The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[AmyUD06]

Good news all around I guess, but I really think them calling Monte the "oldest shuttle loop coaster still in its original location" is a bit disingenuous, since from everything we've seen the only parts they're definitely reusing is the station.  If the launch mechanism, signature element, and trains are different, is it really the same coaster?

[Animal]

Well, we have our first look at the trains and I’m sure many people will be disappointed to see they will have comfort collars. The good news is they don’t appear to be Premier trains unless it’s an updated restraint from them. 
 

It makes sense now that they extended the closure time on this because essentially this will be a whole new ride/experience. The station and trains look great though!

[coasterbill]

They appear to be Kumbak trains.

Well they say if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all so uh... peace out everyone. Enjoy your afternoon.

[thrillseeker4552]

4 hours ago, coasterbill said:

They appear to be Kumbak trains.

Well they say if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all so uh... peace out everyone. Enjoy your afternoon.

My thoughts exactly.

I know why the park is doing this, I get it. Bringing life to something old that was in need of extensive refurbishment and marketing it with a storyline and theming. I get it. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm absolutely gutted.

I'll hold all reservations until we know everything, but the switching launch directions and comfort collars/shoulder straps (and likely reduced capacity trains) tell me all I need to know that the true Montezooma is officially dead. This ride has more sentimental value to me than any other in the world. First looper, first big coaster, first launch. Onto bigger and better things I suppose.

So happy I got my last rides (without knowing it'd close) in December.

[CedarFlags]

Disappointed to see comfort collars, but also... this ride has no lateral forces, so there's no worry about necks hitting them.

The zero car is beautiful and I love the idea of turning Zoom into a full experience.  

[Animal]

It also appears that you will be loading on the opposite of where you used to load.

If the collars are more snug on you unlike the floppy nonsense of the premier trains I’ll be more ok with it.

[Manic Monte]

I believe the restraints on these trains lift and lower along with the lap bar, unlike the Premier Collars, which  attach to the bar separately. 

[ryder]

If it's anything like the restraints on SFMM's Wonder Woman (where the comfort collars are attached to the restraint), there's no slow down at all.  They're easy to get into, lock, and check super fast, as anyone who's been on the ride can attest. 

In a way, it could actually speed up operations, as they now wouldn't have to check a lap bar and seat belt separately, and take all that extra time locking seat belts for empty seats.

[Arthur_Seaton]

11 minutes ago, ryder said:

If it's anything like the restraints on SFMM's Wonder Woman (where the comfort collars are attached to the restraint), there's no slow down at all.  They're easy to get into, lock, and check super fast, as anyone who's been on the ride can attest. 

Yeah, they're super good. And I couldn't quite tell what was different, but I swear the SFMM WW collars are better than the SFFT ones. The collars on West Coast Racers, however . . . 

[AmyUD06]

If these are in fact Kumbak trains, the comfort collars will be the least of your worries.  On the one coaster that I rode with their trains (T3 at KK), there was definitely some SkyRush-esque thigh clamping, and I was pushing the restraint out as hard as possible during the entire ride.

[Arthur_Seaton]

12 minutes ago, AmyUD06 said:

If these are in fact Kumbak trains, the comfort collars will be the least of your worries.  On the one coaster that I rode with their trains (T3 at KK), there was definitely some SkyRush-esque thigh clamping, and I was pushing the restraint out as hard as possible during the entire ride.

Ugh. I rode that thing and sat on the break run with the restraints cutting off circulation. Far, far worse than Skyrush IMO. The seats themselves were garbage as well.

What on earth are they doing to this ride!?

[BotanicalStig]

The redurb doesn't sound bad but those restraints look awful. Even without the OTSR I'd take the original trains any day.... Bummer. 

 

I'm sure it was either this or full removal so the real question is... Was this a win? 

[SoCalJasonland]

17 hours ago, Arthur_Seaton said:

Ugh. I rode that thing and sat on the break run with the restraints cutting off circulation. Far, far worse than Skyrush IMO. The seats themselves were garbage as well.

What on earth are they doing to this ride!?

Well they screwed up Coast Rider, worse than before with those hard knee restraints, so they had to have learned their lesson and nothing else could possible go wrong, right?

[Arthur_Seaton]

3 hours ago, SoCalJasonland said:

Well they screwed up Coast Rider, worse than before with those hard knee restraints, so they had to have learned their lesson and nothing else could possible go wrong, right?

