A short review of my first visit to Knoebels amusement park in Elysburg Pennsylvania.
I had heard about Knoebeles for years, a small family owned amusement park in the middle of nowhere PA, with an award winning coaster I had to try. We planned to visit for several other things in the area so visiting Knoebels in the process was a no brainer. It's definitely in the middle of nowhere but if you can visit it's absolutely worth it.
We visited at the tail end of a rainy and very cold day, this resulted in a ton of people arriving to the park late. despite this, the lines moved very quickly and nothing was more then a ten minute wait. The park offers wrist bands to riders on certain days for unlimited rides but also still uses a ticketing system as well. Because the park is motivated to sell as many tickets as possible the staff is very efficient at keeping the rides flowing. Their top tier coaster Phoenix was only running a single train and we still waited only minutes despite the large line!
As for the rides, Phoenix is definitely the highlight here. This wooden coaster won the golden ticket award a few years ago and is now in my top ten list. The air time on this is insane, with only buzzbars to hold you in, people quite literally leave their seats on the drops! The rain may have helped our rides, and the night rides we had in the dark were even better.
Another ride the park is famous for is Flying turns. A wooden bobsled style roller coaster based on very old designs from the early 1920's, this is a one of a kind ride that many people visit the park to ride. Unfortunately at the time of our visit it was still closed for some type of maintenance. The other two coasters in the park, Twister a second woody and Impulse, the parks only steel coaster, are also excellent.
Other than coasters the park has a large offering of amusements for the whole family. They have many of the traditional flat rides you would expect such a drop tower, log flume and paratrooper. The park also has notable unique and rare rides such as their famous haunted house, a dark ride that doubles as an indoor "coaster" due to it's use of a lift hill and track, and several older carnival rides you don't see often anywhere else. The park is known to buy rare older amusement rides for the sake of preserving them. There is also a ski lift chair ride that goes up the side of the nearby mountain that provides excellent views of the park and relaxation away from the crowds.
This is a must visit if you find yourself anywhere near by
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