Phoenix Review, Knoebels Wooden Roller Coaster | No Seat Belts & Crazy Airtime! 

I grew up with the Phoenix and it's a full sensory experience. The sound of the cars flying past the station, the giant flywheel powering the lift hill chain, the smell of the grease and oil. And that insane airtime... the double-up-double-down, and those four bunny hills at the end. You spend more time out of your seat that in it. Knoebels is a special place, and the Phoenix is a special coaster. The best goddamned wooden coaster in the world as far as I'm concerned.

This was the first coaster I ever rode in my life. My father held my shoulders down during the intense hops. I've ridden this well over 100 times. It's one of my all time favorites. Just rode it today again, and loved every minute! It came to the park the year I was born. And it still rides smooth and is very well taken care of for the past few decades.

I grew up riding this as the Rocket in San Antonio and it's still the coaster by which I measure all others. I think it's so highly rated because it occupies the sweet spot of being intense enough to please enthusiasts without being too intense for the average rider, which gives it a broader appeal than many coasters with more impressive stats. It's a ride that almost anyone can enjoy regardless of age or preference which, depending on your perspective, might just make it the perfect wooden coaster.

I rode this on Friday I love this ride this airtime is incredible

This ride has some great lore. Everything about it is just cool. I love watching the big flywheel running the lift chain while I'm waiting in line. They still use long yellow lights in the loading station, which somehow enhances the experience. My favorite train is Orange, but Yellow is just fine too! During Hallo-Fun, they put glow-in-the-dark stuff in the tunnel. As mentioned in the video, the station has been updated. Before they did that, its roof was just exposed boards. If you looked up, you could see boot prints on the boards from when they put it back together.

This review is spot on. Phoenix is a marathon coaster for sure. Go in early june during the school days and you can get at least 6-7 rides in a row at any given time. The 2nd half of this ride, it where all the magic is created and why it has become a fan favorite. Knoebels has managed with both Twister and Phoenix to keep the pacing so well done it makes you beg for more. in 2017 my 7 yr old son first experienced Twister, it scared the bejeezus out of him, it took until almost sundown to get him to try Phoenix and when he did his first words at the end of ride "Dad, lets do it again" He LOVES phoenix, it is his fave. I tried to get him to try the Schmeck sisters (COmet -HP and Comet - LG) and after that 2015 trip, he said they are not even close to the fun of phoenix.

I love the Buzz Bars that it make you believe you are going fly out of the Train

My 8yo daughter rode this from the very front for her first ever rollercoaster tonight..loved it then we did all the other coasters. This roller coaster is seriously fun the camel humps are scattered throughout the whole ride.

Glad someone praised this ride. A lot of recent reviews have been calling it overrated.

Phoenix is a hidden gem in the coaster world. While I don't think it's a top wood coaster contender, it's still tons of fun. I like how it only has a 42 inch height requirement.

The only ACTUALLY flying coaster out there

The Phoenix is a legend

Got my first rides on this yesterday and I am in love with it. It topped El toro as my favorite woodie. No coaster has made me laugh hysterically the way Phoenix did, except maybe X2.

Phoenix is sort of the poster child for "quality over quantity" in roller coasters. It's older, it doesn't smash any records for height or length or speed. By the standards of the modern coasters, it's practically a kiddie coaster. And yet, it gives one of THE best rides of any coaster anywhere. And I think a lot of parks can learn from the Phoenix about how to make a ride really good. Records are nice, but Phoenix shows you that records aren't everything. You can have a perfectly modest classic wooden coaster with perfectly modest height and speed stats, and still have a ride that is legitimately in the conversation/short list for best in the world of its kind. Personally, while I am sort of a mid level enthuiast, Phoenix is one of very few roller coasters where I legitimately don't want it to end. Most roller coasters are fun but I need a breath after 'em. Phoenix is just such a blast that you want to go back and do it again.

Probably the best review of this coaster I’ve seen 👍🏼

Growing up and hour from this park in PA I can't even count how many times I've been on this coaster , the park is beautiful, I'm lucky I had this park so close, I love the coaster model I always wanted to take it home lol.

Fantastic review I really appreciated the history, I'm more hyped than ever for this!

It doesn’t look like my personal type of ride, but it’s just a fact that this ride is insane

Yes!!! 10 out of 10 is so well deserved!

Thank you for reviewing my favorite in so much detail.

Let me say something very honest about buzz bars. Back when PTC buzz bar trains that Phoenix use today starting to appear on wooden coasters around the late 50’s to early 60’s, they where manufactured during a time when roller coaster safety was quite different, and not many coasters ran with seatbelts. I believe around the 70’s and 80’s when amusement parks started adding seat belts to their older wooden coasters. The final nail in the coffin was in 1990, when six flags commissioned PTC to design newly designed trains for the texas giant coaster at SFOT. These new trains had newly designed orange individual lap bars. These new trains proved to be safer, and became the no. 1 choice for most trains in wooden coaster trains. While some coasters built after 1990 did open with buzz bars, and that buzz bars are indeed safe, it’s just the fact that individual lap bars are just safer.

