Associated parks:
None
August 2 & 3
The Plan - Leave work at 4 - get in the car by 4:01 nad try to beat the rush hour our of New York and get to the park by 8:30 for a few night rides before hitting the hotel to crash. A quick breakfast, a swim in the hotel pool, get to the park for the ropedrop and leave by 4.
The reality - Did you ever nitice that when you go with the family, you are awlats late? We left our house at 5:15, smack into rush hour traffic. Got nailed on the Verrazno & Gothals Bridges. Had to stop for dinner in New Jersey (Eat in - not on the road) by 7:30 PM. Gave up the thought of night riding by 7:31 PM. Several pit stops later - we got to the hotel (Hampton Inn - Shamokin) by 12 AM.
Very clean and comfortable. A little pricey, but only the best will do for Mrs. Flux and it had to be near a Bob Evans.
Revised Plan - Up at 8, Indoor pool at 8:20, Checkout 9, Breakfast at Bob Evans by 9:15, Get to the park by ropedrop and run with the bulls at 11.
Revised Reality - Up at 9:30, screw the pool, where the hell is my omlette by 10:30, reload the car and check out by 11:45. Hating everyone and everything by 11:46. Pulled into the park at 12:15. (I didn't know it at the time, but the hotel clerk gave me tickets for 4 bucks off a weekday wristband for each of us - SWEET!)
The crowds were - well not too bad but the weather was oxygen-sucking hot and humid. All of a sudden, Psssst, Psssst, the gas-belching sounds of DOwndraft. I was finally at Knoebles and despite the heat...it felt good.
Plan number 3 - get the wristband - take care of some business for preflux and get on the rides and fight the crowds.
If you have never done so, stop by the main office. THey have a few citations and certificates from various organizations that truly do the park and its staff proud.
FLyers - Just had to wait for the cycle to finish. The guy running the ride was a senior citizen who looked a bit like the old guy in Courage the Cowardly Dog cartoon. Priceless. Everything feels better when you're on a flyer. I don't know how to do the snapping thing, but there was a sign saying not to. Also preflux was fighitng me for the controls. 2 nice Rides without getting off.
Twister - There was a sign saying One train operation. There wasn't much of a line, but we got two in a row in the front. Fun, not too shaky and very nice looking structure.
Roto Jets - Two rides in a row without getting off. I have to say that this ride was interesting. First off, it looks like a big kiddie ride, but it really isn't. When we were picking up speed, I felt a lot of pressure in my side...until pre pulled back and we were up high. Why is that? It felt great going up and down, but once we were fully down, i was painfully being pressed into the side.
Cosmotron - I didn't see Kozmo. I like the lights, but it just doesn't compare to the Mind Scrambler at Rye. I also heard some inappropriate music (for the park's atmosphere in there). We went once - Preflux loved it.
Bottles of water - I know at 6 flags, water goes for about 3 bucks a bottle. Here it was a dollar and a half. Last year, I thought it was only a buck. Did the food prices go up a bit this year or am I geezing out on this?
That's it - Preflux was tapped out. He didn't want to go on any more rides. His only mission was the pool. So that's where we and a LOT of other people headed.
First of all - I mentioned this before in anther trip report. MORE PARKS SHOULD HAVE SWIMMING POOLS. You cool people off, you eat people, you throw in a slide or two and you have happy peeps.
This pool had free lockers with admission. We didn't do the sldes, as the lines were too long. We did use hte regular slides in the pool.
Plus #1: Water quality and temperature were very good
Plus #2: Astute LIfeguards jumped in after Preflux. He jumped off the platform into 12 feet of water, but he didn't know how to exit the pool. He was just swimming around. We personally banned him from the diving section for the rest of the time.
Plus #3 - You have to look at the photo wall. There are many captioned photos of the recent flood.
Minus #1 - There should be a clear rope where the black line separates the deep water from the shallow.
Minus #2 - The pool kind of gets deeper in ohter places quickly and without notice. Most of us don't care about going from 3 to four feet, but if you are or if you have a little kid, it can be a bit dangerous.
Minus #3 - Not to nit-pick (though I despise the louse population and their ilk) but the two in-pool slides need a que and some sort of protection at the pool where the supports are. I scraped my ankles walking by.
Minus #4 - A small group of teen girls was filling their mouths with pool water and launching it in our direction. I took a cue from anther buzzer. (Forgive me, I don't remember who came up with this one)I explained that if they did that again, that I would notify security and have them removed from the park).
Finally we came out out and headed for a few rides.
SKLOOSH is fun. The wave is VERy FOrceful and it took off the hat of hte guy next to us and sun glasses from antoher rider. It felt great inthe 95 degree heat.
Comment - When I had my hands up for the splash down, I was able to touch the overhanging leaves on the tree. This could be considered dangerous. We rode this one twice in a row, with a lady next to us who was missing so many teeth, it looked like her tongue was in jail. She appreciated our re-ride.
