it was still a little rushed and there were so many details that we wished we could have gotten a better look at. Although it felt short — especially compared to last years’ — we found it to be far more effective overall. 9/10

 

Gunslingers — Same old, same all, but a solid maze all the same. The sets were pretty elaborate with a number of great, dingy walkways. The maze was really well populated with scare actors working in teams which made for a great overall experience. There’s nothing new in there from what we could gather, but it was, surprisingly, one of the better mazes of the night. 9/10

 

Tooth Fairy — Still an old favorite and one of the most disgusting concepts ever, but this one suffered most from staffing problems. Large stretches of the maze were completely devoid of scare actors, and the few that were there seemed to congregate and chat with each other. Like Paranormal, it’s one of the most effective designs overall, but I fear it’s run its course at this point. It needs a shot of something other than novocaine to give it a new kick. 7/10

 

Trick or Treat — This one’s becoming more and more of a pastiche of past mazes. The sets are consistently excellent, but the scare actors lacked a unified style — clowns, (sloppy) ghosts, witches, whiny kids, and a number of those Doctor Schnabel masks from the old Poe-themed maze all created a bit of a confusing mess. For as elaborate as the decor is, this one just feels tired now. 6/10

 

Dead of Winter — Despite improvement, this is still the worst maze in the park. Thankfully they’ve dimmed the lights from last year, and some of the early rooms looked more developed, but it’s still a bit of a sloppy concept. Several of the effects look really cheap (the TV under floor for example), whereas others are fairly effective (the lunging spider). Despite valiant efforts, this one just isn’t in the same league as anything else at the park. 5/10

 

Voodoo — The sets are as beautiful as ever, but this one suffered the worst from staffing problems. The warehouse was largely empty, and several of the old scare points were totally unmanned (the bungee scene at the beginning for example). Although there was one excellent scare that was new this time around, the few monsters inside were clearly feeling the effects of having to work alone and just weren’t into it. It’s a shame that mazes like this suffer when inadequately staffed, but it does make sense to ensure that other parts of the park are well-stocked with actors as the set of this one can at least compensate to a degree. Always worth a visit, but it could use a recharge as well. 7/10

 

Knotts is still at the top of its game in terms of haunts, and they manage to push the envelope every year without falling back on some of the recent eye-rolly wave of extreme / sadistic / fish guts stuff that’s popular at off-site haunts; they do what they’ve done for years, and they do it better than most. Having said that, if I were to vote for edits, Dead of Winter is a write-off, Shadowlands could use some rethinking, and several others are showing their age (Tooth Fairy, Voodoo, Trick or Treat). We didn’t try the Skeleton Key rooms because of the up-charge, but they all had fairly severe lines — which I can’t imagine would go over well with those who paid for front-of-line experiences. However. with mazes like Red Barn and Infected, Knotts proves that they can consistently develop new approaches to keep things fresh. Although there must be valid reasons as to why the park stopped turning Timber Mountain and the Calico Mine Ride into scares, they’re both sorely missed. The scare zones were as solid as ever, and the whole fogged-out Ghost Town area is the standard to which all other scare zones are held. Overall, the place was still a little too crowded to be easily enjoyed, but it was more manageable this year than last.

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Took the family to Knott's Thursday and Friday last week during the day and it was a great time to be at the park. Lines were pretty much non-existent except for Ghostrider, and even that was only a 10-15 wait. There were running two trains both days, but on Thursday they were only loading one of the two trains. Friday was slightly busier and they were loading both trains that day. It was our first time on it since the rebuild and everyone absolutely loved it. Definitely the smoothest woodie I've ever ridden and it's just so fast and relentless throughout the course. GhostRider certainly isn't an airtime machine (although there's some decent floater air on the 2nd hill after the drop and after where the MCBR was), but we still enjoyed it immensely. I really hope it holds up well in the coming years because Knott's really nailed it with the rebuild. As much as I like RMCs, I think Knott's made the right choice in keeping GhostRider as a classic woodie.

 

Everything else in the park was a walk-on and most of the time we got re-rides without getting off. Bigfoot Rapids was running great and we rode it 5-6 times without getting off both days. After the accident in Australia, I was paying close attention to the lift and conveyor belt system used by the ride. Based on the Intamin design, I just don't see how that same accident could happen here. Xcelerator and SB were great as usual and we were able to ride 3-4 times in a row by switching seats.

 

Despite the low crowd levels, the ops were doing a great job cycling the rides. I appreciated that they let us do re-rides as some parks won't do that even if it's dead. If you haven't been to Knott's on an off-peak day, I would highly recommend it. Even though the park was only open to 5:30pm both days, we rode everything with multiple re-rides. We saw the new Western stunt show as well, and I have to say that I prefer the previous show. But it was still a fun show and the kids enjoyed it.

 

We re-upped our passes for 2017 and got a Free Bring A Friend ticket for each pass, which we used on Friday. This deal is only good through today, so you need to act fast if you want to take advantage of this deal. I believe the Bring A Friend tickets are good any day through 12/16/16.

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I am going to get the Platinum, as that is the only one that covers parking, and I fully plan to visit more than the 6 times it takes to make it worth while.