Ruh roh! They did that one as well? That's it; I'm calling the police.

Coast Rider was pretty much always lame, but the new restraint system was so ill-conceived that it was kind of funny.

[CedarFlags]

18 hours ago, Arthur_Seaton said:

Ruh roh! They did that one as well? That's it; I'm calling the police.

Coast Rider was pretty much always lame, but the new restraint system was so ill-conceived that it was kind of funny.

The terrible Coast Rider lap bars happened because of the injury lawsuit a few years back.  Kid stuck his foot out of the car thinking the ride was over but the car moved forward again and his foot got mangled.  So now you can't move your feet at all until the bar releases.

[wrs28330]

Knott's Berry Farm just held one of the most unique media previews ever for Knott's Scary Farm! 2022 is going to be an *awesome* year for Scary Farm, starting Sept. 22!

 

TPR is ready to preview everything that Scary Farm has in store for this season!

 

We enjoyed a pre-dinner reception featuring artwork from this year's Beyond the Fog art show, featuring artwork inspired by all generations of Halloween Haunt. Also enjoyed the "I Vant Your Blood", a syringe drink with vodka and Strawberry Lemonade. Yes please!

 

We were then asked to find seats in the main dining space, for a legit Haunt banquet comprised of samples of a ton of the food and drinks that will be available throughout the park this year.

 

"Kindly find your seats..."

 

Here is what we sampled!

 

Some of the photos were better at the preview table, so here they are! The Spooky Crabby Sushi Roll was on point!

 

So was the Canine Candy Corn!

 

Is "one of everything" too much?

 

A look at some of the merchandise available this year. Haunt + Tiki = Yes, yes, yes!

 

Take your pick!

 

Which is your favorite maze represented?

 

Oh hey, Snoopy!

 

We can't wait for September 22, and seeing one of the new mazes this year: The Grimoire!

Plan your visit: https://www.knotts.com/events/scary-farm/calendar

[cfc]

I like me a good, scary tiki mug--and some of that calimari.

[swfan1988]

 

Well...was planning a trip for next week...any ideas anyone? Could I make Knott's a half day and do a full day Magic Mountain instead?

[cfc]

^Marathon the log ride and mine train.

[CedarFlags]

Ghostrider always gets worked on between Summer & Halloween, and again between Halloween & Christmas.  Lots of long days sending a lot of cycles and tearing up the track.  Really glad to see the park hasn't slacked off with maintenance on this in the years since the renovation.

[VegasBaby]

16 hours ago, CedarFlags said:

Ghostrider always gets worked on between Summer & Halloween, and again between Halloween & Christmas.  Lots of long days sending a lot of cycles and tearing up the track.  Really glad to see the park hasn't slacked off with maintenance on this in the years since the renovation.

Ghostrider has been running like a dream since the re-track, so I'm glad they are being diligent with the maintenance of it.

[coasterlvr]

On 9/6/2022 at 8:39 PM, swfan1988 said:

 

Well...was planning a trip for next week...any ideas anyone? Could I make Knott's a half day and do a full day Magic Mountain instead?

 

this was today.  not a great time to go if you're trying to ride more than Silver Bullet. LOL  I guess Hangtime had some issues recently and has been down.  But, it was testing this morning.  So maybe that's good news for reopening.   I'm assuming Calico is being changed to the Candy overlay.  

[swfan1988]

Lol! Yeah I went yesterday... definitely rough when all of their headliners were down...

[njcoasterguy34]

Check out K-pop group ITZY enjoying a day at Knott's Berry Farm.

 

[thrillseeker4552]

Attempted to visit Knott's today. I have never seen it so busy in my life. We couldn't even get in the park. Beach Blvd was completely bumper to bumper, all lots full, the security line backed up past the Marketplace and more. After taking 1 hour just to make our way down Beach Blvd and crossing under GhostRider, we ended up just leaving. Queue-Times shows many wait times at 3 hours. And of course, Xcel being down doesn't help.

I know it's the busiest week of the year, but this time last year I was at least able to get IN the park. Maybe it's because today is the observed Christmas holiday so many people are still not at work yet. But it was just insane.

The park just draws so many damn people for its size. Not just the capacity of the coasters, but the parking, security, food lines (based on last year's visit around this time), rides, everything is undersized. I wonder how much longer until they build a parking garage, open up some parking/warehouse space, and expand the park with some higher capacity rides, restaurants, and more. It's just wild.