Photo Trip Report: Knoebels and Hershey

[prospekt88]

The plan for this trip was for me and my brother to leave late Saturday morning and hit Knoebels from open to close 2:00-10:00 on Saturday 10/14. Then we would start the drive to Hershey and spend the night somewhere in the middle, finishing the drive in the morning and spending as much time as wanted at Hershey before making the drive back. We did this exact trip a few years ago and the crowds were light at both parks, especially Hershey. But with the unseasonably warm temperatures expecting to be in the mid 70s on Saturday and even hitting the 80s on Sunday, I wasn't too sure what to expect this time around.

 

Day 1

 

That trip a few years ago was our first time to Knoebels, and I have been looking forward to going back there ever since. We left Long Island around 10am and after a quick stop at Dunkin we were on our way. Anyone familiar with the area knows there is no easy way to head west from Long Island through NYC, so we usually allow Waze to choose our fate. We were directed to the inevitable hellhole of the Cross Bronx/George Washington Bridge, and after about 45 minutes of delays we were on the open road heading into the beautiful PA countryside.

 

A little sample of the beautiful scenes the drive to Knoebels offers.

 

We arrived to the free admission gravel parking lot at about 2:15 and were instantly transported to what felt like another era, one that I never had the fortune of living in. With the weather forecast holding true and temps being in the mid 70s with clear skies, the parking lot was already significantly full. As we headed to get our Pay one Price wristband we were met with a line that stretched about 50 yards back from the ticket booth. Damn. Not to be discouraged we decided to start off with something we did not do nearly enough of on our last trip, try all the great food offerrings (I can't think of another park in the country where I would avoid eating food beforehand so we could buy as much as possible while there). We got a Ribwich to split while waiting for our wirstbands, which was really good, and luckily the line only lasted about 20 minutes thanks to the great work by employees.

 

One disclaimer before I continue. I don't usually take many, if any, pictures while visiting parks. Knowing I was going to do a PTR I tried to remember to take a few but I was usually too caught up in the moment and forgot.

 

After securing our bands it was off to the first ride of the trip...Black Diamond! I know this ride doesn't get much love but I think it's the perfect way to kick off a day at a place like Knoebels. The line was spilling out of the small queue into the midway but still only took about 15 minutes. The ride was great! It obviously lacks in the coaster aspect but there is a ton to look at while riding and I appreciate the effort the park put in to resurrecting this thing.

 

A great classic ride to start the day!

 

On the way to Black Diamond we passed a stand selling Bacon on a Stick...with chocolate. Needless to say we knew where our next stop was. For obvious reasons this isn't a common offering around the country, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the hell out of it.

 

Too awesome of an idea not to give it a try!

 

Bacon in belly we hopped in line for Phoenix, which had a line spilling out about 20 yards into the midway. With two trains operating I wanna say we were sitting in the third row about 5 minutes later. It's absolutely insane how quickly they send out these trains. The ride was amazing as ever. An absolute gem of a coaster. I don't rank coasters but if I did, absolutely a top 5 wood coaster for me.

 

Next up was StratosFEAR which had a one cycle wait. I have been on a number of drop towers. Whether it be S&S or 1st 2nd or 3rd generation Intamin. Whether it is 100 feet or 300 feet. There is no drop tower I've been on as crazy as this one. One second you're enjoying the autumn foliage and the next you're plummeting with your stomach in your mouth completely convinced you're about to slam through the concrete straight to the center of the Earth. Insanely awesome ride.

 

Realizing we had gone 30 minutes without food we wandered over to the Round Top Hut to check out the offerings. We opted for the shortest line knowing that everything was probably good, and ended up splitting a Philly Cheesesteak. It was good, nothing amazing, but good.

