Knoebels 9/6/2008

I convinced my mom to go with me to Knoebels today even in the rain. Tomorrow would have been better but I have my grad school graduation to attend, which left today as the only day that we could both go so off we went. Our plan was to do mostly indoor rides and attractions.
We got to the park around 1:00 and it was raining but not too hard. Almost all rides were running. The only ride I saw not operating was Rockin' Tug.
We made our way over to Roaring Creek Saloon (with our umbrellas) for some lunch. There was a magic show at 1:30 which was nice to watch for free. As I usually only do the rides and not much else at parks it was good to take in a show for a change. We went to the XD theater and I noticed there were some small arcade games there that I had no idea existed. We played some SkeeBall and then I went into the theater for Cosmic Coaster. It was interesting as I had the whole theater to myself. I liked the show but I could see almost the same stuff on screen with or without the 3D glasses.
Next we went over to the Grand Carousel where I was able to get a ride on the lead horse. (The one that is used on all of their advertisements.) There were so few people in the park that there were 3 or 4 outside horses without riders. I don't think I have ever seen that before. Great ride as always and I got a ring every time around (11 total).
Next was the Haunted Mansion which is rather entertaining with my mom. She's been on the ride at least 10 times and still screams at every one of the "surprise" moments.
Off to the Cosmotron and mom went to the Christmas shoppe. Is this the only Himalaya that still runs backwards? Great ride but I found it was interesting that they played *Nsync's "Bye, Bye, Bye." Last time I was here they played hard rock stuff, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, etc.
So the first outdoor ride of the day I decided was going to be Phoenix. Mom went into the Chalet Gift Haus. They were only running one train (yellow) and I got right on the last seat. There was a short wait for the front. I had never ridden this in the rain and it was fantastic! I think it made the laterals have a little pop to them. The airtime was insane as to be expected. I hit the middle divider at one point on the bunny hops. I actually didn't get too wet, just drizzled on.
Found mom and took a spin on the Antique cars. Still my favorite Antique car ride. The roof on the cars sold my mom to go on the cars with me as there would be no getting wet/drizzle.
Then it was over to Twister for the only other outdoor ride for the day. One train operation and you were only allowed in the front two cars or the last two cars. One of the ladies in line asked the ride op why and he said it was because of the rain. So she said why would that matter. His response was "I can't get into details, but it's because of the rain. They're the best seats in the house anyway." There were only a handful of people so at most it would have been a 3 train wait but I was just wondering if anyone could shed a light on why they would do this? Especially since at Phoenix you were able to get in all the cars? I got on after a one train wait and was in the front seat. That was not such a good idea in the rain. I was getting pelted with rain really, really hard. It hurt. I was afraid to open my eyes for most of the ride because I didn't want one of those hard rain drops flying into my eyes. It was still a fun ride though as I almost always try to get the back seat of every coaster I ride. (There happened to be less of a line at the front when I got to the station, it was about a three train wait for the back.)
After this, we were done with rides and decided to play Fascination. We got the bag for $5 each that had 11 tokens ($5.50 value). We each won two games. I got lucky and won the coverall game and got 10 tickets. We were able to exchange our tickets for a coffee mug and some little toys for my little cousins.
We had dinner at the Wharf and I had the Fancy Fries and Mac and Cheese Bites for the first time. Mac and Cheese Bites were excellent!!! As well as fresh and piping hot! Just when I thought Knoebels food couldn't get any better, it does. This was the last 'novelty' food I had left to try there and it did not disappoint. My mom even commented that the pickle on her hot dog was fresh and that hot dogs usually suck at parks but not at Knoebels.
Before we left we went to Playland to play some more SkeeBall. We gave our measly 8 tickets to a little girl there who was very appreciative.
We left around 6. This was a nice visit for me and I was able to experience the games, entertainment, and other attractions that I don't usually take advantage of because I am too busy riding till I drop.
First time poster, long time reader. Please be kind! Thanks for reading!

No flyers?

Despite that, sounds like you had a nice visit. I love the carousel. Going for the rings makes that ride more fun than most coasters. I haven't been there since June and am looking forward to my visit tomorrow.

I am puzzled as to why they would close the middle cars on Twister when they're only running one train and they don't need to buckle seat belts every time a seat isn't filled. Perhaps it's a weighting issue, but it doesn't make any sense to me.

