Twister (Knoebels Amusement Resort)

Twister
Knoebels Amusement Resort
LocationKnoebels Amusement Resort
Coordinates40°52′37″N 76°30′15″W / 40.877058°N 76.504094°W / 40.877058; -76.504094
StatusOperating
Opening dateJuly 24, 1999
Cost$3 million
General statistics
TypeWood
ManufacturerKnoebels Amusement Resort
DesignerJohn Fetterman, 1999;
From John Allen's 1964
"Mister Twister" design
Track layoutTwister
Lift/launch systemTwo chain lift hills
Height101.5 ft (30.9 m)
Drop89.6 ft (27.3 m)
Length3,900 ft (1,200 m)
Speed51 mph (82 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration2:10
Height restriction42 in (107 cm)
Trains2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Twister at RCDB
Video

Twister is a wooden roller coaster located at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. It is a custom wooden coaster designed by John Fetterman, with heavy inspiration taken from Mister Twister at Elitch Gardens.

History

Knoebels began planning a roller coaster in 1998, following the popularity of its recent addition, Phoenix, a relocated coaster from Playland Park in San Antonio, Texas.[1] Seeking to preserve another classic ride, the park looked into acquiring the defunct "Mister Twister", which had been abandoned when the entire Elitch Gardens amusement park was relocated to Denver, Colorado. However, Mister Twister had been closed for so long that it was no longer in operating condition, and space constraints made physically relocating the ride impossible.[2] Knoebels purchased the blueprints and set out to rebuild the roller coaster from scratch, modifying the design to fit the space available.[3] A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Twister took place on November 3, 1998.[1][4] At the time, the roller coaster was expected to cost $2 million to $3 million.[1] Knoebels president Dick Knoebels described the ride as the largest project in the park's history.[1][4]

Twister

The ride was designed by Knoebels staff designer John Fetterman, based on John Allen's original design for Mister Twister.[2][5] Fetterman had never ridden Mister Twister himself, but one of his friends had recommended the ride after having gone on Mister Twister.[1] Twister ultimately cost $3 million to build.[2][5] The Adams Construction Company built the ride over a period of eight months.[3] The roller coaster opened on July 24, 1999.[3][6] An auction for seats on Twister's inaugural ride raised $8,625 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[7]

Characteristics

Twister is 3,900 feet (1,200 m) long.[2][5] It measures 101 feet 7 inches (30.96 m) tall, with a first drop measuring 89 feet 7 inches (27.31 m). One cycle lasts about 2 minutes and 10 seconds.[3][5] Throughout the course, the track crosses itself 36 times.[5] The ride originally used 12-car trains with two seats per car.[3]

For the new Twister, Fetterman created a modified mirror image of the original "Mister Twister" layout, compacting the ride but preserving the highlights of the old design and Allen's original mathematical model. These highlights include a large double helix, which now wraps around the ride's curved station, and a large swoop curve at the top of the lift hill.[2] To keep the swoop curve in the new design, Fetterman created a split lift hill. To achieve this, the train climbs halfway up the structure on one lift hill, makes a 180-degree turn and finishes the climb on a second lift hill, stacked directly above the first one. While several roller coasters use more than one lift hill in their layout, Twister's zig-zag lift hill is unique.

Ride experience

Once dispatched, the train drops out of the curved station, descends a slight lefthand turn through the structure, then makes a sweeping righthand turn and enters the lower section of the lift hill, which is stacked underneath the second lift hill. After climbing halfway up, the track leaves the first lift hill, and makes a left turn out of the structure, then slams into a 180 degree turn passing under the exit from the double helix and climbs the upper section of the lift hill. At the top of the lift hill, the track passes through the swoop curve before diving down an 89.6-foot first drop, then rising up a second hill for the first turnaround. The train dives off the turnaround in its second drop, and rises into the double helix, which goes twice around the station. After the helix, trains pass over a trimmed airtime hill and make a right turn inside the structure of the second hill. The train descends another drop, traveling within the structure, and traverses a banked right turn into an underground tunnel, the entrance into which being where the on-ride photo is taken. Exiting the tunnel, the track makes another unbanked right turn, falls down a small drop, before rising up and hitting the curved final brake run, where it reenters the station. Due to space limitations caused by the station's location in the middle of the helix, the station's track is curved, and both it and the brake run use skid brakes instead of pinch or magnetic brakes.

Image gallery

  • The Pioneer miniature train passes under Twister's structure twice
    The Pioneer miniature train passes under Twister's structure twice
  • Track heading out of the station
    Track heading out of the station
  • A transfer table lock arm from the original Mister Twister is on display in the queue line
    A transfer table lock arm from the original Mister Twister is on display in the queue line
  • A plaque commemorating the "golden bolt", a bolt salvaged from the original Mister Twister and installed into the structure of the swoop curve
    A plaque commemorating the "golden bolt", a bolt salvaged from the original Mister Twister and installed into the structure of the swoop curve
  • The swoop curve and first drop as viewed from ground level
    The swoop curve and first drop as viewed from ground level

Statistics

  • Trains - 2 Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC), 24 passengers each
  • Design - 1964 original and 1965 modifications - John C. Allen; 1999 modifications - John Fetterman
Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022
Ranking 15[8] 20[9] 22[10] 21[11] 25[12] 25[13] 29[14] 30[15] 32[16] 31[17] 32[18] 20[19] 33[20] 39[21] 40[22] 41[23] 47[24] 35[25] 50[26] 45 (tie)[27] 32[28] 31 (tie)[29]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Heintzelman, Todd (November 3, 1998). "Knoebels officials say: Let's do the Twister". The Danville News. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Kraft, Randy (August 15, 1999). "Visitors can get blown away by new Twister coaster at Knoebels". The Morning Call. p. 80. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Higgins, Debby (July 24, 1999). "'Twister' redefines thrills at its Knoebels' debut". Citizens' Voice. p. 39. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Conrad, Ed (November 4, 1998). "Knoebels planning bigger, faster, scarier coaster". Standard-Speaker. p. 20. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "They call it Twister!". Citizens' Voice. February 28, 1999. pp. 97, 99. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Knoebels Amusement Resort History Archived from the original 2011-04-28
  7. ^ Krepich, Chris (July 25, 1999). "Twister auction brings in over $8G". Press Enterprise. p. 3. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  9. ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  10. ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  11. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 10–11B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  12. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  13. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 22–23B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  14. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 30–31B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  15. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 42–43. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  16. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 42–43. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  17. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 38–39. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  18. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 38–39. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  19. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  20. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  21. ^ "2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 40–41. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  22. ^ "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  23. ^ "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  24. ^ "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  25. ^ "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  26. ^ "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  27. ^ "2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  28. ^ "2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  29. ^ "2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
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