Park section Ghost Town Type Wood Max speed 90 km/h Opened 8 December 1998 | Status Operating Track layout Double Out and Back Height 36 m | |
 | ||
Opening date December 8, 1998 (1998-12-08) Hours Open today · 10AM–8PMMonday10AM–8PMTuesday10AM–8PMWednesday10AM–8PMThursday10AM–8PMFriday10AM–8PMSaturday10AM–8PMSunday10AM–8PM Similar Silver Bullet, Xcelerator, Supreme Scream, Montezooma's Revenge, Timber Mountain Log Ride | ||
GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. It is the longest wooden coaster on the West Coast of the United States.
Contents
History
Construction on the attraction proceeded so quickly that the coaster was completed and opened nearly six months ahead of schedule. In August 1999, an unsecured piece of wood from the track was lifted by a passing train and thrown into the queue. Five people sustained minor injuries and the attraction was temporarily closed for inspection and retrofitting of the track.
On August 20, 2015, it was announced that GhostRider will be refurbished and restored for Ghost Town's 75th anniversary. The refurbishment, conducted by Great Coasters International, began on September 8, 2015, and was completed in June 2016. The refurbishment saw the overhaul of most of the track, the removal of the midcourse brake run, and the replacement of the PTC trains with GCI's Millennium Flyer trains.
Queue
Riders approach the ride near the entrance to Ghost Town. The queue begins by going through a mysterious mining tunnel and then going into the mine-themed queue house. After a wait in both levels of the queue, riders board one of the three GCI Millennium Flyer trains of the ride. The trains themselves are colored gold, silver, and copper, similar to the precious mining metals.
The ride entrance, which is an eerie cave, was once part of the Pan for Gold attraction. As of May 2016, Pan for Gold has been moved back to its former location and the queue for GhostRider now snakes around it.
Layout
There is a small initial descent into a ravine, which is followed by a gradual sweep to the right. Trains then pass through the transfer track and climb the lift hill. At the top, riders descend a 108-foot (33 m) drop, turning left and rising up over an airtime hill before making a sweeping left hand turnaround. After the turnaround, riders descend another drop, and rise up a gradual right hand climb, before descending into the structure of the lift hill, and rising up into the ride's midway turnaround.
The turnaround starts the second half of the ride. Diving off the midcourse brakes, riders descend a steep drop, making a left hand turn, rising over an airtime hill, before making a right hand turnaround underneath the turnaround in the first half. After a few more airtime hills, the trains enter a 450 degree downward helix to the right, before rising over a final hill and hitting the final brake run.
The ride follows a double out and back pattern. Most of the attraction resides on the parking lot near the marketplace. Four times during the ride, two in the first half and two in the second half, the ride crosses over Grand Avenue, the road connecting southbound Beach Boulevard to the parking lots.
The initial drop was covered shortly after opening with a metal overhang after nearby residents complained of screams. At night, orange ropelights light up the handrails of the ride.
Trains
Over the 16 years of GhostRider's operation, the trains have gone through several different "generation" designs. As the PTC trains were originally delivered, Copper was a dark brown, Silver was a flat gray, and Gold was a light brown. All trains sported the standard "Knott's" logo on the front of the train. Later on, logos were added onto the trains and a metallic sheen added onto Gold and Copper trains. Lastly, the third generation added airbrush effects on the sides of the individual cars along with a customized "Knott's GhostRider" logo on the front, along with a repaint of Copper, which was repainted to a more metallic orange/copper.
Although the ride has three trains, only two are in use at any time. The third train will usually be in "rehab" and will be switched out with one of the other trains during the duration of the year. Each train is usually rehabbed during the year. After the 2016 refurbishment, the trains were replaced with Great Coasters International's Millennium Flyer trains.