The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

^To be fair, they did have like 8 months to paint the damn thing (not that it even really matters to me)!

To be even more fair, if it wasn't in their budget 8 months ago and they didn't have the paint yet, there was no way they were going to paint it.

They did have the budget to paint some of it while it was closed though...maybe it came too late? Whatever, I really don't feel like getting into a debate on Knotts's paint budget.

You really have no idea how theme park operations or corporate finances work do you?

 

Most parks will budget and plan their departments spending dollars about a year out. Painting a ride is NOT cheap. In fact, I'd say your average ride will cost around $1 Million to repaint.

 

That's a hell of a lot of money to spend and you need to be very careful WHEN you spend it.

 

Many times corporate financing will dictate WHEN you can spend that money and will allocate a certain amount of dollars to a fiscal quarter because, based on projections, they know that money can be spent IN that quarter and it's planned for that time.

 

Cedar Fair had no idea the ride would be down for 8 months, and that's not something they could plan for.

 

It's a very, VERY likely that a paint job on Xcelerator was already being planned and budgeted for BEFORE the accident ever happened.

 

That money would still need to be spent in the same quarter it was originally planned for because if they tried to move that date up, not only would it hurt that fiscal quarter because the money was not planned on being spent then, but I'm willing to bet those quarters while the ride was down were already showing a bit of a loss.

 

So spending another $1 million during that time would not have been a justifiable expenditure.

 

Now that the ride is back open, the park is running on the same cylinders it was 8 months ago, they can look at their financial plan and see where it makes sense to spend that money to paint the ride.

 

If anything be HAPPY that the ride looks like it's still going to get painted and they didn't have to shift those dollars in order to get Xcelerator back up and running again!

 

Painting a roller coaster isn't like re-painting your house where you can just run down to Home Depot and pick up a few tins of paint and do it over a weekend. It's a HUGE undertaking that includes several different outside companies and the cost is much more than you think.

 

--Robb "Just trying to educate you all on how corporate funding and scheduling works." Alvey

[atem122]

^That does seem to make a lot of sense. Thanks for the clear up, Robb!

[fatdaddy]

Has any park every had the paint sponsored, i mean they could have a partnership and in the least break even on paint itself. I would assume that if a company put its name on a ride they would want to make sure the upkeep on "their" paint job was done properly. Or we could just go down there with some carnauba wax and buff that sucker out. What coaster nerd doesn't want to rub on a coaster.

 

p.s. - They are not taking montezuma out, they are not taking montezuma out, they are not taking montezuma out......

[larrygator]

I think that a lot of machines (rides and others) don't get inspected as they should.

 

Next time you're in an elevator, check out the paper on the wall that states when the permit expires. Chances are it will be way past expiration and in need of an inspection...

 

Not in Manhattan will you ever see this. Although I'm sure it is harder to do spot checks in areas where elevators are more scarce

[atem122]

Has any park every had the paint sponsored, i mean they could have a partnership and in the least break even on paint itself. I would assume that if a company put its name on a ride they would want to make sure the upkeep on "their" paint job was done properly. Or we could just go down there with some carnauba wax and buff that sucker out. What coaster nerd doesn't want to rub on a coaster.

 

p.s. - They are not taking montezuma out, they are not taking montezuma out, they are not taking montezuma out......

I don't know if anyone's ever completely sponsored a paint job...but I know that in Vipers line (not sure if it's still there) it says something like, "See those colors flying by? That's the work of *paint company*." IDK if that little advertisement cut the costs out of the paint job for Viper or not, it's just something I've noticed. Although one could say that the advertisements on numerous Six Flags trains could pay off coaster paint jobs and other things...

[Calicoasters]

^Baynum painting is an exclusive partner with Six Flags. I have seen those same signs at Discovery Kingdom as well.

