Sir, coming from a 20yr employee of theme parks (ride op, food service, Diver, & now maintenance, Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you! After countless years of complaining about the ride operations at Knotts, the long wait times, low capacity rides, long wait for food, no parking, constantly doing a survey after EVERY visit. Let's just hope now that Knotts will finally, FINALLY respond with a change. Here's hoping for that B&M Giga-coaster... 😔
Guess what's closed today as of writing... Ghostrider Xcelerator Montezoomas Revenge Mystery Lodge 3 of their biggest rides. What's open, a good ol reliable B&M, Silver Bullet. What a surprise.
@@tahjo7 Sadly, Montezoomas Revenge won't be reopened till summer next year. Hopefully by the summer festival, Xcelerator will be open again. I can't wait to go back on Ghostrider again after this video.
@@aliteralcabbage I'm aware. It was an attempt to put a spotlight on their diminished guest experience and management/operations decisions. With 3 of your biggest rides down at the same time, one would wonder if your getting your money's worth.
@@aliteralcabbage Wait Xcelerator is closed? Didn't they just repaint that? And I forgot about MR closing for a year. Aren't they renovating the ride? I'd assume replacing the launch system and computer, probably brakes and what not too. Maybe even track?
You are 100% correct about Ghostrider's atrocious capacity. I am a passholder at Knotts and I find it sad that the coaster is so beautiful yet it is hardly ever cycling, even when the line in 3 hours long.
@@tahjo7 I did tell them that when I cancelled my season pass. I don’t really have any desire to go back because their operations are so atrocious. If the park is dead or packed it’s bad either way. They don’t run at capacity and are slow in everything they do. It’s just not enjoyable at all. I’ll go to Disney, magic mountain, or universal before I ever go to knotts
For those who are unfamiliar, ElKarenRyan is a visitor who has spent too long occupying a ride queue. Before the end of the queue is an operator gate zone designed to unnecessarily stack trains. This is the system that prevents a rollercoaster from dispatching trains in a timely manner reducing overall capacity.
As an operator at Knott's who has been there for a while i can say whole-heartedly, a locker system would immensely speed up operations on all the coasters. Most if not all our operation slow downs is waiting for guests to place their belongings away inside of the cubbies as people refuse to do so. Repeatedly instructing guests to place items away as they argue massively eats away at loading times cause we can't necessarily rush them (unless it is at the point where a singular guest is holding operations). Admittedly there are slow crews who take their time, though they tend to not last long cause the slow ops usually quit or are fired. I can comfortably say the usual variable of op speed is guests. I've had a crew burn through cycles one hour and then tank the next simply due to how well guests listen and cooperate. After lockdown though there has been a massive uptick in problematic guests who feel the need to fight every little detail even down to safety like height requirements. Operators want to move fast. Majority of us enjoy the quick pacing of operations cause we love to move. When lines hit 3-4 hours and we are backed up with a line of fast lane as well as ADA/GAP lines, it's an absolute nightmare for ops. We'd love to send trains at rapid pace but, there's just a lot of really poorly implemented systems that hold back the op side of things which a rework is desperately needed. However, it would be have to be a major overhaul and its very unlikely management would do such as it's all numbers. It's easier for them to blame it on a "slow" crew and rehire until they get a "fast" one instead of tackling the problem at its source. Lockers would be a step forward. ADA pass reworks to make sure the right people get them. Clearer ride guidelines. The list goes on. Rant aside, I did enjoy the video, which was what gave me the drive to comment with the perspective of someone who has worked coasters in the park and can give a little more insight on how we feel on the op side of things. It ultimately comes down to guests voicing the right concerns which will bring about change in the park cause there's only so much they will listen to the grunts operating since we aren't giving them money. Well Done
Hey, thanks for the comment! I appreciate feedback from an operator at Knott's. I hear ya man, that makes a lot of sense to me. Hopefully guests do give more feedback from Knott's and then the park makes changes from there. I hope you like working there! It still seems like a fun time!
