Is Knoebel's a Snoozefest?
But looking back on things, my most cherished memories of that place are the times I spent there with friends (PPP, Preservation Con, Twister's Grand Opening, side trip with HomeyG, etc). Phoenix nor Twister rank with me, I think Ocean City Maryland has a better in house dark ride, and Whalom Park (RIP), Kings Dominion, and Southport Pleasureland all have better flyers.
The food is pretty good (but the pizza is overrated, IMO -- anyone have Delgrosso's?), the employees outside of a select handful are average at best, and walking down that ''main midway'' when you first enter the park from the parking lot reminds one of a carnival.. though it does look ''nice'' all lit up at night (but it still looks like a carnival).
However, I like walking thru the Knoebels entrance however, that's neatly framed by the classic carousel. I love the covered bridges. All the neon at night. The smells throughout the park. The ice cream, traveling tacos, cabins, sizzle beef burgers, unique buildings and old rides give the park a unique feel.. and I can appreciate all that. I'm not one to rush in and out of a park in three hours, and I'm not always out for the tallest, fastest, newest, etc.. hell, I have Great Adventure in my backyard! In fact, I'd consider myself more of a park enthusiast than a coaster enthusiast!
But do I think it's overrated? Yes. I'd much rather have Blackpool, Kennywood, Disneyland, Hersheypark, Lake Compounce, Alton Towers, Holiday World, Walt Disney World, or Busch Gardens Europe/Africa within day trip distance.
But don't listen to me.. or anyone else. Go there, enjoy everything and form your own opinions. Sometimes I just get the vibe that people like things there so much because ''everything is free'' and I believe that's reflected by the clientele. Granted that's nice and all, but that won't do it for me anymore. *** Edited 4/28/2006 4:23:40 PM UTC by RobCoasting***
-Rob Vaccaro
http://www.robvaccaro.blogspot.com
To describe all that is special about this park you could start with free parking, no park gates, best amusement park food, amazing haunted house, two fantastic coasters, but it’s the intangibles that sets Knobel's apart.
If you don't get it, that's too bad, that's just sad... Have fun a SFs. *** Edited 4/28/2006 5:00:16 PM UTC by rc-madness***
Lots of interesting posts. Like, really interesting. While I appreciate the references to my post as reasonable disagreement, I really like Nate's post. I think he managed to sum it up better than I did and managed to get the words onto the page that I couldn't:
Nate said:
I'll probably end up back at Knoebles at some point in the future, whether for PPP or because I happen to be in the area. It's never something I'd travel far out of the way for, and it's not somewhere I'd take someone who would want to experience the "best" parks in the country.
That sums it up for me as well.
I still don't get the whole correlation between coaster enthusiasm and this nostalgia trip thing, but it's so prevalent that I know I'm clearly the odd man out. It does nothing for me and I've never hidden my lack of caring when something classic gets pushed aside for progress. I've always been more excited by 'what could be' than 'what was'.
More than anything, I think Knoebels didn't give me that feeling of escape that many parks do.
millrace said:
A bit of rotted wood here and there, gravel paths, peeling paint, all coupled with newer repairs, new construction, and improvements are interesting to me. It brings the place down to a human scale that shows the park is owned, built, and maintained by people...
This further illustrates the differences that killed it for me. It did really feel like "some rides on a campground in the middle of the woods" - and that does nothing for me. Growing up in rural western PA, this perfectly describes the county fair that came to town every year, cost $6, and was a way to blow 4 or 5 hours when there was nothing better to do. I want everything perfect. I want a fantasy world. I don't want it to be real. I want to escape that 'real' for a day.
But with that said, I did find great pleasure in LC and IB as I've mentioned already. So I kind of contradict myself in that aspect. However, if I try to figure it out I remember that IB was a great day on the water in one of the most unique park atmospheres going. LC was however, just some rides in the woods. But having grown up with KW as my home park, I think I felt some of that at LC. Maybe it just felt 'comfortable'? Plus, it didn't hurt that I thoroughly loved Boulder Dash. So take that for what it's worth.
And to repeat myself further, I have to mention again that I found no aspect of Knoebels to be really exceptional in any way. Nothing was bad or even close to it, but noithing stood out. It was just a forgettable experience.
So there's the third attempt at explaining it. :)
I do find it interesting that no one bit on Brett's challenge with the Flying Turns thing either:
Not only do I not understand why a park owner would go through the expense of creating something that was outdated 15 - 20 years ago, I don't understand why it's getting just as much buzz as say, Voyage? Just ... can anyone explain the attraction beyond nostalgia? Or better than that, the business sense behind it?
I have agree here entirely. Then I think back to nostalgia thing. I think the enthusiast interest in rooted exactly in that. It also explains why I wouldn't care either way. Hell, who knows. Maybe next time I get to Knoebels, I'll ride it, fall in love and proclaim the Flying Turns to be the greatest coaster in Earthly existence.
Or maybe it will be exactly what I think and I'll log on to CoasterBuzz that evening and throw the playful moniker of "Flying Turds" out there and see if it sticks (pun intended).
