Coasterfun Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 This weekend I visited a friend in Vegas and we drove to California to visit Knott's Berry Farm. This is one of the parks I always wanted to visit so with my Platinum Pass I decided to go for it. First up Ghostrider: I liked this coaster, good airtime, lots of headchoppers, not rough(although we did ride front seat. A solid wooden coaster, If there were trims I didn't feel them like I do on The Beast. Pony Express: We rode this four times because there was no line for it! This ride was short! It was a different experience though, and I'm glad I rode it. Just wish it was longer. Boomerang: One of the better boomerangs I've ridden. No headbanging with the old restraints, fairly smooth, but it felt slower than the Carolina Cobra. Xcelerator: I liked this coaster a lot! Although similar to TTD, in some ways I liked it better. It's obviously slower and shorter, but its a longer ride and for me more to enjoy. TTD is a blast but it's over so fast. I wish Kings Island had one of these. I wonder if this coaster has the same issues as TTD and KK at SFGA? Silver Bullet: Rode this 5 times front and middle. A solid B&M: Liked the many inversions and the zero-g roll over the water was a nice touch. I would rank this after Raptor and Afterburn, tied with Alpengeist and better than Goliath at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Sidewinder: The longest wait of the day, they were only running one train. I liked this ride, a good family coaster. I think I prefer the Tony Hawk spinning coasters at Six Flags. Montezooma's Revenge: I wanted to ride this coaster, because I was never tall enough to ride screaming demon before it was removed. This coaster was smooth, fast, and has no OTS restraints! I loved that, I almost prefered this ride to the boomerang. Jaguar: A fun family coaster, has a nice theme to it. I assume it was put in before Cedar Fair bought the park. Most of of the newer rides had queue lines with no shade just metal bars. Overall a fun park. I enjoyed the atmosphere and landscaping. Employees still wear theme costumes, the Ghost Town was cool. I highly recommend Sunday mornings, we walked on everything except Sidewinder(20 min. wait) We rode most rides multiple times, if you are in the area I would stop in especially if you have a Platinum Pass. Parking no problem but you still have to go to Guest Relations to print out a ticket for your Platinum Pass. Also, a strict no glasses policy here. You couldn't wear glasses on any of the coasters. Also, I liked this Snoopy kids area best of all the parks with similar areas. The rides just had more charm and Peanuts music was played in the section of the park. By the way this park has hand carts for the kids which was cool to see. I know Cedar Point had these once upon a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monroe Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Xcelerator: I wonder if this coaster has the same issues as TTD and KK at SFGA? To be as confusing as I possibly can be: The answer is yes.......or no.....ok I will go with yes........well no...... The problem with TTD and KK is really not the technology, but the sheer size of the ride. The problems they have had with Xcelerator has been technology, with this ride they found out that height has more to do with the force needed for the launch than the weight. TTD and KK are opposite from that, the force they need to launch the train over the hill was based on the weight of the train. They over powered the motor for Xcelerator so they would not run into this problem, but they ran into other problems. You see a hydraulic motor does not run very well cold, and with it being over powered it is hard keeping it at a good operating temp. All of this being said, it is still more reliable than most hydraulically driven rides out there, they have done a fine job with this coaster and are to be commended. That is the jest without writing a novel, I hope it has helped. By the way, I enjoyed the report, always a fun time at the Knott. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 ...Also, a strict no glasses policy here. You couldn't wear glasses on any of the coasters. ... And I assume this STILL means strap or no strap. Quite honestly, I do not see how the park gets by with this in light of the ADA and the relatively high potential for eye injury on several of their rides. In any event, I won't be going back to Knott's until this changes. Sigh. Glad you liked the park and had a good time. I adore Jaguar. A pity Cedar Fair's policies at Knott's (and ONLY Knott's) keep me from riding it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustbucket Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Good report and good to see that you had good time. I always enjoyed KBF. KBF has the most friendly ride operators of any park I visited in the US. Also, KBF has a decent collection of coasters as well. Ghostrider is my favorite. It has gotten rougher over the years. I am not sure if I can do 26 times in a row like I did it in 2004. Also, I had a marathon run on Xcelerator in 2006. I rode the ride 54 times in a row. Doing that also ruined TTD. I no longer find TTD launch as