The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[SoCalJasonland]

I wonder if the short program on Sol Spin is intentional. If they build something big that uses the old splashdown pool; the bridge to Pacific Spin and Surfside Gliders could be blocked and they will need all of the ride capacity that they can get if those rides go down along with Wipeout, Boomerang and Sky Cabin. It's either that or Mondial could have screwed up with Windseeker and Sol Spin.

 

Wait... what?

 

Surfside Gliders and Pacific Scrambler are NOT being removed, the Sol Spin cycle is intentional, and Mondial did not screw up. The ride has been open for less than a week, my goodness.

 

I didn't say they were being removed but they could be closed during construction if they build a dive coaster or anything else that requires construction access where the access bridge is currently located. They have closed that bridge before.

 

If Mondial did plan to build a 36 rider Top Scan model over their regular 30 rider model; they didn't bother to update their website to market or sell it to anyone else. This appears to be an experimental version that hopefully will work. The rest of the ride appears similar so maybe they could just change the arms to 5 seats if it doesn't end up working for some reason.

[fpsphil]

I wonder if Knotts got a discount for having a experimental mondial replacing a failed mondial that was in the exact same location

[WestCoasterKing]

I wonder if Knotts got a discount for having a experimental mondial replacing a failed mondial that was in the exact same location

 

Windseeker's problems were not Mondial's fault. CalOSHA required a ladder on the outside of the structure that interfered with it's operation. It's now at CW sans ladder and is operating just fine, as are every other windseeker ride.

 

Back to Boomerang. I'm surprised that they are only working at night. I thought the whole point of closing Boom before summer was to get a jump on construction. You'd think they'd be making the most of it. Construction of the new attraction will be during the day, so why not the dismantling?

Edited April 26, 2017 by WestCoasterKing

[Jew]

I wonder if Knotts got a discount for having a experimental mondial replacing a failed mondial that was in the exact same location

 

Windseeker's problems were not Mondial's fault. CalOSHA required a ladder on the outside of the structure that interfered with it's operation. It's now at CW sans ladder and is operating just fine, as are every other windseeker ride.

 

That flaw was only discovered because of the ride being stuck at the top and what was supposed to be the backup option for getting guests down not working...

 

Don't have any inside knowledge, but there are only two scenarios I see possible:

1. Cedar Fair already had a package deal with Mondial and this was part of it.

2. They *DID* get a sweet deal from Mondial as part of settling any dispute that may have come up over Windseeker.

[WestCoasterKing]

That flaw was only discovered because of the ride being stuck at the top and what was supposed to be the backup option for getting guests down not working...

 

Don't have any inside knowledge, but there are only two scenarios I see possible:

1. Cedar Fair already had a package deal with Mondial and this was part of it.

2. They *DID* get a sweet deal from Mondial as part of settling any dispute that may have come up over Windseeker.

 

Oh. I always was under the impression that it was the ladder that made it stuck. At least that's what Raffi said in an interview once.

[jarmor]

Windseeker's problems were not Mondial's fault. CalOSHA required a ladder on the outside of the structure that interfered with it's operation. It's now at CW sans ladder and is operating just fine, as are every other windseeker ride.

WOF???

[WestCoasterKing]

Windseeker's problems were not Mondial's fault. CalOSHA required a ladder on the outside of the structure that interfered with it's operation. It's now at CW sans ladder and is operating just fine, as are every other windseeker ride.

WOF???

My bad. That's what I meant

[bgtlover]

Back to Boomerang. I'm surprised that they are only working at night. I thought the whole point of closing Boom before summer was to get a jump on construction. You'd think they'd be making the most of it. Construction of the new attraction will be during the day, so why not the dismantling?

My guess is that it's easier to move track pieces out of the park when it's closed due to the location. It may also be a safely issue. I'm sure there is plenty going on that can't be seen from the webcam...especially from the angle we see it from. There may be more areas that are closed off when they actually start building whatever is coming. For now they have minimized the number of attractions that aren't open at this stage.

[thrilladdict]

I kind of feel bad for Knott's fans at this point. First you got a bad knockoff of a star flyer and now you get this new bigger Top Scan that could very well be the next giant Top Spin.