(I just singlehandedly lowered the bar on this thread three notches with that)
In the end, I can't and never will fault someone for liking a park or ride or whatever (except for Nitro ;) ) and think it's really cool that this thread gave everyone the chance to explain why or why not on a little park in PA.
And it was more than a little liberating to finally just say, "Hey, I don't really care for the place" - especially with the way it is generally loved.
So is this where we all hug or something?
*EDIT - Just noticed this:
But don't listen to me.. or anyone else. Go there, enjoy everything and form your own opinions. Sometimes I just get the vibe that people like things there so much because ''everything is free'' and I believe that's reflected by the clientele. Granted that's nice and all, but that won't do it for me anymore.
That's a ballsy statement...and I like it. I think the 'free' thing is WAY overrated as well. Ever notice there a certain pattern to parks that do this? It's usually these out of the way, smaller parks with limited offerings compared to the megaparks. It kills me when people try to say it shows they care. I don't think that could be further from the truth. These parks do it because they HAVE to. These parks don't charge $50 to get in, $3 a drink and stuff like that because they can't. It has nothing to do with wanting to - it's about knowing your place in the market and adjusting accordingly to drive business.
But I digress. Sorry, for the footnote rant there. :)
*** Edited 4/28/2006 5:36:20 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***
I think this is a first. Honestly!
Lord Gonchar said:
See, we managed to totally save the trolling thread. :)
As far as the Turns thing goes, it probably dates back to a family thing for me. I had to hear from my parents and their siblings/relatives about Euclid Beach and their Turns so many times it has made me jealous. Now I live 5 miles from where it was and drive by it every day so I get a constant reminder on what I "missed" out on, even though I was there when I was 1 1/2. :) Now that I will have a chance to ride a true Flying Turns maybe that's what put me over the edge. I guess I'll know either later this summer or next year just how much my anticipation was warranted.
It's kind of like a "The Bat" thing with me. I rode The Bat in it's first year when I was NOT a coaster fan. It was my first trip to PKI(then just KI)and The Bat was the ONLY coaster I rode, just because it looked so cool. I chickened out on all the other coasters there at the time. Now that it's gone, I have not experienced another Suspended remotely close to what that ride was like. Iron Dragon is a coaster you can nap on, Top Gun is over too quick, BBW is the last one I've been on and it's by far the best of the 3, but it's still no Bat. Now I tell other people just how awesome The Bat was and they get a little miffed that they can't ride something like that.
Ok, that's enough drivel, moving on,
Tom *** Edited 4/28/2006 6:18:03 PM UTC by LdScotsman***
You have disturbed the forbidden temple, now-you-will-pay!!!
I am totally in love with KG and it ranks at the top of my park list. Phoenix is my favorite coaster and the flyers are easily my favorite non-coaster ride. Throw in the bumper cars and flats and you've got a winner.
On the flip side, though, like Gonch, I've never understood the nostolgia thing. I really don't get why everyone is so excited about flying turns. I could see how La Vibora without brakes would be pretty good but would it be Phoneix or Boulder Dash or Voyage or El Toro good?
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
It's very hard to explain the "nostalgia" thing to people. It's like that really comfortable old pair of jeans or tennis shoes that are ratty and full of holes, or even that first car that was a real clunker, but there are so many memories surrounding it. And isn't that, really, what nostalgia is? Good memories and the things that trigger those memories?
It's why some of us miss Fascination, or insist upon riding that old ride that isn't nearly as thrilling to anyone else but is to you because you remember the FIRST time you rode it as a kid. Maybe it's simply the people you were with that made it so memorable.
Growing up in an era when small, family run amusement parks were the norm and when tiny carnivals and fairs were a big deal, a place like Knoebel's would very likely appeal to me. I remember gravel paths, old buildings with faded paint, and parks where there was only one roller coaster not much larger the Blue Streak. Everything else is what people consider "carnival" rides now. I haven't been on a Caterpillar or Whip since I was 8 years old. I remember when Cedar Point's midway stopped before the IMAX theatre. I would bet a lot of people would be unimpressed by Cedar Point of the 1960's.
Although I've never been to Knoebel's, I would bet I'd enjoy the park if only because of all the memories that park might bring back to me. Would I make the long drive from Michigan just to go to Knoebel's? Probably not. But if I ever make a trip that way, Knoebel's will be a park I'll visit just for the memories it's likely to trigger.
I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
I've expressed my opinion on Knoebels in the past; somehow I can't seem to drag myself out of there, even if I've been there before. The county fair is a somewhat fair (bad pun) comparison and guess what? I like county fairs! Where else are you going to find some of the craziest flat rides? Knoebels is loaded with fair and fair-like flat rides, both of the vintage types and modern types (two words-Power Surge!).
But if you don't like flat rides, haunted mansions, bumper cars, log flumes, etc., then maybe it's not the place for you. If you're only going there to pick up two-and-an-eigth-credits, you might be disappointed about the drive back and forth.
The employee comments that someone made earlier by a certain SixflagsKingdaKa sounded almost exactly like comments I heard several weeks back by someone who runs a certain coaster club. Things that make you go "hmmm..."
Closed topic.
