Knoebels, Hershey, Morey's Piers, Photo Trip Report

[Jcoaster]

Okay so this past week my family and I made the annual one week August vacation. We originally planned on going down to Disney or Busch Gardens but due to family matters we had to stay much closer. So instead we did a one week vacation consisting of Lancaster and surrounding area's then a trip to the shore at WildWood Crest.

 

The first park we visited on this trip was Knoebels. We decided to go spur of the moment, we all agreed it would be a good idea since none of us had ever been there. It was a Saturday and our hotel was nowhere near Knoebels so we had an early wake up call and hit the road. The drive over to the park was about an hour and forty five minutes which was pretty manageable since it was scenic.

 

Now for the park itself, I had never been to Knoebels but I had heard nothing but positive things about it ever so I was really excited. The park was filled to the brim but that did not ruin the experience. This place was the real deal. I loved the atmosphere it had of being sort of a permanent state fair. It was clean, nice to look at and had delicious food. Knoebels is definitely on my list of "have to get back to places. Now on to the rides:

 

1. Impulse (1x) 8/10 - We had to wait about an hour for our ride on Impulse since the queue was spilling out onto the midway. The wait was pretty much worth it as it was a short, compact and forceful ride. I tend to enjoy these kinds of rides. Impulse had a bit of a shuffle in some spots but nothing major. I know I said I like short rides but I wish this was a tiny bit longer. Overall really fun though.

 

2. Flying Turns (1x) 8/10 - Another really fun ride, it picks up some serious speed halfway through the course too which had me laughing really hard. I wish I could have gotten more laps. Hopefully I can next time I go back.

 

3. Stratus-Fear (1x) 10/10 - One of the scariest damn rides I have ever ridden. Nowhere near the largest drop tower I've ever ridden but just something about Larson drop towers that scare me. The force on the drop is pretty awesome.

 

4. Phoenix (2x) 10/10 - This ride instantly catapulted itself into my top 10 favorite coasters. Some of the craziest airtime I have ever received on a rollercoaster. Imagine what this thing does for its age. I rode it twice in the very back and the second the train left the lift hill I was out of my seat until I reached the station.

 

5. Twister (1x) 8/10 - One of the strangest coasters I've ever been on. I didn't know much about this ride cause it seemed to gets overshadowed by Phoenix. It had a crazy layout and design which was unique to any other woodie I've ever ridden. I also had no idea it was an in-house project. I was sitting in the queue trying to figure it out while my phone was sitting in my pocket (lol). The ride was pretty fun though, good lateral forces on that helix.

Pretty nice view from the hotel room.

Impulse as you enter the park.

Little closeup

From a distance

The loop was forceful.

Away they go

The pool was packed all day. (Twister in the distance)

The place really was awesome looking. It felt like a real RCT game.

Some lift hills for all you lift hill people out there.

It is about this point on the way up that you start to pray.

After the drop tower we had lunch. This right here is some corn if you've never seen corn before and some Alligator Bites.

Phoenix.

I found Phoenix along with Twister to be pretty tough to photograph.

Brake run.

(H)Airtime.

They're about to have some serious fun.

The structure of this coaster is massive.

This is where you board.

Helix shot from the station. Thats all from Knoebels, stay tuned for Hershey park within the next two days!!

Edited August 24, 2015 by Jcoaster

[boldikus]

Nice report so far. Looking forward to the rest!

 

I've never been and am dying to make a visit to Knoebels, and I love Hershey and Morey's.

[Jcoaster]

Nice report so far. Looking forward to the rest!

 

I've never been and am dying to make a visit to Knoebels, and I love Hershey and Morey's.

 

It is definitely worth the trip man. It is a very unique place with a lot of charm.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Jcoaster

[DoinItForTheFame]

It is about this point on the way up that you start to pray.

 

So freaking true. These style drop towers scare me more than any of the "larger" company drop towers like Intamin, or S&S. But the airtime is some amazing airtime!!

 

Great pictures! Glad you got to enjoy Flying Turns!! Can't wait to see the rest of your trip report!!

[robbalvey]

I found Phoenix along with Twister to be pretty tough to photograph.

They are. You have to be willing to walk pretty far along the ride layout for Phoenix all the way down to almost the turn around to get good first drop or bunny hill pics, and for Twister, you need to go into the campground. They are tough, but there are some decent spots!

