Knoebels Discussion Thread

[AmyUD06]

Here's a fourth to what  @bert425, @Pedrinho, and @JT325 said.

I couldn't care less about Fascination, and yeah 5 hours is not enough to truly experience Knoebels.

I made the mistake of just doing a "stopping in on the way through" for my first trip here, and probably spent less than 4 hours there.  I left with a mediocre taste in my mouth, much like @Arthur_Seaton's experience.  I decided that I didn't give the park a fair shake during that trip, and spent an entire day there on my next one...I discovered as so many have how truly magical it is.  There really are no words that haven't been said to describe it.  Even little things, like the Carousel, which I normally wouldn't be bothered with (sorry Bert!), are awesome.  And Haunted Mansion.  And Black Diamond.  And Looper.  And The Boats.  And Paratrooper.  And the Scooters.  And the list goes on and on.

[thrillseeker4552]

Thank you all for the feedback. I think I will now plan on staying the full day (12pm to 8pm). I just know, based on doing solo park visits in the past, that I tend to always overestimate how much time I need at a park since I move so much faster when doing things myself. What I think takes me a whole day at a park, I get done in the first 3-4 hours. But I know this park is special and should be appreciated outside of just the coasters so I am trusting ya'll!

I guess my question still stands if there is any "order of attack" for the park? I imagine Flying Turns and/or Impulse first?

The timing will also work out that my 300th coaster will be here, so my current plan is to make Phoenix my 300th!

[AmyUD06]

33 minutes ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

Thank you all for the feedback. I think I will now plan on staying the full day (12pm to 8pm). I just know, based on doing solo park visits in the past, that I tend to always overestimate how much time I need at a park since I move so much faster when doing things myself. What I think takes me a whole day at a park, I get done in the first 3-4 hours. But I know this park is special and should be appreciated outside of just the coasters so I am trusting ya'll!

I guess my question still stands if there is any "order of attack" for the park? I imagine Flying Turns and/or Impulse first?

The timing will also work out that my 300th coaster will be here, so my current plan is to make Phoenix my 300th!

Yeah, Flying Turns if it's operating at opening first.  Capacity is only 3-6 people per train and it's easily the slowest moving line at the park, even with the stellar operations.  A lot of people go to Impulse first, as it suffers from the "first thing people see" syndrome.

Phoenix is an awesome 300th!  But Twister is just as awesome.

[Habreno]

Flying Turns first, no doubt. Park will be hella busy, even if you get there for 11 you'll still be in line for it behind other people. Can't say where to get tickets other than I believe that's gonna be a tickets-only day (no Pay-one-price ride all day option available). After that doesn't matter much.

[swfan1988]

I'll upteenth the folks saying spend as much time as you can, Knoebels is truly one the best out there.

Couple other things I'd say:

- Be prepared for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, to be super old school. Even things you'd expect to be more modern...

- Define order of attack is Flying Turns, Impulse, and then probably the Hunted Mansion or Black Diamond. Phoenix and Twister have probably the best operations on any wooden coasters anywhere so do NOT be afraid of a line for either one.

- You'll have to double check if there still doing it but in years past they have sold discounted ticket books at Weis grocery stores in the area. Definitely would recommend going that route as it will save you a bit.

- For food, I'll add the Old Mill Icream Sundaes and the Boom-shak-a-lak burger at the restaurant right next to Phoenix.

- Pioneer Train is a neat (and surprisingly long) trip out into the woods that I would recommend. I think Looper requires two people to ride, but the flyers next door are another amazing flat!

- There park layout is basically non-existent so just have fun wandering around part of the day and seeing what weird/fun stuff you can find.

Have fun! Knoebels is just awesome!

[KBrylczyk]

Ride. The. Bumper. Cars.

Ride them.  Ride them again.  Repeat until your wallet runs dry.  Go the to ATM.

[BitterOldHag]

22 hours ago, bert425 said:

2) Cheese on a Stick from Totem Treats

According to Knoebels website, Totem Treats is closed.      Knoebels Snack Joints

For food grazing, I'd throw in the Roast beef sandwich at the same place the good pierogis are sold.  Nice to have a roast beef sandwich with actual beef unlike the place that "has the meats".  They also have Dole Whip at the bread shaped "Loaf" building.  

