Knoebel's is a great park! (8/19/06)

^Now THAT sounds like the perfect setup. I loved Knoebels' bumper cars, though, and honestly I didn't even remember that they were one-way only.

By the way, when I was at Knoebels in late '04 they did not allow snapping the Flyers. Is this still the case?

^Never knew of a "snapping" restriction on the flyers at Knoebels... at least not one that was enforced.

There is a sign that says "Do not whip the sails" which I always took to mean any sharp movement of the sail / rudder left to right that could physically damage it. Thing about Knoevels Flyers is... you don't need to "whip" the sail back and forth to get good lift and dives and snaps... a gentle left to right motion will do.

Now down the road at Hersheypark it is a different story. Move the sail / rudder more than 5 degrees and get your tub lifting more than 7 3/4 inches above the "norm" and they will go into a panic. Not only shortening the ride cycle, but running an empty cycle or two (even if the queue is full), to make sure that no damage was done. Either they are over reacting or else they bought the cheapest, most fragile flyers they could find!

Same with the op at PKD's flyers who was screaming at people telling them not to "bump the birds" when the movement deviated slightly form the norm.

*** Edited 8/25/2006 3:57:34 PM UTC by SLFAKE***

"Yes... well... VICTORY IS MINE!"

That is definitely no longer the case. In fact the flyers seem to be on steroids lately after they did some work on the engine.

It seems anyone who decides to move the wing with some gusto will be snapping like crazy lately.

BUT: If one of the ops tells you to stop, please do. Most ops don't care but a few will watch the ride. Just come back later, but as always listen to what they say.

ah ok, cool, I can't wait. I'll be there with the family and dog, and sans ex :( . If you see a metal band shirt and a white husky with a big brown spot on the side, thats me lol.

P18, you're quite eloquent for a white husky with a big brown spot on the side. ;)

Hmmm, guy with dog at Knoebels. That narrows it down to a hundred or so.

That darned TPM (Theme Park Mentality) at Hershey with their Flying Scooters. That's where some of the more traditional parks and the big theme parks differ.

Parks like Knoebels do things that the big parks wouldn't consider doing such as running a carousel with a ring machine or having super intense bumper cars.

KW also has examples of this. If they were like one of the big parks, Noah's Ark would have been torn down a long time ago and the old NAD trains on the Thunderbolt would have been replaced. KW does have TPM in some cases. This includes safety-conscious operation on the Racer that slows dispatch times and the rough seat bottoms on the Turtle.

Arthur Bahl

I got a single snap on Hersheypark's Flyers...and was promptly ask not to ride again.

John Moore said:
One-way bumper cars are not for me. It's not driver's education for the blind if they only allow you to go one way.
If they only allow you to go one way on the Knoebels bumper cars, I will not be joining you on them next year.

Ordinarily I'd agree with you about the one-way thing, but you really need to at least TRY the Knoebel's cars. They're so heavy, and so fast, you could seriously get HURT in a full-speed head-on. No, really, I've walked away sore from those puppies WITH that rule.

Very much worth the ride, especially if you get on it with the right crowd of diehard insane locals (hi, Dan! :) )

FballReimer11 said:
its just my opinion, but saying Knoebel's is GREAT irks me.

You're certainly welcome to your opinion, but being IRKED just because some people like the park while you don't seems rather, oh, I dunno, like 8 years old or something.

Even barring the rides (which I love), what's not to like about a park with no entry fee, inexpensive good food, and a wooded atmosphere sans acres of blinding concrete?

And saying Knoebels' has more of a carnie atmosphere than Coney Island just blows me away. Coney is THE permanent carnival. (I wouldn't have that any other way, either, but sheesh...)
*** Edited 8/27/2006 5:37:58 AM UTC by GregLeg***

--Greg
"You seem healthy. So much for voodoo."

GregLeg said:

You're certainly welcome to your opinion, but being IRKED just because some people like the park while you don't seems rather, oh, I dunno, like 8 years old or something.

LOL, great comeback....

I can't believe ANYBODY would knock coaster preservation..... I personally would have KILLED to ride Idora's Wildcat.... If somebody with even half as much imagination as those responsible for Phoenix's resurrection at Knoebel's tried that with Wildcat, we would have had a real TREASURE on our hands. I think Knoebel's deserves a lot of recognition for saving something that would have otherwise met the demise of so many other classic coasters.

Coaster preservation isnt a bad thing, if the ride is worth it. But heres the thing: Phoenix isnt that good!

^ The VAST majority of riders polled say that Phoenix IS that good. I'm one of those...

Twister, from time to time, has been more *variable* in its performance. Phoenix delivers, and delivers with SUCH amazing consistency, I don't think there's more than a handful of woodies that can run like THAT at 11am...

Like what? Ive been on it at 11AM. Its 75 feet tall. What are you talking about. It has airtime. So do tons of other wooden coasters...most of whom have much more interesting layouts.

You're opinions about Phoenix are different from the general consensus. That's great, awsome, but you're not going to change anybody's mind. We get the point. *** Edited 8/27/2006 5:13:53 PM UTC by matt.***

Please be more specific about the tons of coasters with more interesting layouts. Seriously, you told us about 30 times what you don't like, tell us already what you do like.

P.S. "whom" refers to people, not inanimate objects like coasters. If you're going to trash something, at least use proper grammar. :)

FballReimer11 said:
Coaster preservation isnt a bad thing, if the ride is worth it. But heres the thing: Phoenix isnt that good!

Selective preservation. There's a new concept.

RatherGoodBear said:If you're going to trash something, at least use proper grammar.

I thought proper grammar WAS one of the things "trashed"... ;)

LOL, oops, yeah that did come out kinda wierd. ...How do you know I'm not into fursuits?? JK lol.

OK, then my next two-part question is--- (drum roll please)

a. What other coaster with more airtime and a more interesting layout was available in 1985 and could feasibly be relocated?

b. What else should Knoebels have installed or constructed back in 1985 in the spot where Phoenix stands today (that would have drawn the same number of people to the park for 21 years)? Grizzly II?

One man's junk is always another man's treasure. I like the Skyliner at Lakeside, for what it's worth... I have seen others condemn that one too..and that was a "used" model... I am glad it ended up somewhere else!

I have yet to experience Knoebel's (next year's things to do list) but from what I hear, I'm glad it got spared. With so many classic coasters gone forever, why would anyone not want to see one rescued?