Twister (Knoebels Amusement Resort)

Twister is a wooden roller coaster located at the Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. It is a recreation of the famous Mister Twister, a 1964 John C. Allen design.

Twister
Knoebels Amusement Resort
LocationKnoebels Amusement Resort
Coordinates40.877058°N 76.504094°W / 40.877058; -76.504094
StatusOperating
Opening dateJuly 24, 1999
CostUS$ 3,000,000
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 min
Height restriction42 in (107 cm)
Twister at RCDB
Pictures of Twister at RCDB

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

Out of the curved station, the track 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 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. Going through the turnaround, the track goes through its second drop, and rises into the double helix, which takes trains for two circles around the station. After the helix, trains pass over an airtime hill with trim brake and make a right turn inside the structure of the second hill. The track descends another drop, tunneling through the structure, exiting through a banked right turn into an underground tunnel. Out of the tunnel, the track makes another right turn, then a small bunny drop, before rising up and hitting the curved final brake run. Because of the space limitations caused by fitting the station into the middle of the helix, the station and brake run use conventional skid brakes instead of pinch or magnetic brakes.

  • The Pioneer miniature train passes under Twister's structure twice
  • Track heading out of the station
  • 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
  • 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
Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters
Year2000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620182019
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]50[19]45 (tie)[20]
Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster[21]
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Ranking
13
24
32
32
33
34
33
35
43
45
45
49
46
52
55

References
  1. Knoebels Amusement Resort History Archived from the original 2011-04-28
  2. "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  3. "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  4. "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  5. "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.
  6. "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.
  7. "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.
  8. "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.
  9. "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.
  10. "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.
  11. "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.
  12. "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.
  13. "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.
  14. "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  15. "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.
  16. "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  17. "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  18. "2016 top 50 wooden roller coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  19. "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  20. "2019 Top Wood". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  21. "Best Steel Roller Coaster Poll 19 year results table". BestRollerCoasterPoll.com. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
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