I am an extremely picky eater and even I can find multiple things I like at Knoebels, so just go and enjoy!  

[PeggedSole]

5 hours ago, swfan1988 said:

- Pioneer Train is a neat (and surprisingly long) trip out into the woods that I would recommend. I think Looper requires two people to ride, but the flyers next door are another amazing flat!

I went by myself the last time I visited Knoebels.  Looper did indeed require two people, but one of the operators happily jumped right in with me so I could ride.  I asked him to spin/roll us.  I ended up losing count of how many times we rolled over! 

[Taylor Finn]

A few other things:

You can get ticket books from Weiss Market for $17 ($20 at park). It's tricky because you don't want to have extra tickets, but maybe $40 worth to start would be sufficient.

Phoenix is really great in third row IMO! I think it is better than in the front in some ways.

Must rides for me beyond coasters: Black Diamond, Haunted Mansion, Flyers, Bumper Cars, Carousel, Skyride (can skip but is a really nice ride), Log Flume (also can skip but a really solid flume), Pioneer Train (super pleasant), Drop Tower is great, Antique Cars and Motor Boats are also well done but maybe not critical.

Try to have some unique food options. You can go to International Food Court in the morning and get your breakfast and then be armed with your tickets and line up for Flying Turns before park open to knock it out.

I don't know if Impulse has been running a single rider line or not. If so, I would do Flying Turns first, for sure.

Have a great time!

[BobloLives]

The vibe at Knoebel's is truly unique. One of the stranger things (that I love) is that they let dogs on certain rides (boats, cars, train might be it). Two years ago with our pup...

[Pedrinho]

14 hours ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

I guess my question still stands if there is any "order of attack" for the park? I imagine Flying Turns and/or Impulse first?

What @AmyUD06 says. With our short time window, Flying Turns and Impuls ate the most of our time. It was (on a hot summer saturday) easily 45-60 minutes each. If the Turns are running and you want to do that for sure, scratch that off your list first. Same for Impulse.

Twister can have a long line, too - but it's moving constantly, especially if they are running two trains. On my visit, in the morning was one train and we had more then half an hour of wait. Later, there were two trains. We started walking in the exact same sport as earlier, but waited only 15 minutes. It's definitely worth it. The Phoenix line is no line like you know it. The last four trains before we had our first ride were in and out of the station in 30 seconds each. They are incredibly fast. So don't worry if the line spills out of the station here.

If you're not sure if you want to do a ride or not, do it. Every ride we did was incredibly better then comparable rides elsewhere. Even the antique cars. Go for the Whipper. 

I'm sorry, I can't stop raving about this park.

[Jason Maier]

Quick question: The building next to the Bandshell that has the Old Time Photo/Roaring Creek Arcade/XD Theater was closed when I was there a couple weeks ago. Has it been closed all season?

[Habreno]

Been closed mostly since Covid, I think they do the photos in there. Don't think the XD theater's run though.

[Jason Maier]

18 hours ago, Habreno said:

Been closed mostly since Covid, I think they do the photos in there. Don't think the XD theater's run though.

Fair enough, never did the XD theater and I think the Playland Arcade is better anyway.

[thrillseeker4552]

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you to everyone who gave me advice a few weeks ago. I went to Knoebels last Sunday and absolutely LOVED the place. Everything else aside, Phoenix and Twister absolutely blew away all my expectations. Their operations are impressive enough but they both were just fantastic. Phoenix's airtime feels illegal and Twister brings lots of intensity and laterals that I was not expecting. I was a bit worried Phoenix would be the "Millennium Force of woodies" and would become overhyped after all these awards it wins but... yeah I totally get it.

Also managed to get on Flying Turns and Impulse, both of which are about what I expected. And despite my slight dairy intolerance, I tried the BBQ pizza anyway and it was delicious and I have no regrets lol (and it was cheap?!). A large slice of pizza and a drink for 6.50 seemed dirt cheap. I didn't spend the entire day at the park but a good 5-6 hours and taking it all in, riding the coasters many times, and enjoying the atmosphere. Oh and the drop tower is also nuts.

