Knott's Berry Farm TR (A mini Cedar Point?)

[u]Knott's Berry Farm[/u]

Date of Visit: August 5th

Weather During Visit: Sunny, upper 70's

Crowds During Visit: Medium

Time at Park: 11:30am - 10:30pm

Trip Report

[u]The Park[/u]

Knott's Berry Farm is truly one of my favorite parks.  It has a perfect collection of coasters, an excellent set of water rides, and a nice collection of other rides and attractions.  There ride collection is just perfect overall.  Plus, it is a great theme park (notice I said theme).  The Fiesta Village area is excellently done.  It is very bright and colorful, has nice landscaping, authentic food, and one of the better themed areas in any park.

The Boardwalk is another first rate area.  Perilous Plunge really makes the area stand out, and has some excellent themeing.  Riptide looks great, Xcellerator definately has some nice themeing and really fits in, and everything else in the area looks great.

Ghost Town is the other area that really looks great.  It is wonderfully themed, and has a great collection of attractions, not just rides.  There are many shops, shows, and food locations, and even the employees wear specialized outfits.  Overall, Knott's really is a great park. Knott's obviously has better themeing than Cedar Point, and Cedar POint could use some of it.

The only complaint I would have, is that crews were quite slow on many rides.  Other crews were normal CF speed, but some were just painfully slow (Xcellerator especially.  This crew was horrible). You get spoiled being at CP though, as CP crews are some of the fastest out there.

[u]The Rides[/u]

Montezooma's Revenge:

The launch on this ride was quite nice and still felt fast.  It was also very smooth.  The loop was again smooth and quite intense.  Both the front and the reverse spike felt somewhat tall, and going through the loop backwards was really intense and fun.  Overall it is a fun and smooth ride, which lap bars which makes it even better.  The brakes re-entering the station can be uncomfortable, but they aren't too bad.

7/10

Jaguar:

While the ride is a family coaster, and therefore has no big drops nor intensity, it is still a very pleasant ride.  It is quite long, and has many turns.  It also goes right through the middle of Fiesta Village.  The best way to describe the ride is "pleasant".  That is really all it is.  The trains are incredibly long, and sitting in the back makes it cool to look at the great amount of train in front of you.  The queue and station are excellently themed, and makes you feel as if you were really in an Aztec temple.  CF has maintained this themeing well.

5.5/10

Ghost Rider:

I had just had a cold a few days before coming to Knott's, so let me preface my comments by saying I was very vulnerable to headaches.  The ride starts off quite nice with a small drop and a few turns before the lift hill.  The first drop isn't very steep, but it is somewhat long and turns to the left at the base.  Unfortunately, the base of the first drop is extremely rough, and as I head someone else phrase it "It feels like rolling down a hill in a trash can".  That really is the best way to describe it.  A hill that produces a pop of air-time follows.  These two hills are really the only seriously rough hills on the ride.  The rest of the first half of the ride is rough, but not anything that I would consider bad, or anything that would detract from the ride experience.

The rest of the ride is really excellent.  There is quite a bit of air-time, and I don't know how many turning hills.  This produced a ton of laterals, and was really thrilling and fun.  The whole ride has an out of control feeling to it.  And again, other than the first hill, and a bit of the second, the roughness isn't all that bad...  It truly is a fun ride, and night rides are insane on it.  The ride is also quite long, and seems to last forever.  The two turning hills after the mid course brake run are the best.  This is a great ride.

8.5/10

Silver Bullet:

The lift hill is quite long, or seems so, and really provides a nice view of the park.  The first drop provides a nice swooping turn followed by a shallow drop into the loop.  The turn is quite nice, but the drop is actually the worst part of the ride due to how shallow it is.  A loop follows and is quite fun.  You then go speeding into an overbanked turn, which I actually really enjoy.  I think it is quite thrilling and gives you this "flying" sensation.  The cobra roll is enjoyable as always, and it is actually quite compact.  The compactness of the cobra roll along with the fact that you go quite fast through it, it is actually quite disorienting.  You then go into a zero-g-roll, which is my favorite element out there, which is drawn out and very exciting.

From the zero-g-roll you go flying into another overbanked turn, but you go through this one faster.  From there you go into a corkscrew to the left, then go up a small hill that produces a small pop of air, it is almost like an s-turn, and then go into a corkscrew to the right.  The left and then the right corkscrew with the hill is perhaps the best part of the ride.

