bert joins TPR on the 2018 USA trip

Wow you weren't kidding about the poor music choice for a carousel. I think I'd still take that over nothing, but it still wouldn't feel right.

 

it would have remained my worst music experience EVER on a Carousel.. except we went to SFOT last weekend.

 

and I $#!t you not. . we rode the Carousel there to: Will Smith "Getting Jiggy With It"

 

yeah. . . was NOT a good start to our visit there!

 

Eventually, when I finish this report, will try to get a Labor Day SFOT report up.

 

 

Personal tip for if you wind up back at the park in the future: On Superman, for the best ride, ride in the very front row. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Not only does it give the best airtime in the park, but it gives an awesome sensation of speed, and is generally smoother than the other rows.

 

 

Never say never.. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but if ever back in DC, or close to it. . might go back by (since would get in free w/ my pass).

 

I greatly preferred Joker's Jinx tho. . . or even Wild One (which also has a long, boring Helix. . LOL)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your description of Superman omits that it even has any hills, which of course are the best part, if only there were more of them... I also like how it heads out off by itself and the whole thing is fun at night.

 

there's PICTURES of the rides, that show the hills.

and i'm sorry, a large drop, an airtime hill, and 3 bunny hops - while fun. . . do not make a ride exciting when it also has LOOOOONG sections of just straight track, and then two *giant* helix . . . . may have been one of the first, but it's simply not a very exciting ride.

 

Especially since a few days later would be riding Millennium Force.

 

 

 

 

and thanks folks, for the compliments about enjoying the TR. . appreciate it

 

I enjoy writing them.

I really hope that the Aerosmith song on the carousel wasn't 'Dude looks like a lady' or 'Love in an elevator' as that would make the experience not only disappointing, but very awkward and weird.

Had my worst park food experience in a long time at the Chinese food place in the park. I'm still fuming over it. I think Chase also experienced some of the horrors in that location.

 

I'm still regretting that decision... Definitely the worst food venue I've been to in a very long time. The only redeeming quality is that it made part of the park smell good.

we rode the Carousel there to: Will Smith "Getting Jiggy With It"

 

I'm picturing people jumping off their horses during the ride and dancing with them but I'm guessing that didn't happen.

we rode the Carousel there to: Will Smith "Getting Jiggy With It"

 

I'm picturing people jumping off their horses during the ride and dancing with them but I'm guessing that didn't happen.

 

mostly it was folks looking at each other confused!

 

it's right at the front of the park, and was crowded. .it was super weird!

 

 

 

I really hope that the Aerosmith song on the carousel wasn't 'Dude looks like a lady' or 'Love in an elevator' as that would make the experience not only disappointing, but very awkward and weird.

 

Come to think of it. .it might have been "Love in an Elevator". . we did NOT stay on for a 2nd ride, so can't really recall.

Had my worst park food experience in a long time at the Chinese food place in the park. I'm still fuming over it. I think Chase also experienced some of the horrors in that location.

 

I'm still regretting that decision... Definitely the worst food venue I've been to in a very long time. The only redeeming quality is that it made part of the park smell good.

 

at least it was right before Knoebels and then HersheyPark.. so maybe look at it as if the terrible food/service was just penance before you got to the good stuff?

 

But makes me glad I didn't bother for eating at SFA

tho Zach telling about that Bartender being so good did make me wish I had stopped in at that particular place.

 

She was way too good to be working at Six Flags. Alcohol definitely helped make the day better.

 

 

Had my worst park food experience in a long time at the Chinese food place in the park. I'm still fuming over it. I think Chase also experienced some of the horrors in that location.

 

I avoided it after you mentioned how unimpressed you were. It's too bad cause Panda Express would have at least been decent. The pizza place next to the bar was surprisingly not terrible.

at least it was right before Knoebels and then HersheyPark.. so maybe look at it as if the terrible food/service was just penance before you got to the good stuff?

 

But makes me glad I didn't bother for eating at SFA

 

Well, I can complain talk about that later, but unfortunately HersheyPark also didn't impress when it came to food.

at least it was right before Knoebels and then HersheyPark.. so maybe look at it as if the terrible food/service was just penance before you got to the good stuff?