1001 Nachts - Classic Fun Ride. Just a tad to short. Can you say "Hey, there's a lot of family rides here."
A Dance troupe was entertaining as we were getting more water and taking a break. They were well-intentioned, but very poor in quality. They sang and a small band played a medley of dance tunes such as I will survive and YMCA. If they sing and dance like that let me assure you that they WON'T survive. What was odd about this was that along with the show was a person wearing a giant Pepsi bottle suit. I didn't get the connection. Also, there was a character in a costume, but it didn't look like the Kozmo we know and love. Preflux took advantage of the moment and he lunged from the bench to join the show. The whole thing lasted for about fifteen minutes. Very few people were paying them attention. I give them credit for doing that on such a hot day.
PLUS - One of the spectators, an 80 year old lady started dancing a bit and her comment to me was, "At my age, I can get away with it."
We headed for Phoenx and had two - consecitive front seat rides. We both liked it, though some trims were on. I was surprised about the 1 train operation. The station wasn't crowded.
Time caught us, as did a threatening sky and we had to leave by 5. We got back to long Island at 10 PM.
Final Thoughts -
1) DON'T TRUST MAP QUEST. Mapquest gave me perfect directions, but said the trip would take 3.5 hours. It was closer to 5, though I drive the limit 99 percent of hte time.
2) On the way home, we heard a radio spot for K'nobles.
3) Aside from the minor incident at the pool, we saw very few reasons for the park security do do anything.
4) It's very hard to have a bad time here.
5) Is this a night park? I've never seen it lit up before.
6) I did not get a good look at the Flying Turns construction. It's been discussed on this forum for a long time, but I think it will be a perfect additoin to this park.
I mentioned in other reports that my wife is not a rider. She said that this park was her favorite due to the shade and the crowds. She wished we hod more time. Tha's my battle cry.
Overall, we had a great time and we look foward to going back to Knoebls next year.
And now I have a new wristband to add to my collection. Let's see if it makes it to next year.
Here's To Shorter Lines & Longer Trip Reports!
I saw a sign that said "Potato Cakes." When I got my order...I was handed a greasy wad. A cardiologist's dream. This just wasn't it. I tasted it and I didn't like it at all and threw it away.
I found it later by the food court area. They were called potato wedges. PURE NIRVANA!
Another dream fulfilled!
Here's To Shorter Lines & Longer Trip Reports!
To address your questions/commentsL
1) I never trusted Mapquest. First time I tried it, it told me to get off at an interchange that I knew didn't exist. I could just barrel through the guiderails and down the embankment to pick up the road that actually crossed under the highway.
2) Only one? I listen to a station at work down in Reading that seems to play several every hour. Love how they turned the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun" into "Fun, Food and Fantasy"
3) Read my TR about my trip from Friday (when I get around to writing it).
4) Agreed. If you do, it's your own fault, or you just "don't get it." (Maybe it's just not for you)
5) Yes, yes, yes, yes yes. Great viewing at night from the Sky Ride, the Ferris Wheel, the 1001 Nacht, both coasters. I love the light program on the Ferris Wheel too. Great walking around among all the illuminated rides and attractions too. And with the park's Bargain Nights (Wed and Fri) and Sundown plans, the crowd actually picks up late in the afternoon and evening. Not uncomfortably crowded, but enough to keep the atmosphere lively right up until closing time-- and usually after (don't be surprised to see the last riders getting of the Ferris Wheel at 10:30 or after).
6) I agree, the FT will be a great addition. The construction and information kiosk have been attracting lots of attention all year long. (wonder if I made the webcam yesterday)
LOL, about Potato Cakes. I never had their version, but it is a local favorite at church and fire company picnics. It's obvious you're not a native. :)
Great TR. Sorry I missed you by a day.
Im guessing you didn't check out XD while you were there? Im somewhat anxious to try that out. Also, the other costumed character you saw was probably King Knoebel, the tan lion. I hope these characters are roaming the park when I go up, I've never seen them out before, maybe ones in the 5+ years I've been going lol. *** Edited 8/5/2006 4:03:25 PM UTC by P18***
Richie Reflux said:
We headed for Phoenx and had two - consecitive front seat rides. We both liked it, though some trims were on. I was surprised about the 1 train operation. The station wasn't crowded.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! This can't be!
Phoenix has NO trim brakes,and I don't forsee them adding any. In fact Knoebels removed a trim from the coaster when they rebuilt it.
High Speed Thrill Coaster "World's Finest" Overland Coaster
RatherGoodBear said:
(wonder if I made the webcam yesterday)
A friend of mine had me wait and save a picture of him waving to the camera as a souvenire lol. To really be immortal though is to be there as they turn it off for the night and you get to be up on their site allll night, lol.
HighSpeed - It might not have been trims per-se, but I noticed some sort of roll-back type mechanism in the middle of the ride approaching a turn. Perhaps it wasn't a trim, but it did alter the speed slightly as we rolled over it.
SFGADv Lover - No excuses for the spelling. From now on, when I do trip reports, I will type them on Word and copy & paste. I've been doing most of the typing directly on site, which creates mistakes. I am a teacher and I should know better. Now I know how my students feel! (PS - I like Great Adventure too. Read my first trip report about GA from this year - if you can get through it) *** Edited 8/6/2006 2:41:04 AM UTC by Richie Reflux***
Here's To Shorter Lines & Longer Trip Reports!
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