The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[Nrthwnd]

How should the lines be September 1st Thursday? Dead?

Any chance Ghostrider or any rides go down for maintenance then?

 

In the past, Ghostider has gotten some maintenance time in the weeks leading up to haunt, but it's hard to say how it's going to run now post-renovation.

 

But, GhostTown Alive continues through Sept 5th, so I doubt GR would be down until after then.

 

And not until after Sept.11 (after WCB), I'm hopin'.

[Mr. Corn]

Not complaining or anything, but does anyone know why they decided to change the raft slide from that Python lookin one to the typical raft one?

[coasterlvr]

How should the lines be September 1st Thursday? Dead?

Any chance Ghostrider or any rides go down for maintenance then?

 

In the past, Ghostider has gotten some maintenance time in the weeks leading up to haunt, but it's hard to say how it's going to run now post-renovation.

 

But, GhostTown Alive continues through Sept 5th, so I doubt GR would be down until after then.

 

And not until after Sept.11 (after WCB), I'm hopin'.

 

normally, it's been closed for WCB. but, it's also not run a whole year yet since refurbishment. i'd guess it will be open.

[Arthur_Seaton]

I bought a CF Platinum pass as I knew I’d be hitting several CF parks over the summer and promised myself that I’d cram a few visits to Knotts in during the fall and winter to get my money’s worth. Aside from a brief visit to process my pass a month or so ago, I hadn’t spent much time at the park outside of Halloween events — which are really all about the mazes — for several years. While only visiting sporadically since the late ‘90s, I’ve ridden everything there a number of times and so the pass was never really worth it to me for Knotts alone. When I visited a few weeks ago, the place was packed so I took a quick ride on Silver Bullet and the new Ghost Rider and then bailed. I’ve always enjoyed Silver Bullet but I was a little disappointed by how tamed Ghost Rider felt in comparison to what it was in its prime. Anyhow, today I decided to bunk off from work as I checked online and it looked like the place was dead. I arrived about 2:30pm and planned on maybe staying until 6pm, but I ended up staying until the park closed at 8pm. Everything was a walk-on all day — even Ghost Rider at one point, with 20 minute-waits later on. The result is that I got to experience the park in a way that I usually miss when attending the Halloween event and was able to pay closer attention to the rides. Because the place was so quiet, ops were not only allowing instant re-rides — they were challenging guests to see how many consecutive rides they could take, doing a fantastic job of accommodating anyone who showed up at the turnstile with riders wanting to go for another spin. As the result, I got a ton of rides in.

 

Xcelerator (11 rides)

 

Mid-afternoon, this was pulling a 2-train wait at most. Later in the afternoon, it was so quiet that the ops were encouraging riders to marathon it. I managed 7 consecutive rides and was able to enjoy Xcelerator in a way that I hadn’t in years. I’ve always considered it to be the most intense ride in the park but I haven’t ridden it for some time as the place is usually too busy. I rode Top Thrill Dragster a few weeks ago for the first time (which I loved), but Xcelerator feels considerably more powerful to me. Perhaps it’s the downscaled elements and the relatively short launch track, but whereas TTD was rendered intense mainly due to its height, Xcelerator’s launch feels far more like a slingshot to me. Also, and I don’t recall this from the years prior, but the train blew over the top hat producing far more ejector air than I ever recall it doing. I grey out embarrassingly easy with positive g-s, but I felt myself slipping from the negative g-s going over the peak that lasted all the way down the other side; the top hat made me feel instantly dizzy several times. In relation to TTD — which crawls over the top by comparison — Xcelerator’s top hat was very intense today. I don’t know if anything’s changed over the years — or perhaps it’s because I haven’t ridden it in such a long time — but it seemed like a new ride today. Still smooth, still extreme, and still very fun. Better than I remember it! 10/10

 

Silver Bullet (5 rides)

 

I’ve always loved this ride. I remember when it opened how disappointed coaster fans were by it and how it was often pegged as “forceless” in relation to other inverts. I’ve never quite understood that as I’ve always found it quite forceful (especially the final helix). Because this ride rarely develops a long line, we usually ride it at haunt so I wasn’t quite as estranged from it as I was Xcelerator. While I know folks find the first drop to be lame, I can’t say that I find many B&M invert drops to be that exciting to begin with so part of me enjoys that gradual slope down as, once you hit the loop, the forces kick right in immediately. Plus, the over-banked dive turn is one of my favorite elements on any B&M and I find that it carries the same disorienting and stomach-lifting feeling of a good zero-g. Also, I think the pacing of the ride is excellent (it’s more than just a catalog of inversions), and although I haven’t been on that many B&M inverts (several Batman clones, Banshee, Raptor), it’s my favorite of the ones I’ve ridden. 9/10