@@ElToroRyan Absolutely, like any job it has it's ups and downs but it's definitely a lot of fun to operate a ride. Giving people new experiences and bringing more fun to their days because in the end, that's what amusement parks are all about.
@@nataliemoraes2033 Definitely, the rides are designed with safety in mind. The only catch with a ride like Ghostrider is that its a bit on the rougher side. At most you'll get shaken around a bit but it's definitely been toned down since the refurb. Ensuring your own safety is as simple as following safety instructions. The rides usually have multiple failsafes in place to ensure rider safety so as long as you aren't actively trying to get yourself hurt, you'll be fine. Likewise, if you had any questions you can always ask an operator at the ride and they will more than likely have an answer.
Huge issue with Knott's. Xcellerator bad capacity, GhostRider bad capacity, Montezuma's Revenge bad capacity, Pony Express bad capacity, Sierra Sidewinder ok capacity, Hangtime average capacity, Jaguar good capacity and Silver bullet good/great capacity. They functionally only have two thrills rides with average or good capacity, The other 3 main thrill rides have very bad capacity. This is why they need another B&M for a ride with higher capacity. Great video.
Pony Express has some of the worst stacking at the station of all rides due to the short layout. I've waited over 10 minutes after a 30 second ride just to unload.
Thank you! I had a pass but canceled years ago. I told them it was because of their horrible operations. They wouldn’t run full trains even on busy days. We timed silver bullet at 9 1/2 minutes between trains. Seriously. Ghost rider was even worse. Pony express is such a short ride it was a joke. Xcelerator though was amazing.
You didn't have to, but I can't thank you enough for your historical introduction. You speak to a whole new generation that would otherwise never heard about how Knott's came to be what it is today. A very classy move from a guy who calls himself a coaster idiot.
As a southern California native, born in 1991, and always lived 10 mins away, I've heard bits and pieces pf the history of Knotts many times but was never engaged as I was in the beginning of this video. Makes me actually appreciate this local theme park more.
Also, why does Knotts require seat belts? Also I remember them having 3 trains running sometimes. Also, I've never waited in a long line for this ride, because I've always gotten to pass the line.
This is the single greatest video I've ever seen on youtube. Ghostrider lifer here who operated the ride and I've just been so damn ashamed at how horribly it's been operated since day 1. They did indeed run 3 trains for a few weeks but it proved completely pointless, and double stacking typically cascaded the ride because empty trains couldn't roll off of the brakes fast enough before the next train made it to the MCB. Anywho, sadly Knott's is the worst park in America in terms of attendance vs. capacity. To think that they can pull 30,000+ visitors on a busy day and just toss 1 train on nearly every coaster (and then operate it slowly) it just sickens me. Fastlane massively exacerbates the problem to the point where I can't even bring myself to visit the place anymore. People waiting 3-4 hours for rides at Knott's would wait 45-60 minutes at every single other CF park for an identical ride- I'm not exaggerating in the slightest.
Oh wow, that’s fascinating about the cascade issue! I can see that with the first portion of final brake run not being as sloped as the rest for some reason!
For those of you who are unfamiliar, ElToroKaren is a visitor who has spent too long occupying a ride queue. Before the end of the queue is an operator gate zone designed to unnecessarily stack trains. This is the system that prevents a rollercoaster from dispatching trains in a timely manner reducing overall capacity.
Parks today have such thin/narrow profit margins, to where the parks today prefer to not have giant wooden coasters because of the constant maintenance that needs to be done. Its really expensive and time consuming to properly maintain a giant woody. It's not worth it. Plus, the general public wants extremely smooth coasters now. It's really only the coaster enthusiasts that want/like the semi rough feel of wooden coasters. Parks won't be successful if they cater to coaster enthusiasts. Coaster enthusiasts are such a small percentage of the everyday guest. You are 10000% on them encouraging long lines to incentives guest to buy fast lane passes, which again....Parks now do this to find other money making ideas since profit margins are thin(especially for California Parks since California is raising the minimum wage every year) Parks can't afford to keep the same number staff while paying higher eages every year. In just the last 4 years, California minimum wage has been raised 3 times. This crushes theme Parks in California. Disneyland has raised the park entrance price every year the last 6 years. Ha. I just got back from Disneyland/California Adventure the other day after spending 4 nights and 3 days there and it was crazy expensive. Worth it though. My home park is, six flags magic mountain. Born and raised just 35 minutes from the park. I now live in Arizona. Magic Mountain is still great as they have 20 coasters and I don't get why coaster/park enthusiasts keep crying about magic mountain....like....what else is the park supposed to do? Add 20 more coasters? Lol there's no more land to but to expand. The land is too expensive now to purchase for a large expansion.