 

If you aren't planning to go to other Cedar Fair parks throughout the year, I recommend a lower tier pass. You can then add a parking pass onto your pass by going to customer service. I've had a basic Knott's pass for three years now, and the "one-time-pay" parking pass has come in handy more times than not.

 

Thanks for the advice. Given that a trip to Great America is slightly possible, I did indeed pony up for the platinum. Add to that the increased discount on food and stuff (20% vs. 10%).

 

I am pretty excited. I have not been to Knott's in a few years. I am off on Fridays, so I am looking forward to off peak in the winter/spring to keep the coaster itch scratched while waiting for SFMM to open on weekdays again.

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Looks like Knott's is getting a new thrill ride, SOL SPIN, in addition to the Soak City upgrades!

 

Sol-Spin-Concept-Art-Website-650px.jpg

 

Sol Spin will bring brand new hair-raising thrills to the Fiesta Village area of the park next season. The new ride will send brave guests on a thrilling topsy-turvy adventure over 6 stories high as they rotate in all directions on one of six spinning arms. Sol Spin will be the newest addition to the theme park’s world-class line up of more than 40 rides and attractions when it opens in spring 2017.

 

Full Story Here

Edited by Wingwright
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Wow, that was a completely unexpected announcement! Sol Spin looks like a Mondial Top Scan, which is a really fun ride. I've only ever ridden one Top Scan at Lagoon in Utah and it was pretty crazy. I think the Top Scan at Lagoon is the only one in the U.S., so it's great to see another one installed. Knott's has been down a couple of flats since they removed Windseeker, Screaming Swing, and Riptide. I'm guessing that this will go in the old Windseeker spot since the announcement says it will be located in Fiesta Village.

 

Here's some detail and video of the Top Scan:

 

http://mondialrides.com/rides/transportable/top-scan

Edited by VegasBaby
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Wow, that was completely unexpected announcement! Sol Spin looks like a Mondial Top Scan, which is a really fun ride. I've only ever ridden one Top Scan at Lagoon in Utah and it was pretty crazy. I think the Top Scan at Lagoon is the only one in the U.S., so it's great to see another one installed. Knott's has been down a couple of flats since they removed Windseeker, Screaming Swing, and Riptide. I'm guessing that this will go in the old Windseeker spot since the announcement says it will be located in Fiesta Village.

 

Here's some detail and video of the Top Scan:

 

http://mondialrides.com/rides/transportable/top-scan

 

You're right, Lagoon's is the only park with one, BUT Carowinds will also be opening one next year too!

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The announcement also says that they are extending the Boysenberry Festival to 23 days and adding a new BBQ restaurant next to Xcelerator. I have been really happy with the additions to the park over the last few years and 2017 is looking great as well.

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Wow, that was completely unexpected announcement! Sol Spin looks like a Mondial Top Scan, which is a really fun ride. I've only ever ridden one Top Scan at Lagoon in Utah and it was pretty crazy. I think the Top Scan at Lagoon is the only one in the U.S., so it's great to see another one installed.

 

You're right, Lagoon's is the only park with one, BUT Carowinds will also be opening one next year too!

 

There's also a Carnival in the US that has one, although I haven't seen it at my state fair for the last three years. It was the Space Roller Top Scan, and they are always a blast!

 

Does anyone know if Sol Spin is a brand new Top Scan or this is another refurbished ride that Cedar Fair bought from their European trip? I know Carowinds is getting a refurb one that they did buy from Europe.

 

Hopefully this is a sign that Cedar Fair is trying to put one of these at most of their park and I can hope Valleyfair will get one soon. I rather have one of these instead of a new coaster any day. I would get a season pass just to ride this all day long. They are that fun!

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The announcement also says that they are extending the Boysenberry Festival to 23 days and adding a new BBQ restaurant next to Xcelerator. I have been really happy with the additions to the park over the last few years and 2017 is looking great as well.

 

I agree. Knott's has been smart with their yearly projects, focusing on the overall quality of the park instead of blowing their budget on a single attraction/coaster. Revitalizing Ghost Town, The Boardwalk, Camp Snoopy and increasing the food quality throughout the park has done wonders for them. I haven't even been to the Boysenberry Festival yet but I think I would fall in love with it.

 

Looking forward, I'm hoping to see a full refurb of Fiesta Village - It's my least favorite part of the park.

Sol Spin looks like a nice start!

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Very cool about the addition, though I was hoping they could have used that enormous footer where windseeker was and have funtime design a 300' star flyer using the existing footer. Oh well. Glad that Knotts is getting into the thrill market again after a needed few years of refurbishments and family attractions.

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I hope they give Montezooma's Revenge a fresh coat of paint while they're at it. Jaguar's new paint is fantastic, so repainting MR a fresh green and yellow and adding Sol Spin will really revitalize that area.

 

Agreed, and speaking of Montezooma's Revenge this really puts a damper on the dumb Screamscape rumors of it's removal. If they were to remove it for the station area of a hyper, they probably wouldn't be filling one of the only vacant areas near the ride when they would need all the room they could get for a transfer building, station, queue, brake run and lift. That's just one more reason to like this move.

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