TWISTER AT KNOEBELS - ELYSBURG, PA

This is the other wooden coaster at Knoebels, the one that doesn’t get all the publicity, but one which is worth checking out.  The ride gets off to a clattering start; the sound the train makes when leaving the station is thunderous and you set the impression that the entire foundation is shaking.   It then uses two separate lift hills to reach the top, which is something I’ve never seen before on any coaster, so that has some novelty value.   This ride, like Phoenix, does not have any huge, dramatic drops; what it has is a lot of twists and turns, and some of them are pretty intense.   The ride is very aptly named.   Because the turns are sharp and the train moves along at a fast clip, it’s a good thing that this coaster, unlike Phoenix, has double position lap bars; without these, riders would get knocked about mercilessly.   The ride has two parallel curves, another thing I liked about it.   It comes along the upper track and then doubles back along the lower track, which was a fun thing to watch while waiting in the station to board.  All in all a pretty cool ride.  3 1/2 out of 5 stars.   First photograph courtesy of Coasterimage.com.  For more information about Knoebels, use the following link to their website: http://www.knoebels.com/