Knott's Berry Farm

[Freak]

Asking on this with the verge of the new year ahead, what are the odds that SFCorp is weighing the options on MonteZOOMas future; if it might be a better idea to scrap it?

As much as I detest the idea of a quiet pulling of the rug, with the quiet closures or Anaconda, Nighthawk, and other attractions; I have to wonder if it even makes sense to continue with the project. Also doesn’t help that it looks to of been stagnated again in work.

I really hope not. I will be really mad if they do this. They already promised us this year.

 

[Jake S]

Yeah, I don’t think they can pull off a quiet closure at this point. People will be, rightfully, pissed if they don’t deliver.

 

[Freak]

I think a more likely scenario would be it’s being delayed again, but deliberately to “compete” against F&F, SFMM’s coaster, and whatever Sea World has cooked up (If that’s still on). I really hope that’s not the case as it should (and BETTER) be ready for ‘25. Either way, this project is taking egregiously too long right now. It shouldn’t take three years to open a simple coaster with two spikes, a loop, and a launch track.

 

[Tobias]

Cedar Fair would absolutely obliterate any kind of goodwill if they cancelled this project.
But it's really strange that we still don't know who's actually working on it as this point, and that concerns me a tad.

 

[Viator]

Yeah, I don’t think they can pull off a quiet closure at this point. People will be, rightfully, pissed if they don’t deliver.

The main reason I'm kind of thinking on it much more aptly is because the fact that we have evidently seen first hand the powers of going to the lowest bidders in the terms of getting a project off the ground.

Outsourcing, especially to a company like Kumbak who has been known for delivering product that does not properly represent groups well; might be a reason to why this project might be dead in the water (as I could've sworn they have been the ones rumored since the start of this). And I genuinely--fully hope I am wrong, but I wonder if they fear a bigger risk of them failing a second time with the same exact mentality.

 

[Freak]

The main reason I'm kind of thinking on it much more aptly is because the fact that we have evidently seen first hand the powers of going to the lowest bidders in the terms of getting a project off the ground.

Outsourcing, especially to a company like Kumbak who has been known for delivering product that does not properly represent groups well; might be a reason to why this project might be dead in the water (as I could've sworn they have been the ones rumored since the start of this). And I genuinely--fully hope I am wrong, but I wonder if they fear a bigger risk of them failing a second time with the same exact mentality.

They would be freaking stupid to make the same mistake twice. They're not Disney.

 

[Viator]

They would be freaking stupid to make the same mistake twice. They're not Disney.

I'm genuinely hoping they aren't dumb enough to do a round 2 of this scenario, but I kind of have to think at this point we are not that far off from that happening.

Would love to be proven wrong! But the silence of it compared to other projects (And even Knotts Soak City being acknowledged for 2026) feels damning.

 

[Tobias]

Did a little bit of asking around, and was able to get a few things.
The important one is the project is still slated for 2025. Probably won't hear anything from the park until parts arrive and construction kicks back in.

As for the current manufacture, things are looking pretty certain that Kumbak is no longer involved, especially considering how much they botched the initial project. On the flipside, there's nothing concrete on who's taken over the project, but the main rumor is Zamperla.

 

[JaySalahi]

They already announced its back for 2025, they wouldn't have given us a year again if they weren't sure this time. I assume the legal stuff was handeld. This is the 1 new thing the Park is getting this year. 2026 is a Waterpark refresh.

Plus they are the only park getting a "new" ride in 2025 in So Cal. Can't pass up that lay up of a marketing year.

But since Covid, Knotts has completely halted all work on "next years" investment during Haunt and Merry Farm seasons it seems. I suspect we will see visible progress again in a few weeks.

 

[Wesker69]

Okay so I'm lazy & didn't post this yesterday... BUT here is your Sol Spin update

The ride operates, however, all the restraints need to finish being replaced before reopening. Thankfully, it looks like they got it taken care of. They had 2 arms dismantled to finish the installation.





After another test cycle, this should be open again by this weekend at the earliest

 

[Wesker69]

Sol Spin Lives Again!



Sorry for the blurred motion shots, I was too lazy to change the camera setting.

In other news, the Camp Snoopy train is apparently busted already. So that needs a new part(s?)

Also, the big train will be going down for 2 months for refurbishment, so don't expect it operating again until sometime in April

 

[Freak]

I watched this video recently and he brings up an interesting conversation: Is Knott's ever going to have a big coaster ever again? It's apparently going to be a lot more difficult to build one since the noise restrictions have gotten a bit more strict. There's even a theory that Xcellerator can't be replaced by a new coaster because of the noise concerns.

I think if Knott's does add anything from here on out, it's going to have to be a family coaster of some sort.

 

[chris.g]

I think after the purchase of Six Flags, it’s gonna be even longer of a wait.

 

[Wesker69]

Sacrificed myself to the ancient godz.. aka rode Sol Spin

Holy crap. That ride has never operated so smoothly! And the momentum from the rotation is intense. Even the arm spin was fluid. I got a brief moment upside-down. It was awesome. 10/10 would recommend.

 

[Freak]

Sacrificed myself to the ancient godz.. aka rode Sol Spin

Holy crap. That ride has never operated so smoothly! And the momentum from the rotation is intense. Even the arm spin was fluid. I got a brief moment upside-down. It was awesome. 10/10 would recommend.

I do enjoy Sol Spin. I hope they keep it around as long as they can because it’s a really good flat.

 

[Wesker69]

I hope they keep it around as long as they can

Sol Spin isn't going anywhere. They just put A LOT of work into it. Granted if they had done the routine maintenance & upkeep 2 years ago when Fiesta Village was being overhauled, they wouldn't have had that technical issue

But definitely go ride it now. It's in the best condition it has ever been in..

Now if only they'd scrape the paint off the lights & get those back on.

 

[Wesker69]

The coyote pups were trying to hide each other's "wanted" posters...

 

[Rideguy70]

They're so cute!!!!!

 

[Freak]

Wanna hear something wild? Back when Monty closed, the rumor or even thought of a major roller coaster coming to USH wasn’t on anyone’s radar! It’s very possible by the time they finally get Monty open again, Fast and Furious could go into softs.

It is incredible and infuriating that from the time Monty closed, a full blown major roller coaster at USH wasn’t even rumored, then we heard rumors, had concept art leak, saw permits posted, had its predecessor shows torn down, and it’s replacement halfway built before we even see a single piece of new track go on the site. The possibility is very real we can see actual people riding that before this thing even opens. They better not delay this any further to “compete” against the other coasters opening.

 

[Wesker69]

Heh... so this is a LONG overdue post that I've just really been to lazy to post, but also kept forgetting to do. As I've said before, I'm great at getting content, but terrible with actually sharing it lol (SORRY).. just pretend I posted this back in Nov/Dec..

While Knott's is still stuck in ancient theme park times in more ways than one, I am happy to share that THREE of the main coasters actually have a DIGITAL WAITTIME SIGN!!! The rest of the rides are still stuck in old school purgatory, but... GhostRider, Silver Bullet & Hangtime have caught up with the modern world!



In addition to the digital waittime signs, both GhostRider & Hangtime have these kiosks where you can purchase Fastlane! So no more waiting in that awful Guest Service line to obtain fast lane.

I'm unsure if you're still required to have a wristband or not, but all the rides that have FastLane have a scanner (didnt think to take a pic of one). So you "should" be able to just scan the QR code on your phone like at Universal/Disney.