@@nexpro6118all that may be true, but it’s a good thing that minimum wage is increasing. how the fuck is $7.25 an hour supposed to help anyone survive in the most expensive state in the country (maybe behind alaska & hawaii)
@@sinnsage why is it a good thing? Minimum wage isn't a job to be used to live of off and to support a family....it's a stepping stone job for young people/kids to learn how to be a good employee and to learn skills for other good paying jobs.....why do so many people today aim for the bare minimum? How sad
As a local, I can't tell you how exciting it was when I was a teenager and Ghostrider was opening up. The only nearby woodies in the area were OG Colossus at the miserable Psyclone at Magic Mountain. Otherwise, you could go down to Belmont Park in San Diego. Long live Ghostrider! I still think it's a blast, even if it started to beat you into submission.
Yea I just considered it a one and done during its roughest days. The roughness kept lines under an hour. Now the lines are so long its a one and done anyway. Oh well, it had to be done.
@@toddjones1480 Eh, I don’t know if that thing was ever as good a GhostRider. Based on POV’s, it CRAWLED through the layout, whereas even in its worst years GhostRider never really had pacing issues.
Parks today have such thin/narrow profit margins, to where the parks today prefer to not have giant wooden coasters because of the constant maintenance that needs to be done. Its really expensive and time consuming to properly maintain a giant woody. It's not worth it. Plus, the general public wants extremely smooth coasters now. It's really only the coaster enthusiasts that want/like the semi rough feel of wooden coasters. Parks won't be successful if they cater to coaster enthusiasts. Coaster enthusiasts are such a small percentage of the everyday guest. You are 10000% on them encouraging long lines to incentives guest to buy fast lane passes, which again....Parks now do this to find other money making ideas since profit margins are thin(especially for California Parks since California is raising the minimum wage every year) Parks can't afford to keep the same number staff while paying higher eages every year. In just the last 4 years, California minimum wage has been raised 3 times. This crushes theme Parks in California. Disneyland has raised the park entrance price every year the last 6 years. Ha. I just got back from Disneyland/California Adventure the other day after spending 4 nights and 3 days there and it was crazy expensive. Worth it though. My home park is, six flags magic mountain. Born and raised just 35 minutes from the park. I now live in Arizona. Magic Mountain is still great as they have 20 coasters and I don't get why coaster/park enthusiasts keep crying about magic mountain....like....what else is the park supposed to do? Add 20 more coasters? Lol there's no more land to but to expand. The land is too expensive now to purchase for a large expansion.
I adore Ghostrider, thanks for this great little feature on it. But ya, the capacity on the ride is hot garbage. I WISH so much that Knott's would go back to 3 train ops (which did actually exist), but the park has two pretty solid business incentives not to. 1. Long lines increase demand for Fast Lane purchases (at a park with a relatively low admission charge). 2. Sending fewer trains every day decreases wear & tear, which means less maintenance costs and also less downtime. So, higher capacity on Ghostrider would both decrease revenue AND increase costs at the same time. And ain't nobody doing that for "guest satisfaction" as long as the guests are still showing up.
@al11672 When I was at Scary Farm last year on a Saturday in early Oct, not only was the regular queue spilling FAR past the entrance, but Fast Lane went down the stairs and past the ADA elevator. And that was around 1am. I know Scary Farm crowds are always crazy, but when your Fast Lane is blocking the midway, there is definitely an issue. So ridiculous!
I really love the history of the family-owned era of the park. I love that they were planning this big ride for their most historic section of the park even before selling. I wish that we knew more about the behind the scenes when they finally decided to sell.