No flyers today. I thought about it but I had decided before we got to the park that the only rides I was going to ride despite the rain were Phoenix and Twister. If I had a poncho maybe, but I only had an umbrella and didn't feel like buying a poncho since I have one at home (nice place for it).
If you are going tomorrow, ride them for me in the dry, sunny weather. :-)

The weight issue was the only one that I could come up with as well for the Twister situation. It had me stumped.

How were they checking restraints on Twister? Still running the length of the train on each side? Maybe they figured they'd at least send every train out with 12 people, instead of having every second or third one with only 4 or 5 people on it. I've seen a few times on Phoenix, they'd send out an empty train occasionally to make sure the next one was full instead of 2 half full trains.

I've seen the mac and cheese bites on the menu, but never tried them. I'm intrigued. What are they? Seems like macaroni is already bite-sized.

If I had the choice of buying a poncho (or another one), or giving up a few rides, I'd spring for the $2 to buy the poncho. :)

Great trip report. I think that we underestimate how amusing amusement parks really are, and it sounds like a great day to appreciate how charming Knoebels is. Glad you had a nice time.

The whole thing about the trains, as far as I am aware, IS a weighting issue. I have seen this on many coasters when they are not busy, moreso at some parks than others. I noticed it A LOT at Hershey when I was there on a non-crowded day.

The way Twister used to rattle around the helix, I can imagine that making sure the ends of the train were weighted might help the stability a little. But it doesn't rattle as bad anymore, and at no point have I ever seen either the train or the track so poorly-maintained that I'd think there would be a problem making it around the course. Plus I don't know why the rain would make a difference. Wooden coasters do seem to run faster with a wet track, but they're still not going to leave the track in any circumstance.

I've seen someone riding Phoenix alone in the middle of the train. It wasn't raining, but it was a cold night at the end of October. I can't remember if I've ever ridden Twister alone, but if I did it was in the front or the back by choice anyway.

There were 2 ride ops checking every restraint on Twister. The guy in the front took the first half of the train and the guy in the back sitting at the mic checked the back half. It took less than 30 seconds. There was only a total of 8 people on at one time (just the first two cars and last two cars).
It would make sense that they didn't want a train of say 3 or 4 people as the station was pretty empty. I guess this could have been a way to combat this.

Mac and Cheese Bites are battered. It is similar to what the outside of battered mozzarella sticks taste/look like. There are 6 Bites in an order and they are triangular shaped.

I probably should have got a poncho, hindsight is always 20/20. :-)

There were some runs on Phoenix where the train was less than half full. I didn't see any trains go out with only one person, however I think this would have been doable if someone wanted to ride by themselves as every seat was open for business the whole day.

KnoebelsGrandCarousel said:
It would make sense that they didn't want a train of say 3 or 4 people as the station was pretty empty. I guess this could have been a way to combat this.

That would be my guess. Or, perhaps the ops didn't want to have to buckle the middle belts any time those seats were left empty, leaving them to concentrate on their end of the train (i.e. less distance to walk).

You rode Phoenix in the back and got air? I wonder if it's because of either the wet track or the emptier trains, or both. I remember taking my first ride on Phoenix in the front and being completely blown away. I then wanted to try out the back seat, and was surprised how devoid of air it was compared to the front.

Belts?

:)

Ah, you passed the test, RatherGoodBear. Was seeing if anyone would catch that. :)

Er...yeah. I uh...not sure what the hell I was thinking, but I must've had buckling belts in my head after reading AV's first post. Ooops.

No air in the back? There is plenty of air in the back. I much prefer the back to front.

Yes, there is a good helping of air back there. I almost exclusively ride in the back on Phoenix except when I see 1.3 is open.

I <3 Knoebels. I <3 KG's Bumper Cars. I <3 KG's Flyers. I <3 Phoenix. The one, and only, thing I hate about Knoebels....too far away!

I'm guessing I had an unusual ride then, because I didn't get anywhere close to the amount of air in the back as I did in the front.

Nice TR! Welcome to Coaster Buzz!

Incidentally, what did you get your degree in?

Well one guy I stood behind in line last year swore that the back went faster than the front of the train. Funny it didn't get to the station sooner!

If nowhere else, if you're on the back of the train, you should get tossed on the double down. And I think everybody gets some air on the bunny hops.

I always chuckle when I hear people say the back goes faster. :)

Thanks Emiroo!

I received my MBA with a concentration in accounting. I am looking to get an accounting/finance job in industry somewhere in NYC. I have had a few interviews but the job market is obviously crap right now.

^ Isn't Dunder-Mifflin hiring? :)

I'll be heading out there this Saturday...It's been 3 whole weeks and I'm starting to develop a nervous tic.