The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[haiderodes]

Question for those of you who have been to the park on recent Saturdays...

 

I am planning on getting my first Platinum pass processed this Saturday and I wanted to know what time does processing open. From the pics it seems that the line starts at the door next to the exit gate...is that correct? I'll have a few hours to kill before I head to downtown LA for a show, so I will be on somewhat of a time schedule. I hope to be able to hit a few rides before I have to leave. How early should I plan on getting there?

[SharkTums]

From previous dealings with their pass processing as well as TR's I would get there as early as possible!!!

 

At least 30 - 45 minutes before opening so you can be first in that terrible, terrible line.

[Top Thrill Dragster]

^^Get there as early as possible or you will be stuck in this.

 

 

 

 

And it move VERY, VERY, VERY, SLOW!

[haiderodes]

Thanks for the info. I wonder what takes so long.

 

This year's SFMM renewal it only took about 10 minutes for me...they had only had four stations open and a decent crowd. However, I think the express line for online purchases helped, but I don't think those people waiting in the regular line had much of a wait either.

[Jew]

As of Yesterday there is also a haystack dryer at the entrance/exit of Big Foot Rapids. For $5 and 3 minutes I'd rather ride Screamin' Swing.

 

You'd be surprised how popular those things are. I'm sure they will do MUCH better business than the Sreamin' Swing!

 

$5 is a small price to pay to not have to walk around the rest of the day with soggy clothes!

[nursemelis374]

One thing that helped us get our passes processed a bit quicker was having all the information correctly put in the system before we got there and bringing a printout. They were pulling people out of the line if they had this done and it saved a bit of time.

[ginzo]

You'd be surprised how popular those things are. I'm sure they will do MUCH better business than the Sreamin' Swing!

 

Whomever designed IOA was really smart about that. There are absolutely no blowers in the bathrooms anywhere near the $5 dryer outside Ripsaw Falls. Believe me, I've looked!

[austinlee]

I went on the Screamin' Swing one time in 2005 to see what it was like since I had never been on it before. It was the worst $5 I've ever spent at a park. It was way too short and not very much fun. Even on crowded days I have not seen very many people ride it. As long as it is an upcharge attraction I will never ride it again and will not miss it.

[Sue]

Let hope they're able to get Xcelerator open a couple days earlier than predicted so that we can ride at WCB. It wouldn't be so bad if it was down for a while after the event, but to have it open a couple days later would be a disappointment. It does sound like they're doing they're best to get it ready so here's to hoping everything goes smoothly.

[G-Force!]

Let hope they're able to get Xcelerator open a couple days earlier than predicted so that we can ride at WCB.

 

Your not far off. It's very possible at this point.

[fpsphil]

ya i was in the park today, didnt see any work going on, the ride looks the same as it did a few days ago in G-force's photo update

[6flagsbrad]

I was at the park Saturday, and it was the best day I've had at Knotts. The park was a ghost town.

All rides were stay-ons, and most of the time they didn't even need to close the rides for rain.

Xcelerator looks the exact same, nothing special at all.

I definitely recommend going on rainy days.

[Calicoasters]

^That's by far the worst recommendation for any Cedar Fair park!

[thrillgeek]

Nice addition, but brings down my hopes of PP leaving anytime soon. Oh well.

 

I've never been to Knotts and I'm so excited to finally go durring WCB but what's so bad about PP? It seems like an awesome ride!

[CreditCrazy]

^ It is awesome. I don't think it should leave, nor do I think it is leaving. There's other ways the park can squeeze rides into the place.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

It's not that the Plunge is bad ride. It just isn't reliable. I've seen plenty of days where out of a 12 hour operating day it ran 6.

[G-Force!]

Something Xciting could possibly happen this next week. What however, I cannot tell.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^Well then I guess everyone should keep their fingers Xrossed, shouldn't they?

[G-Force!]

Xrossed indeed

[Calicoasters]

Sounds Xtremely Xciting, I wonder what it could be?

 

You'd be surprised how popular those things are. I'm sure they will do MUCH better business than the Sreamin' Swing!$5 is a small price to pay to not have to walk around the rest of the day with soggy clothes!

 

I am surprised, they are turning out to be very popular indeed.

[Sir Clinksalot]

We were going to go to Knott's on Saturday but didn't due to the rain. I didn't even think the park would be open.

 

We went to Dave and Busters and Disneyland instead and had a great time.

[haiderodes]

So I was at the park this weekend...

 

On Saturday I stopped by to get my pass processed before heading up to Downtown LA for a show. Arrived just before 10a under cloudy threatening skies, but the rides were testing. The pass processing line had 9 people in front of me (on the outside of the building) and another 5 or 6 inside waiting for photos by the time I got inside. By the time I was up next another 15 to 20 people were behind me.

 

I had purchased my platinum pass online and did the whole "save time, register online" thing, but of course that didnt matter. They still had me fill out the paper form because apparently their system wont be linked to the website until sometime in March...say what? So that right there is why it takes so damn long, because not only is everyone filling out the form, the person working then types in all that information. There are only two computers for that and then only two photo stations. Due to the popularity of that $60 season pass, they should really invest in reworking their processing. Good thing they let me skip the photo line because I was getting platinum or else it would have been an hour long ordeal.

 

By the time I finished the rain came and seeing as how I really only had a couple of hours till I had to get to LA, I didnt even go in the park. Later on I drove by the park and saw a few rides running so it looks like they didnt completely shut down (even though the season pass employees were joking about how long it would stay open for the day).

 

On Sunday, I went back to the park under mostly clear skies. Crowds were pretty minimal at first. They were getting set up for the Pinks grand opening stuff. Interesting that they set it all up right next to the exit area which meant it was a cluster trying to get outta there. When I left around 130p, the line for pass processing involved three switchbacks and a mass of people watching the Pink's hot dog stuff.

 

Some interesting things I noticed while in the park...

- Headed right for Silver Bullet when the rope dropped. One train went out and then as we loaded on the second train they shut the ride down because they smelled smoke. I thought it was from one of the restaurants or something, but they were being cautious which I suppose is a good thing. It smelled more of a wood burning smell than anything electrical, but whatever. Since I was at the head of the line, I just stayed and they reopened in about 10 min.

 

-At some point between noon and 1p Xcelerator's purple train was moved to the holding area just before the station. The lapbars received new padding and they dont have those "level" gauges on them anymore (to see if its down far enough). It also looks like they redid the padding on the armrests, but alas the teal seat cushions themselves are still worn down and black in many places. I wonder if they now have sensors on the train similar to Superman at SFMM.

 

- Jaguar and the Stagecoach were open despite being listed as closed on the sign.

 

- Ghostrider is back to its usual rough self

[A113]

Really looking forward to that S&S bit at WCB

 

^ I didn't see any photo updates recently, are the lap bars like Bizarro's now?

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

If anybody is headed to Knott's tomorrow...be sure to take your cameras.

[Mr. Starr]

If anybody is headed to Knott's tomorrow...be sure to take your cameras.

 

And the plot thickens!