[Jcoaster]

I found Phoenix along with Twister to be pretty tough to photograph.

They are. You have to be willing to walk pretty far along the ride layout for Phoenix all the way down to almost the turn around to get good first drop or bunny hill pics, and for Twister, you need to go into the campground. They are tough, but there are some decent spots!

 

Thanks for the advice Robb. Next time for sure.

[Kyle Coleman]

Did you manage to play any fascination? Could almost make a day out of that and of course all of the amazing knoebels food.

[coastercrazi]

hope you had fun! I love knoebels

[thrillrider]

Nice report so far. Can't wait to see the rest.

[gardyloo!]

Great photo's love the angles you shot from impulse!

Love how Knoebles still stands strong against all the other bigger parks.

Can't wait for more

[Jcoaster]

The second park of our 3 park trip is Hershey Park which we all know and love especially if you are from the northeast/mid-atlantic part of the United States. I have been going to Hershey Park since I was a young child so this had to be my 7th or 8th trip and I must say that it gets better every visit.

 

This visit the crowds were manageable. For those who visit Hershey often or have been there before as usual Laff Track and Fahrenheit had the longest waits being about 45 min to about an hour each.

 

The place seems to do everything correct with clean walkways, friendly staff, great atmosphere and an awesome coaster and flat rides collection to go along with it. Hershey over the years has really managed to catapult itself to my second favorite park only behind Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Now enough of my banter and on to the rides:

 

Laff Track (1x) 7/10 : Once we entered through the gates we headed over to the new hotness at Hershey. The wait was about an hour long but that was okay cause it moved quickly thanks to a pretty well done immersive experience by Hershey. Once you enter the building the room filled with mirrors on the queue along with the backlights create a lot of laughs which helps pass the time. The ride itself was very solid (It didn't spin that much which I was perfectly okay with). Just a standard Maurer Sohne spinner but thanks to Hershey they spiced it up a bit creating a better experience. Well done Hershey.

 

Lightening Racer (2X) 8/10 : It is crazy and awesome that this coaster never has a wait. We rode both sides in 10 minutes. I feel like it is a bit forgotten by the GP nestled in the back of the park. Great fun though, nice layout with good speed and some pops of air.

 

Wildcat (1x) 6/10 : I know I posted recently in the Hershey thread saying that I didn't dislike this ride but good god did it beat me up this time. I still love the layout but the execution at this point is lacking. Wildcat is sitting on prime real estate at Hershey who is hard pressed for land (I know they just purchased more but who knows when that will be used) and I wouldn't mind if I saw it RMC'd the future especially with two better GCI's sitting across the midway. Iron Wildcat anyone?

 

Fahrenheit (1x) 9/10 : Besides the bad capacity and brutal wait times, I do really enjoy Fahrenheit. Great airtime on the first drop in the back along with exiting the Norwegian Loop and the last airtime hill at the end. Short, intense and too the point. How I like my loopers.

 

TrailBlazer (1x) 6/10 : What can I say? I'm a sucker for Arrow's. Plus this was my first credit ever so I'm always obligated to take a ride.

 

StormRunner (3x) 10/10 : One of my favorite coasters. Why isn't this ride talked about more? It is so underrated. Doesn't let up from start to finish, great launch with crazy inversions. As far as Intamin Accelerators are concerned this seems like a more complete ride experience. Also you would be hard pressed to find a more unique coaster layout than this one. Oh yea the airtime in the front row isn't bad either . Can't say enough good things about StormRunner.

 

Great Bear (1x) 8/10 : The lone B&M at Hershey which I am perfectly okay with. Inverts along with Dive Machines are my favorite B&M designs. The layout of Great Bear is super unique with some great inversions and intensity in the first half of the layout. Now my only beef with it comes after the flatspin where it seems to fizzle out. I know Hershey had limited space to work with but a bummer nonetheless. I suggest the front row like any other invert. Fun Ride.

 

SkyRush (3x) 10/10 : I will keep this short and simple cause it is my favorite coaster and I could gush about it all day. This is everything I could look for in a rollercoaster. Super fast intimidating lift hill which throws you over an 85 degree first drop...Yea sign me up. Great laterals with insane airtime as well. SkyRush gives you no time to breathe from start to finish and I love every second of it. I know people complain about the restraints and I don't get all the fuss. I understand Intamin's give larger riders a hard time but you can't let that take away from the ride.

