Photo TR - A.J. Doesn't Go to Hersheypark

Why, hello there!

 

If you read my latest post in the "What's your next park" thread, I had stated that I was planning to go to Hersheypark on July 7. Unfortunately, those plans fell through due to circumstances that will take millions of years to explain properly.

 

SO...instead, I went somewhere else.

 

Where am I? I'm still trying to figure that out myself.

Yes, yes, my red hair and I have taken a trip to Knoebel's in Elysburg, PA! Knoebel's, being the closest amusement park to my house (a mere 45-minute drive, 40 minutes if I drive with my hair) is the greatest place for me to wet my coaster enthusiast whistle before East Coast Bash on August 7.

 

It looked like today was going to be a great day.

 

Look, ma! No lines!

Sklooosh (I forget how many "o"s it has, so I'll stick with three) had no line - and it was really warm outside! What were people thinking?

 

After my mental rant, I decided to skip Sklooosh and make a B-line to my first roller coaster of the day.

 

But then, I got distracted, a bit.

 

The 1001 Nacht was running a weird cycle today. During the cycle, the carriage was held at the top of the swing for at least a minute! Is this normal, or am I just really, really old?

AND...the exact moment after this photo was taken, I ran screaming for my life.

This new flat ride (I forget what it's called, it's probably something simple like "Mini Himalaya") takes up a lot of space on the midway and makes it more crowded.

I snapped back into reality and resumed my B-Line. It was off to the coaster with a bowl that makes Son of a Bi...I mean Beast look like it was designed by lunatics.

 

...and it's TWISTY!

Twister was my first ride of the day. It was tough for me to decide which ride of the fou...I mean two coasters I should ride first, because they're both very great rides. My laziness eventually got to me though, and I went for Twister because it was closer.

 

This sign was my downfall.

Twister was only running one train at that moment. Granted, the single train was loaded and dispatched like clockwork, but one train nonetheless. I ended up waiting about twenty-five minutes, which isn't bad, but not great. Maybe I'm being snobby.

 

If you know what coaster this piece of history comes from, EMAIL DA...oh, wait. Nevermind. Sorry.

I really like how there is only a small amount of straight track in Twister's layout. Even the station platform is twisty!

 

Also, if you take a look at the train, you'll notice that exactly half of the lap restraints are new. Weird, eh?

After mentally complaining about the wait time, I realized the reason why my wait time was so long was that I waited for the front seat. D'oh!

 

Oh well, my loss is your gain, because I've got this nice photo for our lift hill enthusiasts! Huzzah!

Twister is, as always, a rampant, all-out fun wooden coaster.

 

For those of you who haven't ridden Twister in a while or ever - There isn't much airtime. The only place I felt significant airtime was going over the second hill (and turnaround). The bowl was pretty powerful, and a lot of fun. However, this time, I felt rather shaken coming off the ride.

 

I got my bearings and was able to snap this great photo from inside the bowl on the exit path...

 

...still running a single train...

...and then I noticed this sign...

 

...which I deliberately disobeyed to get the previous photo.

Twister wasn't overly busy, and I let the crowds pass me, so the crew really didn't care. That was nice of them, because I really like the photo of the train inside the bowl.

 

I threw myself back into B-Line mode and headed toward my favorite roller coaster, IN THE WORLD.

 

-insert phoenix noise here-

Unfortunately, there was quite the queue.

 

At this point in the day, it wasn't just warm - it was HOT.

So, I decided to do the exact opposite of what a sensible person would do - wait in the queue in the hot sun.

 

But, wait, why was there such a long queue? Well...

 

Yes, Phoenix was running a single train as well. [censored]. The orange train was sitting on the transfer track. At least I was able to give PTC some promotion.

NERD SHOT!

It's very weird having the track so close to the station platform. I've ridden Phoenix quite a few times before this trip and it's still a little discomforting to hear the outrageous noise of the train barreling past the boarding area.

 

(unintentional) MOTION BLUR!

As I approached the dreaded yellow line, the operator announced something spectacular...

 

DOUBLE TRAIN OPERATION! HOORAY!

 

I continued to wait the good wait to get my favorite seat, the front! You know what that means, lift hill enthusiasts!

 

Just for you!

Phoenix - I can't even describe how fantastic the ride is. I have never been to Liseberg, Everland, Six Flags Great Adventure, or Holiday World, so I can't judge compared to their top-ranked wooden coasters. I can, however, say that Phoenix is my favorite roller coaster.

 

When I said "boing, boing, boing" in the airtime thread, I meant it. For those of you who have never ridden Phoenix before, it's a very classic roller coaster with no seat belts and a single two-person lap bar that stops in a set position, otherwise known as a "buzz bar". That means that there is a lot of space between the legs and the bar, resulting in massive lumps of airtime over Phoenix's conveniently-placed hills - literally trying to throw you out of your seat.

