Coaster Kings

This Ride Review is reviewing the first ever Intamin Accelerator Coaster, XCELERATOR at Knott’s Berry Farm. Xcelerator opened in 2002 and replaced Windjammer Surf Racers.

Riders will approach the ride as they made their way around the park to the fifties themed area next to the boardwalk. Excelerator stands out with it’s 205 ft. hill. Once you think you’re there, you are not yet, as the ride entrance is located under the hill, on the other side of the themed area. There will be a large sign indicating that the Xcelerator entrance is to be found over there. Once you’re about to enter the line there is a test seat for larger guests to see if they fit in. We advise tall, and guests of an larger body sizes to sit in the test seat to make sure they can ride. Once you decided to enter the line, you’ll pass under the track, pass by lots of (never filled) switchbacks to a little path that will turn in to a ramp to the station. Once in the station you get to choose your row, and you’re ready to board!

Riders board the train, painted and modeled after a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air’s with flames painted on the hood, buckle their lap belt, and pull down the lap t bar.  After a series of red and yellow traffic lights, the bottom light flashes green, the train is pulled back by a catch car and the ride launches riders to 82 mph in 2.3 seconds. After only 157 ft of straight track, the ride heads up a 90 degree, 205 ft tall hill.  At the top of the hill, the ride switches from the side of the track to the top due to a twist in the track.  At the top, it slows enough to see the surrounding Orange County, then plunges back down the other side of the 90 degree, 205 ft hill while twisting back to its original position.  Once down, the track hits two over banked turns that make a figure eight.  The over banked turns are 110 ft and 95 ft tall respectively, and slow the vehicle down to 67 mph before being stopped by the brake run.  The ride only lasts about thirty seconds, but it is sure to leave all riders breathless.

Once the train has returned to the station, riders will pick up their belongings, and leave the station to go see their on-ride photos. The photo-booth is located next to the launch track, and riders will have a sense of the speed as the launched trains fly by!

The lines for Xcelerator tend to be short ’til about noon, but can get pretty long from that point on, especially if they only operate 1 of the 2 trains. This can form a line that may seem short, but takes a while before you get to the actual boarding platform. After 6/7 PM the lines will lessen again, and because of Xcelerator’s popularity at night, it might have short periods of extended waits after that. If the lines are backed up somewhere in the area of the switchbacks, we advise you to come back later in the day, as the lines will most likely be shorter!

Xcelerator is definitely a must-do at the park, and is, together with Silver Bullet, the most popular ride there. Without a wait this is an amazing ride, but with wait it might disappoint, therefore try avoiding lines and have a blast!

For this ride review, we’re looking at the longest woodie in CA, and one of the longest woodies in the world. GHOSTRIDER

When riders approach GhostRider, they will enter an engraved rock, saying ‘Ghostrider’, and will walk through a small ‘mine’. Riders will then walk up to the station, and will pass by the beginning of the ride. Right before entering the station riders will pass by a medium set of switchbacks. This is very most likely not used too often, because when you enter the building there is another big set of switchbacks, which hardly ever gets touched too. Riders will go up the stairs, and figure out why these first two switchbacks weren’t filled. There is an enormous set of switchbacks on the top level/ station as well. This might get filled up entirely at times, but the other 2 switchbacks + line are a little too much. X2’s 3-4 hour line will hardly fill up those switchbacks! 

Once you are up in the station and you’ve waited through the switchbacks, you’ll get split up in 3; the front cars, middle cars, and back cars. We advise you to ride in the middle for the most comfortable ride. Once you’ve buckled your seat-belt and closed your restraint the ride ops will do a safety check and the train leaves the station.

The train with riders will have a ‘drop’ ride out of the station and will turn to approach the lift-hill. The lift-hill is 118 ft tall, and is followed by a covered drop of 108 ft. From this point on the ride is pretty much non-stop racing over the 4,533 ft track. There is a little brake halfway through the ride that is followed by another drop that offers some nice airtime and has a nice speed all the way back to the station. The ride offers lots of airtime, and different mixes of G’s but it is no longer smooth. It opened as a smooth, ‘must-do’, but the ride leaves riders soar nowadays. It’s still a nice and lengthy ride, which is really nice, but we’d understand that people wouldn’t wait long for it.

Therefore the lines are never too long anymore, and the first and second switchbacks aren’t needed The lines get about 20 minutes long, and maybe more or less depending on what time of the day you decide to ride. Lines are hard to estimate for Ghost Rider, since it is close to the entrance, doesn’t have many other rides close to it, and is very popular at night, because all the handrails are lit up gold.

It is definitely a ride that you’d want to have ridden, but when lines are long, consider coming back later on in the day. The ride is good because it’s so lengthy, reaches speeds of 56 MPH, and has a maximum drop-angle of 51′ degrees. The entire ride takes about 2 minutes and 40 seconds!