The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[coasterfreak101]

They should just give everyone a parachute.

 

"In the unlikely event of a water landing, the seat cushion can act as a flotation device."

[azza29]

^Every time I see that phrase, I think "that is the most optimistic sentence ever written..."

[deathbydinn]

They should just give everyone a parachute.

 

Sky Jump 2.0?

[GayCoasterGuy]

The new paint job on Boomerang looks great! Does Ghostrider still have the orange light strip along the course? I gotta get back there.

[154bmag]

They should just give everyone a parachute.

 

"In the unlikely event of a water landing, the seat cushion can act as a flotation device."

"Well I'm be damned, my seat cushion, that's just what I need, to cling to a pillow full of beer farts"--George Carlin

[coasterbill]

So my girlfriend and I went on vacation to LA / Hollywood / Santa Monica last week (we're from NY and wanted to go to the west coast) and while we were there we spent a day at Knotts and a day at Magic Mountain. I know California isn't the most popular place in the world on these boards but we actually had a great time out there (and at both parks). I figured I'd give a mini-trip report.

 

We were both blown away by Knotts. The park is much smaller than we thought it would be but it's very nice and feels a lot like a family owned park. I think Magic Mountain had better coasters but we had a lot more fun at Knotts. The horse drawn carts and mine ride were very nice surprises and I was very impressed by Silver Bullet (we rode it in the front which may have helped) and Pony Express as I went into these rides with absolutely no expectations. Xcellerator was also great (as we expected) but I think our favorite ride was Montezooma's Revenge. I knew this ride was very popular with enthusiasts since it's a classic but didn't really expect it to be as forceful and fun as it was. The loop is really intense and the pull outs on both drops are very tight (almost RCT like). I liked the coasters a lot but this place was more about the theming and atmosphere than the rides themselves.

 

Operations were pretty solid, I like the fact that the ride attendants wear themed uniforms and they seem to be pretty quick when loading and unloading trains. I know it's a common complaint that this place has lost some of it's charm but as a first time visitor that purposely did as little research as possible on the place before our trip I have to say this place feels nothing like a Cedar Fair park and is still very "charming". We'll definitely be back.

[rcdude]

I went to the park for a few hours after class today just to see how everything is going at the park and to get my coaster fix. Unfortunately, today was Physics Day so I encountered more crowds than I expected (mainly for the coasters) and a ton of high schoolers, but it was still a pretty good day.

 

A few notes:

 

-Although not listed on the website, High Sierra Ferris Wheel, Red Baron, and Waveswinger are currently closed for maintence (in addition to Timber Mountain Log Ride and Windseeker).

-GhostRider, Pony Express, and Sierra Sidewinder were each running two trains today. Jaguar!, Silver Bullet, and Xcelerator only had one due to the second being in maintenance.

-Boomerang has reopened. Also, all pathway construction is now done so there are no blocked off areas in the park.

-Windseeker is still closed, but it was moving up and down the tower throughout the day. I'm guessing it will probably reopen in the near future (possibly in time for Spring Break).

-Based on the current state of construction, I'm guessing Coast Rider will go vertical in 2-3 weeks. The other two rides probably won't be put up until mid-late April.

-Today's Rides: GhostRider, Montezooma's Revenge, Pony Express, Sierra Sidewinder, Xcelerator, Calico Mine Ride, Hat Dance, Supreme Scream, Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars

 

Here are the photos I took today. Some are construction photos and others are just ones I happened to take while walking around.

Third visit of the year to Knott's. Today it was overcast and threatening to rain, but luckily it stayed dry all day.

Well, I could have picked a better day to visit. Fortunately, only a few attractions were affected and everything else remained a walk-on.

First, lunch. Pink's has somewhat become my standard lunch location at Knott's for two reasons: 1. I like it better than almost anything inside the park, and...

2. It's cheaper than anything inside the park. While $10 is still high for a counter service restaurant, when it costs $8 just to upgrade to a combo inside the park it isn't too bad.

I love being able to visit Knott's and ask for a Coke without receiving a reply of "Is Pepsi ok?"

While having lunch, I noticed Windseeker moving up and down the tower. It did this a couple times during the day.

Time to ride Silver Bullet...eh, never mind.

This ride may be old and outdated, but it is still a classic that should not be missed by first time Knott's visitors. Plus, today it had no wait.

Last time I visited, this walkway was closed, but it has since re-opened.

But this ride hasn't. I know it's not a very popular attraction, but I'm surprised it has taken more than a month to refurbish a Ferris Wheel.

High-schooler antics. I doubt KidTums would approve.

Not many parks still have barrel bridges. It's nice that Knott's has kept things like this around.

What happened to all the Physics Day students? I thought they were supposed to be riding coasters and collecting data. I guess they're all still in line for Silver Bullet.

