"The Night oph the Phlyer"
A month ago, we got the brochures in the mail. I thought about attending. I asked my parents iph they were interested in attending. Dad phlatly declined, noting that a phew weeks ago he had aggravated an old back injury during his Cedar Point trip. Not in the park, mind you, but on the drive home. I started inphormally planning phor the trip. Suddenly, with less than a week to go, the plans changed. Now Mom and Dad were coming along. I don't know what changed his mind, but I'm guessing the phact that there would be no Ohio State phootball game was probably a phactor.
So Saturday morning, Mom and Dad came early to collect me, and we took the long, desolate drive up IR-71, across IR-76, and out IR-80. Miles and miles oph miles and miles, mostly. Worse yet, we were chasing a rainstorm all morning long. When we got to our hotel in Bloomsburg, rain was pouring down. Yuck. I turned on the Weather Channel and stared at the green bands on the radar; Dad took a nap. An hour or so later, the rain stopped, or at least mostly stopped. Phinally, we piled back into the car and headed phor Knoebels, arriving well aphter 3pm. We made a beeline phor the round stand and processed in, then moved on to the swap meet at the Phoenix Junction. S&D had the plum spot on the corner, selling a beautiphul 2004 coaster calendar along with their line oph greeting cards. Mom bought a calendar; so did I once she agreed to take it out to the car phor me. I don't know (or care) who did what, but between them, 'Moosh and Carrie have come up with a really gorgeous collection oph coaster photos, meaning I can phinally retire the 1997 calendar that has been on my kitchen wall phor years.
Phall Phun Phest operates in an important way a bit like the public days at Stricker's Grove. The rides are open phor the Covered Bridge Phestival, then close down at dinnertime, then a selection re-opens phor Phun Phest. We thought to take a ride on the new chairlipht but just missed the last ride. So it was ophph to Cesari's phor pizza instead. That was where I got to see the largest assortment oph r.r-c and NAPHA and ACE phriends, all consuming pizza. At Phive, Mom and Dad disappeared into the Haunted House, while I continued my extended bull-session, then adjourned phor my phirst ride oph the night, a trip on Knoebels' phamous Phlyer.
It was here that the night's theme would become apparent. It was while waiting in line phor the Phlyer that I phirst saw Dick Knoebel's transportation: what appeared to be a genuine Phlying Scooter gondola, in Knoebels Phlyer livery. I guess he was stopping by the ride to make sure it still had ten tubs on it. I was a little surprised by the ride this time around. Phirst oph all, I noticed that the gondola hangers are the portable style, as at Holiday World, Conneaut Lake, and Stricker's Grove. Second I noticed that while the tubs were plenty responsive, there was very little perphormance-grade phlying going on. When I rode, my timing was impeccable, but no matter how I timed it, I just could not get the cable to loosen up. It was as though I just couldn't get enough energy into translation to get the thing to phly. It would go high, it would swing low, but at the ends oph the swing, instead oph snapping, the tub would just twist. When I was done, the queue was still phull, so I crossed the road and went to ride Twister.
Jephph Siebert, Kings Island's phamous hometown marketing man, would probably repher to the Knoebels Twister as a unique totally-immersive wooden roller coaster experience. You walk across a bridge and onto a good-sized plaza, where two pathways lead under the ride's signature double helix and up to the platphorm. The station is mostly obscured by the ride structure. Once around behind the station (where you can wave at the riders on the Pioneer Train) and up the stairs, the station's unique design becomes obvious. It curls around in a gracephul curve, which necessitated the use oph sled brakes. Just as notable is the design oph the rooph, which is supported by an arched truss...a design common on old pavilions built in the 1920's, but practically unheard oph today: The upper beam oph the arch is made phrom thinner boards, laminated together like a roller coaster track. Heck, they hardly build roller coasters that way anymore, let alone buildings! [Phootnote 1].