 

Next we sprung the extra couple bucks for the Haunted House, which to continue the theme for the day, had a line spilling out into the midway. This line probably took about 15-20 minutes. I spent some of this time reading the backstory for the ride they had written in what seems like 12 sized font on a billboard attached to the roof of the queue hut. I didn't realize this last time we were here and it added some extra intrigue for me. The ride was great as I remember it. Definitely one of, if not, my favorite dark ride outside of Disney/Universal. In terms of "classic" dark rides with practical effects, nothing I've been on comes close.

 

We continued the loop towards the front of the park towards the sky ride. We didn't get on this ride last time so it was something I wanted to check out this time around. The views were as advertised and it was an interesting experience riding one of these without a snowboard strapped to my feet.

 

Never before seen photo!

 

It was cool seeing the park start to come alive for the night. Notice the lights on the Ferris Wheel and StratosFEAR.

 

A hint at where we were headed next!

 

Next we headed to another new ride for us, Impulse! All the switchbacks were full, and with only two trains carrying 8 passengers each we were afraid how long the queue might take. Considering the park offered free wifi and we had the Yankees ALCS game available to watch on our phones we decided to wait it out. It ended up taking probably between 30-45 minutes but it seemed even quicker than that. We both thought the ride was good. The drop, vertical loop, and inline twist were all great highlights but I thought the rest of the layout just seemed to meander around. Although I didn't love it I think it's a great addition to the park.

 

Growing up going to amusement parks, one thing I'll never forget is my first inversion on California Screamin'. I think with all the families that visit Knoebels annually, it is great that people will be able to experience a memory like this at the park.

 

Perfect addition to the park!

 

Now being at the front of the park there was something we needed to get out of the way. I have been reading all the reviews about the pierogies at Knoebels for years. Last time we were at the park I didn't know what I was doing so I just got the ones from the Round Top hut. While they were good, they weren't anything amazing so I was a little disappointed and confused until I saw coasterbill claim there was a particular stand the pierogies needed to be bought from. So we headed to the Roast Beef Stand and...my goodness these things are amazing. Unfortunately we only got one order to split and if not for the long line we would've went back to get more. Thanks for the recommendation, I never would've discovered these on my own.

 

It was dark now and we continued to the back of the park, past the seemingly mile long line for the haunted train ride, towards Twister. Luckily, Twister only had a station wait and was running two trains so we waited a few extra minutes for the front. Holy crap. I did not remember this ride being so damn good. Maybe it was the combo of it being a front row ride at night but it was running like a bat out of hell. This one ride really made me consider whether I liked it as much as Phoenix. I'm not going to answer that because I don't have to but it definitely made me think. We looped right back around and walked onto the second row which was a little bumpier but still amazing.

 

Next we went to check out the line for Flying Turns and it was spilling way out onto the midway. We had been checking in on this queue all day and this was the common theme each time. We had ridden it last time and although I really liked it, it wasn't something I'd wait 60 minutes for.

 

We decided to get a cup of coffee from the Loaf and hit up another highly recommended hidden gem of Knoebels...Fascination. The employees there were really nice and offered us our first few games free since it was our first time playing. We got the hang of it pretty quickly and ended up throwing all the money we could piece together from our pockets to continue playing (about $12 haha). We each won a couple rounds and luckily we didn't have anymore cash because we definitely would've spent all of it there. Feeling rejuvenated we headed back towards Phoenix.

 

The line was far out into the midway but again the great operations had us in the front row in about 10 minutes. This area of the park is really festive at night between the Haunted Antique cars, the gift shop with the jack-o-lantern light show, and Phoenix with its lit up tunnel. The ride was amazing as always.

 

The Phoenix plaza has a really festive atmosphere on Fall Nights.

 

We went back for one last front row ride on Twister, which was as good if not better than the last one. Then back to Phoenix to give it a spin in the back row. It was about 9:30 and there was still one thing we had on our minds...

 

Neapolitan Ice Cream Waffle Sandwich!

 

This thing was amazing. Second to only the pierogies out of all the food we tried.

 

We then started heading towards the parking lot satisfied with the long day, but wanted to give Flying Turns one last look. To our surprise there was no line spilling onto the midway, and only half of the queue was filled! We joined the queue which had these really cool practical Halloween decorations.

