Wow! I have never seen Knoebels as packed as it was on our Saturday, October 10, 2020 visit. Just getting from the traffic light to the parking lot took almost half an hour. Little did we know, that would be the theme of the day. Thankfully the park was open until 10 p.m. We counted on the crowds dying down later in the evening once all the younger kids left for the night. That didn’t turn out to be the case, but we still got in most of the rides we wanted to, with one notable exception – Impulse.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the Phoenix. Phoenix was the main reason why we planned the trip to begin with. For almost a month, it was our plan to make Phoenix Sam’s 50th credit and Greg’s 75th. You can read more about that plan in the blog, “Sam & Greg to Get Credits 50 & 75 on Phoenix?“
Wait for it... Black Diamond
After waiting in line for another 30 minutes just to get our wristbands, we walked over to Black Diamond. The line for this coaster/ dark ride hybrid stretched out to the road and curled back around the nearby food area. I’ve never waited anywhere other than on the ride platforms and ramp for this ride.
Just like getting into the parking lot and getting our wrist bands, our wait was about 30 minutes before we were able to get in our first ride of the day at Knoebels. With my love of this ride stemming all the way back to its days as Golden Nugget on Hunt’s Pier in Wildwood, N.J., I always make sure I am able to ride this each and every visit. It has sentimental value to me, riding it with my grandparents over and over every summer in Wildwood growing up.
Sam, although she had been to Knoebels one previous time, did not ride Black Diamond. The group she was riding with didn’t realize it was a coaster and missed out. So this was her first experience, along with Greg’s. They both enjoyed it and its charm.
Wait for it... Twister
One ride Sam did manage to experience last year during our workplace’s trip to Knoebels was Twister. She didn’t have to wait about 30 minutes for it on that day though, which seemed to be the average wait time for everything on the day. Well, ride related. More on that in a bit.
Although Sam had ridden Twister in 2019, she came off the ride loving all the laterals from Knoebel’s “other” wooden coaster on this go around. I love Phoenix, but I’ve always been someone who also sings the praises of Twister. I even told Greg not to sleep on it prior to our visit. He loved it as well and was happy to finally be able to add another ride photo keychain to his ever growing collection. Greg and his collection will be the topic of a future installment of the Coaster Collectibles series. Be on the lookout for that.
Wait for it... Kozmo's Kurves
We needed one more credit before Phoenix to get the Sam and Greg their 50th and 75th credits in the books. We had two choices: Kozmo’s Kurves and Impulse. Kozmo’s Kurves won out as Sam has yet to experience a vertical lift hill, It seems to be one of the few things she’s still feeling the anxiety over with this hobby. We decided to keep that for last.
Yet again, we had a 30 minute wait for this kiddie coaster. It seems like a lot of people prefer High Speed Thrill Coaster, the kiddie coaster that once stood where Kozmo’s currently stands, but I never experienced it. I have always loved Kozmo’s Kurves due to its setting over the waterway for the boat ride. I wish I could compare it to High Speed though. It’s just a credit I don’t have.
Oh yeah, Greg lost his wallet on this ride too. It had to be those awesome bunny hills at the end. Luckily the ride op saw it in the seat and grabbed it. It was also a good thing Greg noticed it missing immediately after leaving the exit queue. Crisis adverted.
Wait for it... Phoenix
The line for Phoenix extended out of the new queue region, all the way through the courtyard, and ended by the exit door of the gift shop behind Flying Turns. We thought this was going to be a longer wait than the previous rides we rode so far, but low and behold, 30 minutes! I’m not kidding.
As you can see in the photo above, the sun was going down as we entered the line. It wasn’t quite dark yet when we finally sat down for our front row (Sam and Greg) and second row (me) rides, but it was getting real close. We wanted a night ride, so we figured we’d come back once the crowds died down a bit later on.
I was surprised to see the halloween decor inside Phoenix’s tunnel to begin the ride. I knew they turned the opening into a pumpkin, but I didn’ realize there would be props in glow paint under black lights inside. That was a pleasant surprise that we all loved.
What we also loved was the ride itself. Sam and Greg were completely gushing coming off Phoenix’s exit ramp. Sam even said she thinks Phoenix might have dethroned El Toro as her favorite woodie. I asked her if she was serious and she said she was. She said she practically stood up because of the buzz bar restraints at one point after a pop of airtime. Oh, how I remember experiencing that for the first time myself. It truly is amazing.
Wait for it... Impulse (Almost)
At this point we had one coaster left, since Flying Turns is down for the season. Not wanting to eat and then jump on Impulse, we decided to head over to the ride first. When we walked over, however, the line was wrapped all the way around the back end of the ride. It literally stretched to the walkway coming into the park from the parking lot and pavilions.