 

Mondial has a spotty enough record that id be a bit shocked for even the most apologetic members of this board to defend it. Their Top Spin knockoffs are soooo bad, and let's not get started on BGW's drop tower.

 

Is it a rule on this site to apologize for any and every manufacturer or park mistake? Sure seems like it.

[Freestyle23]

I'm just curious was the lagoon filled with water today or was it left empty from last night?

[joelwee]

The Boomerang/Xcelerator webcam is back online. The mini-sun and the crane are back out there; it looks like they're removing another section of track next to the station.

 

The lagoon is still empty.

[IamDolfin]

Removed.

Edited August 30, 2018 by IamDolfin

[thrillseeker4552]

I kind of feel bad for Knott's fans at this point. First you got a bad knockoff of a star flyer and now you get this new bigger Top Scan that could very well be the next giant Top Spin.

 

Mondial has a spotty enough record that id be a bit shocked for even the most apologetic members of this board to defend it. Their Top Spin knockoffs are soooo bad, and let's not get started on BGW's drop tower.

 

Is it a rule on this site to apologize for any and every manufacturer or park mistake? Sure seems like it.

 

I sorta get what you're saying. I'm intrigued that Cedar Fair purchases from Mondial considering all the problems their rides seem to have (speaking in general, not about Sol Spin). This is the same chain that buys B&M after B&M because they are reliable. I'm really interested to see how Sol Spin plays out. When I visited on Sunday, it was down for the first half of the day (it was also closed the night before), but after about 4:00 it seemed to run pretty smoothly cycle after cycle through the evening.

 

I hope all goes well. Even with a short cycle, it's a fun ride, and it's nice to finally have a new thrilling flat at the park since they've been removing so many lately. It's also 1000x better than Windseeker ever was. If Sol Spin does work out well, I wouldn't be surprised if Cedar Fair purchases a few more of these giant park models and installs them at Kings Island, Cedar Point, CGA, etc.

[WestCoasterKing]

I kind of feel bad for Knott's fans at this point. First you got a bad knockoff of a star flyer and now you get this new bigger Top Scan that could very well be the next giant Top Spin.

 

Mondial has a spotty enough record that id be a bit shocked for even the most apologetic members of this board to defend it. Their Top Spin knockoffs are soooo bad, and let's not get started on BGW's drop tower.

 

Is it a rule on this site to apologize for any and every manufacturer or park mistake? Sure seems like it.

 

Calling Sol Spin a mistake is premature and unfair. No one is defending mistakes or incompetence. They are just saying wait a few weeks until all the kinks are worked out. This is a prototype built specially for Knott's. Consider this simply a soft opening. Give it time before you nail its coffin shut.

Edited April 26, 2017 by WestCoasterKing

[WestCoasterKing]

Double post

Edited April 26, 2017 by WestCoasterKing

[Freestyle23]

Sparks are flying everywhere in the station right now.

[Freestyle23]

crane work being done right now 10:13 pm

[Xmeister]

On Sunday I decided to make the trek to Knott's for the last day of the Boysenberry Festival and of course, Boomerang's last day. This was by far the busiest I've ever seen the park. Luckily this was also the day that I decided to try Fast Lane for the first time so I was still able to get on a lot. There are a lot of photos of Boomerang below and I included those not because I thought it was a great ride, but because it was very photogenic in a way that most coasters of the same model are not in my opinion (except for the period that it had the purple and green color scheme). This was a spectacular trip. Ten years ago, I felt that KBF had lost so much that had made it such an engaging and great park. It's amazing to see what a difference ten years makes because I think the park has regained so much of that charm that it lost and I think that it looks as good now as I've ever seen it going all the way back to the mid-90s. The park is beautiful and a place that has enough to engage all ages because it has once again become such a well-rounded family park. All right, on to the photos!

This was my second time to the Boysenberry Festival. I first went in 2015 and the food offerings seem to have gotten even better. I think the fact that this event is even being held is representative of how the history of this park has become so much more important to Cedar Fair than it was when they first bought the park.

This was my first Fast Lane experience and I was really happy with how much it helped increase the amount of rides I experienced. GhostRider had a seventy-five minute wait posted but I was able to get two rides within fifteen minutes.

The park is beautiful this time of year!

