Knoebels Discussion Thread

[GigaG]

Honestly, isn't this POV a little slower than the first official pov? (The leaked one was way too fast and banging into the sides of the trough, but the next POV looked fun.) This looks a bit slow at parts. However, I still think this is a fun-looking ride. And the GP will probably try it a lot because of how plain unusual it is.

[cal1br3tto]

I used to strongly feel the ride should "open when it's ready," as the park has always seemed so fond of implying. But I'm warming to the idea of holding off on opening it until next season, to maximize the marketing hype. We'll see if the Labor Day weekend rumor turns out to be true, but there've been a couple of rumors for earlier in the summer that obviously didn't pan out. No matter what, some people will end up barely missing its opening, but that's life.

[Josh Linn]

I could see the turns being pretty exciting. It seems somewhat comparable to driving your car at 25 MPH through extremely tight, downhill turns in the road.

 

I would KILL to have another marquee wood coaster at the park.

[deathbydinn]

Honestly, isn't this POV a little slower than the first official pov? (The leaked one was way too fast and banging into the sides of the trough, but the next POV looked fun.) This looks a bit slow at parts.

 

I actually think the exact opposite. When I first saw the new pov my first thought is that it looked way better than the first pov they posted. Still nothing to how crazy the leaked pov looked though.

[yankeeman311]

Thought I'd post a little trip report from my first visit ever at Knoebels yesterday.

 

I got there a little before 4 and met up with a fellow TPR user who is RidetheEdge on here. We decided to buy $10 in tickets and then get the sundown wristbands which saved me about $8 on an already affordable day.

 

We started out with Black Diamond since it wasn't included on the wristband. Then we headed over to Twister since we were anxious to get on the big coasters. Turned out to be a pretty intense woodie and I liked it a lot for a ride with a lack of airtime. The Grand Carousel was next and this was probably my favorite version of it. I hadn't been on one in years and this was the first one I've seen where people could reach for coins. I found that to be pretty cool to have a ride and a game in a combined experience and made me wish I sat on the outside horse to do it.

 

Then it was time for the ride we mainly came to this park for: Phoenix. Phoenix definitely didn't disappoint! The airtime on this ride was phenomenal and I loved the loose feeling you have on this ride. But Phoenix is not in the same league as El Toro imo. This is not an insult to Phoenix because it made my top 3 woodies but El Toro is still well above it to me because Phoenix lacked the intensity feel El Toro has. Nevertheless, Phoenix is still a great coaster with a unique experience that definitely helped make the drive up here worth it and it's a coaster I'm glad to cross off my bucket list!

 

Stratosfear was a ride I was nervous about doing but boy am I glad I did it. You can't see when you're about to drop and you feel like you barely have any security (like all the other major rides at Knoebels). The drop was absolutely INSANE both times I did it. Talk about an adrenaline rush. I'm not ashamed to say I screamed loud enough for people in the parking lot to hear me both times. Absolute plus addition for Knoebels since it's a great flat that barely takes up any space. More parks need to get this type of drop tower. Not to mention this ride probably has the best view in the park especially at night.

 

Haunted Mansion was very good for it's kind and I found the reaction of Emily and Brendan coming out of there hilarious. It really got them good. I don't really get too scared of rides like this but I admit it had some good jump scares in there. We even credit whored on Kozmo's Kurves which really surprised me and Emily in how good it was for a family ride. It had solid airtime and we just made the most of credit whoring this. One of the operators even decided to ride with us the second time we went on.

 

Overall we had a great day at Knoebels! I managed to get my pathetic coaster count of 63 up to a little less pathetic count of 67 lol. I never quite understood why TPR loves this park so much until I went yesterday and experienced it for myself. The park has a great family vibe, there are homes inside the park, countless dogs were in attendance and keeping a small park vibe while having tons of quality rides some big parks wished they had. Not to mention Knoebel's theme song music video on the Flying Turns TV. What larrygator said about this park was spot on imo. They charge cheap rates but make up for it by keeping you there longer, treating you to a great experience and making it affordable to come back. I also loved the trust relationship between Knoebels and the guests. For instance Emily left her phone in the bathroom and a couple hours later she realized that and it was handed in to Lost and Found. In most parks, that phone is probably gone. Also I noticed there are no air gates on the coasters so Knoebels trusts their guests enough not to do anything stupid and rewards them with much shorter dispatch times. Guests also have that same trust to the operators by trusting that their one restraint is secure. I can't wait to return to this park .

