Knott's

[styvx]

Anybody been to this park? I really enjoy their selection of rides, but worry that the park is losing some of its "charm" due to the mega coasters they keep adding.

In the past Knott's was a quaint little park with a really down-home feel to it - like Silverwood right now, only bigger.

When Cedar Fair bought Knott's they added some great rides right off the bat including Supreme Scream, Perilous Plunge, and Xcelerator.

But then they ripped out a big section of Fiesta Village to add the Revolucion (frisbee), and then tore out the lake to put in the Silver Bullet coaster. Lastly they have now shut down Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, which was a great dark ride.

To me, while recent additions are good rides, I worry that if this keeps up, Knott's is going to lose what always made it attractive which is that it has a nice laid back feel to it. I think in the future they need to add some attractions with a little more personality to them than just huge pillars of steel. Another mega coaster may just turn Knott's into another Six Flags.

[65skylark]

I was there 3 days ago. I love the park and think it is better with the additions and is far from being another SFMM. They still have part of the lake but Silver Bullets setting couldn't be better IMO. It is absolutely amazing to be able to literally walk directly under 80% of that coaster.

I think the park still has plenty of charm and is very laid back compared to all of the other parks is Sothern California. I personally thought Kingdom of the Dinasours was a terible dark ride. They still have the first (and still to this day one of the best) log flumes. Ghost town is still 100% in tact. And the Calico Mine Train dark ride which is great IMO. Plus it has the best woodie on the west coast.

This is simply my own opinion of course but Knotts to me is better with the rides they have added. My only complaint is that they removed Wacky Soap Box Racers. That ride was a classic and I hated to see it go.

[Bud Parsley]

65skylark said:

My only complaint is that they removed Wacky Soap Box Racers. That ride was a classic and I hated to see it go.

Heh heh...not too many people remember that ride! I thought it was great too...of course, I was just a kid at the time - probably around 10 years old or so. But I remember thinking it was so much fun to race the other cars on the track...even though to the best of my recollection there was consistently a winning lane.

[skinnyguy]

Yeah, I've noticed that Knott's has lost some of it's original feel, but I don't think it's completely gone. I like what they've done with the park in some ways, but in others I can see your point.

Overall I still love the place, and find it a nice relaxing break from the other parks in So Cal. They have several of my favorite rides...plus the Halloween Haunt (which I visited for the first time last October) can't be beat. Definitely worth going to if you're in the area at that time of year.

I do agree with SkyLark about the Soap Box racers, that was such a fun ride! I remember racing with my bros on family vacations as a kid...I was so young though...only second grade I think.

[styvx]

To me I guess I enjoyed the rides with character such as the Haunted Shack, the Soap Box Racers, the Stagecoach Ride without the massive coaster over it, etc, etc.

I don't hate Knott's now, but I fear what it is becoming. There was a nice little park up the road called Magic Mountain that also used to have a quaint little feel to it. Anyone who's been there in the past 5 years knows that giant coasters don't necessarily make a park better.

I hope Knott's knows where to draw the line.