 

The swing was attached to a thin clear string that led up to the station. Every once in awhile the ride op would yank the string and the swing would start moving unexpectedly.

 

After only about 10-15 minutes we boarded the train. I got the front row and I'm not sure if this ride has gained speed over the years or what but it was awesome. Way better than I remembered it and I'm definitely glad we got to ride it. Yeah it is short and the capacity leaves a lot to be desired but it is pure fun. If a park was ever able to build a full size version of this ride it would quickly go from fun to insane. Perfect way to the end of the first day of this trip!

 

We walked out to the parking lot to our car for the 40 minute drive to our Holiday Inn Express in Selinsgrove. The only negative of the day came when we made the rookie mistake of assuming Pennsylvania had normal liquor laws. The Islanders were on a west coast swing and had a 10:30 PM puck drop so we had planned to pick up some beers at a gas station to drink while watching the game back at the hotel room. Pennsylvania laughed in our face at that idea.

 

Well that'll do it for Part 1, thanks for reading everyone! This was my first attempt at a PTR so thanks for bearing with me if you've made it this far. Hopefully the Hershey segment will be a little better haha

[Taylor Finn]

Great report! Glad you enjoyed the great food (you picked some winners). Definitely seems like the crowds made it difficult to really get on some of the other must rides (carousel, skooters, flyers), but there's just so many must rides. Also, pro-tip, if you ever think you won't get your money's worth with the wristbands and want to opt the ticket approach, go to Weiss Markets and pick up $20 ticket books for $16. This basically means that if you go on a normal priced day, you can get $60 in tickets for the price of an all day band. We opted for a wristband for the first time and had to ride pretty nonstop to break even.

[coasterbill]

Great report! Welcome to the Pierogie fan club!

 

I agree about Twister and Flying Turns. There have been plenty of times I got off Twister and thought it might be better than Phoenix (until I rode Phoenix again of course). It's an amazing and criminally underrated coaster. Flying Turns is great too. I've always liked it but I was underwhelmed when I rode it opening year. It feels like it runs MUCH faster now.

[jynx242]

Great report! I am also a member of the Knoebel's fan club. Haven't been in a few years and need to rectify that soon! I won't ask what your favorite part of the day was as I know Knoebel's is the one place I can really never answer that question. The favorite part of my day is usually the whole day

[boldikus]

Off to a great start. Stoked for the rest!

[ThemeParkJunkie51290]

Awesome report!

[TBpony414]

Fun TR so far, except I made the mistake of reading this at my lunch break and now I'm starving. I've never played Fascination so next time I'm at Knoebels I'll have to stop and try it out. Looking forward to reading about your day at HP!

[Canobie Coaster]

Great report! My rides on Twister this year really blew me away as well. I did like the ride in the past, but it felt even wilder this year while still being a smooth ride. The front is easily the best seat on it. It's a borderline top 10 wooden coaster for me.

[Lena01]

Hersheypark is a family theme park situated in Hershey, Derry Township, Pennsylvania, United States, about 15 miles east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles west of Philadelphia. Founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey, as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, the park is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company as of 2016. The park has won several awards, including the IAAPA Applause Award.

[prozach626]

^Uh... Thanks, man.

[masportster]

Straight outta Wikipedia, and wikipedia doesn't lie!

[prospekt88]

Great report! Glad you enjoyed the great food (you picked some winners). Definitely seems like the crowds made it difficult to really get on some of the other must rides (carousel, skooters, flyers), but there's just so many must rides. Also, pro-tip, if you ever think you won't get your money's worth with the wristbands and want to opt the ticket approach, go to Weiss Markets and pick up $20 ticket books for $16. This basically means that if you go on a normal priced day, you can get $60 in tickets for the price of an all day band. We opted for a wristband for the first time and had to ride pretty nonstop to break even.