Soon after getting in line, a guy behind was curious about how long the wait would be. He left the line to go check. He came back and told his friend it would be a 1 hour, 45 minute wait. That’s when we realized they were only running one train. That one train, with two rows, was often not being filled because of social distancing procedures too. A few trains went by with just two people on them and the dispatches were easily the slowest of the all coasters we rode so far.
After a bit of discussion, we decided to leave and go eat. We hadn’t eaten since right after we left Adventure Park USA, which you can read about in the blog, “Adventure Park USA – Gregs Goes for a Tumble.” We were all hungry, so we left the line after about 15 minutes of waiting.
Wait for it... Pizza (Almost)
What we didn’t know is that we were leaving one line with a rumored 1 hour, 45 minute wait, to a food line that felt to be every bit as long. We waited 20 minutes in another line that wrapped throughout the park’s walkways, but this one just didn’t move.
We were getting a little frustrated at this point because we moved maybe like 10 feet at most in the line. The hunger was really setting in making matters worse. And for those of you who might wonder why we didn’t go to another food stand, it’s for two reasons. One, they were all long. And two, we had vouchers for two slices of pizza and a drink only usable at this one stand. This was part of our American Coaster Enthusiast (ACE) offer and we wanted to use it. That being said, I did ponder saying screw it and getting food elsewhere because of the line.
After those 20 minutes of standing still, we left our second line in a row. Our plan was to go back on Phoenix and get that night ride. Then maybe, just maybe, the pizza line would be shorter when we came back.
Wait for it... Phoenix Again
The line for Phoenix started pretty much where it did the first time. It also took us about 30 minutes to ride again. What also was similar to our first ride was our assigned seats. Greg and Sam got front row again and I took the second row. We had hoped for the back on the second ride, but being in the front beat out getting middle rows for sure!
After this second ride, I think Sam is all but sold on her moving Phoenix into her top spot as her favorite wooden coaster. Greg might be ready to move it into his top spot as well. He told me to give him a few days to think on it.
Wait for it... Pizza Again (Finally), but No Still No Impulse
Now it was back to the pizza line. Low and behold, it was indeed shorter. And low and behold, it still wasn’t moving. We waited about 40-45 minutes this time around before getting our slices. We figured we could eat them on our way over to Impulse to finish up the day. I really wanted to get Greg on for a new credit and new ride photo. He hasn’t gotten to add too many to his collection this year with so many parks not operating them for staffing reasons.
Sadly, we ended having to sit down to eat. The slices were too big and hot to carry in the crowded park while also holding a cup. We were done in about 5-10 minutes, though and made our way to Impulse.
Wait for it... Impulse Again (Actually, Nope)
Things looked good as there was no line out by the fence. It was all inside the queue area under the ride. That’s when we learned why. The gate was shut and they weren’t letting anyone else get in line. A park employee was stopping people from entering, saying people would still in line up to 10:30 p.m. with the present wait. The park was set to close at 10 p.m. A swing and a miss for us!
If one positive comes from us missing out on Impulse during this visit is that Greg can get it when he goes back for Flying Turns. It will give him something else to look forward to on a return trip. I guess Sam’s first vertical lift is going to have to be TMNT Shellraiser or Fahrenheit now. We are supposed to be headed to both parks this month. I thought Impulse would be a good starter coaster to experience that kind of element, but it just didn’t play out.
No Wait for it... Haunted Mansion
Since the park was not yet closed, we power walked back over to the Haunted Mansion and used our free Haunted Mansion tickets. I thought we were going to miss out on this amazing dark ride, but with Impulse closed, it afforded us the time to make it our last ride of the day. It was also our first ride of the day with no wait.
Wait for it... Ice Cream (Thanks to Security)
After seeing if we could squeeze in one last ride on Phoenix to no avail, we grabbed ourselves some ice cream. We were one of the last people security let in line, but it was so worth it. It was also fun sitting in the park after it had closed and most of the visitors had left. It went from being the most crowded, loud day at at Knoebels, to being so quiet and peaceful.
Even with the crowd and limited rides, I was happy to see Knoebels have a good turn out. I had never been to either the for Hallow-Fun or Phoenix Phun Phunfest events until this visit. It’s been a slow season for everyone in the industry, so I hope the park continues this success for the remainder of 2020. Let’s pray things can get back to normal in 2021. I know one thing, Sam, Greg, and I will certainly be back for it.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Commander
New Credit(s): Black Diamond, Kozmo's Kurve, & Phoenix
Greg
Lieutenant
New Credit(s): Black Diamond, Kozmo's Kurves, Phoenix, & Twister