 

But makes me glad I didn't bother for eating at SFA

 

Well, I can complain talk about that later, but unfortunately HersheyPark also didn't impress when it came to food.

 

is that because you didn't get one of these ?????? hmmmmm

Yep, it's another TR from Knobels (just happened right with the timing, that this is where TPR ended up when I finally got my TR updated. . LOL)

 

But really. . one can NEVER have too many TRs from Knoebels, right?

 

 

Day 8: Knoebels

 

Upon waking up early and grabbing breakfast in the hotel lobby, the excitement was palpable among the group – this was the day I, and I suspect many in the group, had been really looking forwards to. There was a surprising number of folks on the trip who had never been to Knoebels before – but I had been, and knew what a fantastic day we had in store for us.

 

The forecast had called for some showers, and in the week prior there had been massive flooding in Pennsylvania – many of us had been getting texts warning us the park was going to be flooded. . . but Knoebels knows how to deal with flooding, and when we pulled into the parking lot (hours before the park opened), you would never even know that the whole place had been flooded just days earlier. Yes, they are THAT good.

 

The only casualty I the park that was noticeable at all was that the Crystal Pool complex was still closed for cleaning post flood – although it was close to being ready, and I think it opened back up shortly after our visit.

 

My bruising from Twisted Timbers still *looked* pretty bad, tho the coloring was starting to get a lovely maroon / purple color, LOL. . . but at least it wasn’t hurting, and it wasn’t impacting any mobility.

 

anyways, we pulled into the lot, parked the bus, and were met by a few additional folks (got to meet Jack Crouse and his family on this trip too. . . and got to tell him how wonderful I think his pics are in person! So that was a nice “fanboy” moment for me).

 

We were also met by several of the Knoebels family (I think one of the Brothers, and a Niece?), and they walked us back over for some ride filming today. . starting with the awesome Phoenix! I’m sure the folks in the campgrounds were a bit confused that Phoenix was running so early, but what a wonderful noise to wake up to, right?

 

Once Robb set up his cameras to film we got in a bunch of incredible rides on Phoenix, and then moved on to the next rides to film on: Twister, Flying Turns, then Impulse (just before the park officially opened to the public – but there were folks around, and dogs!, since Knoebels has not gates). It was great.

 

An added bit of wonderful “bonus” was as we were going from Twister to Flying Turns, the group passed by Mr. Dick Knoebel himself who was driving (I think) some grandkids around in a golf cart. So I got to say hello to the man himself, and he complimented me on my T-shirt (I had warn my Knoebels Haunted House shirt I had purchased when there years earlier)

 

After we were finished filming on Impulse (which I liked way better than Daredevil Dive, but was still a 1 and done for me . guess I’m just not a Eurofighter type of coaster fan?), we were handed out our stuff for the day – coupon for slices at Cesari’s, ticket for the Haunted House, all day wristband voucher, armband for Glowphest ERT on Phoenix after park close, and meeting instructions for Catered Dinner (including the incredible Pierogis and Birch Beer!). Then we all headed as a group to the ticket booths, to exchange our vouchers for wristbands, before being let loose in the park for the day.

 

But the group didn’t really “scatter” just yet – 1st we all went to the flyers, for a TPR takeover!

I hadn’t actually planned to ride, since I had sort of ridden the KD one with James, and I have no idea how to Snap them and didn’t want to embarrass myself. But decided what the hell, and just joined everyone else at the tail end of the line to join in the fun. I ended up sharing a flyer with Allison – which I discovered after, makes it harder to Snap the heavier the car is – but she’s tiny anyways : p , and I think we did get some pretty good swings once I figured out what to do from watching fellow TPR folks in prior cycles.

 

Once all of us had ridden flyers? We STILL didn’t scatter yet, as it was TPR takeover time on the Skooters. Now this one, I did skip, as bumper cars are *not* a good idea with my history of bad back (I don’t ride them at any park) and the Knoebels Skooters are like crashing real cars into one another! But I did join the group over there to take some pictures of the TPR folks enjoying bashing the crap out of each other.