 

Ghost Rider (7 rides)

 

When I rode it a few weeks ago while picking up my pass, I was taken aback by how different it felt. Today I was able to pay closer attention and ride it in different seats to get a better perspective. Mid-afternoon, I got three consecutive rides as the station was empty (it broke down and I just happened to walk by when they opened it back up). Later, the line filled maybe two switchbacks on the top floor. By night time, the line was at the bottom of the stairs in the lower level of the station, but even then, it only took 20 minutes to get on.

 

A few new observations: I don’t know enough (anything, really) about coaster physics / engineering to say for certain, but I hypothesize that the weight of the old trains produced greater momentum in the drops with greater lag climbing out of the drops. In other words, the ride feels to me like it’s lost some of the speed dynamics that it once had while still retaining the same overall speed; the speed changes, now, aren’t quite as abrupt as they were. Of course the reduced roughness also makes it feel far more disciplined, and both of these changes are obviously for the best to preserve the structure. With that said, I did find that toward the end of the day, the ride loosened up somewhat and started to feel a little more like the old Ghost Rider. My last ride was at night, in the back seat with hands up, and it felt almost as out of control as the ride did in the past. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I couldn’t help but think that the new version is settling in a little more now and is starting to regain some character. As far as airtime goes, I went full-nerd and took mental notes: In the front seat, there’s great floater air on the second hill and the hills before the final helix. The first bump after “the drop” would probably eject you out of the train if you had no restraint. In the back: solid floater on the second hill, and solid ejection on “the drop.” The first drop had some floater air in the back seat, but not much. The first drop overall is a bit of a waste. It’s not pitched steep enough to push you forward and it pulls out quick to accommodate that turn at the bottom. It's a shame they didn't reprofile it to make it more exhilarating, but it still gets the ride off to a good start. Also, I seem to recall the drop back into the structure coming out of the first turn around over Beach Blvd as having some air in the old version, but that’s a bit of a dead zone now. Laterals are still present in both the upper and lower Beach Blvd turns and very much so in the helix. The laterals, however, are comfortable so I suspect that they might not feel as aggressive as some would like. To be honest, I'd love to see parts of the ride enclosed — especially that final helix as there's not exactly much to look at and it doesn't take that turn too fast. Darkness would certainly give it more of an edge.

 

So, where I was disappointed when I rode it a few weeks ago, I do think the original “spirit” (sounds lame, I know) of the ride is still there. The re-tracking / re-training is obviously going to help keep the ride around for years to come, and it’s elevated in my mind now to something closer to what it was in its first years. If you ride it, my suggestion is ride in the back, at night, with arms up. Some of the old craziness returns when you do that but without any of the pain. Still one of the best wooden coaster layouts I've ridden. 8/10

 

Montezooma’s Revenge (4 rides)

 

Always loved it; always will. I used to ride Thunder Looper at Alton Towers when I lived over there, so this one’s special for me. The station was desolate, so the ops would tell people jump back on again. I love the catapult feel of the launch; it’s not instant like Xcelerator, but it doesn’t take much to get you to full speed and you can feel the mechanism let go quite early in the launch, underscoring the sensation of being catapulted into the circuit. The loop makes me start to grey out when I sit toward the front of the train (lame, I know) but I find that all seats are good on this one. Schwarzkopf FTW. 8/10

 

Jaguar (1 ride)

 

I haven’t ridden this since it opened years ago. It was actually fun to revisit as I’d forgotten how crazy-elaborate that queue line is — similar to The Mummy at Universal. I seem to recall the ride being kind of rough in the past but it wasn’t bad at all today. It’s a weird coat-hanger layout and, at time, feels more like park transport than a coaster. Even though its a once-and-done kind of ride, I quite enjoyed it. 6/10

 

Boomerang (1 ride)

 