Had to revisit the video as the down season has me wanting coaster time. If no one has noticed when the video shows the last airtime bunny hop, when it is slowed down, you can see the front of each car lift off the track. This is the absolute best ending to any rollercoaster ever. I have 2 really favorite woodies Phoenix and Boulder Dash... forget The Beast and it's weak layout... Boulder Dash is the ultimate Terrain coaster... although no longer a full woodie anymore since they layered it with titan track off the first drop, but they really had no choice. it was getting so rough that a simple retracking wasn't going to cut, it will most likely need a full structure replacement in the next 5-7 years and using the TT will help extend that need for service as it smooths out the experience and puts less strain on the structure. However... IMHO this is CCI's best Wooden Coaster, and while a full rebuild would cost $10,000,000 in todays money vs. the $6,000,000 spent in 1999/2000 I dunno if that full rebuild would capture the magic ... refurbs are part of life but man I dunno of any refurb that can capture that original experience. The first year I went on a colder night in October, park was empty and I think I landed at least 40 credits... it was so good I drove back the next weekend from Allentown, PA and rode it an additional 15 times. I am a front seat person, I just find it to be no better experience... and Boulder Dash is a great front seat ride when it is daylight... at night it doesn't matter where you sit as once you get into the mountains and deep in the woods you will see nothing.

You can hear the wheels leave contact of the track its wild!

One of my favorites!

best review ive seen of phoenix

I just rode this for the first time today. It made my top 10 lol. I’ve never felt closer to death on a roller coaster. I was legitimately terrified for my life. The ejector seems too strong for those buzz bars.

Thanks for doing a video about this!

I don't know if it's the best wooden coaster in the world given that 3/4 of it is just above average, but that last run of airtime hills is the best coaster moment I have experienced. I would compare it to the 3 consecutive hills on Twisted Timbers, except Phoenix does it with a buzbar that's positioned higher than other buzbar woodies. It certainly deserves to be in the discussion because of that finale.

A top contender for my roller coaster bucket list. :)

I rode this 4 times in a row in the cold rain this past Saturday for the first time. Wow, just wow! In those 4 rides I got a front row zen ride, needless to say it goes down as one of my favorite coaster rides ever!

Had an insane ride at Hallow fun in the pouring rain at night back row in 2018. It was freezing and the ride was hauling ridiculously fast. Every hill gave crazy ejector "even those weak hills you talked about gave airtime. The ride slowed at the top of the double up, and FLEW down the double down. Last turnaround (which was flying with unreal laterals) I was swearing my head off because I was terrified of how strong the finale was gonna be. And it was insane ejector the entire way through. One of the most insane experiences I've ever had on any coaster. Only time on a coaster I genuinely feared for my life (even tho it's completely safe lol)

Looks like a great woodie.

Great review! Can't wait to try out this ride and compare it to some of the best wooden coaster I have been on. I'm planning on a PA trip in 2021, so this will be one of the bucket list coasters for me.

Greeting, Canobie Coaster. it is actually intriguing video. thanks. :)

I rode this yesterday. Now I haven’t been to holiday land. I would give this my top two and may put this in front of el torro. Because el torro does something great (ejector airtime) but you can still get that on other coasters. Phoenix is the only coaster to where it gives you (Standing air time) and standing airtime is an absolutely unbelievable feeling. Only time I’ve ever felt standing airtime was jackrabbit for like a half second but on this coaster it’s just something crazy. It’s a freakin coaster with no seatbelt. It’s a coaster that literally sends you flying. To me nothing beats that feeling on any coaster. Plus I rode it at night at the holloween event.

So glad to see what feels to me like an appropriate review for this coaster after so much backlash from so many enthusiasts for so many years. I mean, in truth I don’t really care what anyone thinks of this ride, but after seeing a hundred people who haven’t ridden it call it “overrated,” I can’t help but roll my eyes after a while. For me it’s a top five woodie in the world.

That airtime looks legit

Hopefully I can come to knoebels soon

"In the Middle of Nowhere," yes, but absolutely the most wonderful Amusement Part to visit!....Maybe our "Nowhere" actually is a "somewhere" and this is coming from a former New Yorker!

Ok, you can stop rubbing salt in my wounds now 😉 RIP my 2020 trip... My top three bucket list coasters: El Toro, Skyrush and Phoenix. Would've knocked them all out 😭

Overall good video, but one correction: That model has been there for years (even had a separate small building) and if I remember correctly, it was a HS students project of some sort. It is also the second Phoenix model, there used to be another around the area of the exit ramp.

Yes

Rode this when I was like 7 and was scared I'd fly out the ride

it has great airtime.

I really want to ride this

I can see the airtime on the POV

I was on it 10 times it is a 10. Plus

Not the best woodie in the world, but it's still an outstanding, elite coaster! The front row ride I got was out of this world. I knew then what true standing airtime was. I wish I had gotten more than 2 rides. When I went, Knoebels was not allowing anyone to pick their rows on any coaster. It was extremely strict assigned seating, filling front to back as you enter the station, with no exceptions under any circumstances. Hopefully, this is only temporary, because of Mr. Corona.

He added the last humps after he bought it. But I love this ride.

It was very smooth I found that so odd

Do you have a countdown of your favorite wooden coasters? I'd love to know which ones you think are slightly better than this.

Imagine el toro with buzzbars 😳 I wouldn’t even ride it because it would literally be deadly. No exaggeration

This or Coaster at Playland?

If six flags operated this it would probly be jackhammer simulator the ride with 3 seatbelts, over the shoulder and lap bar restrains

Phoenix is a wooden standup coaster.

I have a theory to why some like and don't like it. Those who like are not as used to getting a lot of room on coasters, and when you get that much room, it makes the ride MUCH better. Meanwhile, if you are sued to getting a fist or 2 or more of room you might not be as impressed.

That model isn’t new, they just moved it to a nice display case

What do you think about Phoenix at Knoebels, famous or infamous?

But is it better than Swamp Fox?

I snagged a whole train to myself

The airtime looks cartoonish on the finale.

no restraint is odd

I don't get what's so special about this ride. Just loosen the seatbelt on the other buzz bar woodies and they feel the same.

This isn’t my favorite traditional wooden coaster either

I think this ride is overrated