 

It was after the Skooters that the TPR folks started to spread out thruout the park. I ended up hanging again with many of the same folks I’d been enjoying the trip with, plus a few others, and I believe we headed over to Cesaris to get our Pizza.

 

I noticed that you could “upgrade” to Sicilian slice for a quarter more, so I went ahead and did that . . but luckily we were in line next to Robb who told me “NOOOO. . don’t do that!, the Regular slice is the way to go”. It was too late, but James hadn’t “upgraded” and he had wanted to try the Sicilian, so we swapped, and each ended up with one Regular slice and one Sicilian slice. (with Birch Beer).

 

oh. And Robb was absolutely correct! Tho the Sicilian was good (it had a lot of bread tho), the Regular slice was amazing. So worked out well that Robb was able to set me straight (so to speak. . LOL).

 

After eating lunch, we headed to the Haunted House, followed by Looper (tho I observed rather than rode. . upside-down so soon after eating? No thanks), Super-Round up, and Black Diamond. We even stopped in to look at the Eagles on display back over in that part of the park too.

 

It was more crowded than I had thought it would be (it was Monday!), but it turned out that Knoebels had moved the “Santa arrives” event, from the prior weekend due to the rain, to this day – so there were a lot of families out. Note: I never *did* get to see Santa (tho Russ did snag a pic with him), although I did manage to get a picture with Kosmo and Dexter in their holiday gear when walking by the North Pole, so I was happy about that. . LOL.

 

we did a bit of wandering and riding a few other things, and then it was Carousel time.

 

My biggest regret from my one prior visit to Knoebels was that for some reason (I have NO idea why), we hadn’t ridden the classic Carousel in the center of the park.

Knoebels has a beautiful one too. Copying from the Knoebels website:

 

“The Knoebels Grand Carousel was built in 1913 at North Beach, Long Island, where it operated with two other machines. The large four-abreast carousel was built by George Kremer, who bought the horses for his older Looff platform from wood-carver Charles Carmel. Carmel was born in Russia in 1865, immigrated to the United States in 1883, and carved carousel figures in his Brooklyn shop until his death in 1931.

 

Henry Knoebel, the park's founder, purchased the machine in 1941 from Riverside Park in Piscataway Township, New Jersey. Carrying 63 horses and three Looff chariots, the Knoebels Grand Carousel is one of the largest carousels in the world. In fact, it’s one of the few carousels where you can still catch the brass ring for a free ride! Even if all you catch are steel rings, it’s still great fun! In the 17-year history of the internationally acclaimed Golden Ticket Awards, Knoebels Grand Carousel has been voted #1 as the “Best of the Best” in the amusement industry. “

 

Not only can one catch the steel rings (or a lucky Brass ring) if seated on the outside row of horses (that don’t gallop), but this Carousel has multiple active Organs playing the music! The first one on the trip. . a true experience - what a joy to ride such a great Carousel with the Organ music coming from all around (in the center, as well as from the sides).

 

Rode this a couple of times, once on the outside – to get rings of course. . then again in the center to get a horse that gallops.

Just beautiful.

 

While talking, somehow the Sky Slide came up – another legendary Knobels ride, and another thing I had not ridden on my one prior visit. So we all headed that way, got in line, and my graceful self took a ride. . thanks Darryl for a truly awesome picture that shows just how uncoordinated I am. . .LOL

 

Know what’s right across the bridge from Sky Slide? Yep, Knoebels *OTHER* Carousel – you bet they have 2.

Someone in the group we were with asked “why do you want to ride that? We just got off the big one”. . to which both Laura and I replied: “Duh, it’s a Carousel!”

 

This one is actually by S&G and is called a Merry-Go-Round (and is in Kiddie Land). . it’s much smaller than the Grand Carousel (only two rows of horses, but they all gallop).

 

Again, from the Knoebels website:

 

“The two-abreast carousel in Kiddieland was carved by the firm of Stein and Goldstein. From their shop in Brooklyn, these two men carved carousel figures from 1910 to 1918. This carousel was purchased by Lawrence Knoebel, son of the park’s founder, in 1948 from Croop's Glen Park in Hunlock Creek, PA. Lawrence operated it for three seasons at nearby fairs and carnivals. It was sold in 1950 to Sunset Beach Park in Harvey's Lake, PA. Later, it was purchased by George Perluke of Beach Haven, PA. Finally, it was purchased back by Knoebels and restored for the 1976 season.”