GhostRider was my first big coaster when I was 6 or 7, with its original trains and track rough as heck. My dad asked me if I wanted to ride it with him and I said yes, mostly because i didn’t know what it was. I get off, I’m scared, my face is white, and I avoid roller coasters for 5 years or so. Over quarantine, I get into roller coasters, start considering myself an enthusiast, and find out that GhostRider got retracked. Next time we go to Knotts, I ride it, and it became my new #1. I don’t know if it still holds that position, but it is definitely still in my top 3. Ride GhostRider guys, those 2 hour lines and 5 minute dispatches are worth it. It slaps.
I have a similar experience! I was about the same age and it was one of my first coasters I rode. I hated it so much, I was telling my brother to get me off of it while we were riding it. Then, in like 2017, I went to knotts again and I went on xcelerator. It was awesome so then I went on ghost rider and it was amazing. It was super smooth and not like how I remembered it when I was little.
Awesome video! Lockers are better than a bin in the station, but it means that people will have to wait in a 2 hour line without their phone or medication, which could be an issue for some. Ever since seeing the moving bins on Yukon Striker, (and the coat check system at Alton Towers), I think something like this should be applied on every coaster which needs fast boarding And they could just order a fourth train, so they can run three at a time and still keep one for maintenance
Are you allowed to wear a fanny pack on the ride? You could put your phone in there. I agree people should already have their stuff in a locker so they can just get on when the ride is ready.
Love how you incorporated Knott’s history into the video. I first rode Ghostrider in 2002 and remember it instantly becoming my favorite ride in the park. Then just a few years later I remember it turning into a headache waiting to happen, so I would make it my last ride of the day. The GCI re-track in 2016 was a life saver but capacity is a huge issue, especially given crowds at Knott’s. Hope they add that 3rd train and giga soon!
You do these mini docs better than anyone! It's clear you put in a great deal of effort and attention to detail. I always learn something from your mini docs! You ROCK!
I grew up 20 min from Knotts, it was my home park. I was 10 when Ghostrider opened and it immediately became my favorite coaster even as it grew rougher and rougher. I moved out of state before it was rebuilt, would love to go back and ride it again.
GhostRider has been my #1 ever since I first rode it in 2019. I definitely agree about the poor operations. The only way to really avoid waiting 2 hours for GhostRider is to go on a weekday in the off season, which usually have pretty much 0 queue for any ride.
Ghostrider is my 2nd favorite coaster in California behind X2. I rode it for the first time in January 2022 and was blown away by how good it is. I 100% agree on the terrible operations, even with Fast Lane the line got to a point that it was so long that I decided to stop riding it for the day. I loved almost everything about my visit to Knotts. The only thing keeping Knott's away from being one of the country's absolute best parks is their slow operations.
From what I have heard, the subpar operations at Knott's (and California as a whole) are due in part to some California-specific regulations that necessitate extra procedure steps not required elsewhere. That said, there is no denying the park has quite possibly the worst ops of any major park in the country, which combined with the abundance of low capacity attractions the park exacerbate lines to the point it's frustrating to visit even on moderately busy days. I fully agree that GhostRider should have lockers and three train ops, as the current setup caps actual capacity at around 500 if it's running smooth, which is dreadfully pathetic for the headliner at the busiest non-destination park in the country. With three trains and a better solution for loose articles, they could probably pump through 800+ without too much difficulty, which would be much more acceptable. Anyway, great video on a coaster I've enjoyed having at my home park since the day it opened! It truly is unique, as GhostRider is the only coaster I can think of that went from top 10 to bottom 10 and is now back in the top 10.
From a Knotts ride op in training and one who goes there every week I can't tell you how excited I am to see someone I love watching review one of my favorite rides. Everything you said here is all on the spot to the Knotts history berry core. Keep up the amazing work! ✨🍇💜
I found the “ElKarenRyan” disclaimer hilarious. Also, you should have titled it “From problematic roller coaster to theme park marvel - Ghostrider at Knott’s Berry Farm - The wildest wooden roller coaster in the west.
haha thanks! and I think that would go over the 100 character limit for a title lol but I can't call the ride a Theme Park Marvel until it runs 3 trains!!