 

Comet (1x) 7/10 : Classic fun woodie with some nice airtime spots. I liked how it ran last year better though.

 

Super-Dooper-Looper (1x) 7/10 : Anton!!! Classic ride from the Anton we all know and love but for some reason over the years Hershey insists on trimming this ride to death. Still fun though.

Three cheers for chocolate.

House of Horrors....I mean Laff Track.

This was at the entrance of the queue. Seriously what the hell was Hershey thinking when they decided to use that?

Funhouse Theming.

Thats where the ride starts.

Next up was this gem (Lightening Racer).

Returning racers. Thunder was beating up on Lightening all day it seemed.

Off to the races.

We rode the Ferris wheel and was able to get some good shots as you could see.

Next up was GCI's first creation.

Before the jackhammering.

During the jackhammering.

And after the...You guessed it....Jackhammering.

Now if we could only see "Iron" in front of the Wildcat on that sign.

Next up was that orange thing.

Must be nice to have a coaster element named after you Norway. I don't see any "Staten Island" loops out there. Of course they would be filled with hypodermic needles from south beach and trash from the dump. So better off.

The 347 degree drop. Im serious, thats what it is.

I had this Brontosaurs leg for lunch.

Next up was vertical horsepower. Hey Great Adventure, this what a working duel station looks like.

Abide by the sign or you die.

"Pshhh yea when horses fly."

*Looks to sky* "No way."

Bears also fly at Hershey.

Funky Helix.

We are sorry to interrupt your normal scheduled program to bring you this fried PB&J.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Jcoaster

[Jcoaster]

More Hershey:

Bask in its glory!!!

Anton through the bushes like a creep.

"Loop-De-Loop!" How'd I do Robb?

The park's elder statesmen.

Saved the best for last.

Beautiful.

They have no idea what is about to happen.

There they go...Off to the great chocolate god in the sky.

No doubt my favorite coaster.

Thats all from Hershey. I'll leave you all with this picture of Milton Hershey. Rumor has it he is frozen under the park with Ted Williams and George Washington. Stay tuned for Morey's Piers update in a few days!

[gardyloo!]

You can never have enough of hershey park!

Once again great pics, how were the operations on Skyrush? Just curious if they have improved, cause you seemed positive about the laff trak crew.

[Jcoaster]

^ The SkyRush crew was pretty good throughout the day. The front line was always shorter than the wait for the oher rows but would stagnate after awhile resulting in a longer wait. The line for all the other rows were moving really fast with a 10-15 min wait.

[Jcoaster]

The final park of the trip was the best amusement pier on the Jersey shore and probably all of the northeast/mid-atlantic, Morey's Piers. I have always been a fan of boardwalk amusements, Morey's Piers is some of the first encounters I've ever had with rides as a young'in. I find the tackiness hilarious and ridiculous attempts at things such as dark rides funny as well.

 

Morey's is a rather large boardwalk that is consisted of three piers each with a large rollercoaster to anchor it. I find 2/3 rollercoasters to be bad and or sub-par at best with Great White being the only solid coaster there (The lighting package on all three coasters are bar none though) . But what the place lacks in great rollercoasters it makes up with some of the best flat collections I've ever seen. I have truly been blessed this trip to visit three parks that all hold their own in the flat department.

 

With no shortage of greasy, unhealthy boardwalk foods to choose from and the unlimited ride wristband from 1pm-6pm, I ventured out to take on Morey's Piers in the hot blazing Jersey Shore sun.

 

Flitzer (1x) 5/10 : This was your standard Flitzer that you can find at most small parks and boardwalks around the country. Fun little rides nonetheless.

 

Dante's Dungeon (1x) 7/10 : Good lord. I'm ranking this ride at a 7/10 because of how incredibly bad it is. This is one of those situations where the ride is so bad that it is actually good. It's a classic boardwalk haunted mansion type ride but the affects are so outrageous it is amazing. Rubber monsters that shake and pop out to scare you are just too funny. You could actually smell the rubber from the props when in the building. Smelt like party city during a halloween sale.