 

We weren’t sure if we’d be allowed to ride it, since it’s in Kiddie Land, but Laura and I wanted to try, and the operator said “of course”. . tho she didn’t make me put on the seat belt (hey, I COULD have squeezed into it if required!). This was again a wonderful experience as this Carousel (or Merry-go-Round) also has a real organ playing the music. And because this one is so much smaller, it was loud, and awesome!

 

While we rode, some in the group had gone to Totem Treats and got some “stuff on a stick”. . which reminded me that I wanted some Cheese on a Stick..so I got in line and ordered that.

 

It was getting a little bit overcast (remember rain was in the forecast), so tho my cheese was still fresh out of the oil. . . when we saw the Chairlift was running at the moment still, we bee-lined to it, and I inhaled my hot cheese so that we could hop on. Tho we got some drizzle (light) on the way, it never turned to anything major, and the ride kept operating.

 

After a pleasant ride, we headed over to 1001 Nachts, which we had seen was operating from the Chairlift. The prior time at Knoebels, this had been down, and apparently it was often out of order, so we took our chance to grab a ride on it. This ride was running, by far, the shortest cycle of anything at Knoebels – but that was A-OK, because when we sat down (all in 1 row) and the lap bars came down, it came down snug on most of the row. Like really snug.

 

and then it came down about a ½ inch more, and locked into place.

 

Most of the guys turned a shade of green at this point, and the ride hadn’t even started yet! (I think the skinny-skinny folks among us avoided the massive discomfort)

but thank goodness it was such a short cycle, as that thing was NOT fun.

 

after this tho, I wanted something easy. . so we took a spin on the Ferris Wheel, got some drinks, and browsed the front shop to see what "glow" we could see.

 

But then something a bit more intense: DownDraft -- which Elissa had told us is her favorite flat there. It spins, and goes up and down, and is kind of disorienting, but you know what? It WAS a lot of fun. Like a Tilt-a-Whirl crossed with a Whip, with some Matterhorn tossed in.

 

It was still an hour and ½ at least until time for dinner, so we got in line for the Train thru the woods, and had another unintentional TPR takeover – which got me a good picture that the Engineer took for us. The train really is a fun ride, going over bridges, thru a tunnel, under Twister, and out into the woods. . we saw a bunch of squirrels, tho no deer. But I knew I wanted a ride later that night in the dark, so we went early as well. By the time we got back to the station, it actually had started to drizzle a little big, so we all headed to the Fascination Parlor, where we found a lot of our fellow TPR folks playing.

 

This game is so much fun, and so addictive, I actually had been having dreams about playing! I plopped down $20, and then another $10 and had a grand ol time playing game after game (surrounded by so many TPR folks), while the rain decided to come down – pretty heavy for about 40 minutes. By the time the rain stopped, and I was done playing – had enough win tickets to get a quartz heart for my spouse as a gift (aww). . it was time to head to the pavilion at the front of the park near Impulse for our catered dinner.

 

the food was so good, as one would expect from Knoebels – but the biggest treat was that the two Knoebels brothers showed up and did a Q&A session with our group after dinner that was super interesting and entertaining. So another thank you to Robb and TPR for that – even if it hadn’t been “planned” . . it happened because they know and love y’all and your TPR brand. So I greatly appreciated it. . . and all the yummy pierogis too.

 

There was just about 3 hours until park close and our Glowphest ERT (Robb reminded everyone to buy out the glow when you see it!), and so we headed thru the center of the park, grabbing another ride on the Carousel, and the fantastic Paratrooper that runs a great cycle, then into Cosmotron – where the DJ was taking requests! So we got to ride to Metallica. .it was SO freaking awesome.

 

I had mentioned that I’d never been on an ARM drop tower, and that was all Russ needed to hear, and we headed towards StratosFear. Oh the tower isn’t that tall, in comparison to some others we had been on. And that’s likely why I hadn’t ridden it before. But the way the thing is set up, you can’t tell when you are about to drop, since the top of the tower is hidden from the seating position. I rode it, I liked it, it scared the crap out of me. LOL. .but I rode it.