While I had been on thrilling coasters before this was the first “big” coaster I had ever experienced. I was 7 at the time and it was so imposing. A giant wall of wood and metal and somehow a train managed to navigate its way through it all… it wasn’t the sleek and light looking metal coaster that were full of empty space. It’s been my absolute favorite since the first ride. T-Express in South Korea does give it a run for its money but lacks the kind of theming to put it even close.
I love the history of Knott's Berry Farm, and my mom actually has a long history of going there. She told me that her grandparents used to live in Cali and they would go to Knott's every time they visited them, and my mom distinctively remembers marathoning Ghostrider. I asked her if she would ever ride it again and she said no, saying that she grew out of that phase
I swear you took the words about GhostRider a capacity straight from my mouth. Last summer I would frequently get a night ride on GhostRider, and on one day I timed the dispatches to be 21 per hour or about 500 people. And this was with 4 ops checking restraints and a row assigner, and almost no stacking. Already this is ridiculous for the crowds Knotts gets. Fast lane was backed up to the gift shop so immediately 250 are going to fast lane whom waited 20-30 minutes themselves. And every other train 2 rows goes to ADA so about 40 of the 500 are taken up by ADA riders who afterwards will be stuck idle for 3-3.5 hours before they can ride anything. This gets even worse in that another issue is whether they can even assign rows fast enough to fill trains. Many times due to the ADA paper, row assigning, and elevator assignments it’s difficult for the op to even assign rows in time. The whole setup of GhostRider is just a mess and needs a massive revamp.
I've worked at assigning seats at Ghost for a couple days becuase my ride was down, and it was always a challenge having to sign the boarding passes while filling up the gates in a timely manner
Oh man this makes so much sense! I rode it when it opened and loved it then went again around 2011 and was sore for like a week afterwards. I thought I was just getting old. Turns out I was getting old AND the coaster had changed. 👍
As a ride operator I agree with everything you said about capacity but sadly I don’t see it changing unless Knotts decides to purchase a fourth train for Ghostrider. This would allow for one train to be off for maintenance while the other three continue to run. Six Flags fiesta Texas is currently doing something similar with iron rattler where they have purchased a third train so the ride can always run at max capacity.
I went a few weeks ago. Even when we entered at park opening, nearly at the gates, but also had a quick stop at a help stand, and got in line for Ghostrider immediately, the wait was like 30 minutes. By the time we got off the wait was over an hour ALL WITHIN AN HOUR OF PARK OPENING. So many of Knotts rides has poor capacity. I was surprised that the log ride had one of two stations being used.
Ghost Rider is definitely my all time favorite ride. Maybe I'm lucky but when I went to Knotts in Feb, I got on Ghost rider three times and my longest wait was 15 minutes. It was during the week so maybe this was a contributing factor.
Great video. To me, with the addition on fixing long wait times, I would actually like to have more themeing elements in the queue line. I really don't like the dead empty space on the first floor of the station, the t.v. screens just feel out of place for me. If anything it been cool to see more mining supplies to be displayed and possibly a added backstory to the ride. I do like the idea of a runaway mine cart type ride. Also I'm actually very interested in the scraped pre-show you mentioned.
Dude, your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Between this informative content and the hilarious Coaster Idiots content, this is a damn good place to stop by.
Your best work yet Ryan! Knotts is my home park I've ridden this ride countless times. I'm used to waiting 2+ hours. I wish it had better capacity. Also hope we get that giga!
These videos are a 15 out of 10 on the coaster nerd scale. And that's why I love them! 😁 When you described the "trailer" construction of the GCI trains - did you know that this kind of train design with two axles on the front car and single axles on all others was actually invented (and patented) by Anton Schwarzkopf? 😉 Of course his patent has long since expired, allowing other manufacturers to build their trains to the same principle, but he was the first to do it in 1975.