Take a look at this picture of Hat Dance and try to figure out what is wrong with it. Here's a hint: blue, green, red, yellow.

Windseeker's new evacuation system. I'm not quite sure how it will work, but hopefully it will prevent any more guests from being standed for several hours.

Knott's other swing ride is down for maintenance as well.

Timing practice on Jaguar. I think it turned out pretty well.

Slightly off on Silver Bullet, but still a decent shot.

One day, this may be true again. We shall see...

The park itself was dead today. It was just a few select coasters (namely Boomerang, Jaguar!, Silver Bullet, and Xcelerator) that had lines.

Speaking of Boomerang, it certainly stands out a lot more with its new colors.

It had a bit of a line today. Either it was required riding for Physics Day or people think it's a new coaster.

After seeing it in person, I will say this about the colors: Blue Boomerang > Green Boomerang >>> Purple Boomerang

I do somewhat wish they had repainted the train as well, as it doesn't look as good being the same shade as the track, but whatever. The ride still looks better than it did previously.

Now for an update on this part of the park.

Foundation work has begun for the two flat rides.

This will be the location of Surfside Gliders.

In a couple months, Pacific Scrambler will stand here.

At the north end of the site, footer work is just about done for Coast Rider. If they want to get the area open by Memorial Day, I'd expect the ride will go vertical by the end of the month.

In other news, a new garden has been planted under Boomerang where the remote controlled racecars used to be located. It looks nice.

What's this? Supreme Scream is actually using all three towers even though it is a walk-on! That's a rare sight, indeed.

I heard people saying Tower of Terror was taller than this. Um...yeah, no.

Ending the day with a ride on the best attraction in the park. Placing 44th in the 2012 Mitch Hawker Steel Poll, Xcelerator is one of the best coasters on the West Coast.

The line was about 30 minutes or so, but the ride is totally worth it (this is the one ride at Knott's I'm still willing to wait more than 15 minutes for even though I visit monthly).

The second train will probably be out of commission for a bit. If you are visiting Knott's over the Spring Break period, do Xcelerator first. It is not a Fast Lane attraction and capacity isn't that great with only one train.

And I'll end with a photo of the Physics Day activities. That's it for this visit. Hopefully next time there'll be Coast Rider track to see.

[jray21]

Thanks for the update! Great to see all the progress in the park.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Thanks for the update. Great to see one of my favorite parks looking good!!

[cmullin]

Great update! I think Boomerang's new look is sexy!

[cfc]

The flowers under Boomerang certainly look a lot better than the remote-control cars.

[TopThrill182]

I see Mondial sub-contracted TOGO to design and build Windseeker's evacuation contraption? haha That has got to be one of the strangest / ugliest amusement park-related devices I've seen in quite some time... I certainly hope they store it far, far away from anywhere within public view.

 

And I still don't understand why it's even necessary. Shouldn't the ride feature some sort of emergency release button / setting that would allow the gondola to fall slowly to the ground? After all, I'm unaware of any drop towers that feature this sort of thing...

 

I'm actually a big fan of Boomerang's new colors, though, and I love how a flower bed has replaced the RC cars.

[Lareson]

I see Mondial sub-contracted TOGO to design and build Windseeker's evacuation contraption? haha That has got to be one of the strangest / ugliest amusement park-related devices I've seen in quite some time... I certainly hope they store it far, far away from anywhere within public view.

 

And I still don't understand why it's even necessary. Shouldn't the ride feature some sort of emergency release button / setting that would allow the gondola to fall slowly to the ground? After all, I'm unaware of any drop towers that feature this sort of thing...

 

I'm actually a big fan of Boomerang's new colors, though, and I love how a flower bed has replaced the RC cars.

 

Reason why it looks "ugly" is for support and stability. Don't want the platform to be shaking and moving while you're doing an emergency evacuation. Would cause the guests more discomfort than they already could be in. It'll more than likely be stored in an easily accessible area, although unsure where that'll be at Knott's.

 

Windseeker is different than a drop tower if it has to do an emergency descent. Drop towers actually have a resting position at the bottom of the towers so it sits on the ground so then if it does have to do a slow descent, it has a spot to rest on. With the way Windseeker is, it doesn't really have a resting position like a drop tower due to the counterweight system and is also a heck of a lot more complicated than a drop tower system. That is also why an an "emergency release" isn't possible without causing the whole system to come crashing to the ground. It's basically a giant elevator, to put it simply.

 

Because of the stalling, it actually seized the whole system so even if they had a descent button, they couldn't do anything until whatever was causing it was fixed. This is what I heard, they never released what was the true cause other than the ride e-stopped itself and they couldn't get the system restarted until quite sometime after it happened.