 

I think it was about then that I recalled we hadn’t ridden the Whip. . so we headed back towards the front of the park to get a ride on that as it started to get dark.

 

we rode a few more things, including that aforementioned night ride on the train – PITCH BLACK with only the headlight of the train illuminating.. spooky, and scary, and brilliant. And then our group split up to do some shopping, and to get ready for Glowphest!

 

I wandered around riding a few things here and there – taking pics of the park at night (which looks beautiful, as expected), riding the Carousel again, peeking into the Carousel Museum, and grabbed a couple more rides on Black Diamond – LOL. .the final ride was just me and one of the attendants. I guess they can’t let the car go thru with just one person. So after waiting a few minutes at the end of the night to see if anyone else showed up, the exit attendant just jumped into the car behind me, and off we went for the final ride of the night!

 

While wandering I had bought a bunch of glow stuff, but much of it required assembly. . so I joined the rest of the TPR group, who had taken over the tables at the Phoenix Food Court, and we all put together, and put on our glow.

 

Then it was time for GlowPhest! Knoebels turned out the chaser lights on Phoenix, and our group, blinking, glowing, and flashing (with light up Mohawks, Swords, Soomsticks, Bracelets, Necklaces, and even a watering can wrapped in glow – took over the classic roller coaster.

 

It was one of the best experiences of my life, and absolutely the best experience on the trip. OMG it was so much fun . . sword fighting with glow swords while riding in the pitch black! I’m sure the campground folks were trying to figure out what the hell was going on! (some people gathered in the Phoenix plaza to watch the glow zoom by). Even the Knoebels Brothers took part – riding in the front seat with glow swords. . . somewhere Robb has a pic of me in Light-Saber Glow battle with one of the brothers : )

Just an awesome way to end an incredible, incredible day. We had been at the park for almost 15+ hours. . and yet, I was still amped up from the fantastic experience.

 

We got back to the Hotel close to Midnight, and I think I was out pretty quick tho. . . after a shower, of course. Today had been great, but tomorrow, was Hershey Park!

and the injury that was gonna be causing me some issues for the rest of the trip.

 

 

by the way - if you’re curious and want to read more about Knoebels Carousels, or the Carousel Museum, OR the Organs that play along with the Carousels? Here’s the page from Knoebels website:

 

https://www.knoebels.com/history/knoebels-carousel-organ-history

 

on to the pics - and hopefully i get the "non-mine" credits correct, at this stop in particular I seem to have several pics in my set that were taken of me on a ride, or I saved when I saw someone post -- and there were several folks on the trip taking really good pics (Robb, Jack Crouse, Andy (Zo), Chase, (as well as John, Darryl, and Brad). . . So if I get a credit incorrect, please let me know and I'll adjust?

we're almost there. . the excitement on the bus was actually palpable as we passed this sign.

. .and we're pulling into the lot. . . we're here, we're here!

my Twisted Timbers bruising is turning some lovely colors -- but it's not hurting.

 

and who would have thunk that this - tho it looked painful - is not the leg I ended up having issues with?

SKLOOSH early in the morning, no one around, as we walk into the park to meet up with the Knoebels reps, as well as getting to meet Jack and his family (really, really nice guy / folks).

the park is eerie, and beautiful, in the morning with no one around. (other than the campers, who are mostly still asleep).

SKLOOSH !

the Crystal Pool and Slide Complex was the only thing that was still shut down from the flooding the prior week . . as they were cleaning it still. It was almost ready to go, but wasn't open just yet during our visit.

we're starting our day off at Phoenix? yes please!

I'm here. . at Phoenix.

group photo (courtesy of Andy, I'm almost certain). Just noticed Andy is IN this pic.. but I could swear he's the one who sent it to the group. Maybe Jack? Could also be Robb. . but think he was already up in the station putting cameras on Phoenix.

 

Love this pic.

and they are about to open it up for us for early morning filming!