@@ElToroRyan If you are interested in more detail (and judging by your videos, you most likely are), check US patent number 4093080. ;-) And if there is anyone who needs to say thank you, it's me, for your great videos!
@@alexlents4689 As far as I know he didn't invent the wheel. That was likely his father. 🤣 Jokes aside, something he did not invent was the tubular steel track. This was first used by Arrow (even though Schwarzkopf massively improved the fabrication methods, which is pretty obvious if you compare the ride experience and how well the coasters age.)
First of all: really good video! My home park is Europa Park with their GCI Wodan. They run all three trains almost every weekend with only stacking one train for a short time. So I think they achive over 1000 riders per hour. I can't even imagine waiting so long for a ride with such terrible capacity. And btw, Wodan features loose article bins on the platform, which proves that good operations are possible despite bins.
Getting yelled at in German makes you board trains so much more efficient, lol. I've been to Europapark a couple of times and every single ride is running with staggering efficiency. When will ETRyan and his CoasterKarens go on a Eurotrip?
I visited Knotts nearly every week last summer, always on a weekday. I think we only rode Ghostrider once, and that was a ropedrop. The low capacity of nearly all the coasters, coupled with the influx of new passholders due to the failure of the Magic Keys, I have sadly decided to give my favorite park a few years off. Not to mention, Hangtime was down basically all year due to a supply chain issue receiving a part. I love Knotts, but we jokingly called Hat Dance our favorite ride because we knew we could ride it consistently 🤣 Knotts needs to figure out how to handle their crowds better and I would love it if the Disney people would go back to their ‘home!’
i dont recommend switching to six flags any time soon, i actually started going to knotts to give six flags (magic mountain in specific) a break, their lines are getting just as ridiculous for *everything* ive had to stand in line for _two hours_ just to get food at nearly every food spot, i say nearly because many of them were closed and stay closed consistently
Funny enough, I moved to Los Angeles back in 2002 so my only experience with Ghost Rider was when it was starting to get bad. X'D My Dad and I always joked about bracing ourselves each time we rode it. Then when I visited earlier this year I was blown away by how smooth it was. Definitely made my trip worth it. I never understood why it was so rough but this video help shed light on that, so thank you!
Another great video by Ryan🤘🏻😎🤘🏻. I rode it in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2017. That 2013 ride hurt my lower back. The 2017 ride was EPIC!!!!! This is my top wooden rollercoaster credit. Really enjoyed this video.
i rode this in 99 and later in 2018 personally the experience in 99 was the best ive experienced with the old trains especially in the back the second half with the old train just ejected you out of your seat after the mid course brake section more than the gci conversion
probably your best video to date. I usually don't care for theme parks and coasters in the west as I live in the Southeast, but the very informative points you had in the video made me care. If someone from Knott's watched this video, I feel like there is a good chance they will actually do something about it.
This video DEFINITELY helped in waiting for GhostRider to return, as it is unfortunately closed for some kind of refurbishment right now. But hopefully - JUST hopefully - the staff there is being retrained to allow for higher capacity. This is my home park, and the only times I can get on without waiting miserably long times is to go on school days, and not during spring breaks. By the way, I was wondering if you could maybe do a video on X2 next? That would make for an AMAZING PRC vid!
The ride was testing today, associates got to ride it first and if I'm not mistaken I saw the line entrance open :) it's all on cedar fair to up the ops to 3 trains. If so, the associates will be trained for it forsure
I rode GhostRider for the first time (and then again at night) three weeks ago and it’s currently my favorite roller coaster, but the operations were terrible lmao
Ghostrider was my first roller coaster ever and it messed me up because I was barely tall enough to ride it when I was a kid... Now I love roller coasters though so all is good. Oh and don't worry Ryan, I always slam the heck out of the like button whenever you upload! :D Keep up the great work!
High roller at valleyfair, with experienced loaders and 2 train operations we hit 18-20 cycles per hour. It’s difficult to hit any higher than that and there’s nothing to do about that.
Hey Ryan, love your research department. Amazing!!! I went there during the 70s and 80s. You brought me back old memories. Thanks for your hard work. First time watching your channel. Ps. Try the heated boysenberry pie a la mode. Love it. They also use to serve rhubarb pie which I did not like for a time.