Black Diamond was closed so I unfortunately didn't do that. I didn't get around to the Haunted Mansion either because the line was just ridiculous and I wanted to get more re-rides on Phoenix and Twister to use up the ride tickets I bought. Overall though I had an amazing time.

The park felt like a combination of Lagoon and Holiday World but better than both. I already can't wait to go back.

I will also say, the drive from Knoebels directly to Dorney Park was quite... strange? So many back roads and through small, old colonial/Americana towns. Such a different feel than out west or in the south. That drive was one of the most memorable, surprising, but also strange parts of the trip. I've never really done any drive like that.

[coasterbill]

Glad you enjoyed it! Also yeah, I've only done that drive once but banjo music was playing in my head the entire time.

[Zand]

If you really want to get into the weird Pennsyltucky stuff, take a small detour through Centralia. An underground mine has been burning since the 60s, causing the whole town to evacuate and be torn down except for like 8 people who refused to leave and still live there. You might even see smoke venting out of the ground in some areas.

Back in the Mapquest days in like 2004, we drove from Knoebels to Hershey at night and it sent us down I think Route 125 which is a windy ass mountain road full of hairpin turns and, back then, absolutely no cell service. I refused to drive near Knoebels at night for a while after that lol, it was rather terrifying. And I'm someone who spends a good deal of time in Vermont.

[JG-77]

On 9/12/2022 at 2:40 PM, Zand said:

If you really want to get into the weird Pennsyltucky stuff, take a small detour through Centralia. An underground mine has been burning since the 60s, causing the whole town to evacuate and be torn down except for like 8 people who refused to leave and still live there. You might even see smoke venting out of the ground in some areas.

Black Diamond actually has some scenes based on this. I think you pass a sign saying you're entering Centralia PA right before you head into that red spinning tunnel.

[Zand]

I totally forgot Black Diamond exists lol...I rode it once like 10 years ago. I don't really remember anything about it and I never want to walk past Phoenix to ride it when I can just ride Phoenix again instead. Guess I'll have to refresh my memory next time.

It's cool that Knoebels integrates some local history into a ride like that though.

[coneyislandchris]

Spent this past Saturday out at Knoebels with the family. I'll try my best to keep it short and sweet!

Got there early for the Hallo-Fun family activities, so the kids decorated some cookies and trick-or-treat bags, then we all played a few rounds of bingo using corn kernels as bingo chips. They were giving away $20 and $40 books of tickets as prizes. The kids came pretty close, but no dice unfortunately.

Rides started opening at 2 PM. Picked up a few of the discount vouchers at the Weis Markets in Catawissa beforehand, and was told at the ticket window that they wouldn't be able to redeem them because they were missing security features on the backs of the vouchers. Thankfully, kept my receipt, and a call from guest services over to the Weis confirmed that they were having issues with their printer, so they were able to redeem them after all and threw in an extra book of $20 as an apology for the trouble.

A number of flats were closed throughout the day, so unfortunately no Flyers, no Looper, no Tornado, no Satellite, etc. Our first ride of the day was Flying Turns and IDK what they were doing this year, but from starting outside of the main ride entrance, we were on the ride in about 20 minutes. They were definitely operating at peak efficiency! Ride is still absolutely insane and one of my wife's top three coasters.

After Flying Turns, we did Cosmotron (soundtrack: "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)" by Fall Out Boy), made a brief pitstop to grab some food (hot dogs, cheese steaks, pizza, and pierogies galore), then headed over to the Haunted Mansion. It feels like they've kept a lot of the classic bits but shuffled them around, as it kept me guessing throughout. Always a great ride, one of the best classic dark rides IMO.

After that, kids headed over for a bit of fun on the Panther Cars, then we hopped on the Grand Carousel. Wait for an edge seat was pretty backed up so we just hopped in line for middle seats, still a great time. Then after that, my wife completed her Knoebels coaster "collection" by finally riding Impulse. She had done her first vertical lift with Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit last month, so we talked her into it, and surprisingly she didn't hate it! Still not a fan of that style of lift but everything else was fine. Her words.