 

Credit count:

 

Phoenix 4x

Twister 2x

Stratosfear 2x

Kozmo's Kurves 2x

Black Diamond 1x

Haunted Mansion 1x

Looper 1x

Downdraft 1x

Fandango 1x

1001 Nachts 1x

Bumper Boats 1x

Grand Carousel 1x

Motorboat 1x

Edited August 20, 2013 by yankeeman311

[mightypotato]

As if I actually needed a reason to go back to Knoebels...

 

I'm glad that the ride finally seems to be in the final stages before opening. The park has put a lot of time and effort into the ride and I hope it works out for them in the end. Either way, I'm excited to finally be able to ride this.

[gisco]

While I think Flying Turns will be a fun ride, I don't expect it to be an OMG I have to keep riding this all day long type of ride. It will be just another good addition to a great park. Great for the family.

[DJeXeL]

Reading the webmasters replies has me LOLing. I love that they are putting people in their place after making dumb comments.

[Barge84]

Thought I'd post a little trip report from my first visit ever at Knoebels yesterday.

 

I got there a little before 4 and met up with a fellow TPR user who is RidetheEdge on here. We decided to buy $10 in tickets and then get the sundown wristbands which saved me about $8 on an already affordable day.

 

We started out with Black Diamond since it wasn't included on the wristband. Then we headed over to Twister since we were anxious to get on the big coasters. Turned out to be a pretty intense woodie and I liked it a lot for a ride with a lack of airtime. The Grand Carousel was next and this was probably my favorite version of it. I hadn't been on one in years and this was the first one I've seen where people could reach for coins. I found that to be pretty cool to have a ride and a game in a combined experience and made me wish I sat on the outside horse to do it.

 

Then it was time for the ride we mainly came to this park for: Phoenix. Phoenix definitely didn't disappoint! The airtime on this ride was phenomenal and I loved the loose feeling you have on this ride. But Phoenix is not in the same league as El Toro imo. This is not an insult to Phoenix because it made my top 3 woodies but El Toro is still well above it to me because Phoenix lacked the intensity feel El Toro has. Nevertheless, Phoenix is still a great coaster with a unique experience that definitely helped make the drive up here worth it and it's a coaster I'm glad to cross off my bucket list!

 

Stratosfear was a ride I was nervous about doing but boy am I glad I did it. You can't see when you're about to drop and you feel like you barely have any security (like all the other major rides at Knoebels). The drop was absolutely INSANE both times I did it. Talk about an adrenaline rush. I'm not ashamed to say I screamed loud enough for people in the parking lot to hear me both times. Absolute plus addition for Knoebels since it's a great flat that barely takes up any space. More parks need to get this type of drop tower. Not to mention this ride probably has the best view in the park especially at night.

 

Haunted Mansion was very good for it's kind and I found the reaction of Emily and Brendan coming out of there hilarious. It really got them good. I don't really get too scared of rides like this but I admit it had some good jump scares in there. We even credit whored on Kozmo's Kurves which really surprised me and Emily in how good it was for a family ride. It had solid airtime and we just made the most of credit whoring this. One of the operators even decided to ride with us the second time we went on.

 

Overall we had a great day at Knoebels! I managed to get my pathetic coaster count of 63 up to a little less pathetic count of 67 lol. I never quite understood why TPR loves this park so much until I went yesterday and experienced it for myself. The park has a great family vibe, there are homes inside the park, countless dogs were in attendance and keeping a small park vibe while having tons of quality rides some big parks wished they had. Not to mention Knoebel's theme song music video on the Flying Turns TV. What larrygator said about this park was spot on imo. They charge cheap rates but make up for it by keeping you there longer, treating you to a great experience and making it affordable to come back. I also loved the trust relationship between Knoebels and the guests. For instance Emily left her phone in the bathroom and a couple hours later she realized that and it was handed in to Lost and Found. In most parks, that phone is probably gone. Also I noticed there are no air gates on the coasters so Knoebels trusts their guests enough not to do anything stupid and rewards them with much shorter dispatch times. Guests also have that same trust to the operators by trusting that their one restraint is secure. I can't wait to return to this park .