Sticker on the Operator's control panel.

the Phoenix train was missing it's front piece (for some reason. . maybe being repainted?). . but we knew where we were.

 

the lift hill goes right by the station. . it was awesome later that night when we could "glow-sword fight" with the folks riding as they passed by.

Back after my first ride. absolutely awesome coaster!

Pic by Robb Alvey

whee!

Pic either by Jack Crouse or Andy. . I'm guessing Jack, since Andy is in the train (about 4 rows behind us. . LOL)

still WHEEEEE (pic by Jack Crouse)

and we are headed here next. . .

Ltr: Alex, Phil, Jon, James. . Pulling out to start their ride in the front car!

Twister's exit ramp offers a great opportunity for some pics as the double helix goes right past the station exit!

heck of a tilt on it too. . . those with better cameras (than my iPhone 6) will capture much better pics in a moment

I'm in my orange Knoebels Haunted House shirt

 

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

Almost positive these pics are from Jack Crouse. (- tho possibly could be Brad or Andy?)

next up. . Flying Turns.

 

Don't worry, they won't tell everyone how fat one is. . LOL

awww. . James says "don't worry, you're not too fat"

John looking excited

and they are off! (or just getting back)

pretty sure these are Andy's pics

courtesy of Andy

Courtesy of Andy

hmmmm. . . "Dog Pounder" ?

 

OH MY!

on to Impulse

Impulse. Back row, 2nd from left.

 

I believe courtesy of Jack Crouse. . (but could be a Brad or Robb, or Andy photo).

I checked to make sure this isn't just the same pic above, but flipped. . and it looks like just coming OUT of the above inversion. . . so that would make it courtesy of Jack Crouse again (I think)

On ride photo courtesy of Chance's 360 camera that was attached to the front seat.

TPR Flyers takeover

Me and Allison sharing a flyer. . we got some height even with both of us in the car.

 

pic courtesy of Andy.

it's Mr. Knoebel!

(tho I did get just as close to him a little while earlier, when we saw him in the golf cart)

 

At the TPR Skooters takeover.

I din't ride, I just took pics.

 

Phi, and everyone else, had a blast on these!

see?

fun!. . but wasn't gonna ride with my iffy back, so I always avoid Bumper Cars. and these are heavy/good ones.

 

look at that smile on Joe!

Edited September 11, 2018 by bert425

Didn't realize I had so many Knoebels pics. .so breaking up the pics into two posts:

park map pic I took (over by Twister)

and here's the story behind it. .

oooo.. caution!

I'm not a-scared. . Alex will protect me!

Laura and Alex on Looper

they rode it twice, but did manage to get some loop-de-loops on the 2nd ride

whee!

I found Kosmo and Dexter, in holiday hats!

the Carousel Museum (thru the window, since I forgot to take a pic when I went inside earlier)

[KISS] 'oooooo. . .. Black Diamond!" [/KISS]

the Eagles were out enjoying (finally) the lack of rain.

 

tho we did get some drizzle a bit later on.

Super Round up. . our view across the wheel

and down the side (the squatting lady said she was trying to "hide from your picture"). .

 

don't ask me. . LOL

what's this? what's this? are we at the Grand Carousel?

 

YEP!

beautiful

absolutely beautiful

and they do still have the "grab the brass" working here. . one of the things it's famous for.

Of course you MUST ride on the outside at least once to try to grab the brass

no brass.. but lots of steel! my precious!

Laura did great too.. .

it's time for the Haunted Mansion!

headed over to Sky Slide, to pick up another thing I missed (and get cheese on a stick from Totem Treats which is right there)

graceful.

 

thanks for the picture, Darryl. (LOL)

but across the bridge? a Merry Go Round

(but called a Carousel on the sign there. . guess Knoebels calls it a Merry Go Round to distinguish that this one is much smaller than the Grand Carousel)

it's still beautiful tho!

with some lovely painting on it.

and it too uses a real Organ to provide the music during the ride.

doggies were everywhere! this little guy was watching his momma eat something.. .

what was it?

same thing I got: Cheese on a Stick!

