Phoenix as Rocket, in Texas pics - Phoenix love thread

What a beauty!

http://www.coasterphotos.com/Playland/rocket.htm

I am planning to get to PPP this year, can't wait! I've only rode the coaster on one visit in 1997. Many coasters have since entered and left my top 10, but the Phoenix is still there. Along with Comet in NY.

While I enjoyed riding Phoenix, I still have never gotten what many think is so great about this ride. As to the Comet in NY, we will be getting our first rides on this next week.

Here's one more pic of the Rocket that I took myself, just now. ;)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c352/matt515o/phoenix-blue.jpg

It took me several years to "get" the Phoenix, but it finally got me good. It's not always running in top form, but the last few years I've been lucky to catch it running in "great mode" fairly consistently.

The Comet on the other hand... I don't get the Great Escape Comet at all. Two visits and it's never been any more forceful than Raging Bull. I keep hoping I'm just catching it on a Bizarro day when it sucks.

Or were you talking about the Silver Comet? Now that's an awesome ride. I've gotten better rides on it than Ravine Flyer 2.

I am a huge fan of both the Phoenix and Comet. They aren't super Voyage intense but I've never ridden either coaster and come off without a smile and a giggle.

ApolloAndy said:

....but I've never ridden either coaster and come off without a smile and a giggle.

And for me, too, that was exactly it. Phoenix was just a charmer. It's just fun. I may ride other coasters for more intensity, but that one was just plain a good time.

I don't "get" Phoenix either. It's fun, but not nearly as fun as Twister. :p

That may change someday though. I remember a time when I didn't understand what all the Knoebels rage was about. Once I began to look past all of the gravel, and the cheapness of the park, I found some charm.

Phoenix may only do one thing - but it does it over and over again, and better than anyone else. It's perfection lies in its simplicity. As many other coasters have entered and left my list of personal favorites, Phoenix is just...persistent.

Knoebels is just top-notch love...

I couldn't have said it any better Gator.

The first time I rode Phoenix on my one visit to the park - I didn't get it either (kinda like my first ride on CP Blue Streak in the 80's). But after a few more spins and a days warm-up, I got it good!

(Same BIG TIME for Blue Streak - and I still have not, nor will I ever "get over" the ride after the 1995 'makeover', still very sad to me.)

I think with any woodie, especially the oldies, it's best to get them at the end of the day. Plus, much of the love I have for the oldies lies in their comfort, rideability and charm (year after year after year...). Same goes for the Anton loopers as well.

CoasterDemon said:
The first time I rode Phoenix on my one visit to the park - I didn't get it either (kinda like my first ride on CP Blue Streak in the 80's). But after a few more spins and a days warm-up, I got it good!

(Same BIG TIME for Blue Streak - and I still have not, nor will I ever "get over" the ride after the 1995 'makeover', still very sad to me.)

I think with any woodie, especially the oldies, it's best to get them at the end of the day. Plus, much of the love I have for the oldies lies in their comfort, rideability and charm (year after year after year...). Same goes for the Anton loopers as well.

I agree.

I love the phoenix. The tunnle has to be one of the longest tunnels on any coaster, and then there is the airtime.:)

I believe that every park should have an anton looper after going on mindbender a few weeks ago.

The only woodie I've been on that has even come close to or surpassed Phoenix is El Toro, but that's about it.

Knoebel's management may be incompetent when it comes to most things, but maintaining their roller coasters is one thing they do very well.

crazy horse said:
I love the phoenix. (snip) I believe that every park should have an anton looper after going on mindbender a few weeks ago.

Keep talking sense like that and we're going to have to ask you to remove the "crazy" from your SN... ;)

My best friend who I constantly drag to amusement parks was never a big fan of wood coasters until we rode the Phoenix for the first time at PPP in 2003. I had heard all the hype as well, and from the looks of the coaster, I honestly wasn't expecting that much out of it. Well, it only took one ride for me, and now Phoenix ranks very high of my list of top coasters.

CoasterDemon: Have you been to PPP before?

^No, haven't done PPP before, only been to Knoebel's once years ago. I really wanna get there this year. It's been too many years of hearing about the fun and seeing the picture, gonna save my bucks now!

Another thing I remember is how much I loved the rest of the park - the food, the trees, the gravel.

The food stands, next to the trees, which were growing out of the gravel. :p

I went to PP once. I unknowingly had a run-in with RGB, and I visited with Tina and Gator for about ten minutes. The "ERT" line was really long for the Phoenix, but the pizza was divine. It rained a lot of the time, but it was till fun.

Maybe it's better to skip PPP in favor of a non-enthusiast day visit? I know what CPoint was like during Coaster Mania years ago (have no desire to go back at this point to the park or event).

Guess it's a little exchange, more ride time or fellowship? Are the lines at PPP that bad?

No, the lines are not usually bad at all at PPP. If it rains, they only run one train on the woodies, which leads to long lines (but still under 25 minutes). Otherwise the waits are about 5 minutes for Phoenix and near walk-on for Twister. Go for PPP, but also come back on Sunday for Hangover Day when the crowds are usually really light yet there are still lots of familiar faces around for the fellowship that makes the weekend so special. If you go to PPP and skip Hangover Day, you're doing it wrong.

LostKause said:
The food stands, next to the trees, which were growing out of the gravel. :p

I went to PP once. I unknowingly had a run-in with RGB, and I visited with Tina and Gator for about ten minutes. The "ERT" line was really long for the Phoenix, but the pizza was divine. It rained a lot of the time, but it was till fun.

The line is not as long as it seems. Even with the line overflowing out onto the midway, the wait is never more than 15-20 minutes because they dispatch trains so quickly.

Knoebels literally dispatches Phoenix trains within 25 seconds of them returning to the station, when they are running one train. It's perhaps just a bit longer than that when they are running two trains, just to keep them evenly spaced. When the cycling train hits the double-up double-down in the middle of the ride is when they dispatch the next train.

The longest line at PPP is always for Czari's pizza. Can seriously take over 30 minutes to get your food, so plan to get it early. The longest line for rides is the haunted antique cars, which can be really cool once it's dark out. That is about a 25 minute wait tops, so even that isn't bad. Otherwise, the Flyers, Bumper Cars and Phoenix is where most if the regulars hang out and rotate between.

"Stop snapping or get off the Flyers!"

"Ok, I'll go to the Skooters for a while, and be back after your shift is over."
:)