The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[JRice92]

This news is very exciting, when they announced the comprehensive restoration this is exactly what I wanted to hear. Don't know when I make it out Knott's but I'm looking forward to the day to ride Ghostrider.

[PixelRush]

Wow, those trains are so beautiful

[PixelRush]

Finally!!!! Not only will removing the mid-course break make Ghostrider insane again,

Thank you for paying attention to this thread.

 

It's "BRAKE" not "BREAK"

 

brake

noun

1. a device for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, typically by applying pressure to the wheels.

"he slammed on his brakes"

 

break

verb

1. separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain.

"the rope broke with a loud snap"

TBH, Ghostrider's brake run would probably be called "break" run because it kind of breaks the excitement xD

[robbalvey]

TBH, Ghostrider's brake run would probably be called "break" run because it kind of breaks the excitement xD

I get the jokes and all, and like I said, it's just a pet peeve of mine. I sort of feel that people who are going to speak with any sort of "authority" on a subject matter aka "theme park enthusiasts" should at least know how to properly spell the terms of the things they are trying to speak about, that's all.

[RideWoodenCoasters]

Taking a break, I read about Ghostrider’s brakes. While the brakes no doubt helped the track break less, the break in the ride’s pacing broke the flow of the ride (coaster braking always breaks flow for me). Getting a break from riding GR doesn’t break my heart if it means the brakes (except for blocking purposes) will be gone! Break’s over…got to put the brakes on the fun for now!

 

 

(credit if I got this right to the Electric Company and Sesame Street, my teachers)

[glucky11801]

TBH, Ghostrider's brake run would probably be called "break" run because it kind of breaks the excitement xD

I get the jokes and all, and like I said, it's just a pet peeve of mine. I sort of feel that people who are going to speak with any sort of "authority" on a subject matter aka "theme park enthusiasts" should at least know how to properly spell the terms of the things they are trying to speak about, that's all.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you Robb! This drives me crazy!!!

[G-Force!]

Im suprised no one mentioned this yet but technically we are losing a car lenght on the new trains from what I can see. I dont know the weight difference between PTCs and MFs but it could make a slight deviation in ride time and feel. Thoughts?

[VegasBaby]

The GhostRider announcement was about as good as I could've imagined, short of RMC putting topper track on it (which we all know wasn't going to happen). Love that they are replacing the trains with new MFs and they look great in the renderings. But the best news of all is the removal of the MCBR! It's going to be great to fly through the course again without coming to a complete stop. Hopefully the retracking/reprofiling turns out to be a long term solution and GR rides great for years to come.

 

Not so excited about the Ghost Town Alive announcement though. I wasn't too bummed to lose Screaming Swing since it was an upcharge attraction that had very little traffic, but I was hoping to get some sort of flat or a new & improved Haunted Shack. Maybe the GP will enjoy it, but I sure won't be spending my day wondering around the barber shop and playing poker with the Sheriff. Knott's is short on space to begin with and I hate seeing wasted on something like this.

Edited November 4, 2015 by VegasBaby

[Wingwright]

Finally!!!! Not only will removing the mid-course break make Ghostrider insane again,

Thank you for paying attention to this thread.

 

It's "BRAKE" not "BREAK"

 

brake

noun

1. a device for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, typically by applying pressure to the wheels.

"he slammed on his brakes"

 

break

verb

1. separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain.

"the rope broke with a loud snap"

 

Hey man... losen up!

 

 

Couldn't help myself

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Curious, if they're removing the mid-course brake, why three trains? Are they just going to perpetually keep one in storage all the time?

 

Well, they can't run with 3 now, so the only reason to have 3 still is to always have one being refurbished. Meaning they should always have the option of running 2 when needed. Also, Ghost rider hasn't run 3 trains in years, and though I think this redo will bring new traffic to the ride, I don't think it'd warren't keeping the MCBR and allowing 3 train operation. I think this is a good trade off, because the best type of trim brake is no trim brake!

[Imagineer Josh]

Finally they cut some slack and called GCI. Now it won't be such a rough ride

[MIAfan88]

Very nice adjustments to the area. I wonder if Cedar Fair is taking their time with Ghost Rider, to see if it would work on Mean Streak. Mean Streak has a much larger structure, so they want to start small.

[CrazedZooChimp]

Im suprised no one mentioned this yet but technically we are losing a car lenght on the new trains from what I can see. I dont know the weight difference between PTCs and MFs but it could make a slight deviation in ride time and feel. Thoughts?

 

Yeah, typically MFs are 12 cars (24 riders), while the PTCs on GhostRider were 7 cars (28 riders). I would guess in the MFs could be a little lighter, but maybe not since they have things like the individual lap bars that I assume require more mechanisms inside and extra wheel sets since it's two riders per car. Those could add up to counter-balance the loss of four seats. They do tend to dispatch more quickly than PTCs thanks to those individual restraints, so hopefully there won't be any (or not much) loss in capacity, at least.