 

SOOOOO good.

wolfed it down tho, so we could ride the skyway, since it was starting to get very overcast, and wanted to get a ride in.

lovely ~20 minute ride.. . some pics at the upper turn around

we got a few sprinkles, but nothing hard rain. . it did make it a bit darker for the pictures, but still it's a lovely view.

 

Twister

what's this? 1001 Nachts is operating? We'll head there next.

(ouch).

Phoenix thru the trees

TPR on Downdraft !

and then on the Ferris Wheel

(picture courtesy of Phil)

Our group ended up in line for the Train just in front of another grouping of TPR folks.

 

we know what that means. . .

TPR Train Takeover!

 

(the older gentleman Engineer - tho he did a "burst", so got about 30 pictures -- still managed to take a good pic of us with my phone).

it started to rain, so it was time for TPR Fascination takover!

 

I believe these pics are all from Andy (tho could have been Brad taking these 1st two)

TPR Fascination take-over

 

Courtesy of Andy (or Brad, maybe?)

Courtesy of Andy

Courtesy of Andy. . love that we are reflected in the mirrors in this pic. one of my favorites.

courtesy of Andy

after dinner (which for some reason, I took no pictures of. . surely someone did?). . we were right by Impulse, so took some off ride pics

then we headed to Paratrooper. Where I was encouraged by the operator to "take pictures, but be sure to hold onto the phone!"

this one is from Phil, if I'm not mistaken

selfie while riding, from a text I sent home to my spouse.

 

whee!

this thing really hauls! so much fun

then into Cosmotron! dark in there, so hard to get a good pic, but here's one before we started. . we got to ride to Metallica.

and yes, I did get on Stratosfear.

 

not sure if I'm reacting to the ride, or that I see Chris' finger in the camera lens. . LOL

starting to get dark, and the park is lighting up! We were headed back over to ride Whip and grab a night ride on the train.

I'm here.. it's not too crowded where we were standing, but the park was fairly busy.

so pretty at night

in particular, love the lighting package on the Ferris Wheel.

even tho the Wave Swinger wasn't operating, they still turned on all the lights at night.

 

Beautiful.

Didn't get a chance to play the Mini-Golf, but did stop to get a picture of it.

 

one would think with a full + day at Knoebels, I would have had time to stop and play, but nope. This calls for a multi-day re-visit at some point in the future.

Getting ready for GlowPhest at the Phoenix Food Court. . TPR putting together our glow.

 

pic by Robb Alvey

and here we are, on Phoenix and Glowphest is starting! wOOp!

 

pic by Robb Alvey

End of ERT / Glowphest on Phoenix.

 

Yes, that IS one of the Knoebels Brothers on the right, with glow sword. . they participated!

 

pic by Robb Alvey

pic by Robb Alvey

pic by Robb Alvey

pic by Robb Alvey

Hmmm. Robb's IN this pic.

 

so maybe by Chase, or even Elissa?

pic by Robb Alvey

Wonderful long exposure pic by Jack Crouse

and another. . also courtesy of Jack Crouse

the Knoebels shirt I bought, which I loved, and wore the next day to Hershey Park.

and the stone heart I won for my Hubby with my Fascination tickets.

Glad to see you still have those Candy Corn Neck Lights, Bert! They go great with everything else I can see

on everybody, there. GlowPhest rocks. We need more of those, around the world's parks. Robb's photos of

you all in the station are great! And the Jack Crouse photos of the GlowBlur on Phoenix are awesome!

You have the three things that make any Knoebels TR great. Fascination, Grand Carousel and Phoenix

Fantastic! You got to do everything at Knoebels, and got some really good pictures too. That GlowPhest is a hoot.

Glowphest never gets old. It just gets better every time.

Glowphest never gets old. It just gets better every time.

 

Agreed. It was a different view of glow each ride! The tunnel all lit up was so much fun.

Awesome report! Glowphest was an incredible experience 2 years ago and it never gets old seeing photos of it.

 

It doesn't look like you copied my report too much.

Glowphest really is something I'll be talking about for many years to come.

 

riding in the dark, with the flashing lights thruout the train. . it just is an incredible thing. in particular on the final 4 bunny hops for Phoenix (that last one with forceful push/pull of air. . . so, so incredible).

