Mix of Old and New at Knoebels
by Kelly Ann Butterbaugh
A day at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Northumberland County is a little like an afternoon with Grandpa. It’s comfortable, it tells a story, and you never want it to end. Unlike other parks that compete with one another for the fastest, tallest, and newest rides, Knoebels has its own style.
“We don’t worry about comparing ourselves to other parks,” says Joe Muscato, a spokesman for Knoebels. “We worry about being the best Knoebels that we can be.”
The worries have paid off. Consistently winning Golden Ticket Awards given by Amusement Today, Knoebels remains a family favorite.
“We’re usually one of the top runners,” Muscato says of the 2007 second place award for Best Park.
Frequent Knoebels visitor, Alyssia Wechsler, is happy to be able to pass on the same park that she grew up with to her three daughters.
“Knoebels is my favorite resort because it is located in a very shaded area and admission charge is not collected so everyone in the family can attend without feeling guilty of not riding the amusement park rides,” says Wechsler.
A Day at Knoebels
Whether your car is filled with raucous teenagers looking for the thrill rides or excited toddlers, Knoebels has a pleasing mix of family rides and entertainment. Thrill seekers are excited by the hydraulic blasts of the Power Surge as it raises, lowers, spins, and flips its riders during its two minute ride. From there they move on to the bone soaking Sklooosh, a flume ride that sends a XXX-foot wave of water into the air and onto its riders. Less daring riders can enjoy neighboring rides such as the Old Smokey Train, a scenic trip up the mountain on the Scenic Skyride, or the children’s Spanish Bambini.
The nationwide leader in amusement park food, Knoebels won the Best Park Food for the tenth year running in 2007. Smells of Mexican and Italian entrees mix in the rear of the park to lure riders into the food pavilion for rest between rides.
“The food prices are affordable for a large family,” says Wechsler. “You don’t feel that you need to pack your own lunch like that of other parks.”
While enjoying a meal under the pavilion, children climb the steam engine that sits beside it. Marking the influence that coal had on the area, the steam engine also denotes the entrance to the Mining and Knoebels History Museum. It’s part of the history of the park that hasn’t been erased by modern additions.
For generations, Knoebels has provided a shaded, family style park featuring ride tickets and free entrance to the park. The natural setting of the park is important, and when builders presented plans for the new log flume in 1990 the park denied them due to the amount of trees that needed to be removed. The plans were revised and most of the trees in the area were saved.
While Knoebels seems to have its eye on preservation, Muscato warns, “It’s not a museum. It’s a functioning amusement park.”
At Knoebels the past isn’t on display; the past is part of the park.
Carousels and Music Boxes
Children and adults run towards the sight of the colorful Grand Carousel and its pleasing organ music. Carousels hold a special place in amusement park history, and Knoebels holds the 2007 Golden Ticket Award for the Best Carousel.
“Tradition plays an important part in the operation of Knoebels, especially at the carousels,” brags the park in its Carousel Museum. Knoebels houses two hand-carved wooden carousels and several working organs throughout the park.
The Grand Carousel, recognized by the National Carousel Association, arrived at the park in 1941. Built in 1913, sixty-three horses and three chariots race four abreast around its path. It is one of the largest carousels left in the world today and one of the few still to tempt riders to “reach for the brass ring.” When the ride ends and the gates open, those in line rush towards the outside horses for that chance.
Every year the Wechsler family enjoys Father’s Day weekend at the park. “In the evening my husband is able to join us and we all have such a wonderful time,” Alyssia Wechsler says. “We really enjoy the Friday night fish fry and the memorable old fashioned carousel.” The family also camps in the adjoining Knoebels campground.
Whether it’s the rotating birthday cake pavilion or the parades that fill the pathways of the park, a day’s visit to Knoebels resembles a trip to the carnival. Most likely, however, the feeling comes from the sound of the antique organs located throughout the park. An amazing organ restoration project began after the 1972 flood completely submerged the Wurlitzer Caliola organ for days, sogging its delicate cardboard music. It took fifteen years, but in 1987 the organ once again played its music throughout the park. Yet it is the Stein & Goldstein organ found at the Kiddie Carousel that tells the grandest story.
Built in 1900, the S&G organ played at Knoebels for a decade before going into storage in the 1930s. In storage and forgotten, it suffered at the hands of thieves and rodents. Restoration began in 1983 when the park searched for parts and found the original façade on the front of a ticket stand. Then, on March 7, 1986 the organ played for the first time in fifty years.
What’s Old is New Again
“We want to maintain the same park we’re known for….Tradition is a large part of it,” says Muscato.
Whether it intends to be known as a place of preservation or not, the park found its niche preserving and restoring what others abandon. When the highway department demolished the park’s original covered bridge in 1940 part of the park’s history was lost. Early swimmers dove from the bridge before excavating the Crystal Pool. Then, in 1964 an 89-year-old covered bridge in Columbia County awaited destruction. Knoebels’ mercenary missions began, and the park purchased the bridge and moved it to its location at the campground today.
The park didn’t stop at the Columbia County bridge. Although the covered bridge in the children’s area was built as a new construction in 1975, visitors call it the “newest old covered bridge.” Old locally hewn timbers from 1865 create the frame of the bridge.
Knoebels furthered its rescue missions when it acquired the Phoenix coaster from the defunct Playland Park in Texas. Built in 1947 as the Rocket, the coaster claimed to be “the largest roller coaster in the world.” Moving and rebuilding it was a monumental task since there were no blueprints for the ride. The crew that dismantled the coaster numbered and cataloged each board in order for it to be rebuilt as the Phoenix, the ride that rose from the ashes. Today it consistently appears at the top of the wooden coaster rankings, attracting thrill seekers and coaster enthusiasts from across the country.
“The woodie could have easily been lost to the wrecking ball if the park had not stepped in and saved it,” writes Amusement Today. “The Phoenix stands as one of the greatest preservation stories within the industry.”
Muscato explains that Knoebels doesn’t intentionally set out to rescue doomed rides. The price is simply right. New steel coasters sell for as much as $25 million while local workers can build wooden coasters for much less.
Knoebels continues to move into the future while paying homage to the past with its newest ride, The Flying Turns. The Flying Turns recreates a classic wooden flume coaster design from the early 1900s. Yet, it’s never easy recreating the past. Today’s requirements for seating and layout weren’t taken into account in the original plans, and those changes need to be made to the new ride. Old may be new, but it isn’t easy.
If You Go
Knoebels Amusement Resort is located along Route 487 in Elysburg. The park is open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. It opens only on weekends April through Memorial Day and again in September. Check www.knoebels.com for times and dates or call 1-800-487-4386.
2007 Golden Ticket Awards:
#1 Best Carousel (the Grand Carousel)
#1 Best Food
#2 Best Park
#2 Best Dark Ride (the Haunted Mansion)
#3 Friendliest Park
#3 Best Wooden Coaster (the Phoenix)
#4 Best Halloween Event