Twister (Knoebels Amusement Resort)
| Twister | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Knoebels Amusement Resort | |
| Location | Knoebels Amusement Resort |
| Coordinates | 40°52′37″N 76°30′15″W / 40.877058°N 76.504094°WCoordinates: 40°52′37″N 76°30′15″W / 40.877058°N 76.504094°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | July 24, 1999 |
| Cost | $3 million |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Wood |
| Manufacturer | Knoebels Amusement Resort |
| Designer | John Fetterman, 1999; from John Allen's 1964 "Mister Twister" design |
| Track layout | Twister |
| Lift/launch system | Two chain lift hills |
| Height | 101.5 ft (30.9 m) |
| Drop | 89.6 ft (27.3 m) |
| Length | 3,900 ft (1,200 m) |
| Speed | 51 mph (82 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 2:10 |
| Height restriction | 42 in (107 cm) |
| Trains | 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
| Twister at RCDB | |
| Video | |
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Twister is a wooden roller coaster located at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. It is a recreation of the famous Mister Twister, a 1964 John C. Allen design.
History
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", 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 and Allen's original mathematical model. 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. To achieve this, the train climbs halfway up the structure on one lift hill, makes a 180-degree turn and finishes the climb on the second lift, stacked directly above the first one. 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. The first rides were auctioned off to raise just over $8,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[1] Taller and more intense than the "Phoenix" the coaster enjoys steady ridership and good rankings in roller coaster polls both formal and informal.
Ride experience
Once dispatched, the train drops out of the curved station, descends a slight left hand turn through the structure, then makes a sweeping right hand turn and hits the lower section of the lift hill, which is stacked underneath the second lift. 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 a 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 zooms 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 is where the on-ride photo is quickly taken. Out of the tunnel, the track makes another unbanked right turn, then a small drop, before rising up and hitting the curved final brake run, before reentering the station. Because of the space limitations caused by fitting the station into the middle of the helix, the station 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
Track heading out of the station
- Knoebels Twister Mister Twister relic.jpg
A transfer table lock arm from the original Mister Twister is on display in the queue line
- Knoebels Twister Golden Bolt.jpg
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
Statistics
- Trains - 2 PTC, 24 passengers each
- Design - 1964 original and 1965 modifications - John C. Allen; 1999 modifications - John Fetterman
| 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[2] | 20[3] | 22[4] | 21[5] | 25[6] | 25[7] | 29[8] | 30[9] | 32[10] | 31[11] | 32[12] | 20[13] | 33[14] | 39[15] | 40[16] | 41[17] | 47[18] | 35[19] | 50[20] | 45 (tie)[21] | 32[22] | 31 (tie)[23] |
References
- ^ Knoebels Amusement Resort History Archived from the original 2011-04-28
- ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ "2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2013.