Reviewing one of Pennsylvania's best kept secrets.
Knoebels Amusement Park
   

 
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Resurrecting a Classic Dark Rollercoaster!
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The Golden Nugget - Wildwood New Jersey
Formerly known as the Golden Nugget from Wildwood New Jersey!

 


Bald Eagles at Knoebels!
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The Golden Nugget of Wildwood New Jersey to be re-built in Knoebels!

  

  

More PA Destinations

  DelGrosso's Amusement Park
  Kitchen Kettle Village
  Red Caboose Motel
  Strasburg Railroad
  Railroad Museum of PA
  West Chester Railroad
  Bird In Hand Village
  Peaceful Valley
  Amish Furniture
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Other locations of interest in this region:


Only a few miles up the road from Knoebels ... The
Centralia Mine Fire
Smoke rises out of the ground, the smell of sulfur is in the air, the ground collapses as homes are destroyed. Science fiction? Think again.
This is Centralia Pennsylvania, where a town was destroyed by a 44 year old mine fire. Read More

 

The Twister Rollercoaster
One of the latest additions at Knoebels and the largest of Knoebels rollercoasters.  Twister is a World class wooden roller coaster created from a modified 1964 design with Switchback lift hill folded on top of itself; curved brake run, curved station; in-ground tunnel.

  • Speed: 51mph

  • Height: 101ft

  • Drop: 89ft

  • Length: 3,900ft

  • Duration: 2:10

  • Type: Wooden twister

  • Rolling Stock: 2 PTC trains with 6 cars 
    seating 4 with 24 riders per train.

  • Year Opened: 1999

In 1998, Knoebels began a new wooden roller coaster project. Seeking to preserve another classic ride, the park looked into acquiring the defunct "Mister Twister," a 1964 John Allen design which had been abandoned when the entire Elitch Gardens amusement park was relocated in Denver, Colorado. This time, when space constraints made physically relocating the ride impossible, Knoebels purchased the blueprints and set out to rebuild the roller coaster from scratch, modifying the design to fit the space available.

 

For the new "Twister," ride designer John Fetterman created a modified mirror image of the original "Mister Twister" layout, compacting the ride but preserving the highlights of the old design. These highlights included the large double helix, which now wraps around the ride's curved station, and a large swoop curve at the top of the lift hill. To keep the swoop curve in the new design, Fetterman created a split lift hill. The "Twister" train climbs halfway up the structure on one lift hill, makes a 180-degree turn and finishes the climb on the second lift. While several roller coasters use more than one lift hill in their layout, "Twister's" zig-zag lift is unique.

"Twister" opened on July 24, 1999. Taller and more intense than the "Phoenix," the coaster enjoys steady ridership and good rankings in roller coaster polls both formal and informal.

As dedication to the original Mister Twister Coaster, an original bolt from that roller coaster was installed and marked with a sign stating: " The Golden Bolt - Installed here is a bolt from the Mister Twister Coaster, plans from which Knoebels Twister were derived.  9 Oct. 99"

Twister facts

  • Trains - 2 PTC, 24 passengers each

  • Design - 1964 Original & 1965 modifications - John Allen; 1999 modifications - John Fetterman

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More PA Destinations
  
  DelGrosso's Amusement Park
  Kitchen Kettle Village
  Red Caboose Motel
  Strasburg Railroad
  Railroad Museum of PA
  West Chester Railroad
  Bird In Hand Village
  Peaceful Valley
  Amish Furniture
  Centralia PA
  Knowbels Grove
Knoebels at Night!
Black Diamond at Knoebels
Directions to Knoebels
Anthracite Museum of Mining
American Coaster Enthusiasts
Twister Rollercoaster
Flying Turns Roller Coaster
Knoebels Contact Info
Knoebels Flood of 2006
Kneobles Amusement Park
 
Note: We are not affiliated with Knoebels Amusement Park.  We are life-long, multi-generation fans of the Knoebels Grove and continue to follow what is happening at the park and visit year after year.  To contact Knoebels Grove directly, please visit their website or call them at 1-800-487-4386.
     
     
     

 

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