NOT as bad as I recall or anticipated. I’ve been on far too many of these rides and, not only do they tend to bash your head in, they’re kind of boring too. The head banging wasn’t bad here — just going in and out of the boomerang inversion itself. The ride looks great — nice, bright paint job to fit the area. Still, it’s more of a once-and-done in a lifetime than a once-and-done in a visit. 4/10

 

Coast Rider (1 ride)

 

I rode this when it opened as well and recalled enjoying it the first time I tried it. I don’t know if it was braked more this time — or perhaps I preferred my initial introduction because it was nighttime — but it was just boring today. Heavily braked before the turns so the typical wild mouse effect was sort of neutralized. A solid coaster for the kids though and they were eating it up (well, the few kids that were there). 3/10

 

Sierra Sidewinder (1 ride)

 

I also rode this when it opened and never rode it again, but I do recall thinking that it was more intense than it looked the first time I tried it. My opinion was basically the same today: for a spinning coaster, it’s a nippy one with some forceful moves packed into it. It’s a great design and sits nicely in the little area that’s carved out for it. The last spinning coaster I rode was Whirlwind at Seabreeze and I really liked that one too. Before that, it was Pandemonium at SFOT but I think this is a much better ride than Pandemonium overall. I was kind of happy that my car didn’t spin that much as craning your neck to see what’s coming up on this can prove painful if you take a tight turn at the wrong angle. I did, however, see a couple of cars that were spinning like crazy. Fun ride that I still contend is gnarlier than it appears. 7/10

 

Pony Express (1 ride)

 

There’s a pattern developing here: I rode this when it opened and never returned to it again — largely because when I do visit Knotts, the line for this is longer than the track. It was fun to re-ride it today after not having been on it for so long, but there’s really nothing to it. Although I’m no fan of gimmicky ride positions (especially B&M stand-ups and flyers), this one isn’t too uncomfortable and riding an extended and heavily themed version of this concept might be fun. In fact, were it to be maybe four times as long, with multiple LIM launches instead of the one flywheel, interacting more with the rapids ride, I think it’d be killer. As it stands, it’s cute but that's about it. 5/10

 

Timber Mountain Log Ride (1 ride)

 

Still impressed by this every time I ride it. There’s so much detailed packed into this ride, and the balance between old-school and updated animatronics / sets is really special; you can’t help but notice a million new things every time you ride. The ride itself is such a great layout, and the overall effect of the mountain and immersion makes it one of the best log rides there is. It lives up to all the hype for pure fun and history, but I do wish they’d return to transforming it for Halloween as log rides during Haunt was always one of the season's highlights. 9/10

 

Supreme Scream (1 ride)

 

I’m no lover of drop towers but I will ride them. In the past, I found SS to be pretty thrilling. But then, once I’d ridden a few of the gnarlier drop towers in existence (Lex Luthor for example [but honestly, the ones at Scandia and Knoebels are the most horrifying to me]), SS was filed as “tame” in my mind. I rode it on my last brief visit and found it a little more intense than I remembered. Today’s ride felt more like a fun, so it’s back to “tame” in my mind, but still worth a ride for the view alone. If you hate drop towers, this is actually a good one to break through your anxiety. 6/10

 

La Revolucion (2 rides)

 

I think I rode this many years ago but I’m not quite sure. Anyhow, I don’t usually like spinning rides but I quite enjoyed MaxAir and Delirium when I visited CP and KI recently even though I found both to be more relaxing than thrilling. My new-found enjoyment of spinning rides meant that I had to revisit this one — and I loved it. To be honest, I found it more intense than the CP and KI spinning discs although the feeling of speed or height that you get on those wasn’t really present here. To me, this was a good mashup of the CP/KI style disc crossed with a giant swing like Skyhawk. This didn’t make me dizzy at all, and the zero-gravity effect was pronounced. Really fun and I'll elevate it to a must-ride for subsequent visits. 7/10

 

So, what was originally going to be a quick spin around the park ended up being a solid afternoon of coaster riding. I’m really glad I bought the pass because it made my summer trip worthwhile and it was especially good to get to revisit Knotts in a way that I feel like I’ve skimmed for some time. The place looked fantastic (except that area by the mine ride which has always looked “under construction” to me), the staff were really friendly, and operations were solid throughout. The level of detail in Ghost Town now is impressive, so hopefully they'll be able to carry that into other areas of the park that would benefit from a new coat of paint. Of course, the big highlight today was that the place was so empty, so I’ll be sure to try and hit a few more dead days before the year’s out.