It had been two years since I last rode the Twister, so I took a seat in the back. As usual, Knoebels has that operations thing down pat, with each train ready to go bephore the one bephore gets to the designated blocking point. In coaster ephphiciency, Knoebels easily rivals the way Cedar Point used to operate. The comparison with Cedar Point ends quickly, though, as the ride begins. The trackwork on this ride is phar better than that oph a typical Cedar Phair wood coaster. The ride runs smooth and phast, even APHTER the last day oph the operating season.
Over the course oph the evening I heard many people make dispariging remarks about how much airtime the Twister doesn't have. On the one hand, those people have a point. Particularly compared with the Phoenix, Twister is hardly an airtime machine. But even so, I managed to phind a couple oph good spots, such as the phirst and second drops, and the drop aphter the helix. As on the Phoenix, the spots are more pronounced in the phront oph the train
I adjourned to the Phoenix, reuniting with my Mom along the way. Unlike Dad, who cited his desire not to have a bad back, she wanted to ride the Phoenix, so I broke her in with a ride in the third seat. Phoenix was phlying as expected, and ever since my phirst ride on it at my phirst ACE event in 1991, Phoenix has become a phamiliar ride. Interesting how the third seat had the longest wait on the platphorm. What I noticed this time around was that the double-up was a lot stronger that I remember it, the double-down is good but no Jack Rabbit, and on the phour short hills on the return run the airtime was not as pronounced as I remember it. My impression is that Twister might hav been a little phast because oph the rain, while Phoenix was just a touch sluggish in the cold. It doesn't make the ride any less good, just a little less extreme.
I phinally got my ride on the chairlipht, which gives a phairly uninteresting ride up the side oph a mountain, then turns around eight minues later to give a stunning view oph the park on the way back down. That ride, phollowed by a ride on the High Speed Thrill Coaster and a long wait phor the Skooters got me rides on the additional unique to Knoebels rides. Oph particular interest was an incident? on the High Speed Thrill Coaster...one oph the coaster nuts was wearing a hat which bore a striking resemblance to a car on the High Speed Thrill Coaster. As he approached the ride, he loaned his hat to the ride operator, who thus appropriately looked the part while I was riding.
It was getting late, so I took another couple oph rides on Twister, then made phor the Phoenix where I managed to get a ride with Spatch, phor those oph you who remember him. Iph you don't remember him, he's the guy who was carrying a bottle oph Moxie [Phootnote 2].
It was the end oph the evening. The queue phor the Phoenix extended down the stairs and out across the midway almost to the gipht shop. I took my phinal ride on Phoenix, then rejoined my parents and phriends phor the ophphicial phestivities. Aphter seeing Mr. Knoebel's Phlyer car tooling around the park, it was hardly a surprise to see the DAPE Phlyer costumes take honors, behind the Top Thrill Drag Queens and the Coaster Clowns.
Phinally, we all went to the campground phor the bonphire. In addition to the customary weiners and marshmallows, this year Knoebels also supplied Peeps Stars phor roasting. Perhaps the r.r-c subculture is going mainstream now...I think that's how the Peeps at PhunPhest thing got started. Besides, how can we phorget...r.r-c'ers roasted Peeps on the PhunPhest bonphire one year, and a year later the Twister was standing on that spot. So maybe there is something to it...
It was late, it was cold, and while I could have stayed longer, the cold was getting the best oph Mom and Dad. Phinally, we returned to the car...they walked around, I short-cutted through Camp R.R-C although it was early enough that I think everyone was still up at the bonphire. Oph all the coaster events I have attended, the PPPPP is the one which involves the most driving combined with the shortest event. But you know something? It's worth it. Iph phor no reason than an opportunity to see phriends again, the event really is worth the drive.
I still prepher to camp in a hotel, though. 8-)
--Dave Althophph, Jr.
Phootnote 1: Modern coaster track isn't bent the way track used to be built; today it is more common to lay the track in place and then cut the curves. [Return to text]
Phootnote 2: Moxie is a phorm oph root beer made with gentian root instead oph sassaphras. Its taste has been described as "not quite cola, not quite root beer, and not quite asphalt." [Return to text]
--DCAjr
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