The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[Wingwright]

People complain about Silver bullet being an eyesore of the park when imo SB is absolutely beautiful compared to this hideous mediocre ride and it's million supports Jaguar is the true eyesore of knotts imo

 

To be honest, I think most of Fiesta Village is an eyesore these days. I hope it gets the Boardwalk/Ghost Town treatment soon.

I would love to see it cleaned up and repainted with less hideous colors.

[Manic Monte]

^ Agreed about the hideous colors. lol

[cfc]

Jaguar fits in much better IMO. It feels like they put some thought into making it "blend" in better. Silver Bullet feels much more like a "just put it where it fits" coaster. It doesn't bother me, but I know purists are still upset it took away the charm from the lake and arguably the entrance since Giant B&M+Old Western buildings are not exactly complimentary items.

 

That's my main complaint about Silver Bullet, aside from it being an "OK" invert, at best.

[E. Robert Pugh]

Xcelerator and ghost rider were both down to one train operation as of Friday. They were actively working on the second train so who knows how long it'll be this way.

[Superbatboy]

Jaguar fits in much better IMO. It feels like they put some thought into making it "blend" in better. Silver Bullet feels much more like a "just put it where it fits" coaster. It doesn't bother me, but I know purists are still upset it took away the charm from the lake and arguably the entrance since Giant B&M+Old Western buildings are not exactly complimentary items.

 

Silver Bullet is the f*gliest thing that's ever happened to Knott's.

[wmay]

People complain about Silver bullet being an eyesore of the park when imo SB is absolutely beautiful compared to this hideous mediocre ride and it's million supports Jaguar is the true eyesore of knotts imo

 

 

I kind of agree. Apart from it being an eyesore I never understood the point of Jaguar. Even as a kid I couldn't fit into the cars. It's not an official kiddie coaster yet the cars are so small that no one over 10 can ride comfortably!?

[CedarFlags]

Re: Jaguar... you have to remember that the park looked very different 20 years ago when the ride opened. Those supports were along the edge of the lake, not in the middle of a walkway.

[Nrthwnd]

^ What he said, and here's a map of Knott's, to show how it was before Silver Bullet.

[wmay]

Re: Jaguar... you have to remember that the park looked very different 20 years ago when the ride opened. Those supports were along the edge of the lake, not in the middle of a walkway.

 

Good point. Knott's seem kind of bad in general at figuring out how to make their coasters fit without ruining the surrounding environments:

[JT325]

It's better than tearing out a bunch of classic rides (or non-classic!) to "make room" (as other parks would say) for whatever the attraction may be.

 

Jaguar going through Montezooma's loop is simply... delightful

[Nrthwnd]

Thankfully and so far, they haven't gone so far as to really intrude on Ghost Town. Pony Express is the closest

they've come to GT. But Ghostrider was worked nicely into GT, too. Thrill rides, especially steel coasters,

are really difficult to place there, nowadays to me.

 

I would be very happy if they just stuck with this bunch of rides and coasters, and nothing more for a decade or so.

[coasterbill]

Re: Jaguar... you have to remember that the park looked very different 20 years ago when the ride opened. Those supports were along the edge of the lake, not in the middle of a walkway.

 

Good point. Knott's seem kind of bad in general at figuring out how to make their coasters fit without ruining the surrounding environments:

 

Personally I think Pony Express looks great. What's wrong with the way Pony Express looks?

[PixelRush]

In response to the picture: It honestly had me fool for a moment, I didn't see the building there! I mean the supports are a little weird, but I think it looks cool overall!

[wmay]

Re: Jaguar... you have to remember that the park looked very different 20 years ago when the ride opened. Those supports were along the edge of the lake, not in the middle of a walkway.

 

Good point. Knott's seem kind of bad in general at figuring out how to make their coasters fit without ruining the surrounding environments:

 

Personally I think Pony Express looks great. What's wrong with the way Pony Express looks?

 

I just think it's a really strange and forced placement for a coaster that in my opinion isn't even that great. What used to be a cool quiet little area with a small graveyard and a nice mural in the background is now more or less ruined by large and imposing coaster supports and loud screams every time a train goes by.

[Ace Of Spades]

Speaking from a generation that only got to experience a pre-Silver Bullet Knott's once or twice, I really have no issue with it being there. If anything, it's so quiet that I don't even notice it's there half the time. Even when I do, well...the whole park kinda has that cramped feeling really. Coast Rider is like 100 yards from a fire department. You can see someone's front yard from the queue for Bigfoot Rapids. A carpet store is visible from inside Camp Snoopy. None of the park really has a closed off, intimate feeling, and that's okay. To me, it's actually what makes Knott's so special. It really is a big fish in a tiny pond. Compared to Disneyland's utter domination of Harbor Blvd and how detached SFMM is from the rest of Santa Clarita/Valencia, Knott's just seems like part of the neighborhood. A city park with roller coasters, if you will.

 

Silver Bullet just amplifies that. Compared to the miles of concrete in an average theme park without much going on, I welcome a giant coaster flying overhead at almost all times. It makes things exciting! And Knott's Ghost Town and entrance may not be as thematically correct with it swooping around, but it doesn't need to be Disney level in its theming. Knott's can take liberties, and if the combo of old village architecture and inverted coaster is what Knott's does, well...that's what it does!