 

Thanks for the advice. I know we probably didn't win out at the end of the day with the wirstband, but I rarely get to the park so we figured we'd get it anyway just not have to worry about tickets. Plus, if there's any place I don't mind giving an extra buck to it's Knoebels.

 

Great report! Welcome to the Pierogie fan club!

 

I agree about Twister and Flying Turns. There have been plenty of times I got off Twister and thought it might be better than Phoenix (until I rode Phoenix again of course). It's an amazing and criminally underrated coaster. Flying Turns is great too. I've always liked it but I was underwhelmed when I rode it opening year. It feels like it runs MUCH faster now.

 

Thanks for the welcome and the initial tip haha!

 

Great report! I am also a member of the Knoebel's fan club. Haven't been in a few years and need to rectify that soon! I won't ask what your favorite part of the day was as I know Knoebel's is the one place I can really never answer that question. The favorite part of my day is usually the whole day

 

Yeah that would be a tough one for me to answer!

 

Off to a great start. Stoked for the rest!

 

Thank you!

 

Awesome report!

 

Thanks!

 

Great report! My rides on Twister this year really blew me away as well. I did like the ride in the past, but it felt even wilder this year while still being a smooth ride. The front is easily the best seat on it. It's a borderline top 10 wooden coaster for me.

 

Yeah although I've only been on about 50 wooden coasters and don't rank them I'd say it is now in a tier with Phoenix right below Boulder Dash and El Toro. I haven't been on any RMCs yet but it is definitely better than any GCI I've been on whereas before the trip I kind of viewed it with those rides.

 

Hersheypark is a family theme park situated in Hershey, Derry Township, Pennsylvania, United States, about 15 miles east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles west of Philadelphia. Founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey, as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, the park is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company as of 2016. The park has won several awards, including the IAAPA Applause Award.

 

Thanks...for the bump I suppose

 

Hoping to get the Hershey part out later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone who read and especially to those who left comments!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Hersheypark is a family theme park situated in Hershey, Derry Township, Pennsylvania, United States, about 15 miles east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles west of Philadelphia. Founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey, as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, the park is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company as of 2016. The park has won several awards, including the IAAPA Applause Award.

[prospekt88]

Day 2

 

We woke up around 9:00 AM and headed down to the free breakfast the hotel was offering. It was nothing special but if you go into this type of thing expecting special you're probably disappointed often in life. Then we headed back to the room, got ready, packed up quick, and were checked out and on our way to Hershey by 10:00 AM. The park was opening at noon but Chocolate World was opening at 11:00 so there would be something to occupy our time if we arrived early. After a short scenic drive we arrived to Hershey, PA a little after 11:00.

 

Ghost horse? Or Pennsylvania where you share the highway with horse drawn carriages?

 

After parking we headed straight to Chocolate World and got in line for the Factory Tour. The line was spilling out of the queue and into the store but we knew it moved relatively quick. We ended up spending about 30 minutes in what was pretty much an entirely new queue for us. Similarly, the ride was almost completely redone since the last time we rode it. I can't say whether it's an improvement or not, because I really am just a sucker for corny dark rides and this one also holds some nostalgic value with me growing up going to Hershey as a kid. So to me this is always just a fun ride regardless of what is done to it. Plus the free candy bar at the end is a perfect welcome to Chocolate Town, USA.

 

After leaving Chocolate World we were surprised to see swarms of people lining up for rope drop, backing up all the way to tram drop off. Luckily, once the park opened this moved very quickly and we were in the park headed back to Laff Trakk shortly after.

 

Welcome to Hersheypark! I took this on the way out which explains the lack of crowd.

 

The man responsible for it all.

 

Laff Trakk was new to us on this trip and we knew the queue grew quickly for it, so we made sure to make it our first stop. This was the right decision as after queueing for about ten minutes and riding, it looked like the queue had stretched to over an hour. As for the ride itself, this was our first Maurer spinner and we both thought it was really fun. Personally I feel like every spinner would be better coaster if it didn't spin, and this was no exception. But it was a good ride and something I think that fits in great at Hershey.

