Spending time at Knoebels is always a huge treat. As always, the park was great and relaxing, with the rides running in top shape. This park is so pleasant, with the sounds of rides, thrilled riders, and music from strategically placed carousel organs located throughout the park. The park environment at Knoebels is truly like no other and it is always a pleasure getting the chance to visit it.
Knoebels is my happy place.
The park's location in the woods is one of the many ways that it really excels.
Looking over towards Twister!
We naturally had to play some rounds of Fascination prior to getting our daily wristbands.
And Brit managed to win coverall on her first attempt! She ended up winning three times throughout the day.
And I managed to win some regular games, with this one being just two short of a perfect game. I would love to see modern iterations of Fascination get installed in parks. Fascination is sure to get our business, wherever it is located.
The park's nice Hopkins Log Flume
Lunch time!
And then some rides on Phoenix! The coaster was really flying. The thing that impresses me the most about the ride is how the airtime gets progressively stronger on each hill, to the point where the final hill's ejector airtime is just wild. I recall there being more airtime on the first drop and in and out of the first turnaround in prior years though.
I love the views that you get of Phoenix's layout from within the station. It is such a great way to build anticipation.
As always, Phoenix delivers
Flying Turns! We saved this ride for the end of the night as the lines let up.
Flyers time! The snapping was absolutely ridiculous. It is wild how this ride is turbocharged compared to its other Bisch-Rocco counterparts.
I love how the train ride runs through Twister.
Twister has an absolutely beautiful station.
As always, Twister was absolutely bonkers. I feel as if the ride has gotten better with age. The unrelenting laterals were truly intense, even in the section between lift hills, and immediately following the second lift hill. It was on a rampage on this last visit and I slightly preferred it to Phoenix on this trip. My preference usually flips between them on each visit.
Here you can see me in the second to last row.
One of the finest aspects of Knoebels is its placement in the middle of the woods. Here is the state tree, the Hemlock, in the foreground, with Twister making up the bokeh of this shot.
A view of the stunning Grand Carousel
Brit somehow managed to catch the brass ring on this trip. She was so lucky on this visit, between catching the brass ring and thrice winning Fascination Cover All.
The park has one of the finest antique car rides.
With the track running right through the structure of Phoenix
The views of Phoenix from the ride led me to cede driving responsibilities to Brit, so I could take pictures of Phoenix.
A covered bridge on the route of the ride.
Back for some Phoenix goodness!
And some Hrubetz Round Up Action
And a spooky ride on the Haunted Mansion.
I do not ever remember not waiting in a line for the Haunted Mansion. It was spookily empty, with the ride operator and car waiting for us to ride. As always, it was lots of fun. It is no longer in a class by itself in the quality of the dark ride. I feel like the Devil's Den at Conneaut Lake Park, and the Whacky Shack at Waldameer, have caught up in quality with their recent meticulous renovations. Nonetheless, the Haunted Mansion at Knoebels is still great and the impact it made upon restoring focus to dark rides has been invaluable.
The park's Stein and Goldstein carousel is such a gem. It is not only special for Knoebels, but for northeastern Pennsylvania as a whole. It has resided in multiple beloved amusement parks across NE PA, including the former Croop's Glen in Hunlock Creek (currently the site of the Austin T. Blakeslee Natural Area), and the old Sunset Beach Park in Harvey's Lake. This is the second stint of the carousel being located at the park.
The park's Lusse Auto Scooters Bumper Cars delivered like they always do.
Impulse has a terrifically compact layout that really delivers with excellent ejector airtime, tight inversions, and fantastic hang time within those inversions.
The coaster's car going through one of my favorite overall inversions. This inversion is packed with great hang time.
The Loaf is one of the many neat and quirky pieces of programatic architecture at the park.
Did I say that Brit managed to win Fascination in the cover all round three times?
As sunset and dusk settles in, Knoebels gets especially beautiful. This is a great time to catch a ride on the park's Scenic Skyway and Ferris Wheel to take in the sights of the park.
A view of the Knoebels Skyline from the Scenic Skyway.
Twister in action!
Looking over towards Phoenix. I would love to see the park add a swing tower. Considering the park's prior relationship with Larson/ARM, I would not mind seeing the park add a Larson/ARM Vertigo swing tower over on the other side of the park.
Twister is such a work of art.
Have to get in a few more Fascination rounds!
Phoenix at night
We wrapped up our night at Flying Turns. The line had went down for the night, so we only waited ten minutes or so. The crew was so nice and funny too, with the announcer even saying that we had to stow all loose articles, namely our Fascination loot. Overall, as always, we had a great time at Knoebels and highly recommend that you go and do the same. If you like airtime, great lateral forces, and awesome classic rides, all with a laid back atmosphere in the woods, Knoebels is the place for you.
