The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread

[Lucas The Drummer]

1 hour ago, KBrylczyk said:

Since they've yet to announce anything, I'll give you solid 50/50 odds on that.

 

3 hours ago, ytterbiumanalyst said:

Hmm...you're assuming this year will be like previous years.... Let's think about why that might be a problem.

That's fair. Just trying to get an idea since I'm trying to book stuff now and don't wanna go too early! It's hard to tell whether they'd expand or reduce the event year due to the circumstances

[Animal]

18 hours ago, Jew said:

I would actually be super disappointed if knotts got a boring B&M as the ride they possibly snake around the park.

Give me a Mack or Intamin instead!

 

Since it opened I have been envisioning Knotts getting something similar to Copperhead Strike…. hopefully a bigger faster version

[ytterbiumanalyst]

14 hours ago, Animal said:

Since it opened I have been envisioning Knotts getting something similar to Copperhead Strike…. hopefully a bigger faster version

I would love for them to call it Copperhead Strike, put it exactly where Sierra Sidewinder is, and keep the exact same logo except for the name, all just to mess with people.

[jackinbox]

On 6/29/2021 at 5:35 PM, ytterbiumanalyst said:

Hmm...you're assuming this year will be like previous years.... Let's think about why that might be a problem.

Cedar Fair has already said the Haunt is returning this year for Kings Island and Cedar Point.  I don't see why Knott's would be any different.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Hmm...let's think about why California might be different from Ohio, this year especially....

[coasterlvr]

As part of the 100th year anniversary, Knott's is burying a time capsule!  Theme Park Review was invited to the park to see the festivities.   Deputy Mayor Milton C. Howell and Ms. Cameo Kate presided over the show.   The Time Capsule is scheduled to be opened in 50 years on June 30, 2071.   Items were placed into a large boysenberry jam barrel.  First, Whittles came out and put the first item into the barrel, a golden nugget.  Next, Knott's associates were led on stage by Snoopy.   One by one, they each placed an item(s) into the barrel.  Finally, a picture of everyone watching the ceremony was taken that will be placed in the capsule as well.  The capsule is going to be buried in front of the new ride, Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair.  

 

We received a nice booklet with a timeline of Knott's 100 year history.  

 

 

 

 

Whittles brought a gold nugget.

 

 

Banner with employee signatures.

A tube from Soak City.

 

Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner menu and pie pan.

 

Seeds and a jar of dirt from Knott's berry vines. 

 

The girls took off their garter belts and put them in the time capsule. 

 

A harness from the Stage Coach.

 

Snoopy put a Snoopy plush into the barrel.

 

A piece of wood from Ghostrider. 

 

A box of screws from Ghostrider.

 

A bottle of disinfectant and box of gloves.

 

A roll of toilet paper.

 

Kids from The Boys and Girls club of Buena Park.

 

Sealed and ready to be buried.

 

 

 

 

[Animal]

Is the spot where it’s going to be buried marked?

[coasterlvr]

8 hours ago, Animal said:

Is the spot where it’s going to be buried marked?

not that i know of.  they didn't say anything except in front of the ride.  there are a couple planters there, so i assume it might be one of them.  i'll be checking when i visit.  i thought they were actually going to bury it as part of the ceremony, but they just put that stuff in the barrel, which, i'm not even sure that's what they are going to actually bury.   to be honest, i looked at their announcement, and it just says it will be placed at the entrance.  so maybe it will just be sealed and out in the open?  

[Nrthwnd]

Maybe they'll  put the filled barrel on display in front, with a sign explaining it all.

 

[Rusty Nail]

Does anybody know what happend to Hangtime, its been closed for more than 2 weeks now?

[thrillseeker4552]

Strange. My hunch is "routine maintenance" but that doesn't seem likely, given it's the middle of summer and the park just came out of a 14-month closure.

Literally a zillion rides around the country have broken/derailed/got stuck/etc. the last couple weeks so I guess HangTime was feeling left out. 

[SharkTums]

^Yeah. These rides are all a mess from not running normal for almost two years now.  Add to that reduced staffing and other drama with shipping, parts availability, etc. and it's not the best summer for parks.  We just have to try and be positive and hope that things are back to more normal by next year. 

[coasterlvr]

Xcelerator has been down the last couple days as well as Hangtime.  Also, if you come, show up at 9-9:30.  If you don't get ready to wait in this line to get in.  



The line to get in stretches the length of the marketplace, then, turns and heads down to the south parking lot.  It's been like at least the last three days.  Oh, this is at around 11:20-30 when I've been leaving.  

[KBrylczyk]

Seriously, how do people not just turn around and go home?  If I saw that awaiting me I'd know full-well that the day would be horrible.

[clem2754]

Not at the park but I saw a posted wait of 190 minutes of GhostRider. It is a great ride but no where near a 3 hour plus wait. 

[Manic Monte]

^ Yeah, about that "boring" B&M. Knott's is one of those parks that could use another capacity machine.

[Satans Hockey]

Apparently was a drive by shooting near the entrance of the park, the park confirmed there was an incident and someone getting hurt, hope they are ok. This caused some panic at the park with people running to the exits and even jumping the fence to leave cause they thought there was an active shooter. 