 

Next we continued to the back of the park towards Lightning Racer where we were greeted with a virtually empty station. We hopped in the back row of Thunder then went around for the front row of Lightning. It was a fun and smooth ride like always but felt a little tamer than usual having ridden Twister the previous night.

 

Then it was onto Wildcat. I loved this ride as a kid and I was surprised to see so much hate for it when I first started reading enthusiast boards back in the day. They were only running one train so it took us about 10 minutes to get on the front row. It was fun as always. I'm still waiting to experience that brutal roughness I always read about. If not for the racing aspect of Lightning Racer I would even put it ahead of that.

 

Next up was...

 

Storm Runner!

 

Again only one train was running but luckily there was just a two train wait for the front row. I love this ride. As far as steel coasters go, Millenium Force I would say is on a tier of it's own for me but this is right there in the second tier along with rides like Nitro, I305, Griffon and Montu. Absolute blast from start to finish, with one of the best launches out there, great air in the front seat over the top hat and a great drop, with fun and one of a kind elements the rest of the way. Not a dull moment and definitely my favorite ride in the park.

 

After that we wanted to sit down somewhere to eat and watch a little bit of the Jets vs Patriots game on our phones. Conveniently, our favorite spot to grab food in the park was right next door.

 

Turkey leg with baked beans and cornbread.

 

The BBQ was great as always. After that we headed to the zoo. ZooAmerica for those who don't know is a small zoo attached to the park included with admission that features animals native to North America. Having been plenty of times in the past this time we just made a quick loop to digest the food and see some of the main exhibits including Bald Eagles, Black Bears, and Wolves.

 

Zoo America is a great little perk included free with admission!

 

The black bears were very playful that day. One of the coolest animals to watch up close in my opinion.

 

Next up was another new ride for us...

 

Hershey Towers

 

Before these rides were announced I think everybody was in agreement that a drop tower was something that Hershey could really use. Then after the announcement I know a lot of people thought the idea of having three different heights was a stupid idea, but I personally thought it was awesome. Growing up going to Hershey almost every year, one of the coolest features they had for kids in our opinion were the different height categories based off the different candy bars; Kiss, Reeses, Hershey, Twizzler, Jolly Rancher or whatever the order is today. We would get pictures taken in front of the signs every year and it was a great feeling moving up to the next category. I think these towers are a great play off that concept. Starting with the Kiss tower and eventually gaining the courage to try the Hershey tower is probably fun for families. It might sound like a stupid justification to people on these boards but that is what I thought of when they first announced it and my initial reaction was that it was a really cool concept.

 

Anyway, my brother did not wanna ride multiple towers as he's not a fan of this ride type in general, so we only rode the Hershey Tower. It was a fun ride but tame compared to StratosFEAR the day before.

 

We then continued on towards another highlight of the park to me...

 

Great Bear was my first invert and still one of my favorites.

 

It was a pleasant surprise to see that Great Bear was running two trains and the queue was not even out of the station. There was a 4 train wait for the front and the crew was working really quick so we were on in no time. I love Great Bear. The only invert I've been on that tops it in my opinion is Montu and maybe Afterburn at Carowinds. The coaster's only downside is the short length but everything it does accomplish in that time is just a ton of fun.

 

After our great ride we continued down into the Hollow. I'm gonna go on another little trip down memory lane and mention that this area is the biggest reason I fell in love with coasters and amusement parks. It's an absolute marvel. The roar of Great Bear flying through its loop and immelman while your queuing for Comet or the Wave Swinger. The interaction of Sooperdooperlooper, Great Bear, and Coal Cracker looming on the hill above the area. The classic amusement park charm of Comet and the midway games. It's perfect. This all before even mentioning Skyrush.

