Searching For Fruit at Knott’s Berry Farm

I saw this Berry Market sign as I was walking into Knott’s and I got really excited. I really wanted to buy berries today.

I first heard about Knott’s Berry Farm about 10 years ago from an ex-girlfriend. I don’t remember anything she said about it, but I’ve had an idealized image of Knott’s in my head ever since. This can cause problems because when you expect something based on nothing you set yourself up for disappointment.

So I was a bit disappointed that there were no berries to be had here today. :)

None of that takes away from the coasters, of course, which is why I’m here. And I was quite impressed that whoever runs the Knott’s twitter account responded to me. So there it is, they do have berry jam/jelly! (Why aren’t more parks more active on social media?)

The Coasters!

First up, I hit Montezooma’s Revenge. This is the first coaster I’ve ever been on that goes upside down without having an over-the-shoulder harness. I’d like to see more of that. It means I fit! (Are you getting as tired of me talking about my height as I am? Too bad for both of us!)

It was a quick ride. Shoot out from a stop, loop, some turns, and then come back around backwards. Good times.

Next I waited in line for Silver Bullet, which is similar to any other feet-hanging-in-the-air coaster. But these never get old. Something about my feet dangling that makes a ride more fun. Every coaster park seems to have one of these rides and, based on the lines, they’re quite popular.

XCelerator is a really fun launch coaster. You launch from 0 to 82 miles per hour in a few seconds then go up 205 feet (see photo above) and drop down 200 feet. Total ride length is about a minute. I can’t recall being on one of these bigger launch coasters before, but I know there are quite a few out there. I’m looking forward to feeling like a race car driver a few more times.

Boomerang! This would be a really fun coaster if it didn’t have corkscrew-like way-too-small seats/harnesses. As you can see by the photo, you get pulled up one side of the “boomerang,” then dropped down, looped around corkscrew-style, and go up the other end of the “boomerang.” Repeat backwards. Again, fun, if it didn’t hurt. :)

Pony Express may be one of the most unique coasters ever created. You literally ride a pony. I didn’t take any good photos to show how you get strapped in, but I’ll attempt an explanation. You straddle the pony and, instead of a lap bar like on most coasters, a back pad comes up and against your lower back, pushing your stomach into the saddle. I just drank a ton of water before going on this and it didn’t make my stomach feel too solid. :) It was a fun little ride though.

Ghostrider!

Ghostrider is an incredibly fun wooden coaster. The wait was fairly long at 30+ minutes, and it’s exceptionally bumpy, but as we already know I love these classic wooden coasters now. The girls in front of me took video of the whole ride (naughty! naughty!) so I’m famous on their facebook pages. (Hi girls!) Autograph signings will be tomorrow from 4-5pm at Rutabegorz Restaurant. See you there!

Tomorrow I’m taking a break from riding coasters because my body doesn’t know what to make of all this adrenaline.

Also, I’m speeding up the next few stops on the tour. I need to have work days (I do run a business after all) on June 20 and 21 so I’ll be driving to San Diego Tuesday night (after Disney), riding Giant Dipper Wednesday morning, then driving to Primm, NV that day. Thursday I’ll go on the Primm, NV coaster and all the Vegas rides, stay in Vegas for the night, then start driving to Utah. This will put me 2 days ahead of schedule, thereby giving me June 20 and 21 free to work!

Whew!

Lots more Knott’s photos here.

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