By this point, the sun was starting to set, so we headed off to beat the line for the Haunted Pioneer Train. We waited about 25 minutes for this, and got a round trip just as the sun had disappeared behind the Pennsylvania mountainside. This was our first time doing this during the Halloween season and it was great to see all the creativity and variety they put into their skeleton sets out in the wilderness!

When we got off the Pioneer Train, darkness had settled in, and we decided to try and hit the Haunted Antique Cars before the line got really unreasonable. We still ended up waiting about 50 minutes, and right as we got on and started driving through, the car two in front of us ran out of gas. So we ended up waiting a little bit longer for them to get it going again. They filled the area inside and around Phoenix with an absolute ton of sets and displays. While there weren't any live scare actors jumping out from behind the walls this year, it wasn't needed because there was always a new gag or scene coming up.

Our last ride of the night was Phoenix, and while my wife sat it out this time, the rest of us had an absolute blast with a fully lights-out ride going at full speed. Still far and away my daughter's favorite coaster! I think I need to get back on the weight loss train though, not gonna lie, I struggled a bit to fit inside the seat divider. Airtime motivation!

We wrapped up our visit with a $20 bag of tokens split four ways over at the Fascination building, and although we weren't able to hit any bingos in the morning, my son rolled two lines to send him home happy! Apparently our next home improvement project is going to be building some Fascination cabinets from scratch and putting them in our garage. (I'm not holding my breath.) Picked up some potato cakes and kettle corn for the road, and we were off on our way home!

Although it sounds like we didn't do much overall, we felt like we had an absolutely wonderful time from start to finish. Even with the long lines, we managed to keep ourselves entertained. The only downside is the creeping inflation; although we had $120 worth of tickets, they ran out by the end of the night; when coasters are $4 apiece and the haunted rides are $5 per person, it adds up quickly. Still, compared to anywhere else in the world, it's a fantastic deal and I can't fault them for raising prices when everything else is going up everywhere else as well.

Can't wait to go back next season!

[prozach626]

On 9/11/2022 at 2:03 PM, thrillseeker4552 said:

I will also say, the drive from Knoebels directly to Dorney Park was quite... strange? So many back roads and through small, old colonial/Americana towns. Such a different feel than out west or in the south. That drive was one of the most memorable, surprising, but also strange parts of the trip. I've never really done any drive like that.

Like how you'll be on a four lane highway, which will just suddenly turn into a two lane stop sign T intersection in the middle of an older miner's town where you have to make a left or a right turn?

[AmyUD06]

Everyone's favorite walk-in-time-machine in the middle of nowhere just released their operating calendar for 2023.

In other news, Ride-All-Day Wristbands are up to $50 (!) purchased-online-in-advance price.  Individual ride prices don't appear to have changed much from last year, but I could be wrong there.

[Rai Fox]

Kinda disappointed that they're sticking to early closings again.  Not going to be getting in any Phoenix or Twister night rides until Halloween like that.  In potentially better news though...

It's pretty clear from the images, but this is the same type of ride as the Kangaroo at Kennywood.  Interesting that they would be trying to restore one now.  I wonder if this decision was made before Kennywood actually brought theirs back?  It would have made a little more sense to go out of their way for one then, but even with the only surviving two in the same state, it's a great fit for Knoebels.

[Shavethewhales2]

^That is awesome news about the "flying coaster"! Love that Knoebels is still at it!

The calendar is a bit disappointing though. So basically every popular weekend is tickets only? Has it been like that long? I haven't been since like 2017 but it's high time I made it up there again. 

[AmyUD06]

45 minutes ago, Shavethewhales2 said:

^That is awesome news about the "flying coaster"! Love that Knoebels is still at it!

The calendar is a bit disappointing though. So basically every popular weekend is tickets only? Has it been like that long? I haven't been since like 2017 but it's high time I made it up there again. 

As long I've been going to the park, which started in 2017, it has been tickets only on weekends during the June/July/August.