 

Sooperdooperlooper was the first coaster we hit in the area. With two trains operating it was a short 5 minute wait for the back row and the ride was fun as always. I will say though that the trim brake towards the back half of the ride seemed way more noticeable than I had remembered. It completely killed all momentum towards the end of the ride. If it's necessary to preserve the ride then so be it, but a bit of a shame none the less.

 

Classic Schwarzkopf loop.

 

Now for Skyrush. I know this is one of the more polarizing coasters out there and unfortunately I hate to admit I am one of the people who can't stand this ride.

 

Skyrush's impressive lift structure. At least it's a good looking coaster.

 

So I rode this coaster for the first time a few years ago and it was in the back row. It was incredibly painful on my thighs like people have constantly mentioned. Enough so that I didn't even want to give it a reride towards the front to see if it made a difference. Now a few years later with that memory faded slightly I was ready to give it another chance. They were running two trains and it was a walk on to the front row, and most other rows were empty so I was really hoping I enjoyed it this time around as it would be an easy marathon opportunity. Unfortunately it was even more painful than I remember. What the hell is wrong with this thing? Yeah the forces and the air are incredible, but it also feels like it is trying to rip my body in half at the thighs. If they had continued to send our train through the station for another lap I would've been convinced I was strapped into some kind of torture device. My brother felt the same way. I want to say that the restraints must fit some people's bodies differently, but maybe we are just a couple of pussies haha. Whatever it may be, I am jealous of you folks that can enjoy this beast.

 

Moving on we headed right next door to Comet.

 

Comet's classic looking station.

 

Again two train operations here and the line was only halfway down the ramp leading up to the station. This would be the last ride of the trip so we waited for the front row which wasn't much of an additional wait anyway.

 

Lift hill shot! I know these photos are pretty brutal haha but I didn't get much so I'm including the few I do have.

 

Comet delivered a great ride like always. This ride is pure fun and was a great way to wrap up the weekend. My favorite wooden coaster of the three at the park for sure.

 

There was one last thing to do before heading out, something we do at the end of most trips to Hershey...

 

stop by the kettle corn stand.

 

Kettle Corn and Fresh Lemonade to cap off the weekend.

 

Armed with snacks for the car ride ahead, we were back on our way home to Long Island. With the lack of crowds we had gotten everything we wanted to get done and were back at our homes before Sunday Night Football. Overall it was a great weekend trip, and great way to wrap up the season. Thanks to everybody who made it through this and I appreciate any and all comments!

[michaellynn4]

Now for Skyrush. I know this is one of the more polarizing coasters out there and unfortunately I hate to admit I am one of the people who can't stand this ride.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKKJfBgZOCo

 

 

Just messin'. Glad you had fun overall, though!

[bill_s]

The way you enjoy Skyrush is you hold on. I grab the restraint straight out from the hinges. Yeah if it were a rule, or just your favorite thing, to keep your hands up it wouldn't be much fun. I found the same thing true for SFNE Superman, 5 time winner of best steel coaster. It's very impressive but they're definitely hitting the limits, if something comes out with -3 Gs I'm not riding it. I think El Toro's slightly lower ejector level would be a better target, the stronger the eject the faster it burns through momentum anyway.

[boldikus]

Awesome update, and some really nice photos. Sorry to hear you hated Skyrush again, its a really divisive coaster and I get the complaints but I freaking love that ridiculous machine.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

The way you enjoy Skyrush is you hold on.

QFT

[prospekt88]

Thanks for all the replies!

 

I don’t think the uncomfortable nature of Skyrush has much to do with the forces I think it’s just everything to do with where the restraints rest on my thighs. I’ve never even considered putting my hands up on the ride haha so I am always holding on.

[Canobie Coaster]

Great report! I agree Skyrush isn't the world's most comfortable coaster, but I can tolerate it for about a minute to experience airtime that extreme. If the lapbars were contoured like El Toro's or Expedition GeForce's, I don't think this complaint would be coming up nearly as much.

 

Glad to see some love for Comet and Great Bear. They're two underrated rides in my opinion.