 

Here are some references of work they have done

 

http://www.baynumpainting.com/amusement001.html

[Aaronkv]

Planning on going to knott's next Saturday. I haven't been since I participated in the Silver Bullet first rider auction thing. Any suggestions on as to what to ride first or anything new I cant miss. Glad they got Xcelerator up and running! Been even longer since I've been on that one as well, I think the last time was the first rider auction for that too.

 

I scrolled back a few pages and didn't find anyone that went to the park recently on a weekend to see if stuff is running one train (on the weekends) or how busy it is and whatnot, I know it will be busy but I hope not as busy because school will still be in session.

 

Any rides I should hit first other than Ghostrider that the line wont be worth it later in the day? Or if that's even an issue these days and not have to go to Ghostrider first.

 

Thanks for the help!

[rcdude]

^Saturdays are always busy, but Saturday of Memorial Day weekend (the 29th, which I assume is the day you are talking about) will be ridiculously busy. Last time I went to the park on a Saturday of a holiday weekend there was a three hour wait for GhostRider and almost everything else had a one to two hour wait. This was in 2000 or 2001 and was Veteran's Day weekend, but I assume that Memorial Day weekend will be similar. If that is the case, you will have a hard time getting on ten rides during the whole day (I managed six or seven with only three of those being roller coasters). If you go on a different Saturday, it will be crowded but you should have enough time to get on everything. Knott's rarely gets lines over an hour when they are running rides at capacity, even in the summer (except on holiday weekends as previously mentioned).

 

Regardless of when you visit, it is always a good idea to ride GhostRider first if you want to ride it. That ride seems to give the best rides in the morning because it hasn't warmed up yet, therefore it is running slower and smoother. It doesn't have as much airtime in the morning, but I personally prefer a ride with lower roughness and less airtime to more airtime with high roughness (the airtime difference isn't that great, anyway). Afterwards, I usually go to Pony Express, Sierra Sidewinder, Silver Bullet, Xcelerator in that order. After finishing those five, you can kind of do everything else in whatever order you want.

 

On a Saturday, the above will usually work, but you may wish to switch it around to Sierra Sidewinder, GhostRider, Pony Express, Xcelerator, Silver Bullet because Sierra Sidewinder has the lowest capacity of those five and is right by the entrance while Silver Bullet (usually) has the highest capacity. Also, Pony Express isn't worth riding if the line is more than ten minutes even if you need the credit, but fortunately it usually takes people around a half-hour to get back to that area of the park. Even so, if you really want to ride it but don't want to wait in a long line save GhostRider for later and head to Pony Express immediately after Sierra Sidewinder.

 

I do not know if the park will be running one or two trains on the rides, but when I visited earlier this month it looked like Silver Bullet, Pony Express, and Xcelerator had a train in maintence. To be safe, I would say count on one train on those three, although Silver Bullet and Pony Express may have finished work by now. Xcelerator's second train wasn't even present so I doubt they're ready to start using it again yet. Fortunately, Xcelerator has the fastest moving one-train operation line in the park (in my experience). Just don't wait for the front car.

 

Good luck with getting on everything you want to whenever you go. The park hasn't really added anything you must ride since Silver Bullet opened, but I highly recommend Sierra Sidewinder if the line isn't too bad.

[Aaronkv]

Thanks for the info! I was talking about next weekend not this. I'm going sat June 5th, Probably shouldn't put a date on it my bad. I'd never step foot into a park on a holiday weekend. Did for cedar point opening year of TTD on July 4th and it wasn't too bad though. But back then compared to other parks they ran the rides really well!

 

The info you gave me still applies to my sat visit I'm sure. I remember Xcelerators line not being bad even with 1 Train op. I could pass on Pony but if its short I'll give it a go, but i do want to ride Sierra Sidewinder. Ghostrider pretty much sounds the same way as I remember it, in terms of line length. I don't mind the roughness, even coasters like Psyclone (RIP) never hurt me much. Maybe it's just how I ride them, or that I like it that way. Woodies are by far my favorite style. Hope I can get everything done and get a night ride on Ghostrider to cap the day off.

