The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[IamDolfin]

Removed.

Edited August 30, 2018 by IamDolfin

[grsupercity]

Dueling Boomerang. Neat.; A standard boomerang that duels with with an Inverte boomerang would be even neater

[thrillseeker4552]

Boomerang duels with Invertigo duels with GIB.

 

I think we finally found Knott's 2018 plans. You heard it here first.

[Canobie Coaster]

Dueling Boomerang. Neat.; A standard boomerang that duels with with an Inverte boomerang would be even neater

 

Come to SFNE. If they time dispatches right, you'll get your wish.

[Skittles]

Hey guys! Just got to the park entrance, and the park itself opens in half an hour.

 

Here's the view I have right now

 

Just trolling, this is Google Earth Street View. I'll give you a REAL pic

 

[VegasBaby]

Hope your day at Knott's goes as well as your day at SFMM yesterday. You should go straight to GhostRider at opening and then head to the back corner of the park for Xcelerator and Boomerang. Knott's has some great rides and I think your top ten will have to be adjusted again after your visit!

[CrazedZooChimp]

Just made a last-ish minute plan to head down to Knott's the last weekend of the Boysenberry festival! I assume it's going to be super crowded, yeah? Any guesses is Saturday or Sunday is more likely to be busy (22 or 23). I was guessing Sunday just because it's the last day, but...

[VegasBaby]

Just made a last-ish minute plan to head down to Knott's the last weekend of the Boysenberry festival! I assume it's going to be super crowded, yeah? Any guesses is Saturday or Sunday is more likely to be busy (22 or 23). I was guessing Sunday just because it's the last day, but...

 

According to Is It Packed, it looks like the 23rd will be less busy than the 22nd, so I would go on the 23rd. In my experience, I have also found Sundays to be less busy than Saturdays and Sunday mornings can be pretty dead.

[CrazedZooChimp]

Just made a last-ish minute plan to head down to Knott's the last weekend of the Boysenberry festival! I assume it's going to be super crowded, yeah? Any guesses is Saturday or Sunday is more likely to be busy (22 or 23). I was guessing Sunday just because it's the last day, but...

 

According to Is It Packed, it looks like the 23rd will be less busy than the 22nd, so I would go on the 23rd. In my experience, I have also found Sundays to be less busy than Saturdays and Sunday mornings can be pretty dead.

 

Yeah, that's usually my rule of thumb too. Being the last day of the festival is what worried me. Eh, I have a platinum pass, maybe I'll swing by Sunday morning too on my way back up to NorCal.

[Skittles]

Taken a break for lunch, and I've got great news for you guys.

 

The park is EMPTY today! It's friday, and the lunch crowds haven't come in yet, so I have yet to wait more than 10 minutes for something. I've gotten on every coaster except for Timberline Twister because of the height requirement, but because I'm gonna get some re-rides in, I'll review the 9 coasters later. But seriously, everything was walk-on to 5 minutes except for Silver Bullet which was close to 10 minutes.

 

 

UPDATE - It's now 12:20, and the lunch crowds came in. GhostRider got up to 60 minutes, everything else is pretty high, and Xcelerator broke down

[SoCalJasonland]

It got busy Friday later on. I left at 2:30 and everything had a line, including every flat ride.

 

Sol Spin has some new fencing up and they were working on it.

 

The new shin guards on Coast Rider are pretty tight but didn't seem as bad as SFMM Full Throttle.

 

Since they didn't repair the lining in the old splashdown pool this season; I wonder if coaster footings will end up in the pool?

Sol Spin getting close; I hope

Sol Spin getting close; I hope

Closed Friday, not good

Not much going on here with new restaurant

New shin bars on Coast Rider, are slightly more comfortable than Full Throttle

New shin bars on Coast Rider, are slightly more comfortable than Full Throttle

Never repaired lining in splashdown pool

Could we see coaster footing in here?

[thrillseeker4552]

Thanks for sharing photos. Sol Spin is looking good! I'm going to the park this Tuesday with my school and I'm crossing my fingers for it to open, but I doubt it. I'll likely be back the following Sunday anyway to say farewell to Boomerang, so maybe it'll be open then.