 

A few pics, but not many:

This was right after the ride re-opened following a breakdown. There were very few people around at that point.

This picture shows most of Pony Express' layout.

The paint looks great on Boomerang and makes Xcelerator's paint look a bit sad.

I don't recall Xcelerator taking the top hat as fast as it was today — but I'm probably misremembering it.

Great views and a relatively tame ride.

I remember when this opened and recall thinking even then about how well done the entrance was.

Marathon time on Xcelerator.

This is a very photogenic ride, but you've seen them all at this point.

Ghost Town was a ghost town.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Arthur_Seaton

[laqueefa]

Great report! Thanks

[scottiemon]

Loved the report. I have not been in a few years, and your report has given me some inspiration to get there. BTW...have you eaten at Portillo's?

[coasterbill]

This picture shows most of Pony Express' layout.

 

Haters will hate but Pony Express is awesome.

[Arthur_Seaton]

Loved the report. I have not been in a few years, and your report has given me some inspiration to get there. BTW...have you eaten at Portillo's?

 

Thanks! And no, I haven't eaten at Portillo's. To be honest, I rarely eat at theme parks.

[Domm]

Awesome report!!

 

Looking forward to my trip on Thursday afternoon now.

 

Quick question: I am going down and staying at Knotts from Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning. We're considering going to Disney/CA Adventure on Friday 8/26 and then Knotts again on Saturday 8/27.

 

I'm not sure how Disney Crowds will be on Friday and the price tag is steep, we have also never been to Soak City. Any recommendations whether it's worth a visit over Disney considering current crowds etc.?

 

Thanks!

[Arthur_Seaton]

^ Hope you have as much luck as I did!

 

Re: Soak City — I've never been, so I've no idea. I'm sure others here can help, though. There's a lot going on at Disney so I'd be inclined to say maximize your time there. Unless something happens crowd-wise at Knotts, I'm not sure you'd need 1.5 days there. Granted, my report above comes from the position of just riding the rides. If you wanted to take in shows, eat food, and soak up the atmosphere, it'd take more time and effort. Also, the amount of rides I clocked in is largely because the ride-ops were allowing instant re-rides.

[VegasBaby]

Silver Bullet (5 rides)

 

I’ve always loved this ride. I remember when it opened how disappointed coaster fans were by it and how it was often pegged as “forceless” in relation to other inverts. I’ve never quite understood that as I’ve always found it quite forceful (especially the final helix). Because this ride rarely develops a long line, we usually ride it at haunt so I wasn’t quite as estranged from it as I was Xcelerator. While I know folks find the first drop to be lame, I can’t say that I find many B&M invert drops to be that exciting to begin with so part of me enjoys that gradual slope down as, once you hit the loop, the forces kick right in immediately. Plus, the over-banked dive turn is one of my favorite elements on any B&M and I find that it carries the same disorienting and stomach-lifting feeling of a good zero-g. Also, I think the pacing of the ride is excellent (it’s more than just a catalog of inversions), and although I haven’t been on that many B&M inverts (several Batman clones, Banshee, Raptor), it’s my favorite of the one’s I’ve ridden. 9/10

 

I don't get the hate for Silver Bullet either. It's one of my favorite inverts, I've got it ranked behind Alpengeist/Montu and Raptor. The layout is fantastic, I love the Cobra Roll over the entrance, and I grey out almost every time on the final helix. Plus, I've found it to be the best crew at the park, so the line always moves quick.

[Guy T. Koepp]

^ I like the ride a lot as well.

 

My problem is, I really hate the location. It was just slapped in on top of the lake, and destroys the ambiance of Ghost Town. Theme wise, it doesn't jive with it's location.

[scottiemon]

Loved the report. I have not been in a few years, and your report has given me some inspiration to get there. BTW...have you eaten at Portillo's?

 

Thanks! And no, I haven't eaten at Portillo's. To be honest, I rarely eat at theme parks.

 

It is not in Knotts. It is about a mile and a half away. Italian Beef sandwiches, great burgers and hot dogs. Check it out! You will thank me later!

 

PS..do a search here on the forum for Portillos. Many have posted.

