The Twister

Rode Twister this fall and it was running amazing! I love this coaster!

Sure it’s great
A fast Wooden Jerk ya around coaster
I can’t take it. Whew
But every 1 else im with couldn’t get enough. Went on like 5 Times in a row

I’ve been to about 20 amusement parks throughout my life, mostly on the east coast and a little further south to King’s Dominion and those in FL. Although I’m a bit biased because I grew up just a few towns over from Knoebels, it is still the best park in America hands down for not only the free admission but because they have gems like the Twister that make you want to come back over and over again.
The Twister has to easily be on the top 10 wooden coaster list in all of America, if not cracking the top 5. The BEST I’ve ever been on, even though it is a hybrid coaster, would be El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure. The Phoenix was obviously ranked for many years and for good reason but now Knoebels has TWO of the top coasters in the entire country and can be ridden any day you’d like for only $ 5 for BOTH! Who offers up that kind of deal anywhere else?
I’ve posted a few «different» pictures, one of the golden bolt when the coaster was finished in 1999 and the lovely train that goes under the two large lift hills and back into the woods. I don’t have enough gumption to pull out my camera going down the lift hills so you get to enjoy those instead.
The only complaint about the ride itself is the headaches it can cause from all the jarring, especially if you ride it more than once in a row. One time, I rode 3x in a span of 20 min because the lines were so short on a fall day and that was not smart given how I felt afterwards. The bouncing around happens throughout the ride, beginning in the decent down a small hill out of the station. EVERYTHING else, and I mean everything… is great about the Twister. From the first teaser hill (sorry for ruining it) to the «double helix» twist you engage in while making circles around the queue line. It’s so genuine and original, I can’t think of another single coaster I’ve been on that compares to the Twister. It’s in a category all on its own and the thrills don’t end. Coaster enthusiasts need to head to rural PA for a day to experience this as well as the Phoenix… and I can’t stress enough, it’ll only cost you $ 5 and the gas to get there.

Five stars, always five stars. Even when the line is long, it’s far shorter than any other coaster line at any other amusement park. One of the best wooden coasters around. I love the twister. The true gem of Knoebels.

Wuh-​ho, ladies-​n-​gentlemen! After riding this coaster I can safely say it is the best twister coaster I’ve ever been on! And that’s a statment the Rollercoaster Queen doesn’t make too lightly. For those of you who are wondering what twisters are, they’re a relatively new breed of wooden rollercoasters. Recent technological advances have allowed for higher hills and more sharply banked turns and twists, hence the name (and name of this particular coaster) «Twister.»
I mean, you know it’s gonna be one hell of a thrill ride when the coaster has not one, but two lift hills! This beast is over 3900 feet long, reaches a height of 101 feet, and has a bowl so twisted, you’d think you’re looking at spaghetti gone haywire. It was designed completely in house by the folks at Knoebel’s and was built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company, who’ve put their name on many, many famous coasters.
So we’re gonna take a couple of rides, first in the front for the view and then in the back for the G-​forces. Ready?
The Twister does a bit of a drop out of the station and then clips along towards the initial lift hill. This lift hill is actually within the rest of the coaster’s structure. This one does a rather rapid ascent and for me that’s the only negative. Me, I love it when coasters ascend their lift hills slowly. Builds up anticipation, y’know. So the lift chain releases and we drop slightly into a very rapid «S» curve before we hit the second lift hill. The lift chain engages and if we look ahead, we see nothing but sky. But if we look to the sides we get a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. As we crest the hill, we take a look of the foothills. We do a short drop and then into another «S» curve before we take the big drop.
Ah, the big drop! We get maybe a nanosecond to take in the view of the twists, turns, and bowls of The Twister! We plunge Earthwards under the bowl before going back up again, then a 180 into a boomerang before we go into the bowl itself. We’re on the outer part of the bowl as we do a high-​banked curve. We’re going almost too fast to see it, but we’re now on the inner bowl with even more sharply banked curves. The a twist into a high-​banked boomerang, an airtime hill, then we plunge into the short tunnel for another hidden airtime hill. Finally we do another curve as we hit the brake run into the station.
So as we get off the ride, I hope you’ve caught your breath, your heartrate returns to normal, and your innards have caught up with you. ‘Cos we’re gonna ride again!