 

As for the pool, I wouldn't look too far into it. While it's a possibility they could add footers there, Knott's has been focusing so much on aesthetics and "charm" over the last 5 years, I just can't see them plopping footers into one of their most photogenic areas of the park. But who knows...

 

EDIT: Also, I wonder what the deal is with the restaurant. Maybe they are planning for some kind of late summer/fall opening? Granted, the park has been crazy busy with other projects this year (particularly Sol Spin and Soak City), but pretty much no visible progress has been made on the restaurant for SEVERAL months now. I guess time will tell.

[Skittles]

We are back with our trip report from Knott's Berry Farm! Let's get started.

 

1. Xcelerator - While it may be only 30 seconds long, it's a darn great ride! That launch flies like hell, the drop off of the top hat had some nice airtime, the overbanked turns are sheer madness, and there's not a dull moment on the ride. I gotta say that this is an underrated coaster. By far the best launched coaster in California, mainly considering the only launched coaster I have yet to ride in California is Manta at SWSD. Xcelerator was even so good, it managed to move up to #4 on my rankings! 9/10

 

2. GhostRider - By far the second best coaster here got a #8 spot in my Top 10 Rankings out of the 42 I've ridden. Many people considered it one of the roughest coasters ever in its early stages, and I guess the improvement helped, because this thing is SMOOTH! I was caught a bit off guard when I realized there were no brakes at the MCBR, so the second half was aggressive! Good airtime, good laterals, great wooden coaster. Gold Striker is still my personal favorite though. 8/10

 

3. Montezooma's Revenge - Yeah. Call me crazy, but I prefer Monty to Silver Bullet. Just like Xcelerator, it's only 30 seconds long, but darn great 30 seconds! It really blew me away! That launch is really good, the loop was forceful, and while it's not the best shuttle coaster in California (I prefer Superman), it's definitely the second best. 7/10

 

4. Silver Bullet - It may not be one of B&M's better rides, or even in the Top 3 at the park, but it was still a fun ride. It's not forceless like people say, it had some good moments, but overall it did feel a bit meandering at times. The drop was also underwhelming as well, as many people have stated, haha. Still, I would give it a solid 7/10.

 

5. Sierra Sidewinder - While it is a family coaster, I didn't expect it to be such a hell of a lot of fun. My two rides had very different experiences. One was a bit dull, but the other was INSANE with its spinning! I was very satisfied with this one. 7/10

 

6. Boomerang - I particularly wasn't too fond of this one, mainly because there was a noticeable contrast in smoothness between this one and the one at Discovery Kingdom. However, I'm glad I got 2 rides in on it because it's going away soon and I'll never ride it again. I'll probably say that I miss it the next time that I go, but at least the future is looking promising. I also do overall like Vekoma Boomerangs more than others. 6/10

 

7. Coast Rider - It's not quite as good as Psycho Mouse, mainly because Psycho Mouse is an Arrow and doesn't have the new shin guards. However, I do like Wild Mouse coasters. The hairpin turns are fun, and I liked the drop right away after the lift hill. 6/10

 

8. Jaguar - I could have easily put Pony Express above it, but I'll talk about Pony Express below this. Jaguar may be the least interesting coaster, but you get some really nice views, and it's a nice old ride. 5/10

 

9. Pony Express - Mainly I have Pony Express here because of how basic it is. Jaguar has at least nice views, but Pony Express doesn't really have anything else going for it besides the gentle launch and seating position. 5/10

[thrillseeker4552]

^Nice report. I agree with pretty much everything you said. Sierra Sidewinder really is a "hidden gem" in the park; I've had some insane rides on it in the back car.

 

Random thought about Boomerang replacement that just occurred to me. I'm not sure how good Cedar Fair's relationship with Gerstlauer is (although CW did just get a flat from them), but I think a 4-car infinity coaster (like Smiler, but with lap bars and less loopy) could work well. Gerstlauer has been making some good stuff lately with Monster and Gold Rush, and something like that could certainly fit in the Boomerang/Riptide plot. Just more food for thought.

[joelwee]

Maybe it was just the spot I was sitting in, but Ghost Rider rattled like a jackhammer when I rode it a few weeks ago, but my relatives who rode right in front of me said it was super smooth. I still enjoyed it, but I had a headache when I got off.