 

 

a memory that will last!

Glad to see you still have those Candy Corn Neck Lights, Bert! They go great with everything else I can see

on everybody, there.

 

they lasted the whole night, but died in the suitcase on the way home (guess they got turned on in transit).

will have to put a new battery in next time I need them for a Glowphest : )

 

 

 

You have the three things that make any Knoebels TR great. Fascination, Grand Carousel and Phoenix

YEP! With lots of pictures of each too.

 

Tho I would add “skyway”, “Flyers” and “Skooters” (even if I didn’t ride the Skooters), should also be included in any Knoebels TR . . . LOL

 

 

 

Fantastic! You got to do everything at Knoebels, and got some really good pictures too. That GlowPhest is a hoot.

 

Not quite (sad face). . didn’t get to do the mini-golf, and missed out on Skloosh, and the flume (no one wanted to get wet). . . also missed out on the motorboats. The water looked like a nasty brown (likely from the flooding), so seemed a good idea to steer away from it.

 

So plenty of reasons to go back!

 

 

 

Awesome report!

It doesn't look like you copied my report too much.

 

LOL.. . .it’s so funny that so many Knoebels reports showed up so close to each other! (and PKI Jizzman will get to that point soon too in his TR).

but one can never have too much Knoebels reports. .it’s such a fantastic place.

 

 

Glowphest never gets old. It just gets better every time.

 

Agreed. It was a different view of glow each ride! The tunnel all lit up was so much fun.

 

I have been asked multiple times at this point when I show folks my Glowphest pics, about the green watering can. LOL

Fantastic! You got to do everything at Knoebels, and got some really good pictures too. That GlowPhest is a hoot.

 

Not quite (sad face). . didn’t get to do the mini-golf, and missed out on Skloosh, and the flume (no one wanted to get wet). . . also missed out on the motorboats. The water looked like a nasty brown (likely from the flooding), so seemed a good idea to steer away from it.

 

Yeah...no, that's just what it looks like. In well over a decade of going every year...well, you always have the pool if you want clean water.

Fantastic! You got to do everything at Knoebels, and got some really good pictures too. That GlowPhest is a hoot.

 

Not quite (sad face). . didn’t get to do the mini-golf, and missed out on Skloosh, and the flume (no one wanted to get wet). . . also missed out on the motorboats. The water looked like a nasty brown (likely from the flooding), so seemed a good idea to steer away from it.

 

Yeah...no, that's just what it looks like. In well over a decade of going every year...well, you always have the pool if you want clean water.

 

Pool was closed still on our trip

Fantastic! You got to do everything at Knoebels, and got some really good pictures too. That GlowPhest is a hoot.

 

Not quite (sad face). . didn’t get to do the mini-golf, and missed out on Skloosh, and the flume (no one wanted to get wet). . . also missed out on the motorboats. The water looked like a nasty brown (likely from the flooding), so seemed a good idea to steer away from it.

 

Yeah...no, that's just what it looks like. In well over a decade of going every year...well, you always have the pool if you want clean water.

 

Pool was closed still on our trip

Lol, yeah the boat water isn't chlorine clean but it's fine. That flume is awesome. Sklooosh was down when I was there last year, but if it's like everything else at Knoebels, it's the best of its kind.

 

Hey, still a really awesome day. And you'll go back to Knoebels.

Thanks for some more additional pics of my kids that you've posted. Nice meeting you that day.

Thanks for some more additional pics of my kids that you've posted. Nice meeting you that day.

 

Great meeting you too!

 

(I hope it's OK to post the pics? if not, lemme know and i'll pull them down -- I got permission from a couple of folks who I knew are a bit "camera shy" before sharing pics..but didn't ask everyone. . so apologies if any issue!).

Edited September 12, 2018 by bert425

Lol, yeah the boat water isn't chlorine clean but it's fine. That flume is awesome. Sklooosh was down when I was there last year, but if it's like everything else at Knoebels, it's the best of its kind.

 

Hey, still a really awesome day. And you'll go back to Knoebels.

 

Luckily, I've ridden the Flume on a prior visit. .but yeah, will be back at some point, for sure