As this was Boomerang's last operating day, I wanted to take some last shots of it before it's demise.

This is certainly a case where I enjoyed the visual element a coaster adds to it's surrounding area more than the ride itself.

I remember being four years old and visiting Knott's for the first time. Back then this loop looked huge! If I recall correctly, after watching my Dad board I was reduced to tears because I was afraid something would happen to him.

Since this photo was taken a little over 48 hours ago, parts of this cobra roll have already been removed!

I did ride Boomerang once during my visit and it was as rough as ever. So excited to see what the park has up it's sleeve for this area!

Fiesta Village looks great! The relatively new paint jobs found on Jaguar! and Montezooma's Revenge work a lot better than the ones that they've had over the past several years. They compliment their surroundings as opposed to overpowering them.

Sol Spin also looks excellent. It adds some great kinetic energy to Fiesta Village. I wasn't able to ride it this visit but I look forward to giving it a try soon.

I love this part of the park. With the lush plant life and architecture it feels so peaceful which is quite the feat considering the number of rides and attractions this area holds.

The new paint jobs on Montezooma's Revenge and Jaguar! are not identical to their original colors yet they are close enough to remind me of how they looked when Jaguar! first opened. Those paint jobs worked well together back then and these new ones work just as well.

I'll never get tired of this view!

Same with this view. The ride was down at this point but luckily I was able to ride it later on.

Silver Bullet has really grown on me. The more I ride it, the more I appreciate it. When it opened, I really felt it was pretty mediocre compared to other B&M inverts I had ridden at the time. Now I enjoy it's interaction with the park areas around it. The visual experience on this ride is really superb.

When I was eight years old I rode GhostRider two weeks after it opened and to this day, regard that as one of the best rides on a coaster that I've ever had. The huge awe-inspiring golden structure held a ride with near-perfect pacing, great airtime, a layout interesting because it kept you guessing and a ride that was satisfyingly long. Sadly the GhostRider I rode that day disappeared as it aged. When I last rode the old version of the ride in 2014, it was hard to believe that it once had been so good. I first rode the renovated Ghostrider at last year's West Coast Bash and was delighted to see that it had been restored to being a great ride. During the day it doesn't seem as intense as it was when it opened. At night however this coaster is a different beast that is as intense as I remember it.

Night shot of Boomerang. As the hours crept closer to closing more and more people seemed to want to ride. I left a couple of hours before closing so I have no idea if the crowds at Boomerang lasted.

One last shot from this visit! I've always wondered who first came up with the brilliant idea of lighting theme park rock work like this. Bathing the rock in intense colored light is no longer groundbreaking but I imagine it must've looked pretty strange when it was first done. My only guess is that theme parks were inspired by the lighting featured at show caves such as Carlsbad Caverns. Thanks for reading!

 

[Freestyle23]

50 minutes after the last crane movement they take of another piece, followed right away by more sparks in the station.

[fpsphil]

Been watching the webcam for past hour or so. Seems like they are cutting the steel roof structure over the station. Based on earlier images track is being removed non destructively

[Freestyle23]

Loading parts into a vehicle or some sort 12:30 am (In between the left 2 palm trees)

[Freestyle23]

Looks like they drop the part from the crane behind the palm trees to the left of boomerang in between xcelerator and coast rider and then i've see a yellow forklift type vehicle drive behind coast rider to the left towards the street and seems to cross the street with the part. Are they storing parts there? (in the picture you can see the yellow vehicle to the very left in between the left and 2nd white big pillar.

[RollerManic]

Other than for this post rcdb posted on Facebook, I can't see any track removed yet.

[WestCoasterKing]

Based on the pics posted yesterday and what we can see right now on the webcam, it appears they are able to remove a segment each night. It really takes that long to unscrew some bolts and rig up cables?

[coasterkid124]

It really takes that long to unscrew some bolts and rig up cables?

 

If the bolts are sticking from age, they are a lot harder to remove, and could require torch cutting. It depends how careful they're being with the ride. Also, Boomerangs have a lot of electrical components and mechanisms that need to be disabled and removed, such as air tanks, conduit, chain mechanisms, etc. They have to work around other buildings and attractions in the area as well, so that adds a little more time.