You then go into an extremely banked helix over the water, and your feet feel as if they could touch it.  This helix is similar to the one on Top Gun, but on Silver Bullet, the helix itself is more intense.  It is another great part of the ride.  Overall I really like Silver Bullet.  It gets quite a few mediocre and lame reviews in the coaster community, which I can't really understand, but it is actually one of my favorites. I would say it is up there with Raptor. It just needed a Raptor type helix.

9/10

Xcellerator:

Xcellerator has an extremely intense launch.  You are 0-82mph in only 2.3 second.  The launch is quite thrilling, and having it be from the station makes it even better.  The top hat is nice, and provides a nice amount of air (I actually got air approaching the top of the hill, and while going down), but you do realize you aren't nearly as high as Dragster.  The over-banked turns really didn't do a ton for me, and as such, I don't think this ride is nearly as good as Dragster.  They felt a bit slow, and the only thing they accomplished was making the ride longer (not better).  The straight away leading into the first over banked turn had a bit of vibration, but otherwise the ride was completely smooth.  The brake run was a bit abrupt, and even the stopping was a bit intense.  Overall its a nice ride, but other than the launch, the rest isn't anything great.

I do have a few interesting notes about the ride.  One thing I found astounding was that the first car line was just as long as the actual line (in terms of number of people in each line).  The normal line took about 15 minutes, and the front car line took an hour and a half!  I just went in the back as I didn't think front was worth it after riding on it in the front on my last visit.  My friends waited for it, but I thought it was ridiculous.  The crew on this ride was also extremely slow.  The guests also contribute to the slowness, putting things in bins, etc, but the ops don't have an efficient nor fast system in place.  It also doesn't help that the second train is already waiting to re-enter the station after finishing its run just as the first train is opening the load gates.

8/10

Sierra Sidewinder:

This ride actually surprised me!  It was a ton of fun.  We sat in the last car, which seemed to have much more spinning than the others.  The front car had very little spinning it seems after watching it from the line.  Unlike normal spinning coasters, this line didn't move painfully slow, and we were on in not even half an hour.  There is a ton of spinning, a lot of turns, and is a nice length.  It is just a really fun ride!  I definitely recommend it.  One of the best spinning coasters out there.  The many turns help add to the excitement.  This ride also has an on-ride video system. Cedar Point would do good with one of these in Camp Snoopy. It would be the perfect fit, as families truly do love to ride together.

7.5/10

**Note: We missed the Boomerang on this trip, as I have been on it before, and the line is ridiculously long for such a standard ride.  It the best boomerang paint job though, and has the best location!**

Other Rides/Attractions

Perilous Plunge:

I have a long history with this ride, and I was desperate to get on this.  I was looking forward to this ride more than any other on my California trip.  After visiting the park a few years ago, I was told I was too thin to ride after getting in the elaborate 4-point harness boats (the old ones).  I wasn't any thinner than anyone else I knew, and my family couldn't ride either.  I guess you have to be plump to fit this ride!  I really wanted to get on the ride, as the drop looked vertical, and it looked insanely wet.  

It really bothered me that I hadn't gotten on this ride on my trip for quite some time, so needless to say, I was thrilled to be able to get on it on this trip.  The line was quite long, an hour and a half, but I was so excited to get on it it went by fast.  The line itself is thrilling.  You get insanely wet just in the line.  The first drop is over the line, and since the drop is near vertical, the water comes crashing over the sides of the drop into the line.  The line is covered, but this does little to keep you dry.  There are also pools of water in the line as you walk through the queue.  At one point I got stuck right under the first drop for a few minutes, and got soaked just standing in line!  It is the most fun line I have ever been in.  

The new boats are very colorful, and the standard over the shoulder restraints help speed up capacity (although it was still low).  We got the back row of the boat, and once we got the clear, you have no idea how excited I was (luckily this time I wasn't too thin).  The lift hill is quite slow, which allows you to look forward to the ride even more.  The view is also quite nice.  Once you get to the top, you take in one more view, before gaining speed around the turn and heading for the drop.  You fly over the first drop, and you get insane ejector air.  The drop may as well be vertical, because I couldn't tell a difference.  You even get wet just going down the drop as water is flying in your face.  The first drop is the best part of the ride, as it is tall and long, and you get a ton of speed.

The splash isn't huge or as tall as it was, but it is still plenty enough to engulf your boat so that you can't see anything around you (literally, not anything for quite a while).  You then realize you have gotten soaked, and return to the station.  