I recall visiting the park around 2007 or 2008 when I was like 12, and boy I can confirm that ride was ROUGH!! I thought it was still fun as hell so I rode it like a dozen times throughout my days there, i had such a bad headache but of course Lil thrill seeker 12 year old me didn't care much, loved this park so much I want to go back now!!
I don't think you should tempt Cedar Fair to take away the free bins. Plenty of Kings Island's coasters run fast with bins. The forced use of paid lockers doesn't improve guest experiences, and is only a minor decrease in ride speed for an obvious cash grab. However, you are absolutely right about the 3 train operations. It is honestly shocking GhostRider only runs 2 trains, *and stacks those 2 trains on top of it!* They need to both switch to 3 train operation and update their operations procedure.
Maybe if they updated the bins so there were more bins scattered around the station, instead of having one set of bins that gets bottlenecked and slows down everything
@@ElToroRyan Velocicoaster system seems to be the best (or alternatively Yukon Striker's moving system). They physically can't work at all locations, but many could adapt it.
@@ElToroRyan Might also help if the line moved faster. That way, riders don't have to carry their whole campsite with them in like, which they then have to stow in a cubby.
Hey, thanks for putting in that description of how wooden coasters are made. I've actually been trying to build a realistic wooden coaster in a mapping program for a game I play, but was having trouble understanding how it worked (in hindsight I'm sure I could have googled it, but never thought to) so yeah, thank you! this will help me a lot.
I love Knott”s charm and ride line up but the ride ops are awful. I would design some of the holding bins to push out so it forces everyone to exit or provide lockers that can hold your season drink cup not empty. I enjoy GR and I agree with everything you said. Great video!!!
This coaster is my number one. I love it. thanks for the awesome video about it. I try to go to this park in general in either, late August-September, early May, January/February or late November-early December. these days are usually all dead. the only exception I might make to this rule are boysenberry festival and Scary farm (scary farm has to be in September) but if you go to those events you have to accept you will not get on manny rides. when I went for the boysenberry festival this year it was mainly for the food. in-fact I only went on 3 rides Ghostrider, berry-tales, and calico river rapids.
One of the greatest ride Knott's has to offer in my opinion. On some off days I was able to ride this beast 3 times. Love the drops, pacing, layout, and laterals it packs (Especially the 450 helix at the end.) I would have loved to see what that planned preshow would have looked like. Hope they wrap up the seasonal maintenance soon so I can ride it again. But this ride could definetly benefit from loose item lockers in a similar fashion to what Universal does with Harry Potter and The Mummy. People forget to put some items away and have to leave their seats to go back to the storage cubbies. Other times larger guests will make a scene after being told by park staff that he or she does not fit and therefore cannot ride. But other times the station is simply understaffed and one person is checking seat belts and lap bars and assigning rows.
So Excalibur in Maine was my first coaster! And I was always so confused because I knew a guy who worked on it. But he wasn't an employee of CCI.....he must have been one of the workers who was hired after they all pulled to build Ghostrider. Crazy to learn a bit of local park history from a video about a park on the other end of the country! Thanks for doing the digging!!
was so excited to wake up to seeing this video was uploaded, i used to work at knotts (on the smaller rides but still) and it feels somewhat personal to hear you talk about knotts. amazing video as always, absolutely love your channel! your videos are the main reason why i'm so intrigued by roller coasters.
Hey man! Thanks so much for the content, as it always makes me smile when I see another video of this type come out. I am a ride operator over at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and would be happy to help you out with some of my knowledge of their rides and attractions. One of the 9 rides I am certified to operate is road runner express which definitely has a wacky history of operation. Hit me up if you would like to, as I would love to provide any help you may want.
It is true that G-Rider was insane when it first opened and was great for 2-3 years after. It was completely bonkers. The GCI version is a much better balance in that it won't just tear itself apart and I think it's much more sustainable. Well especially now that GCI has Titan Track they could always install that in trouble areas. While it's not as good as the original GCI did an amazing job.