 

But I will probably ride them in that order you suggested, Thanks for the long and detailed reply! Not something like; Its' going to be busy, ride Ghostrider first.

[CreditCrazy]

I scrolled back a few pages and didn't find anyone that went to the park recently on a weekend to see if stuff is running one train (on the weekends) or how busy it is and whatnot, I know it will be busy but I hope not as busy because school will still be in session.

 

I'm pretty sure Knott's is still running one train on the major coasters (actually it was just Xcelerator and Silver Bullet; Ghostrider ran two) on the weekends...or at least they were on 5/16.

[Calicoasters]

Silver Bullet and Xcelerator will be operating 1 train. Xcelerator only has 1 train, and Silver Bullet's A train is still in rehab. I believe Pony Express is now operating two trains again (if anybody cares) and I heard that Perilous Plunge might actually have both boats going this weekend... I will believe it, when I see it.

[Quicksilver04440]

2 boats

[atem122]

Silver Bullet and Xcelerator will be operating 1 train. Xcelerator only has 1 train, and Silver Bullet's A train is still in rehab. I believe Pony Express is now operating two trains again (if anybody cares) and I heard that Perilous Plunge might actually have both boats going this weekend... I will believe it, when I see it.

2 boats?! I didn't even know Knott's did that anymore! I've always wondered though...how do they transfer the other boat on and off the track?

[fatdaddy]

..and can you get me the recipe for Mrs. Knott's fried chicken?

[gforce532]

So Xcerlator's red train was scraped after the incident? I find it interesting how pieces of the body are just lying around under the coaster, because it still fits the theme of the ride. It makes me wonder if knotts is going to buy another train sometime in the future.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Look, its Snoopy's Fun Wheel! Hahahaha

Weeeeeeee (Knott's Berry Farm Twitter)

[fatdaddy]

Planning to go check out that light show saturday, i figure i run the kids all over hell during christmas to see lights, might as well go see this too, might actually be cool. In any case the kids can ride some stuff and daddy can get some berry punch.

[fatdaddy]

OK, the snoopy lights were pretty cool, but they played havoc with my camera.

[attachment=0]snoop flower.JPG[/attachment]

[gforce532]

Police fire on suspected burglars in parking lot at Knotts Berry Farm.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/knotts-berry-farm-shooting-police-pursuit.html

 

I know the Buena Park area is not the greatest but I never heard of anything like this ever happening at Knotts. Aparently if you have an SUV, your back seat is worth alot on the black market.

[Mechanic]

I'm all for the police stopping bad guys from committing crimes, but does anyone else feel it's maybe just a bit overboard to be firing shots and engaging in a high speed chase over stolen SUV seats? The article states that the fleeing suspects struck a vehicle during the chase, and lord knows where the bullets that were fired ended up. By no means do I think thieves should be given a pass and be allowed to continue stealing, but I think the policies in place for dealing with a situation like this may need to be reviewed with the officers involved. This absolutely could have been handled WAY better than it was.

[willh51]

So Xcerlator's red train was scraped after the incident? I find it interesting how pieces of the body are just lying around under the coaster, because it still fits the theme of the ride. It makes me wonder if knotts is going to buy another train sometime in the future.

 

Any update on this? I'm sure they'll get a second train. I just assumed they scrapped the body, which they've done before I believe (unless they just repainted one).

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Red train has not been scrapped, its being refurbished. Knotts had to order a new/refurbished front car chassis. In fact the park just received it a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

 

http://www.westcoaster.net/updates.php?updateCD=071310&page=5

[Crazy4Coasters!]

Hello amigos, I was trying to find on the Knott's website how much a "after 4pm" ticket cost. I probably missed it cause I'm blind as a bat when it comes to finding stuff like this.

[gforce532]

They still have it listed at the ticket booths out front for like $27.

[fatdaddy]

Can't you still get discount tickets at Ralph's or something?