My Experience

Despite my living only about an hour from Knoebel's, I usually only have time to make one visit per year. The park is completely unique and has a different feel to it than almost any other park I've visited. First off, there is no "main entrance". There are no fences around the park or anything like that so you're free to come and go in almost any direction you please. Most people park in the grass parking lots and then enter near the picnic tables and pavilions.

Having no entrance fee makes this park quite attractive to parents who do not wish to ride most of the rides, but have children that want to ride everything in sight. Every ride in the park requires a certain amount of tickets. Tickets are available throughout the park at ticket booths. Prices range from $.50 up to $2.50 for the Twister. Considering you'll probably want multiple rides on the rollercoasters, a weekday excursion is probably your best option. During most weekdays, you can buy handstamps for about $20 that give you unlimited rides on everything except for the haunted house.

Ride order isn't really important due to the fact that the park never really becomes overly crowded. The only ride that has ever really had a substantial wait in all my visits is the Twister with a thirty minute wait. If you really hate waiting in line, get to it early. The ride is good enough that you're going to want to ride it again, line or no line.

If there's one ride that will make you fall in love with this park, it's going to be the Phoenix. The Phoenix is the most outstanding wooden airtime machine in Pennsylvania and quite possible the US -- eclipsed only by Shivering Timbers. 1-3 (the ejector seat) should be your seat of choice; nothing else can really compare. After the first drop, you'll be out of your seat most of the time. You WILL want multiple rides on this rollercoaster. The wait ranges from about 5-10 minutes depending on time of day and train operation.

The Twister is the more recent addition to Knoebel's. The wooden giant is modelled after "Mr. Twister". The double chain lift is a great little gimmick and is extraordinarily fun. The ride is more visually impressive than anything else. While your train is twisting and turning through the wooden structure, you'll swear you're going to lose your head. The double helix is intense, but not overly rough. The tunnel near the end is a great addition and always seems to surprise riders. Overall, it's a great rollercoaster and one that should not be missed.

Other unique and fun rides include the Haunted House -- which is one of the best there is. The flyers are always extremely fun, especially when you get the "snap" going. The Log Flume is creative [the fake first drop], exciting, and does manage to get your wet, but not soaked. "Skloosh", the shoot-the-chutes ride, will get you soaked even though it's not very large. Bumper boats are quite fun and the "High Speed Thrill Coaster" is much more than it seems...

The Bumper Cars are the best in the country. After you've ridden these bad boys, nothing can compare. Collisions are powerful, bordering on painful, and the cars have a fairly high top speed. They're just great fun... if you can stand getting whacked around a bit.

The Carrousel is the one ride that keeps me coming back year after year after year. This is one of the few ones left that lets you catch rings. Trust me, it's incredibly addictive and much more fun than it might sound. I usually have as many rides on the good ol' carrousel as I do on the Phoenix. It's so much fun just trying to top your count from last time.

If you need a break from riding, Knoebel's has plenty of places to eat. The food is excellent and the prices are extremely reasonable. Most of the park is shaded and tables/benches are scattered liberally throughout the park. Eating ice cream in the shade while you watch the Twister fly through the helix is quite pleasant.

The Bottom Line

The park has a wonderful 'rustic' feel to it. With all of the corporate, company-run parks in the US, it's nice to have a local family run park that still has two of the best rollercoasters in PA. Knoebel's may not have some of the "modern thrills" of steel hypercoasters and gigantic multi-loopers, but the park has so much to do and see that by the end of your visit there, you'll forget why you ever needed those big steel coasters in the first place.

Score:

Coaster score: 9/10 (The Twister and the Phoenix are incredible)

Food score: 10/10 (Delicious food with unbeatable prices)

Atmosphere score: 10/10 (Go to the park -- you will understand)

Park score: 10/10 (Some of you may think that giving this park a perfect score is a bit overrated, but the only park I have ever had more fun at is Cedar Point. I would take this park over Hershey, Dorney, and Great Adventure any day of the week. And if you visit this park, I'm fairly sure you'll see why.)