Hall said that park officials wanted the ride to be taller than Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which Hall had also designed. Ĭonstruction of the ride itself took 11 months. By March 1998, the ride was being referred to as "Ghost Rider". Cedar Fair's CEO Dick Kinzel briefly considered canceling the ride because of its high cost, but Cedar Fair ultimately continued to develop the new coaster. At the time, land was still being cleared for the new ride. The ride would be the Knott family's last investment in the park, as Cedar Fair acquired Knott's Berry Farm in October 1997. The first phase of the project involved clearing land and relocating the warehouses, which took about a year and comprised much of the ride's budget. Ĭustom Coasters International (CCI) was hired to manufacture the coaster, while Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) provided the trains. Knott's vice president for maintenance and construction at the time, Robin Hall, said he wanted the project to serve as a "billboard" for the park on Beach Boulevard, along the park's eastern boundary the project would also allow Knott's to relocate warehouses in the attraction's path. It would replace the Pan for Gold attraction and a decorative volcano built by the park's founder, Walter Knott. The ride would cross over Grand Avenue, which separated the main section of the park from one of its parking lot, and would occupy a portion of that parking lot. The ride would be the park's fifth roller coaster, as well as the first attraction to be built in Knott's Ghost Town section since 1969. The expansion project would cost an estimated $35 million, of which the coaster cost $24 million. Development Ī new wooden coaster was announced in August 1997 as part of an expansion of Knott's Berry Farm. Knott's officials hoped that the construction of a wooden coaster would increase the park's annual attendance to 4 million. The Knott family had begun planning for a wooden coaster almost five years before GhostRider was ultimately completed in 1998. According to historian Eric Lynxwile, who wrote a book about Knott's Berry Farm, a wooden roller coaster was the only major attraction type that was absent from the park. Knott's already had several major attractions, including the Calico Mine Ride, a prototype Corkscrew coaster, a looping shuttle roller coaster named Montezooma's Revenge, and a water ride named Bigfoot Rapids. Amusement Today 's annual Golden Ticket Awards has consistently ranked GhostRider among the world's top wooden roller coasters.īy 1997, the Knott family, which operated Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Buena Park, California, planned to add a wooden roller coaster to the park. Between 20, Great Coasters International conducted a major renovation of the ride, replacing the track and the trains. After it opened, GhostRider became one of Knott's most popular rides. The coaster cost $24 million and opened on December 8, 1998, earlier than originally scheduled. GhostRider was announced in August 1997 as part of an expansion of Knott's Berry Farm. There are three trains, each themed to a different precious metal, though only two are in use at any given time. The ride follows an L-shaped double out and back pattern, with a station themed to a mining building. Manufactured by Custom Coasters International, GhostRider is the tallest and longest wooden coaster on the West Coast of the United States, measuring 4,533 feet (1,382 m) long and 118 feet (36 m) tall. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.
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