Thank you for bringing this to light! It was absolutely unacceptable to sit in what could’ve been a 40 min wait that stretched to over three hours, timing the trains at consistent 6-8 MINUTE dispatches. Not to mention the 15+ line jumpers. Even as a coaster fanatic, I had more fun at Disney than knotts
They did run 3 trains, on my first visit, I think it was before the accident, i remember seeing all three colors. I rode this coaster with my dad and sister so many times on that trip, it is still one of the dearest memories of my childhood.
For some reason I doubt the additional wood is for earthquakes, but to give extra support for the lack of land to build out on. You can't make the support structure go farther than the barriers
It could be. I think it's structure is already wide enough though based off other CCI woodies. Especially with the ride supposedly having the same amount of wood in the structure as Son of Beast did, I'd say it's for earthquakes
It was documented that the additional wood was for earthquakes. CCI and Knott's even talked about it being faster than originally thought because of all the re-enforcement needed. It didn't flex as much so it was really bonkers when it first opened. G-Rider is noticeably more dense than your typical Woodie.
I was at Knotts Yesterday and Ghostrider was running amazing! 10 minutes after park opening Ghost rider was 100 minutes so we bought fastline which made it a station wait all day. The opps for the ride are pretty bad, but man is the ride fun!
I’m loving this series. And this episode is *really* taking me back. Knotts Berry Farm was a staple of my childhood, along with its slightly less popular baby sister Calico Ghost Town near Barstow. This was before either of them considered having roller coasters, so they were both pretty dull, as Disney-jaded childhood memories go-but I did love that bottle house-and the wacky, gravity-defying buildings, and panning for my own gold filings.
I rode this ride for the first time on Easter, this was my first time riding a wooden roller coaster since Rolling Thunder in 2011, what a thrilling experience, them drops from the back cars are unforgettable, my favorite Rollercoaster😊
I love in-depth video essays on esoteric topics and you've nailed this and a lot of your previous ones. Looking forward to more in the future. I wouldn't mind seeing non-directly-rollercoaster-related content that gives other theme park insider perspectives as well, if you have the appropriate knowledge.
This is literally my favorite series and the main reason I subscribed please make more of these videos soon I really love learning about these coasters and how they work
One of your best videos Ryan! I 100% agree with you about the low capacity issues, but I sadly don’t think Knotts cares at all. The park has installed mostly low capacity rides throughout its history, despite drawing huge crowds constantly. With $100 season passes and millions of locals nearby, it’s easy to see how the park is a popular cheap alternative to Disneyland. To them it doesn’t matter if the lines are 3 hours or one, people are still going to jam pack the park. I completely agree that something should be done, and being a local who has also been to the far superior parks in Ohio and elsewhere, it frustrates me knowing that even if I rope drop Ghostrider it will still be a 45 minute wait. It’s almost impossible to find a reasonable wait time, usually on weekdays when schools are in session. Keep up the great work mang!
I always wondered why the final brake runs on some GCIs are banked? I’m actually gonna be working a GCI in the form of InvadR this summer! Excellent video!
as someone who’s ONLY ever been on the post renovation version, i’m absolutely floored by the ride every time. if you find yourself lucky to be in the park on a slow day (ie. middle of the school week at noon), it’s pretty much a walk-on. any other time though? 30 min is about the best you can hope for, and at worst the lines can get up to 3 hours long. on most days, i still think it’s worth the ride.
After the retrack it's definitely worth it for any wait. Count your lucky stars you didn't go on before the retrack. I went on it a year before and it was in the worst shape ever. Whole family had a headache the rest of the day and we cut out early because of it. Now we can ride all day long it's so nice.
Love this video to death. Apart from the extremely informative and fair criticism of the management of this ride, I really appreciate the background provided to the park as a whole given my family ties to Knott's (when it was still literally Knott's Berry Farm), and years spent there growing up in the 2000's. GhostRider has always been my favorite ride at the park, and though I never minded the roughness, the wait times were always a whole event in themselves. A GameBoy or DS was a must at this park before smartphones blew up.
