Gplez90 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 After visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain the night before, I was more than excited to get back to a Cedar Fair Park. My experiences at Six Flags parks has just very average in terms of the "total amusement/theme park experience". Cedar Fair just does everything better in my opinion. As soon as we pull up to the entrance of the park, we see a huge difference in the overall aesthetics of the park (as compared to Six Flags MM). The entrance of the park is very well laid out. Leading up to the parks entrance are a few dozen shops and restaurants along with seating, fountains and very well kept greenery. As seen below, as you approach the front gate, Silver Bullet's cobra greets you with it's bright beautiful colors. Also, even if you have no idea of the theming behind Knott's, you quickly get a sense of the Western theme before you even enter the park. As soon as you enter you are standing right under Silver Bullet's cobra roll with the entrance to the right about 200 yards away, so we headed there first. The first thing I noticed about the ride is the great color scheme (in my opinion). It looks like they just painted this thing yesterday! We were able to get on after about a one train wait for front row. The drop on Silver Bullet is kinda disappointing because it's not a very steep drop. In fact, at certain angles, the drop almost seems more shallow than the lift hill. However, the rest of the ride will make up tremendously for the lack luster drop. The ride was very smooth, delivered the right amount of intensity, and some negative Gs that I had never experienced on an inverted coaster. You were in and out of the forces at the right moment, and the transitions were smooth, yet intense. My favorite part of Silver Bullet has to be the over-banked turn between the loop and the cobra roll (3rd picture below). There were some surprising negative Gs in that element. There is another small banked curve between the 2 corkscrews later in the ride that had similar negative Gs also. Overall, Silver Bullet was my personal favorite ride in the park. It's a very enjoyable ride that is easily re-rideable. I give Silver Bullet an 8.5/10. Lord Knows I love standing under Cobra Rolls! Next, we decided to check out the newly refurbished Calico Mine Ride. Walking up to the ride, it looks like something we've all tried to recreate on RCT 2/3, but came nowhere close. The mine theming of the ride is just beautifully executed! This ride was also a walk on, but we had to wait for the only operating train to return to the station. Boarding the train, we first noticed the seating was rectangular in shape, meaning everyone sits facing the center of the car/each other. It's a shame that I didn't get any pictures from inside the ride, but again, the theme was well carried out. There were animatronic miners all over the place with fog/steam blowing at the train as it passed by. There were also boiling water pits, ambient LED lights, and a dog (animatronic dog, more animal action later!). The ride is about 10 minutes long, but there is so much to see inside the ride that it doesn't seem that long. For a family attraction, I give the Calico Mine Ride a 9/10. Great theme and slightly educational. Afterwards we found ourselves wandering (we don't use park maps) and stumbled upon the ground breaking coaster Xcelerator. The light pink and green color scheme touches the blue Southern Californian sky quite nicely. The area around the ride has a theme that American motorist from the 50s and 60s would recognize. The ride was only running one train, which was all that was need because the ride was still a walk on. We waited 2 trains for the front row, and we we got to the gates we noticed that there weren't gates for each individual row, but for each car. Speaking of car, the 1957 Chevy Bel Air theming for the trains looks very sharp as you can see below! The "Murica" design looks very good. It was also kinda cool to see the catch car return to the station and see how large it is. You can see it on the front row on the other hydraulic launch coasters, but not as close as on Xcelerator. The intimidation factor isn't as prominent here as it is on Dragster due to lack of sound effects and the whole staging area. However, I feel as though the launch on Xcelerator is quite a bit more snappy than TTD (if that makes sense), even though it's not as fast. Going over the top hat produced at quick jolt of airtime in the front seat too. The 2 over banked turns are a nice addition to the ride and offer some nice positive Gs, but GEEZ is the break run a GUT CHECK! There was no wait, so we decided to get back on, but in the back row. I think i like the back better. There is ejector airtime in the back going over the top hat. Overall, I give Xcelerator an 8/10. I love that it wasn't just up, down, done, but had the two banked curves in there. Coast Rider was right across the midway from Xcelerator, so we headed over there. Again, it was a walk-on (I don't think i mentioned, it was a Sunday and the park was DEAD), and when I say walk on i mean it! We literally walked onto an empty waiting car. Coast rider is your typical Wild Mouse coaster, nothing special, nothing that sticks out about it. I give it a 6/10, standard rating for me for a Wild Mouse/Mice. We had been informed that the shows at Knott's were really good, so we headed back toward the front of the park to catch the Wild West Stunt Show. Despite the park being DEAD, the theater was jam packed so we thought the show must be really good. It did not disappoint. The overall premise of the show was for a dirty sheriff to give his buddies inside information to rob a bank of gold. There were guns tootin' (fake of course ) water splashing, props flying all over the place, and a great deal of corny humor (it was funny none the less). The actors were also performing pretty decent stunts. It's a show you have to see to know what I'm really talking about. I give the show an 8/10. Great effort by the actors, great stage, and great crown interaction. I just wish it was a little longer. We left the show and decided to ride the train. This train was probably the most unique theme park train I've seen. The box cars resemble (or