[DILinator]

Count me in as another person who really liked Silver Bullet! It's no Banshee, Alpengeist, or Montu, but after that, it's in the mix with the rest of the B&M Inverts I've ridden, and definitely better than the Batman clones IMHO! I actually like its placement over the lake there, and think that's one if its best "selling points". However, I never saw the park before it was there, so I can understand if it kind of destroyed the ambiance of what was there before, damaging it in the eyes of regulars.

[coasterlvr]

Loved the report. I have not been in a few years, and your report has given me some inspiration to get there. BTW...have you eaten at Portillo's?

 

Thanks! And no, I haven't eaten at Portillo's. To be honest, I rarely eat at theme parks.

 

It is not in Knotts. It is about a mile and a half away. Italian Beef sandwiches, great burgers and hot dogs. Check it out! You will thank me later!

 

PS..do a search here on the forum for Portillos. Many have posted.

 

since i live about 3-4 miles away, i eat at portillo's a decent amount. always a good go to spot in the area of mostly chain type places. portillo's while a chain is unique to so cal.

[tanthonyam]

Knott's has announced the new mazes for 2016 Scary Farm.

 

 

https://www.knotts.com/scaryfarm/rides-attractions?ctg=New-Mazes

[Arthur_Seaton]

Knott's has announced the new mazes for 2016 Scary Farm.

 

 

https://www.knotts.com/scaryfarm/rides-attractions?ctg=New-Mazes

 

I was scoping out some of the props from the lift hill of Ghost Rider a couple of days ago and saw all the Paranormal Activity stuff getting loaded in. Glad that one's back as it was last year's highlight along with Tooth Fairy. Sad to see Forevermore gone though although I guess it overstayed its welcome. Is it me or do they have fewer mazes this year?

[Jew]

If you counted Infected as a maze last year, then they do have one less since that has moved from camp snoopy to Mystery Lodge. No transformation for the Log Ride and Mine Ride as well.

 

Otherwise it's the same locations they've used the last few years, which is less than years prior when the bumper cars, Balloon Race, stagecoach trail, and Fiesta Village stage were maze locations.

[CedarFlags]

^ I like the ride a lot as well.

 

My problem is, I really hate the location. It was just slapped in on top of the lake, and destroys the ambiance of Ghost Town. Theme wise, it doesn't jive with it's location.

 

Agreed. It's kind of an odd ball that doesn't really belong in GhostTown or Fiesta, though it goes through both.

 

But the cobra roll at the main gate is spectacular.

[thrillseeker4552]

I wonder what we'll see in the dry park in 2017, if anything. Normally they make that announcement in November, but I imagine we will see something in addition to Soak City next year. I'd love to see a new flat ride or two; the park really needs that at the moment!

[CedarFlags]

Knott's has announced the new mazes for 2016 Scary Farm.

 

 

https://www.knotts.com/scaryfarm/rides-attractions?ctg=New-Mazes

 

I was scoping out some of the props from the lift hill of Ghost Rider a couple of days ago and saw all the Paranormal Activity stuff getting loaded in. Glad that one's back as it was last year's highlight along with Tooth Fairy. Sad to see Forevermore gone though although I guess it overstayed its welcome. Is it me or do they have fewer mazes this year?

 

Well, the new key rooms are kind of mini mazes. From a guest perspective, it will be interesting to see if it feels lacking, but from a production standpoint: each one of them requires sets, costumes, props, lights, audio, talent... it's actually a lot more work to make them standalone experiences than to have them attached to mazes.

[tanthonyam]

I feel like these new Key rooms are a way of adding new mazes but require to pay an upcharge. So will we be seeing less big mazes and more of these in the future at the park?

[Jew]

^Or you can look at it as they are looking for ways to maximize the value of Skeleton Key to sell more, which in turns means more budget for the event. Voodoo and Paranormal Inc are probably the two nicest mazes ever done, so if that's what it takes for them to up their production value, I'm all for it!

[Guy T. Koepp]

^Or you can look at it as they are looking for ways to maximize the value of Skeleton Key to sell more, which in turns means more budget for the event. Voodoo and Paranormal Inc are probably the two nicest mazes ever done, so if that's what it takes for them to up their production value, I'm all for it!

[Mr. Corn]

Just was at the park all day! Super awesome and not that crowded, be on the lookout for a TR soon! If anyone has anything specific they'd like to see in it, PM me or comment, because I got photos of almost all the park