 

[CedarFlags]

5 hours ago, Manic Monte said:

^ Yeah, about that "boring" B&M. Knott's is one of those parks that could use another capacity machine.

OMG, YES!  I can't believe that 3 of the 4 major coasters have such garbage capacity.  GR, HT, and Xcel can only do about 500 riders per hour on a good day.  I was really disappointed to see how slow the ops are on Hangtime.  They bought 3 trains and literally never use the 3rd one because the rides stacks with 2 trains nearly every cycle.

[coasterbill]

So why exactly does Ghostrider have bad capacity? 
 

I’m just curious since I’m not that familiar with the park and it doesn’t seem like a wood coaster with Millennium Flyer trains should be that atrocious.

[coastercoaster5]

5 hours ago, coasterbill said:

So why exactly does Ghostrider have bad capacity? 
 

I’m just curious since I’m not that familiar with the park and it doesn’t seem like a wood coaster with Millennium Flyer trains should be that atrocious.

I think it's a few things. First, the fact that it runs 2 trains. Second, it takes a second for the train on the brake run to actually enter the station as the first one departs. This does not add a ton of time but over the course of a day it certainly adds up. Last, there are no lockers and so loose articles, seatbelts and restraints at a family oriented park can really just take awhile. The ride is also long and could truly benefit from 3 train operations (though i'm not sure if it ever has/could)

[ryder]

I cannon see how running 3 trains on GR would be of any help.  Even with only trains, it always stacks.  It wouldn't make a lick of difference in terms of capacity.

Honestly, I think GR runs about as well as it can.  Biggest holdups are Fastlane people and the guests themselves:  not fitting in the seats, not putting away loose articles, etc.

Also, gotta say my hearts go out to all the people in the park last night, both guests and employee.  Looks traumatizing for no real good reason (at least inside the park). 

[CedarFlags]

6 hours ago, coasterbill said:

So why exactly does Ghostrider have bad capacity? 
 

I’m just curious since I’m not that familiar with the park and it doesn’t seem like a wood coaster with Millennium Flyer trains should be that atrocious.

Really slow dispatches and the fact that it was built to run 3 trains but now only runs 2.  So, even if the dispatch times in the station do pick up, there's a long wait for the other train to return.  The new trains lost a few seats compared to the original ones (24 vs 28).  Coastercoaster5 is also right about the brake run.  They did tweak it slightly after opening, but it's got a very weird program and it takes a good 20-30 seconds for train 2 to get back into the station once train 1 leaves.   It's also a ride that would REALLY benefit from lockers because the loose item cubbies are very small and there's always a ton of cross traffic for them.

 

47 minutes ago, coastercoaster5 said:

The ride is also long and could truly benefit from 3 train operations (though i'm not sure if it ever has/could)

It does have a midcourse block brake on the turnaround above the station, so it's definitely possible.  Just not practical unless they can get dispatch times down to like 80-90 seconds.

[KBrylczyk]

52 minutes ago, CedarFlags said:

It does have a midcourse block brake on the turnaround above the station, so it's definitely possible.  Just not practical unless they can get dispatch times down to like 80-90 seconds.

Not anymore.  That's the exact reason the capacity went to shit.  They removed the MCBR and now the train in the station must wait for the train on the track to clear the final brake run before it can dispatch.  It's a blessing and a curse.  Blessing because we get the incredible airtime back for the second half.  A curse because a three-train wait is now a half hour.

[coasterlvr]

2 hours ago, coastercoaster5 said:

I think it's a few things. First, the fact that it runs 2 trains. Second, it takes a second for the train on the brake run to actually enter the station as the first one departs. This does not add a ton of time but over the course of a day it certainly adds up. Last, there are no lockers and so loose articles, seatbelts and restraints at a family oriented park can really just take awhile. The ride is also long and could truly benefit from 3 train operations (though i'm not sure if it ever has/could)

that train takes a while from a dead stop.  could use a push wheel for sure.  operators having to buckle an empty seat takes some time.  people getting in and out and retrieving  or leaving personal items is a huge time waster.   

[thrillseeker4552]

4 hours ago, KBrylczyk said:

Not anymore.  That's the exact reason the capacity went to shit.  They removed the MCBR and now the train in the station must wait for the train on the track to clear the final brake run before it can dispatch.  It's a blessing and a curse.  Blessing because we get the incredible airtime back for the second half.  A curse because a three-train wait is now a half hour.

They actually added the MCBR back sometime in 2018 or 2019. It doesn't grab the train, so you roll right through it and the ride hasn't changed. But the brake fins are there.

Even on the original GhostRider, they almost never dispatched a train while the other was finishing the course - it still stacked. I think the decrease in train capacity from 28 to 24 riders actually makes quite the difference. If they removed the cubbies and mandated locker use, that would help significantly with the stacking. They can still dispatch a train before the train clears the final brake. It just can't drop off the lift until then (assuming the "new" MCBR is just a trim, though it looks like it can easily stop the train in the event of an E-stop).

Ideally we would have three trains, no seat belts, and mandatory lockers. But that won't ever happen...