[chickenbowl]

Speaking from a generation that only got to experience a pre-Silver Bullet Knott's once or twice, I really have no issue with it being there. If anything, it's so quiet that I don't even notice it's there half the time. Even when I do, well...the whole park kinda has that cramped feeling really. Coast Rider is like 100 yards from a fire department. You can see someone's front yard from the queue for Bigfoot Rapids. A carpet store is visible from inside Camp Snoopy. None of the park really has a closed off, intimate feeling, and that's okay. To me, it's actually what makes Knott's so special. It really is a big fish in a tiny pond. Compared to Disneyland's utter domination of Harbor Blvd and how detached SFMM is from the rest of Santa Clarita/Valencia, Knott's just seems like part of the neighborhood. A city park with roller coasters, if you will.

 

Silver Bullet just amplifies that. Compared to the miles of concrete in an average theme park without much going on, I welcome a giant coaster flying overhead at almost all times. It makes things exciting! And Knott's Ghost Town and entrance may not be as thematically correct with it swooping around, but it doesn't need to be Disney level in its theming. Knott's can take liberties, and if the combo of old village architecture and inverted coaster is what Knott's does, well...that's what it does!

 

I think the hate for Silver Bullet is pretty much a meme - Nowhere near as crappy as people say. I agree that it's not the best invert out there, but I can still name 15 B&M's worse than it. Sure it's plopped over that now-tiny lake, but I'd still take Silver Bullet over having that area untouched.

 

Honestly, the only part of the coaster that really sucks is the first drop. The rest of the layout is pretty awesome if you're into a cool floaty layout. And that helix is really forceful!

[Ace Of Spades]

I think the hate for Silver Bullet is pretty much a meme - Nowhere near as crappy as people say. I agree that it's not the best invert out there, but I can still name 15 B&M's worse than it. Sure it's plopped over that now-tiny lake, but I'd still take Silver Bullet over having that area untouched.

 

Honestly, the only part of the coaster that really sucks is the first drop. The rest of the layout is pretty awesome if you're into a cool floaty layout. And that helix is really forceful!

Oh, I definitely agree about the ride too! It's not super-Raptor-level-crazy, but it's enjoyable in an almost relaxing way. Usually my first and last ride of the day and after 100+ laps I still really enjoy it!

[cfc]

I think the hate for Silver Bullet is pretty much a meme - Nowhere near as crappy as people say. I agree that it's not the best invert out there, but I can still name 15 B&M's worse than it. Sure it's plopped over that now-tiny lake, but I'd still take Silver Bullet over having that area untouched.

 

Honestly, the only part of the coaster that really sucks is the first drop. The rest of the layout is pretty awesome if you're into a cool floaty layout. And that helix is really forceful!

Oh, I definitely agree about the ride too! It's not super-Raptor-level-crazy, but it's enjoyable in an almost relaxing way. Usually my first and last ride of the day and after 100+ laps I still really enjoy it!

 

I don't "hate" it. I just think that as a ride, it's "OK," and nothing more. Plus, I don't like how it towers over Ghost Town.

 

Not just a "meme."

[MrSum1_55]

What they should have done was make Silver Bullet blend with the theming. I wish they could have made it a Black Mamba style invert, and built it partially underground, having it weave through Ghost Town theming. Had they done this, and given it colors to match, I guarantee nobody would be complaining about it.

 

Heck, Silver Bullet would still be semi-passable now if they just painted the track brown to blend with the area.

[CedarFlags]

What they should have done was make Silver Bullet blend with the theming. I wish they could have made it a Black Mamba style invert, and built it partially underground, having it weave through Ghost Town theming. Had they done this, and given it colors to match, I guarantee nobody would be complaining about it.

 

Heck, Silver Bullet would still be semi-passable now if they just painted the track brown to blend with the area.

 

I love the combo of the track and train colors... reminds me of a western desert sunset. The title is also really fun.

 

But the two do not go together even a little bit, and it will never cease to drive me crazy.

[thrillseeker4552]

I feel like half of the problems associated with Silver Bullet's aesthetics could be fixed if the lift hill were painted the same color as the rest of the track. I was hoping they would do that when they repainted the ride in 2014, but I guess not.

 

I said it before, but I really hope the addition of Sol Spin will mean a repaint of Montezooma's Revenge. That coaster is starting to become the eyesore in that area of the park with its peeling paint and faded color scheme...

[Nrthwnd]

When I was there at Knott's back in September, I don't remember seeing Silver Bullet that much, from the Ghost Town area.

 

But then, I think I was too busy looking through all the shops and history stuff buildings... and never looked up over the roofs, lol.

 

I DO think that Boomerang, the Tower, and bit of Accelerator sticking out

of the back of the Calico Mine Train Ride looks kind of wierd. Taken on Sept.11,2016.

[Gnome]

I feel like half of the problems associated with Silver Bullet's aesthetics could be fixed if the lift hill were painted the same color as the rest of the track. I was hoping they would do that when they repainted the ride in 2014, but I guess not.

 

 

I agree, a proper paint job and restoring the lake back to most of its original exterior I think would fix a lot of what people find wrong with Silver Bullet. In my opinion, as Silver Bullet has aged, it's gotten more intense, and my only real gripe with it outside of aesthetics is the drop. Overall, it's a typical B&M experience, not world beating, but overall satisfactory and very reridable attraction. It's a good mix between the trio of major world class coasters that the park has.

[SFMMGeek27]

Am I the only one who likes Silver Bullet's drop? I also kinda like how it isn't too intense because it's fun to feel like you're just zipping and flying around everywhere without the super intense pull on your body.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I did enjoy it, too. And Accelerator, and Pony Express, and Sierra Sidewinder, too.

 

Knott's has become my go-to park for the thrills my body can take, lol. And Silver Bullet

was fun and intense enough, to want to ride it again.

 

Maybe they need to turn the support columns of it, into...tilting palm trees?

Yeah, turn them all into Palm Trees! (o; Taken on September 11, 2016.