 

Credit count:

 

Phoenix 4x

Twister 2x

Stratosfear 2x

Kozmo's Kurves 2x

Black Diamond 1x

Haunted Mansion 1x

Looper 1x

Downdraft 1x

Fandango 1x

1001 Nachts 1x

Bumper Boats 1x

Grand Carousel 1x

Motorboat 1x

 

I love Knoebels. Sounds like you had a great time. I don't see Flyers or the Skooters on your ride list. Hopefully you just forgot to write those down, because they're two of my three favorite rides in the park.

[yankeeman311]

^Unfortunately that wasn't a mistake. I didn't ride either. The Flyers we missed because all of us have ridden the one in Hershey and Skooters we missed because there were other rides in that area that we wanted to do and the Skooters had the longest line. Plus we wanted to ride Phoenix 1 last time and it was near closing time when we finished the other rides in the area. That's something I'll make sure to ride next time though. Hopefully Flying Turns will be open by then .

[Jim S.]

A bad day on an antique Flyer is better than a good day on a new one.

 

A good day on the Flyer has to be seen to be believed.

[ginzo]

Yeah, it's hard to fully appreciate Knoebels if you haven't been on the Skooters or the Flyers. Two very ordinary rides that they do extraordinarily.

[SFOGdude25]

A bad day on an antique Flyer is better than a good day on a new one.

 

A good day on the Flyer has to be seen to be believed.

I can attest to this. When I rode the flyers at Knoebels in 2010, I managed to snap my flyer so hard I feared my life, and bystanders were staring at me haha. It was incredible.

[odene497]

Those Knoebel's flyers make me legitimately nervous, it's almost hard not to snap them! And the Skooters are probably my favorite ride in the park, or at least up there with Phoenix. Can't wait to visit in two weeks! I'd love for Flying Turns to be open but I'm not expecting it.

[Movieguy]

I took my mom there again recently. We both love Knoebels so much. The rides, the food, the games, everything.

 

Both of the coasters are amazing. I love the unique layout of the twister, but I also love the ride the Phoenix gives you, especially in the back. It's held up well since 85, and thrives in an era where riders demand airtime, airtime, airtime!

 

I finally went on the Haunted Mansion, along with my mom. I'm very easy to scare in the dark, so we were both screaming like little kids on that one. But i loved it anyway.

 

The Log flume there is pretty damn good too. Certainly the cleanest water I've ever seen on that type of ride, on top of everything else. I bypassed the skloosh, since I didn't want to soak one of my favorite shirts that day.

 

Everyone mentions the Pizza there, which is indeed very tasty, but I was more impressed by the soft serve there. Lots of flavor options, and very tasty and creamy.

 

Again, I had a great time, and we may even return for one of the Hallo-fun weekends this year.

[Devins3]

When I was there this week they were running two trains through consistently on flying turns. Also they had a device to simulate the arm span of people on the train, while that was on there was a person in the second car riding video taping it. Perhaps that was the inspector.

[Movieguy]

Here are the pictures from my latest trip to Knoebels, for those who are interested.

 

https://www.facebook.com/doug.booth.56/media_set?set=a.10201940099804074.1073741827.1231957794&type=3

[3Mutts]

Went to Knoebels last week and was lucky to see Flying Turns test (people part of the testing crew where riding it as well) and I have to say that this thing looks like a pretty crazy bobsled, hopefully it finally opens next year.

[jray21]

I think Flying Turns will be a fun little ride, but as long as they have Phoenix, Skooters, and the food, it's a great park.

[coasterbill]

Knoebels just posted this picture of it at night, and is now responding to stupid posts again. lol

They also said that it won't be open this weekend but they're close.

 

 

EDIT, and I'm sorry to post one more of these but they're just ripping into these people (as they should) and I thought you would all enjoy it. In other news, Knoebels wants you to know that "Screamscape lives in a fantasy world".

 

[A.J.]

When Knoebels posts about Flying Turns, the stupid people come out to play...

 

I really, really really want to ride this thing with the lights turned off. It looks like it would be an absolute blast.

[sspaz1000]

I seriously want to buy a drink for whoever runs their FB page.

 

But FT does look pretty nice at night.

[Dr. M]

It looks to me like they're really pushing to have it open for the fall. Why else would they be testing so much?

[GayCoasterGuy]

It's funny all the complaints a little mom & pop park can have against them...

 

But then big corporate park announces what looks to be a mediocre-at-best design with an 80 foot high ending, and the fans are friggin foaming at the mouth.

 

I'll be at Knoebels this October for PPP, Flying Turns open or not.

[SuperShawn]

I love who ever runs the Facebook page. My favorite response so far is "it's art".