intense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterfun Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Xcelerator: I wonder if this coaster has the same issues as TTD and KK at SFGA? To be as confusing as I possibly can be: The answer is yes.......or no.....ok I will go with yes........well no...... The problem with TTD and KK is really not the technology, but the sheer size of the ride. The problems they have had with Xcelerator has been technology, with this ride they found out that height has more to do with the force needed for the launch than the weight. TTD and KK are opposite from that, the force they need to launch the train over the hill was based on the weight of the train. They over powered the motor for Xcelerator so they would not run into this problem, but they ran into other problems. You see a hydraulic motor does not run very well cold, and with it being over powered it is hard keeping it at a good operating temp. All of this being said, it is still more reliable than most hydraulically driven rides out there, they have done a fine job with this coaster and are to be commended. That is the jest without writing a novel, I hope it has helped. By the way, I enjoyed the report, always a fun time at the Knott. Thank you! this is why I love this forum. So many friendly and knowledgeable people willing to explain things. I would love to see this technology get to the point where its reliable for more parks to install them. I really liked this ride and it's a different experience from other launched coasters I've ridden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterfun Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 ...Also, a strict no glasses policy here. You couldn't wear glasses on any of the coasters. ... And I assume this STILL means strap or no strap. Quite honestly, I do not see how the park gets by with this in light of the ADA and the relatively high potential for eye injury on several of their rides. In any event, I won't be going back to Knott's until this changes. Sigh. Glad you liked the park and had a good time. I adore Jaguar. A pity Cedar Fair's policies at Knott's (and ONLY Knott's) keep me from riding it. I totally agree with you on the glasses. I've never been to a park Cedar Fair or other that uses this policy. I mean no glasses on Pony Express? I've wore glasses on more turbulent rides that that ....without a strap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterfun Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Good report and good to see that you had good time. I always enjoyed KBF. KBF has the most friendly ride operators of any park I visited in the US. Also, KBF has a decent collection of coasters as well. Ghostrider is my favorite. It has gotten rougher over the years. I am not sure if I can do 26 times in a row like I did it in 2004. Also, I had a marathon run on Xcelerator in 2006. I rode the ride 54 times in a row. Doing that also ruined TTD. I no longer find TTD launch as intense. I agree with you on the friendly operators. A couple of native Californians told me quite a few people drive across the state just for the atmosphere. Also, ops and service employees who wore costumes . . . . at a Cedar Fair park! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveStroem Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 I agree that the glasses policy would be an ADA issue. Also can you imagine some one that wears glasses (safety glasses to boot) would get something in their eye on a ride where they made them remove eye protection. I wear glasses and always have a strap on when riding coasters. This policy is dumb. OH, great TR BTW. I love seeing other parks. We have thought of heading out to DL, SFMM & KBF for a coaster trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Kevin Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 I liked this coaster a lot! Is it just me, or does Xcelerator look very under supported? Oh and by the way, in our hotel in Atlanta, at the breakfast, they had Knott's strawberry and grape jam. Same exact font as the logo for Knott's Berry Farm. Does Knott's really have a berry farm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastCanyon Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Knott's is such a beautiful park; Great trip report! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyMan98 Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 I had the perfect chance to go when I went to Los Angeles last month, but no one wanted to go! It looks like a really pretty and clean park, very nice - and the tracks for the coasters look really shiny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faeriewench Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Oh and by the way, in our hotel in Atlanta, at the breakfast, they had Knott's strawberry and grape jam. Same exact font as the logo for Knott's Berry Farm. Does Knott's really have a berry farm? It basically started as road side produce stand. Walter Knott specialized in the boysenberry. The park doesn't have any connection to the jam stuff anymore though. I assume it was put in before Cedar Fair bought the park. It was installed before Cedar Fair took over Pretty good pictures Coasterfun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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