This is probably my favorite ride, and it provides the best overall experience.  The colors of the ride are just great, the best color scheme anywhere in my opinion.  They are so lively and California like.  The color of the boats is also just cool to look at.  The line is the most exciting line I have been in, and was just so much fun to wait in watching how soaked you were getting.  There is also a ton of themeing!  Pelicans, huge buoys,  large shipping containers, pelicans, etc.  It is just such a great ride, and I am so excited I got on it!

The interesting thing about this ride is how wet you get.  The front of you definitely gets soaked, but due to the large seat backs, the back of you actually stays pretty dry!  I hadn't really seen anything like this before, but I liked it a lot.  You just dried up more quickly, but still were pretty wet which cooled you off.  It was more comfortable later in the day though which was nice.

We went on the ride again at night and it was even better!  In an empty boat I got even more wet just going down the first drop, and got a great refreshing splash of water, and the splash felt bigger and wetter than before.  THe air is just incredible too.  It is really ejector air going down that drop - on a water ride!  I am glad I got the back of the boat both times.  And the amazing thing is, this ride had just exited a multi month rehab just 4 days before I visited.  The rehab helped a lot, and now the splash actually reaches the bridge and gets the bottom half of spectators wet.  I love Perilous Plunge (not you Snake River Falls)!

10/10

Supreme Scream:

This ride is quite tall and very enjoyable.  It is a bit nerve wracking sitting on top of that huge tower!  The crews though were very slow and pretty disorganized (the grouper always sent in way too many people). Still, for some reason I don't think it is as good as Power Tower. Anyone agree?

8.5/10

Unfortunately I couldn't get on Riptide on this trip, but it is also a really fun ride and the water makes it cool.  The log ride was also still closed for its rehab, which is unfortunate, as it is a great ride which my family really loved.

Notes/Observations:

I have already said a lot in this TR, so I will leave you with this.

-Employees could be better and faster
-Ride collection is perfect
-Knott's is Great
-I love Perilous Plunge (my quest is complete)
-The park is actually up there with Cedar Point

-- Top Thrill 182 --

Nice TR! I used to live just outside of Los Angeles and would take the family to Knott's occasionally. Always had a good time there. You didn't mention if you had Mrs. Knott's chicken dinner at the restaurant just outside the park? If not, you missed out!

I love reading trip reports to see what other people think of the same things I've experienced before. We went to Knott's in late April of this year. While I agree they have a really nice collection of coasters, I didn't agree on the theming part. I'm sure a lot of that had to do with us just being at Disney for three days prior, but Knott's just seemed run down to us. We still had a great day though. I did agree about the ride ops. Ours were painfully slow or seemed like they couldn't wait to go home.

I was at the park on the 8th of August. I pretty much agree with everything you said. I called home and they asked me "So how was Knott's"?

I replied "It's honey I shrunk Cedar Point!"

On a side note, I processed in with my Cedar Point annual pass with no problems at all, only took 5 minutes!

Did you try the Chicken Dinner at the entrance to the park? Now thats a real treat I wish they would expand to their other parks!

I thought Knott's was pretty good when I was there in January. If I could ever get out there again, it would definitely be to check out the Haunt. I'd love to be able to spend a night working the Haunt, I'm sure it would blow away anything I've done at CP.

So related to all this, will I be able to use my 2007 Maxx Pass at Knott's for ALL of December 2007??

Yeah I think your 2007 Maxx Pass is good through March. But, I could be mistaken.

edit for quote:

From Cedar Point's website:

All Pass Photo IDs issued at seasonal parks are valid from April 1 of the year of issuance to March 31 of the following year. MAXX and MAXX Plus Passholders from other Cedar Fair parks will be admitted to the park through Guest Services.

*** Edited 9/5/2007 4:21:18 AM UTC by halltd***

Glad you had fun at my home park. Not a lot of people think highly of KBF. I agree with you that KBF is up their with Cedar Point, they have a great selection of rides and one hell of a great show (Mystery Lodge).

I also agree with you that the crews could be a little faster. But you got to remember they are year round and think of it a just a job. Also Xcelerator has slow dispatches because of the ridiculous Safety procedure, witch takes up a long time.

Glad you had fun and great TR!

Ryan

p.s

halltd, it was nice meeting you on your KBF visit. *** Edited 9/7/2007 6:50:35 AM UTC by RyanTTD120***

^ Ryan - were you the guy on Xcelerator? If so, it was cool meeting you too. We loved that ride - even with the nasty trains. :)

Thanks for your tips about SFMM too. We did everything you suggested in the order you suggested and it all worked out great. We had an amazing day there. We rode every coaster (some more than once) and still had time to spare.

