Northeast Trip Bonus Knoebels

Knoebels

After a great three days last week, I decided to head up to Knoebels for the day. We arrived about 10:40 and I got an all day with wood coasters wrist band. I then headed to Phoenix and waited in line for the first ride of the day.

Finally, after a few tests, at about 11:05 on my watch they let us in and since I was the first, I got the front seat on the first train. Over the course of the day I rode this six times, including in the rain.

After Phoenix I headed to Whirlwind and enjoyed the little Vekoma looper. After that I headed towards Twister and rode that several times.

The rest of the day consisted of re-rides on the coasters as well as spins on 2001 Nachts, Flyers, Power Surge, Flume, Round Up, and lunch at the incredibly cheap Alamo restaurant.

Overall, Knoebels is a great family park, with some nice rides and great coasters.

Ratings on a five star scale, with flats and coasters being rated on the same scale, but not on a comparable basis.

Ride Breakdown

PHOENIX: This is one of my favorite woodies and it really delivered today. I seemed to favor the front rather than the back, which hurt my back a bit, but provided a wild ride. This thing really flies and in the rain I was afraid we would leave the track and fly away; it was that fast. The air on this is great and the pacing is perfect. My only complaint was the running of one train. Although not a long ling, it wasn’t a walk on and deserved the second train. **** ½

WHIRLWIND: A very unique Vekoma looper with two corkscrews separated by a high turn. The back is the best, as its not as jerky. The ride is very short, but pretty decent. I got some nice rides and there was very little discomfort. If they remove this it would be a shame, as it was pretty popular and a neat design. If not losing it, please paint it. *** ½

TWISTER: Wow, this thing is wild. I had no idea there were two lifts and I really enjoyed this rugged twister. Also running one train, with the other train being worked on, Twister had a fairly small line and I got four or five rides. I liked the front better on this as well, with the right side being more comfy because you get pushed into the divider instead of the bar. Very unique design (well…kind of I guess J , I never rode Mister Twister) with a wild helix and some neat elements. ****

POWERSURGE: I could have sworn this same ride at Coney Island ran much faster. Not a bad ride, but kind of nauseating. It ran fairly slow and I was ready to get off after some fast flips. *** 1/2

FLYERS: Wild flyers, which I snapped the heck out of. These things are fun. ****

FLUME: Nice flume with great dips and a nice setting. ****

ROUND UP: Too long of a ride cycle…a little shorter would have made me less dizzy. *** ½

2001 NACHTS: Rainbow is better and the bars hurt my… ***

COMMENTS:

It would have been nice if the woodies had two trains on. Do they every run two trains? Also, does Whirlwind even have a second train?

Some nice new SFMW Roar style trains on Twister would be nice.

OVERALL:

Very nice family park with decent prices, two great woodies, and some decent flats. Hopefully it will continue to grow but not lose its charm. A nice steel coaster would be great. ****

http://community.webshots.com/album/161632715fFyMwO

*** Edited 7/8/2004 11:07:56 PM UTC by Willh51*** *** Edited 7/10/2004 10:03:00 PM UTC by Willh51***

Please tell me you actually rode the Haunted House, Dodgems, Whip, and High Speed Thrill Coaster and just forgot to comment? I'd hate to think you missed those outstanding rides.

Nice TR...and I'm glad Phoenix was Phlying for you ;)

Rather than start a new topic, why exactly does it have two lifts?? Seems like just an extra thing to break or go wrong. Was it simply to match the old Mister Twister?

No, Knoebel's doesn't have much space to work with, so they split the lift to save as much space as they possibly could.

Anyways, good TR, and I DO hope you went on the Skooters.

Well Mamoosh, I didn't ride H.S.T.C. this time or Haunted House due to time constraints, however I have ridden them before and they are great. I forgot to comment on the others, I knew I missed something. The only ride I purposely skipped was Satellite, which really hurts.

Speaking of the Whip, I got a pretty forgettable ride on the thing in the not-to-distant past. Did it ever run well?

Knoebels only runs 2 trains on the woodies on weekends when it's pay per ride. I think I may have see two trains run once or twice durring the week but it's very, very rare.

Posted the pics at the top. Hope you like them, please ask if you want to use them though.

I agree that 2001 Nachts has the most painful restraints.