[coasterkid124]

MFs are definitely a lot lighter. And since they are trailered, they will not shuffle as much as traditional PTCs do. Hopefully with this more extensive retracking, it won't turn into Gwazi 2.0

[Condor]

Very nice adjustments to the area. I wonder if Cedar Fair is taking their time with Ghost Rider, to see if it would work on Mean Streak. Mean Streak has a much larger structure, so they want to start small.

 

The difference with Mean Streak is that it was never at any point the same class of coaster as Ghostrider. Ghostrider is a once great ride that is being restored to its former greatness. Even when it was fairly new back in the 1990s Mean Streak was only at best an average wooden coaster and not something worth restoring. If Cedar Point does anything at all with Mean Streak, it needs an RMC conversion to be a worthwhile investment, not a re-track with new trains and some profile tweaks.

[MisterP]

No midcourse break means...

 

While this isn't directed specifically at you, since I've now seen this a few times recently in this thread...

 

It's "BRAKE" not "BREAK"

 

 

When I rode it in June, the midcourse brake was the best part of the ride because it provided a midcourse break from the torture...

[PaTim]

MFs are definitely a lot lighter. And since they are trailered, they will not shuffle as much as traditional PTCs do. Hopefully with this more extensive retracking, it won't turn into Gwazi 2.0

 

 

Surprisingly Millennium Flyers are heavier on a per-axle basis than PTC's. There was a video somewhere in which Chris Gray from GCI discussed the challenges of adding MF's to Wildcat, with the biggest one being finding places to shave weight off of each car so the weight of the entire train would not exceed that of the PTC it was replacing.

[VCXfreak]

Holy Crap, Ghostrider is going to be kick arsh again! The ejector air time in the back with no MCRB is gonna be relentless. I can't wait opening day.

[robbalvey]

Im suprised no one mentioned this yet but technically we are losing a car lenght on the new trains from what I can see. I dont know the weight difference between PTCs and MFs but it could make a slight deviation in ride time and feel. Thoughts?

Yeah, I did see that. It's kind of a shame. I will say that the two CCI's I've ridden with the 7-car PTC's - Ghostrider and Tonnerre De Zeus did seem to have quite an edge to them that the 6-car rides didn't have. I don't know how much of that has to do with the train or the layout of the ride, but I know that those two coasters were two of my top favorites of the time, and that back car ride was quite something!

 

I'll say it again, as much as I'm 100% on board with a full restoration of Ghostrider, there is part of me that is going to be a bit skeptical of this. Gwazi and Wildcat didn't come out the way people had hoped. Boulderdash after it's refurb on the other hand is AMAZING, but again, it also runs the PTC trains still.

 

I really, REALLY want to be more excited about this as Ghostrider is one of my all-time favorite rides and I would like more than anything for it to be back to how it was on December 8th, 1998. But I'm not sure if this is going to fix it long-term, fix it short term, or change the feel of the ride to the point where it's not as forceful as it once was.

 

We'll just have to wait to see on opening day.

[cfc]

I really, REALLY want to be more excited about this as Ghostrider is one of my all-time favorite rides and I would like more than anything for it to be back to how it was on December 8th, 1998.

 

I would like to experience what this ride was like in its heyday. All I've ever ridden is painful GhostRider.

[Meteornotes]

Original Ghostrider was on of the best coasters on the planet. The rides we had at the nighttime ERT at the first Solace are still among the best rides I've had on any coaster anywhere. To be able to get rides like that again would be amazing. But like Robb, I'm skeptical, mainly because of how other rehabs/new trains have worked out. I'm really hoping for the best here, though. Would love to see people experience the "real" Ghostrider, and not the pain machine it's been for so long.

 

dt

[Superbatboy]

The original Ghostrider was phenomenal, it was the best ride in California for a while. Then I remember riding it circa 2003 and felt like something was really off, the ride hasn't been the same since IMO.

[viking86]

We'll just have to wait to see on opening day.

 

Wait, you're just gonna wait and see? I thought coaster enthusiasts were supposed to have a strong opinion on what a ride is going to be like long before opening...

 

But yeah, I do understand your concern considering how not all refurbs have been successful. I guess in the end we'll just have to wait and see...

[DJeXeL]

I really, REALLY want to be more excited about this as Ghostrider is one of my all-time favorite rides and I would like more than anything for it to be back to how it was on December 8th, 1998. But I'm not sure if this is going to fix it long-term, fix it short term, or change the feel of the ride to the point where it's not as forceful as it once was.

 

Same here. We will just have to enjoy it.........while it lasts.

[vacoaster09]

Original Ghostrider was on of the best coasters on the planet. The rides we had at the nighttime ERT at the first Solace are still among the best rides I've had on any coaster anywhere. To be able to get rides like that again would be amazing. But like Robb, I'm skeptical, mainly because of how other rehabs/new trains have worked out. I'm really hoping for the best here, though. Would love to see people experience the "real" Ghostrider, and not the pain machine it's been for so long.

 

dt

 

Did Knott's specify what kind of wheels the new Flyers will run on. I am curious whether using the same wheels that Woden at Europa Park uses would make a difference in terms of keeping the ride smooth over time and avoid the same fate as Wildcat and Gwazi... How has Woden kept up in terms of smoothness?