GhostRider To Be Restored In 2016

[Paradox]

Coasterkidmwm wrote:

RIP good ride.

Yes we get it. GCI does everything horribly.

[mkingy]

Glad its not getting RMC'd

[mkingy]

Prelift segment track has recieved its new track:

Post by CoasterCrazy.com.

Still one of the most striking wooden coasters ever built imo. I have high hopes for this, and I probably shouldn't.

At least it will be ridable again for a few years.

[Paradox]

Manic Monte wrote:

Still one of the most striking wooden coasters ever built imo. I have high hopes for this, and I probably shouldn't.

At least it will be ridable again for a few years.

Keep your hopes high. Boulder Dash was running as bad as Ghostrider before GCI came in and retracked it. You are really lucky that this isn't RMC or else rip all laterals

[TTD03]

More news and OMG, MCBR IS BEING REMOVED!

2016: GHOSTRIDER COMPLETE RESTORATION
Since 1998, GhostRider has been giving white-knuckle rides to even the toughest cowpokes. It still looms over Ghost Town as the longest, fastest and tallest wooden rollercoaster on the West Coast. Since September 2015, work has been in progress to completely restore and preserve this classic wooden rollercoaster. The project is a partnership with Great Coasters International and includes re-profiling and a complete wooden re-tracking of the entire 4,533 ft. long track.

All of the coasters trains will be replaced with state of the art new Millennium Flyer trains designed to look like mining cars, each with gold, silver, or copper accents. As part of the construction, the mid-course brake run will be removed, allowing riders to enjoy a relentless, ride from the moment the train descends the first 108 ft. drop to the moment it returns to the station???s new, smooth magnetic brake run. GhostRider was the last attraction commissioned by the Knott family, and this restoration project ensures that the family???s final gift to the park will continue to thrill generations of thrill seekers to come.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Maybe they can make it into a double dip drop or something cool like that.

[herman116]

I just looked up a POV of GhostRider and the MCBR indeed kills a lot of speed. Sounds pretty good that it's being removed. But doesn't this kill the capacity of the ride or doesn't this ride need a big capacity?

[TTD03]

^ They only had 2 trains running on it the last time I was there. I assume it's been that way for a while.

Great news for the park. Knott's Berry Farm is my home park (well, one of them) and GhostRider was my first big coaster, so I'm very excited to ride it again as the ride was intended to be experienced. Given what has been built since 1998 I doubt it would ever be considered a top ten ride, but hopefully GhostRider will be considered a top 25 wood coaster again.

herman116 wrote:

I just looked up a POV of GhostRider and the MCBR indeed kills a lot of speed. Sounds pretty good that it's being removed. But doesn't this kill the capacity of the ride or doesn't this ride need a big capacity?

While GhostRider was originally designed to run three trains, it was reprogrammed for a maximum of two a few years after it opened for maintenance reasons. Due to Knott's operational policies, the third train was only adding about 10-20% to the hourly capacity yet increasing maintenance significantly, so the park switched to running two trains while refurbishing the third. I think the lower capacity per train of the Millennium Flyers (24 vs. 28) will have more impact on capacity than losing the ability to run a third train. I'd estimate the two train capacity at about 700 riders per hour, which is enough for an average day but can cause 60+ minute waits on busy days.

Sweet. That will be really cool sliding smoothly through that straight section and then flying down that drop. It's pretty big. The back will have ridiculous air.

GerstlCrazy wrote:

It's pretty big. The back will have ridiculous air.

Unless GCI re-profiles that drop to lessen its amount of airtime...

I seriously doubt GCI is going to re-profile any of the actual shaping. Could be wrong though.

[Coasterkidmwm]

XLR8R wrote:

GerstlCrazy wrote:

It's pretty big. The back will have ridiculous air.

Unless GCI re-profiles that drop to lessen its amount of airtime...

I have faith they won't since they actually improved Boulder Dash and added air.

Paradox wrote:

Manic Monte wrote:

Still one of the most striking wooden coasters ever built imo. I have high hopes for this, and I probably shouldn't.

At least it will be ridable again for a few years.

Keep your hopes high. Boulder Dash was running as bad as Ghostrider before GCI came in and retracked it. You are really lucky that this isn't RMC or else rip all laterals

BD wasn't that bad in 06. I'd say the C13 pothole was about the same as the triple up pothole it has right now, and the turnaround is about the same too and it's still definitely ridable. The big issue in 06 was that it was running sluggish because it was so bumpy, where right now it's still running pretty fast despite a few problem spots.

While GhostRider was originally designed to run three trains, it was reprogrammed for a maximum of two a few years after it opened for maintenance reasons. Due to Knott's operational policies, the third train was only adding about 10-20% to the hourly capacity yet increasing maintenance significantly, so the park switched to running two trains while refurbishing the third. I think the lower capacity per train of the Millennium Flyers (24 vs. 28) will have more impact on capacity than losing the ability to run a third train. I'd estimate the two train capacity at about 700 riders per hour, which is enough for an average day but can cause 60+ minute waits on busy days.

I think the tradeoff in the reduced weight of the train will probably be beneficial to the ride in the long run.

[Paradox]

New wood everywhere!

[Coasterkidmwm]

Any noticable layout changes? I have no idea what the original ride does.

Coasterkidmwm wrote:

Any noticable layout changes? I have no idea what the original ride does.

I was there on Monday and captured some of the same pics as Paradox lol. but, no, other than the removal of the MCBR the layout appears to be staying the same, although, the first drop still has not been tracked, so, take that how you will.

I'm so glad this is going to stay a wood coaster and not get hacked up by RMC and converted to a steel coaster.

Like the look of the train

[Dirk_Ermen]

GCI has uploaded a bunch of pictures on Facebook:















































From what I can see only slight changes are done on the layout. Which are mostly just banking changes. Also the brakes have been removed so they can add magnetic brakes and very good news: The midcourse brakes have been permanently(!) removed.

[Paradox]

I'd love to ride this after the restoration again! It's definitely a great coaster.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Interesting that they're starting out with the "Cedar Fair double plank in the middle of the track" method already like with Gold Striker.

I was just at the park on Sunday and GhostRider is looking outstanding. It appears that about 80% of the track has been installed. There are no layout or major profile changes, but plenty of minor adjustments. Infrequent visitors probably won't notice most of these, but I'm sure regular riders will feel the differences (mostly involving the lower turns in the layout). I'll be visiting the park again in a couple weeks and will get some updated pictures then.

Dirk_Ermen wrote:

From what I can see only slight changes are done on the layout. Which are mostly just banking changes.

Sounds like an effective change to me as there's a big difference between "slightly banked for the lat g-force thrill" and "completely banked for comfort and the ride's speed".

Can I expect more from GhostRider?

[Paradox]

Looks like all the trackwork is done!