are) the box cars used in the late 1800s. There is only one station, so it's a round trip around the park. I was caught off guard while riding the train because we were being robbed! Not really. They were actors, thank God. One trip lasts about 8 minutes. I had never been on a Steeplechase coaster before, and I noticed Pony Express was a Steeplechase coaster, so we headed over there. Another walk on of course, we hopped on front row. This was not a very long ride, but it was very fun none the less. It's a great family coaster, and would make a great first coaster for anyone. The launch is about 38mph, and the ride comes with some subtle twists and turns, and a TUNNEL! I give Pony Express a 7/10 for being a great family ride with a unique seating style that is still quite comfortable. Leaving Pony Express, we encountered a show getting ready to start right on the midway. One man wanted to take a guy's sister to a dance party, but the brother of the girl in question wasn't going to let it happen. They weren't the smartest guys around either (just acting). Again this was a show where guns were tootin', and corny humor was used. Pretty good and fairly quick midway show right in the center of Ghost Town. Did I mention how well themed the park is? If not, the park is very well themed! This is Ghost Town. Next we decided to ride the Sky Cabin. Not as tall as other observation tower we had been on, but still provided a great view of Knott's and the Los Angeles Basis. Yes the cabin was air conditioned. Silver Bullet Xcelerator The next 1 or so, we spent re-riding rides because the park was so dead. Silver Bullet 8x, Xcelerator 6x, Pony Express 3x yada yada yada. Then we went over to ride Montezuma's Revenge. I wasn't overly excited to ride this ride, but it was just one more ride I could say I rode. Being 6'4" was also a challenge on this ride. I literally didn't fit, but found a way to ride anyway. A launched shuttle coaster with a loop. Nothing special. It came prebuilt in RCT2. 5/10 for this ride. It was getting hot (about 85 degrees) and we had done everything a least 3 times so we decided to wrap our day up around 3:30pm. Overall, Knott's turned out to be Knott only one of my favorite parks in the chain, but favorite parks in general. The theming of the park is incredible, it's relatively small and very easy to get around. We didn't eat there, but the food looks very good, and the overall atmosphere was great. The employees were nice and helpful and even recommended some shows for us. I hope we get to travel back to Knott's in the near future. It's a park I'd like to bring my kids to. And no, sorry i did knott get any updates/pictures of Voyage To The Iron Reef. But here are some other cool pictures! The sun was a' shining! Stagecoach Rides from Silver Bullet's line. The sixth and final inversion on Silver Bullet. Remember i told you there would be more animal action? This black cat was munching on some french fries. Inside the "Old School House" 0-82mph in 2.3 seconds will do that to ya........ Thanks for reading! 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfanatic83 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 It was getting hot (about 85 degrees) This is just.... come on man! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Great report! We'd love to hear about your experience at Magic Mountain as well. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faeriewench Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I like the cat picture. Knott's and Disneyland both are home to a bunch of cats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gplez90 Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Great report! We'd love to hear about your experience at Magic Mountain as well. There's a Magic Mountain report from late last summer in here somewhere. Ill find the link. We were only at Magic Mountain for a few hours. Not enough to write a report. EDIT: Found it! My thoughts on the park haven't changed much. Accept that The Riddlers Revenge is probably the smoothest stand up coaster in the world! No really, it really is smooth. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/30052-Six-Flags-Magic-Mountain-8-1-14 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Thanks for the great PTR! Someday, I've got to get out to California. I have to ask: did you not ride GhostRider? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gplez90 Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 GhostRider was closed for off season maintenance until Feb. 13th. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faeriewench Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I like GhostRider. And coming from me should say something since I don't like riding coasters. My last ride on it though (October 2014) gave me a headache. That ride is in a very good location for me....opposite side of the walkway from first aid. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsislandfan1972 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I want to go to Halloween at Knotts Scary Farm, it looks totally insane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faeriewench Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Then go. It blows KI's completely out of the water. Also check out Queen Mary and Universal while in SoCal for their events. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth555 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Scary Farm is a separately ticketed event so keep that in mind if you have a Platinum pass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faeriewench Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 ^right. Platinum passes do not get you free admission to it. I think Scary Farm is actually worth paying for though. I've been enjoying it for several years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth555 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I would love to go but its quite the distance even when flying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex lover Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Loved this trip report! great pictures and everything. I really want to go to Knott's one day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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