So today I went to Knoebels with GAdv.com Member DrunkMunkey3458. (Jeff)
He arrived at my house at 7:30 and we left around 8:30. It took about 2.5 hours to get there from my house...its a quite accessible location though. (Right off Rte. 80)
So we get there and we know this isn't going to be like GAdv...
1. Parking is free
2. Parking is on grass
3. No entry fee to the park
4. There's a campground right across the street
By that amount of cars...you'd expect the place to be overflowing with people...but it really wasn't bad at all.
Well we go in, get our pay one price wristband for $38 and go. First thing we see is the still under construction Flying Turns. Wow. This thing is just...beautiful. Simply put. I can't wait to come back later in the summer and ride it.
So after wondering around...we find:
Phoenix!Lets just say the layout is the most deceptive layout in the world. Jeff and I were beyond skeptical of this "airtime" everyone was raving about since it had maybe 2 visible small airtime hills.
Knoebels has the fastest dispatches ever with each being MAYBE 30 seconds. We get 3rd row and...OH YES! Buzz bars with no seat belts. CHA CHING.
Leaving the station you go into a pitch black tunnel...pretty cool and loud. Then you climb the 78' lift rather slowly. First drop was....ok. It wasn't great, wasn't bad. Not too rough either. Then you go up the first turnaround and YES! Ejector already! Flying into the restraint! After a turn, go down into 2 airtime hills of the best floater ever (Is there anything better than floating between a seat and a restraint for 3 good seconds? No.) then up into a similar turnaround where again...good ejector. After the turn comes the double up, double down. Holy ----. Ejector on both of the ups and insane ejector on the whole way down. After another turnaround you come back for the last 3 hills which are just all INSANE ejector.
10/10My personal #3.
We were just...stunned after this ride and we went for Fandango (Moser Sidewinder) and it was VERY good. Much better than and inside frisbee. Great floater on every single swing. They also ran very long cycles which helped.
After fandango we went for
TwisterThe queue for this is pretty awesome. You basically walk through the supports of the ride. Its individual You exit the station and make a giant turn up into the first lift. The first lift probably takes you 70 ft, then you make an s turn and turn back into another lift. After that lift you make a turn at the top and drop. The drop was pretty good...one of the highlights of the ride. After a couple turnarounds it had a pretty cool double helix around the station. (Jeff despised that part) It was quite rough if you weren't ready for the transitions of it...but I thought it was pretty good.
7/10After we went on Twister we saw the infamous Knoebels Flyers. These things are pretty sweet...even to watch. Kids getting horizontal and hitting nearby trees. It was definitely a cool flat.
After flyers we headed over to
High Speed Thrill coasterto get our credit. In line we talked to operator who asked us if we wanted and job and told us how much he hated his job like 4 times.
So to start the ride...you basically launch because the chain is just insane. After peaking the 18' lift...you drop and get some nice air. Then into the 3 consecutive CRAZY airtime hills. BACK BREAKING EJECTOR on every hill. This was NO kiddie ride. It actually made 2 kids cry on the ride before us and they stopped the ride. It makes 3 circuits through and finally stops.
Wow.
for a kiddie ride?
10/10 but for the realness...
7/10.
After HSTC we got lunch. 4.75 for a decent cheesburger and a large Pepsi? Oh...I'm starting to love this place.
After lunch we went to the car to get my camera so we could make our trip on the Scenic Skyway. The Scenic Skyway is basically just a slow ski lift that goes 360' vertical out into the mountains opposite the park. Its 14 minutes long and pretty cool. Some of the pics I snagged:
After the Scenic Skyway we went on a flat extravaganza. We hit Downdraft, 1001 Nacht, PowerSurge and Merry Mixer.
Go here to find out what each of the rides were After that we went to Phoenix again and rode back row this time. Not nearly as good as 3rd row...so we went again 3rd row. Still amazing.
After Phoenix we went for Fandango then Twister again. Fandango was still awesome...Twister was a little better this time...for me.
We went on Phoenix 2 more times and Fandango again. I was starting to really slow down at this time from...I guess the airtime and being dehydrated.
We decided to get dinner...I had a hot dog and a slice of pizza. Both were..eh. After...I still wasn't really up to staying much longer so we got back on Rte. 80 and went home.
Knoebels is one park thats indescribable. Maybe its the random homes situated about the park...or the fact that Twister is across a road from the rest of the park. But really...its something every enthusiast should experience.
I can't wait to get back when Flying Turns opens and hopefully my camera won't be broken so I can get good pictures of Flying Turns and the mess that is Twister.
Topic: Knoebels PTR (Read 2468 times)
