Knott’s Berry Farm is probably thought of as the home of the most hardcore thrill rides in North America. If you want roller coasters, you go to Knotts. Unless, of course, you are a child that likes fast rides….
Aside from all the Disney goodness, I think this is where Campbell was really hanging out to go. She loves anything fast. Roller coasters are her plaything. You can’t imagine how upset she was when we got there and found that all the cool rides have a 54 inch minimum height requirement.
For some perspective, there was only one ride in the whole of Disneyland that Campbell wasn’t allowed on: The Maliboomer. This is a ride which hurls you way up high and throws you back down again. The restraints on the ride just can’t deal with anyone under 48 inches. Campbell comes in at about 42.
Every other ride as Disney was cool: Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, you name it. No problems. And she went on them all.
Back to Knotts….
First thing we see is the Ghost Rider. This is billed as the fastest wooden coaster in the world. Certainly, it’s the only one I’ve seen that has banked turns. No good, too short.
Not all was lost, as we then found Camp Snoopy. This is the part of Knott’s that actually caters for the younger visitors. Thankfully – and unlike Legoland – most of these rides did not require an adult to go on with the child. So, Campbell is back to having fun. Bren suggests that as she isn’t really into the whole thrill ride thing in a big way that she will hang around Camp Snoopy with Campbell, and I’ll go off and check out the hardcore stuff.
Yeah baby!
So, I go and line up for just over half on hour to check out the Silver Bullet. This is a suspended coaster (ie you sit in a carriage that hangs underneath the rail) that is way fast, and has a bunch of loops and twists. Bring it on.
Wait in line, wait in line, wait in line, my turn next…
And it breaks.
Bugger.
At least I wasn’t one of the poor bastards that was already on the ride, and had to be rescued with ladders. Lucky for them that the ride had only just started, and the train had only just started the climb of the first hill.
After a few minutes I decide that it’s going to take ages to fix, so I leave my spot at the front of the queue and head of in search of more fun: The Xcelerator!
This one is a little different. Instead of a slow climb up a big first hill, you start off on a flat track, and are literally hurled along. The train is taken from stationary to 82mph, in less than 2.5 seconds. From there, the track turns 90 degrees: straight up. Then another 180 degrees, and you’re heading back down again. Very cool.
So, I wait in line again… waiting… waiting… my turn next…
And it breaks.
Luckily, they got it back up and going again pretty quickly, so a few minutes later I was strapped in and ready to zoom. It’s hard to describe the feeling of this one. The initial acceleration is actually quite smooth. I was all prepared for my eyeballs to be pushed through the back of my head, but there was none of that at all. The big vertical drop was pretty cool. Overall, a fun ride.
The Supreme Scream: This is quite similar to the Mailboomer at Disney, except it’s a little higher, and the lift is slower. Where the Maliboomer zooms you up very quickly, the Supreme Scream is a more sedate start. You’re lifted up by cable, and then dropped to free-fall back to the ground. Great view from up there!
Now, back to the Silver Bullet: Not much of a queue now it is fixed. And really, it’s not worth the wait anyway. Yes, it’s fast and all that. But with all the loops and twists you very quickly lose track of which way you’re facing, and just become numb to the whole ride. It is pretty smooth, as these things go, which is probably the biggest benefit of the new coasters over old ones.
And finally, back to the Ghost Rider. This one I can understand not letting small people on. The ride is quite rough, and the restraints are decidedly minimalist. Fun, but not if you’re a child trying to stop yourself from falling off.
I didn’t get to go on the Perilous Plunge, as it was being worked on. Shame, ’cause it looked like fun: a 75 degree drop in a big boat thing. Oh well.
Then, we all decided to go on the rapids ride. Same kind of thing as the one at Sea World, and Disney. Except not as rough or wet, and it was a near thing to get Campbell on. Really, some of the restrictions were just stupid.
The worst thing about Knott’s was that the really seem to be going all out to get extra money out of you. All over the place, you get hassled by people trying to get you to take part in various side-show alley type games. All for extra cash. Really annoying when it’s so expensive to get in there in the first place.
Overall… it was ok. Probably a lot more fun without (a) young kids and (b) all the rides breaking.