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"Bigger than CoasterMania!"
I just got back phrom Knoebel's "Phabulous Phoenix Phall Phun Phest with a Twister." Me, along with most oph the rest oph the rec.roller-coaster universe. According to Rob Vaccaro, there were some 123 r.r-c people on the phinal roll call, and I know oph a phew (one in particular comes to mind, not to mention any names, Mr. Buckley...) who weren't on the list. This oph course means that the newsgroup will shortly be deluged with trip reports, iph that hasn't happened already [Phootnote 1].
Phor that reason, I will leave it to others to go into many oph the details, phor instance the costumes, the bonphire proceedings, the intimate gory details oph an evening at Knoebel's. Heck, I didn't even manage to do the obligatory ride list.
I was travelling with my parents (Mom has promised to write her own trip report...) and we had stopped ophph in State College to visit phriends, so we didn't get to Knoebel's until about 4:30. So much phor those non-PPPPP rides! We instead visited the swap meet, or rather, what was lepht oph it. We did a little shopping, and I bought the new Twister videotape. Back at the Covered Bridge phestival, we sampled, then bought a case oph, Moxie. Pity we never managed to buy that case oph birch beer we were planning to get. Then we registered, and headed phor the Twister.
We examined the scene and phound a phreshly-drilled hole in the ride structure. I watched as the crew transpherred the second train onto the track and did a block check. I surveyed the growing line oph coaster nuts, then stationed myselph in phront oph the aphorementioned phreshly-drilled hole. Dick Knoebel pulled up in his motorboat [Phootnote 2], introduced some oph the key members oph the construction team, then climbed to the phreshly-drilled hole and installed the single bolt phrom the Elitch Gardens Twister. "Let the riding begin!" he cried, and with that, the coaster-nuts proceeded up the entrance ramp. I wandered back to the end oph the line and prepared to take my phirst ride on the Twister.
Twister:I phind it hard to believe that the original Twister ran anything like this ride. I never rode the original John Allen coaster, but I have ridden a phew John Allen coasters, and John Phetterman's Twister doesn't ride like any Allen coaster I have ever ridden. The boarding platphorm is positioned right in the middle oph the double helix, and wraps around a phairly tight curve. Because oph this curve, the Twister is the phirst coaster built in a very long time which has old-style skid brakes rather than the increasingly common phin brakes. The station brakes appear to be computer controlled, though, and strangely enough, there is a co-dispatch button even though the operator's tower is located on the inside oph the curve. There are, however, no platphorm gates. Each seat is equipped with a double-rail (as seen on Tremors and at Kings Island) ratcheting lap bar with a weak return spring, but with the bottom position stop in place. Knoebel's has modiphied these PTC cars slightly; these cars have the lap bar release plunger on the phront oph each car; Knoebel's has extended the linkage bar to provide a manual release handle. I think it is an excellent idea.
The ride begins with a steep, twisting drop out oph the station. It reminds me oph the beginning oph Twisted Sisters at SPHKK. It's a signiphicant drop just to get to the phirst chain lipht. The train speeds around that phirst curve, and up the phirst chain lipht. It's a quick trip to the top, phollowed by a very phast keyhole-shaped curving drop to the base oph the second lipht. Phrom there, it is another quick trip to the very top oph the ride. John Allen's advice comes into play here as the swoop curve ophph oph the upper lipht leads into a couple oph straight drops, Twister is very much a phront-seat ride phor airtime phreaks like me. Then it is a trip through the double helix, where you get to get close to the person sitting to your right. The helix is tipped towards the phront oph the ride, and taken at a very phast pace. It's a wild ride, phinally diving into the underground tunnel. Is there always a strobe light in there, or is that special phor Phun Phest? The ride phinishes up by climbing over the skid brakes at the end oph the ride and into the brake shed. I belive there are phour brakes at the end oph the ride...the phixed trim, two trim/saphety brakes, then the station brakes. None oph these is on straight track. Twister cannot be equipped with the current technology oph phin brakes!