 

On a different topic, does Knott's Boomerang have an Arrow train? It has that same boxy appearance that Viper's trains have, and I've seen pics of other Boomerangs whose trains were smoother-looking.

[Canobie Coaster]

Yes it is an Arrow train. I've found the boomerangs with the Arrow trains tend to be among the roughest.

[KnottsBerryMountain]

I think Knott's waits till after Spring Break to repaint the pool for Boardwalk Pier.

[Rill'o'beily]

Looking at sol spin is somehow so odd after seeing all these other "old" topscans and now seeing the sort of "new gen" which mondial hasn't even advertised really it just is. Like while it definitely looks like a topscan you look at it and go "somethings just not right"

[SoCalJasonland]

I think Knott's waits till after Spring Break to repaint the pool for Boardwalk Pier.

 

They drained it this winter for several weeks so I thought that they just skipped the relining. I guess it could come later but I am being hopeful here.

 

Ouch, Ghostrider is 2-hour wait today and Xcelerator is still closed.

[thrillseeker4552]

I wonder why Xcelerator has been closed. I assume it's for maintenance (probably on the trains, since it has been running both of them pretty consistently since November), but the park is usually pretty good at listing maintenance closures on their website. Hopefully it's open by Tuesday when I go.

[SoCalJasonland]

Does anyone know the hours or when the Boysenberry Festival food stands are not busy? I was trying to figure out if the food would be ready at park opening at 10 am or do they wait to serve food until later?

 

Also, Xcelerator has re-opened.

[VegasBaby]

Does anyone know the hours or when the Boysenberry Festival food stands are not busy? I was trying to figure out if the food would be ready at park opening at 10 am or do they wait to serve food until later?

 

Also, Xcelerator has re-opened.

 

Great news on Xcelerator, I am headed to the park on Friday and was starting to get worried. As for the Boysenberry Festival food stands, my experience has been that they were open when the park opened at 10am.

[thrillseeker4552]

Good to hear Xcelerator is back. I guess it was just some quick maintenance. Heading to the park tomorrow with some friends and we're counting on riding Xcelerator!

 

As for Sol Spin, my guess is it will open up this weekend. Fencing around the ride is up, and the sign and queue is all ready to go. It's been testing consistently for 2 weeks or more now. I guess at this point it's just cleaning up and finishing touches. It would be great if they could get it open right at the tail end of the Festival.

[thrillseeker4552]

Went to the park yesterday. No photos, but just a few notes.

 

Coast Rider's leg restraints suck. I'm 5'9" and 175 lbs and didn't have too much of an issue, but if you are over 6-feet or have remotely long legs, you will hate them. It sucks to see yet another neuter to an already neutered mouse. And they make you carry all of your belongings on the ride Disney-style (which is usually a great thing), but the cars were already cramped as is, so there is even less room to put a bag at your feet now. Overall a terrible addition... I wish I could say they're temporary, but it's obvious that these are here for the long run. Ugh.

 

I saw Sol Spin test a few times. It's looking ready. I peaked through the construction walls and caught some glimpses on Silver Bullet and Jaguar. The fencing is all done, the area has cleaned up, and it should be opening really soon now hopefully. The park said on Instagram that it will open "later this Spring," but who knows what that means. I doubt it will open this weekend. My guess is either the weekend of the 29th or the weekend of the 6th.

 

Xcelerator is back open with both trains running. Hopefully this continues throughout the summer. Doesn't help capacity a ton, but it's still nice.

 

GhostRider is still smooth as ever and running two trains. And operations weren't terribly slow!

 

4 DAYS LEFT OF BOOMERANG! Thank goodness. I took a ride in the front seat, and it was just as bad as before... especially backwards through the cobra roll. Not gonna miss this ride at all. Well, maybe the color scheme. It sure does look nice. Hopefully whatever they add next year is just as aesthetically pleasing.

 

That's it for now. No major news, but I'll be back this Sunday to check out more of the Festival (hours were cut short yesterday and we didn't get a chance to get the tasting card), and if all goes well, I'm planning on being on one of the last trains ever of Boomerang. I'll definitely put a report together if that is the case.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I'm sooo glad I got that Coast Rider credit, back during WCB'16 weekend!

Sorry to read it's probably more painful than before, when I rode it. Sadly,

it was somewhat painful back then, and I was 5'8" 200 lb.