[thrillseeker4552]

At first I was very disappointed that Knott's blew their chance for a large coaster (Did you know that they actually were going to? They had the markers and everything!) but they chose the family rides instead. Now that I think about it, the park looks a whole lot better than it did a year ago. Glad they chose to improve the park rather than just a coaster. It really does look beautiful!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

I see Mondial sub-contracted TOGO to design and build Windseeker's evacuation contraption? haha That has got to be one of the strangest / ugliest amusement park-related devices I've seen in quite some time... I certainly hope they store it far, far away from anywhere within public view.

 

And I still don't understand why it's even necessary. Shouldn't the ride feature some sort of emergency release button / setting that would allow the gondola to fall slowly to the ground? After all, I'm unaware of any drop towers that feature this sort of thing...

 

I'm actually a big fan of Boomerang's new colors, though, and I love how a flower bed has replaced the RC cars.

 

I'd rather have a the evac platform look the way it does then not have one and be stuck up there...

 

At first I was very disappointed that Knott's blew their chance for a large coaster (Did you know that they actually were going to? They had the markers and everything!) but they chose the family rides instead. Now that I think about it, the park looks a whole lot better than it did a year ago. Glad they chose to improve the park rather than just a coaster. It really does look beautiful!

 

Again, if the parks wants to build some giant coaster, they can and will when they want to. There is plenty of room. The park does looks beautiful though!

[cfc]

I'm glad that they're whipping the park back into shape again. Getting rid of Perilous Plunge, which I always found to be an ugly looking ride, was a step in the right direction. What they're doing to the Boardwalk looks promising,

[skydye]

From what Knott's network is reporting... They are going closer to opening windseeker.

[G-Force!]

Supports for Coast Rider are now being unloaded into the holding field across the street. There were quite a few trucks and a crane taking them out of the shipping containers, but I didn't see any track yet. That said, vertical construction will start soon.

[thrillseeker4552]

Awesome! Can't wait to see pictures of vertical construction. Because of the compact size this ride should be built fairly quickly.

[XYZ]

I better head down soon as I'm sure Coast Rider will be built quickly.

[thrillseeker4552]

While we're on the subject of Coast Rider, does anybody know the hourly capacity for these types of rides (Ricochet or Fly)? I know it isn't much but does anyone know an approximate number?

[Lareson]

Capacity for Coast Rider, I'm gonna say it's going to range anywhere from 300-500 per hour, depending on how many cars are in operation and how efficient the crew is running it. It's not that great, but that's generally how many people Wild Mouse style coasters can handle per hour.

[Randomman295]

This is a bit off topic, but I have a trip planned next Monday or Tuesday to stop by Knott's. I haven't been there in a while and have a few questions:

• How good of condition is Ghostrider in? I remember it being incredibly rough, but I haven't heard recent talk about it being all that bad, so I might give it another chance to see if it can make it off of my bottom ten. Is it worth the wait and possible headache?
  
• I'm definitely going to see if I can nab some construction photos of Coast Rider, but I want to know: Is it against the park rules to do so? I don't want to break any rules.
  
• I think next week isn't spring break for Cali, but I want to make sure. I want to prepare for large crowds, so I need to know ahead of time how busy it's going to be.
  
• Any new rumors about the dippin' dots guy?

[Nyteowl]

This is a bit off topic, but I have a trip planned next Monday or Tuesday to stop by Knott's. I haven't been there in a while and have a few questions:

• How good of condition is Ghostrider in? I remember it being incredibly rough, but I haven't heard recent talk about it being all that bad, so I might give it another chance to see if it can make it off of my bottom ten. Is it worth the wait and possible headache?
  
• I'm definitely going to see if I can nab some construction photos of Coast Rider, but I want to know: Is it against the park rules to do so? I don't want to break any rules.
  
• I think next week isn't spring break for Cali, but I want to make sure. I want to prepare for large crowds, so I need to know ahead of time how busy it's going to be.
  
• Any new rumors about the dippin' dots guy?

Rode Ghost Rider two weeks ago towards the back. It's definitely still rough, but i think it's bearable so if you're up for it go for it . They have viewing holes for the Coast Rider construction and you can also view it from the sky cabin so I would assume it's not against park policy to take pictures. My High School and many in the area do not start spring break until the week after next (March 25th on) So I wouldn't expect large crowds, however I'm not sure if colleges are out yet so beware of that.

[Musketeer]

This is a bit off topic, but I have a trip planned next Monday or Tuesday to stop by Knott's. I haven't been there in a while and have a few questions:

• I think next week isn't spring break for Cali, but I want to make sure. I want to prepare for large crowds, so I need to know ahead of time how busy it's going to be.
  

 

I know the UC schools (UCLA/UC Santa Barbara, etc.) have spring break next week. It seems to be pretty scattered for spring breaks here in California this year. Mine isn't for another three weeks (Cal State schools!) and I have some friends on break right now, while my old high school is out in two weeks. I think it will be a little more busy for the next few weeks but not unbearable!