 

Great Nor'Easter (2x) 6/10 : They should stop the false advertising and take the "Great" part out of the name. I rode once in the front and once in the back, I don't know how it is possible but I think the new trains actually make this SLC worse than it already was. It was like a car crash (I've been in one before too). The reason I give it a 6 because I've always loved the SLC layout and this one is tucked in between a bunch of rides on the boardwalk so it provides great head choppers.

 

Zoom Phloom (1x) 10/10 : No joke this may be the best ride at Morey's Piers. Besides the no single riders (Which was a bummer but I found a nice couple to third wheel with) the ride is as good as a long flume gets. It was extremely well themed, not only for a boardwalk ride but it was better themed than most log flumes I've been. The ride time is very lengthy and includes two large rather steep drops. A win in my book especially on a hot day.

 

Atmos-Fear (1x) 10/10 : Another Larson drop. This one was just as terrifying as Stratosphere at Knoebels. Atmos-Fear provided great views of Wildwood and the Crest and had a great onboard audio on the way up to boot adding to the ride experience.

 

Rock N Roll (1x) 6/10 : I love Thunderbobs but this one was a little on the weak side.

 

Kong (1x) 8/10 : These flyers were awesome and the giant gorilla climbing the lighthouse in the middle just added to it along with sound effects. It was one of the more popular attractions there I noticed.

 

Rollies Coaster (2x) 6/10 : This Pinfari has OSTR's for what reason? I do not know. I will say this though, this ride is probably better than the Nor'Easter. It does have some pretty fun, steep drops.

 

Sea Serpent (1x) 7/10 : My favorite, most re-ridable (even though I didn't) Vekoma Boomerang out there. It gives a smooth ride and dare I say enjoyable ride?

 

Great White (3x) 8/10 : This CCI creation often flies under the radar. It is a very solid woodie that gives a really fast paced fun ride. There first half of the course is more about speed than airtime but once you round the second turnaround thats when the airtime is provided. In the back row I was catching some pretty solid ejector air. Great White is also pretty beautiful to look at with its location right on the beach, especially at night.

Some..Um...Theming for Flitzer?

There it goes, Flitzing away.

Dante's Dungeon, a must ride!!

Car Crash: The ride

A tangled mess of white steel track.

I will give it one thing, it has pretty amazing head and feet choppers.

The great part about the choppers that adds to this ride is the feeling that you may actually die

Zoom Phloem really was awesome.

Theming

Those two drops are the parts where you zoom.

More theming. The under the boardwalk section after the first drop with the song by The Drifters was pretty cool.

Another Larson Tower with meant more prayers on the way up while riding.

ThunderBobs.

Me Kong! Me Angry!

Doo Whopper was closed but that was okay cause I like the Burger King Whopper better.

Off to the second pier.

While at the second pier I stopped at "Taco Joint" for lunch. Although overpriced, these fish taco's were pretty damn good.

Sea Serpent doing its thing.

Rollies Coaster. Perhaps the most uninspired coaster name ever.

OSTR's for reasons I cannot explain.

The last major coaster of the day, Great White. It doesn't open till 4 o'clock.

Beware of the sharks. I saw them devour 5 small children and one very large child.

Station, only one train ops during the day.

The dive under the boardwalk out of the station provides some great airtime in the back.

First drop.

This is where the real airtime starts on the ride.

Two days later while walking along the boardwalk at night I just couldn't help but to get one night spin in on the Great White.

Bonus points for the monster truck I got in the picture.

Thats all from Morey's concluding this trip report. I hope you all enjoyed! Happy riding everyone.

[boldikus]

Great report, nice photos! I need to get back down to Morey's in the next few weeks before Great White closes for the season.

[Jcoaster]

^ I really enjoy Great White and find it to be a bit underrated. I just wish Morey's would add a new coaster sometime soon. It has been quite some time now. Maybe with Gale Force being added in Ocean City it would force them to step their game up soon.

[ACES]

I watch you tube videos on Wild Cat at Hershey Park. Is Wild Cat really a rough ride? I like the photos.

[Jcoaster]

^ Over the years it has gotten progressively worse. I always hear about how the original PTC trains tore up a lot of the track although I'm unsure how much truth there is to that so don't quote me. I just feel that with Lightening Racer sitting across the midway from Wildcat they could use something else in that spot.