 

I am a very tall, skinny person, so that makes the space that much larger. It's like I'm a stick being launched out of a cannon!

 

After my first Phoenix ride of the day, I decided to shoot some photos of the ride itself. Enjoy.

 

Phoenix - THROUGH THE TREES!

This turnaround is one of the excuses to call the left seat. It's much less painful when you're thrown against a large cushion than a small divider.

This turnaround is an excuse to sit in the right seat.

I then attempted to get a shot of the ride on the last turnaround, but it took a few tries. I got bored, so I decided to photograph some people who had a death wish.

 

It gets SO CLOSE to the people in line! How does that past safety standards?

After three more tries, I finally got the shot...

 

Hey, yellow train! How's it going?

I rode Phoenix another time in the back. It was a lot more painful, because my little back would slam against the backrest after the massively awesome airtime. Riding it one more time in the middle, it wasn't as bad, but there was nowhere near the airtime at the ends of the train. For now, I'm sticking to the front row.

 

So, I stuck to it. I rode Phoenix for the fourth and final time in the front row. It's rather strange. It seems as though the two trains run along the track differently. I liked the orange train more than the yellow one. I wonder why.

 

I got bored of waiting in line, so I decided to check out the area around the Flying Turns.

 

Speaking of flying...

 

Celebrating 40 years of amazing things you can do while sitting in a capsule.

And now - a FLYING TURNS CONSTRUCTION UPDATE!

 

Except, there's no...construction...to update. Yeah...

Everything, EVERYTHING is in place - except the trains, which apparently exist. I've never seen them on the track.

I then decided to take things even slower and take a ride on the Pioneer Train. On the train, I got a cool TOWARD THE SKY photo of Twister.

 

Isn't it cool? Sort of off-center though.

Also, on the way back, I caught something spectacular.

AAAAH! UNINTENTIONALLY MOTION-BLURRED BLUE TRAIN!

 

As soon as I got off the Pioneer Train, I headed back to Twister to get one more ride on it. I even got on the newly-placed blue train! I didn't want to wait very long, so I got in row 2 as a single rider, with another single rider in the left seat in row 1. I sat in the right-hand seat so I could see forward.

 

Bad idea. VERY bad idea.

 

Sitting in the right-hand seat as a single rider on Twister is an absolute nightmare, at least to me. I had no idea my spine could bend the way it did. I'm sure it would have been better if I had a buddy with me (my family is a bunch of party-poopers), but it was a nightmare. The lateral Gs are insane.

 

I headed back over to the Phoenix area to check out the Flume and Black Diamond.

 

The Flume's logs were running...

...but the ride was closed to the public. I've never seen that sign put out before! Seriously!

And now...BLACK DIAMOND CONSTRUCTION UPDATE!

 

I was NOT 0 for 2, because there were guys actually working on it! It -might- open this year! Huzzah!

 

See? Black box...I mean Diamond.

The ultra-modern-looking stairs looked out of place next to a mining museum. I bet they would look more in theme if they would paint rust effects on them.

It was getting late in the afternoon, and I wanted to leave.

 

BUT, WAIT! There's another roller coaster at Knoebel's!

 

It's credit whoring time!

 

That's okay, I'm just a skinny 20-year old boy! No biggie!

Yes, Kozmo's Kurves is the new small roller coaster that replaced the age-old High Speed Thrill Coaster. There's a lot of controversy in the coaster geek world about Knoebels replacing the classic High Speed Thrill Coaster with a generic Miler coaster.

 

The thing is - it looks great and the kids love it.

It could use a new coat of paint though, at least on the rails.

NERD SHOT THE SEQUEL!

The ride operator was very nice, I think. She actually asked me if I'm a roller coaster geek, because the typical 20-year old wouldn't ride the coaster by himself otherwise.

 

My answer shall remain classified.

 

Taking the front seat once again, I felt like the lift hill enthusiasts of the world should pay me some compensation.

 

If you HAVE to ask - NO, I did not get this shot three times because the ride goes three times around, and therefore has three lift hills. Don't test me.

Kozmo's Kurves is one seriously kick-[censored] kiddie coaster. The second bunny hill has great ejector airtime in the front. It's my favorite small coaster!

 

After that ride, I decided that I needed to go home because I ran out of tickets and didn't feel like spending any more money.

 

So, I leave you with this FABULOUS, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTO (sarcasm) of the Giant Wheel -

 

It's a pretty good photo, I think.

 

Thanks for reading!

Thanks dude!