Yes, that was me. Glad you had fun too!!

halltd said:
Yeah I think your 2007 Maxx Pass is good through March. But, I could be mistaken.

You would think that would be pretty straight forward, but an admissions supervisor at Knott's who didn't understand what that meant was the reason it took me nearly an hour to get into the park. She insisted that the expiration date applied only to my home park (CP) and when I pointed out the obvious fact that CP is closed from November to May, it didn't seem to register with her. In fact, she tried to call CP (at 7 PM East Coast time on January 2nd) and couldn't understand why nobody answered.

That experience was the only downside to my whole trip, but it still really gets under my skin when I think about it. Maybe it's because after working admissions at CP, I can't fathom a supervisor not knowing that kind of thing.

^^Haha, honestly, I'm actually surprised she knew what Cedar Fair was as crazy as that sounds....when I was there I was asked where Kings Island was located (where my season pass came from), and after saying Cincinnati, Ohio the girl paused *thought about it* and said, "Oh, that's in the Midwest, right?" Sheesh!!!

But thanks for the help on the expiration! My plan now is to hit up KBF and hopefully MM en route to Australia for the Moto Coaster credit at Dreamworld!

A couple of comments:

1) I agree completely with your take on the front car line for Xcelerator. I bet 95% of the people getting in the line for the front car have no idea they are about to wait 5 times longer than everyone else. After seeing how the Dragster front row wait is in comparison I would ALWAYS choose to sit in the front row (it doesn't seem THAT much longer than any other seat compared to Xcelerator).

2) I'm glad to hear you liked Perilous Plunge.. I haven't been on it since they changed the boat but I remember some rides in the back row with just the lap bar (and I think some velcro belt that went across the lap) where I really felt like I was going to fly out. It was insanely scary... and when someone actually DID fly out I wasn't *that* surprised :(

Rapids 77-78 said:
Nice TR! I used to live just outside of Los Angeles and would take the family to Knott's occasionally. Always had a good time there. You didn't mention if you had Mrs. Knott's chicken dinner at the restaurant just outside the park? If not, you missed out!

I agree, Knott's is just a really enjoyable park to go to. Unfortunately, no. On this trip I was unable to go to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner. I did on my last trip and boy is it delicious!

haltd said:
I love reading trip reports to see what other people think of the same things I've experienced before. We went to Knott's in late April of this year. While I agree they have a really nice collection of coasters, I didn't agree on the theming part. I'm sure a lot of that had to do with us just being at Disney for three days prior, but Knott's just seemed run down to us. We still had a great day though. I did agree about the ride ops. Ours were painfully slow or seemed like they couldn't wait to go home.

Yeah, it certainly wasn't Disney themeing, but I still think Knott's had some really great themeing. And I actually thought everything at Knott's looked really new and not at all run down at all, but it does seem like a two sided issue. And yes, the ops were painfully slow. That's a good way to put it. They just needed some more energy.

RyanTTD120 said:
Glad you had fun at my home park. Not a lot of people think highly of KBF. I agree with you that KBF is up their with Cedar Point, they have a great selection of rides and one hell of a great show (Mystery Lodge).

I also agree with you that the crews could be a little faster. But you got to remember they are year round and think of it a just a job. Also Xcelerator has slow dispatches because of the ridiculous Safety procedure, witch takes up a long time.

Glad you had fun and great TR!

I completely agree. I was shocked when I looked at a few TPR trip reports of KBF a while back to find it filled with complaints. I think the issue is that the park gets a lot of sterotypes. When I went, only the log ride was closed, which obviously is due to a large issue. Everyone says it is becoming too corporate, losing all of its charm, etc. I thought it looked like CF was making sure to try and keep a lot of that charm, and thought it still looks very nice. And I didn't see any of the main shows, but some of the smaller midway ones looked great.

And what is this safety procedure on Xcelerator?

And as Ralph said above, it still is a bit of a mess trying to get into Knott's with a non-Knott's pass.

^ And Coaster Goblin, I'm glad you see my point on the Xcellerator front car line. I couldn't believe how long it was, and while I like front cars, I thought it better to get off sooner and do other rides. And part of my group who waited for the front said that it wasn't a front row line, just a front car line, and that after that 1.5 hour wait, some people willingly went in the second car!

And yes, I loved Perilous Plunge. I tried to get on Plunge with the old boats, but I was apparently "too thin". Hadn't heard that one before. This was when they had the 4 point harnesses installed, and they were being incredibly strict. They told me that the restraint had to be tight enough so that they couldn't get their finger between me and the harness. And I wasn't that thin then! I head a lot of other people got turned away too.