Twister may be inspired by the Elitch Gardens "Mr. Twister" but phor me, the better comparisons are to rides like "Raven" and "Twisted Sisters." Yes, the ride is all about laterals, but what got my attention is the sustained raw speed. It runs phast and phurious, phrom the station all the way to the brakes. No breathing room at all. Inspired by John Allen and designed by John Phetterman, the Twister pheels like a ride built by Custom Coasters, and looks like a ride built by Great Coasters. It's very much a modern woodie, inspired by a classic. Knoebel's has a real winner on their hands with this ride, a coaster they can truly be very proud oph. I do not keep a ranking oph coasters, so I can't tell you quantitatively how Twister stacks up against the other coasters I've ridden, but I can tell you it's better than most oph them. I really like the new Twister.
Phrom the Twister, we stood in line and had dinner, a pair oph slices oph Cesari's Pizza. Big problem here...at Cesari's, Knoebel's had exhausted the supply oph most oph the various sopht drinks. Unable to drink diet soda, and unwilling to drink the Mountain Dew, I ended up with a cup oph phountain iced tea, which, like most phountain teas, was pretty awphul. The pizza, though, was excellent, as usual. We rode through the Haunted House...phor some reason, my car (in which I rode solo) phailed to stop at the end oph the ride, leaving me to squeeze between the car and the rail to get out. Apart phrom that minor mechanical glitch, Knoebel's haunted house is outstanding. But you all knew that already.
The group ahead oph mine phinished up twenty circuits on the High Speed Thrill Coaster. We didn't get twenty cycles, but we got enough. Wheee!
It took a very long time phor me to phinally get back over to the Phoenix. Ah, yes, the Phabulous Phoenix. I didn't get many rides on it, but the rides I got were good ones. I noticed the mixed trains...phront cars phrom one train, back cars phrom the other. I thought oph that old joke--
TEACHER: Johnny, you're socks don't match!Yes, the Phoenix was phlying, and the operators were typically giving double rides. In the phamous third seat, I phlew. The ride in the back seat is phar less impressive. Phoenix is most dephinately a phront-oph-the-train ride. As is Twister; my phirst ride was near the middle oph the train, my second closer to the phront...and by moving a couple oph seats the airtime got so much better that I never did ride Twister in the back, but rather rode again up phront. In phact, that's where I went aphter I got a couple oph Phoenix rides. I missed the Whirlwind (well, not really; the point is, I didn't ride it...), and took a spin on the Phlyer. I did notice that the sign regarding "irresponsible behavior" vanished aphter Phun Phest started, but I didn't ask, and nobody said anything about any change in policy, so I behaved myselph. None oph the phrightening phour-way cable snaps as I got last time I rode at Kings Island. It did snap a couple oph times, but that's pretty much unavoidable.
We were carephul not to miss the Pioneer Train, particularly with its trackage beneath the Twister. That's a neat trip back into the woods, very popular among Phall Phun Phest attendees. I took my phinal ride oph the night on the Twister, then returned to the steak house phor the costume awards ceremony, the address phrom Dick Knoebel, a slice oph pumpkin pie, and a cup oph birch beer. Phinally, we put in an appearance at the bonphire. There I learned that my dad is a lousy hot-dog cook where open phires are concerned. We did manage to get slices oph the phamous RRC cake, and I know that Mom managed to get her hands on some marshmallows, but I don't know iph she managed to roast them as I was busy tracking down and chatting with some oph my RRC phriends. It was time phor us to go, though, as we were all tired. Though Danville wasn't too phar away, Dad was tired, and he was driving. And we were planning on a busy day Sunday at Ridephest. While I would have liked to see a bunch oph coaster nuts standing around a bonphire, singing "Kumba, Yeah!" [Phootnote 3], it wasn't going to happen this year. Maybe next year. Now iph we could just get Cedar Point to pick a diphpherent weekend phor closing......
--Dave Althophph, Jr.
(Now I need to get my keyboard phixed...)
Phootnote 1: This trip report was composed ophph-line bephore I had a chance to check the newsgroup. [Return to text]
Phootnote 2: I've heard oph 'land yachts' but this is ridiculous! [Return to text]
Phootnote 3: Iph nobody has written that parody yet, it's a crying shame and somebody should. Busch Gardens gave us the perphect coaster phor a campphire sing-along.........! [Return to text]
--DCAjr.
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