Knoebels Twister Front Row ride 5 (07/26/2024)

I ended up back in the magenta train for the last two rides I took on Twister during two train operations. For this ride, I also sat in the right side front seat to be different, after having sat in the left side seat for the earlier rides in the day. Sitting on the right side does give a different ride compared to sitting on the left, mostly because of the fact that when the train goes around right turns, you're getting thrown into the seat divider between the seats as opposed to the side of the car.
Twister is based on the defunct Mister Twister from Elitch Gardens in Denver, CO ( • Mr Twister POV at Elit... ), but with some changes. This is because in the 1990s, ‪@KnoebelsAmusementResort‬ had originally intended to relocate Mister Twister over just like they'd done with Phoenix, only to run into a few limitations, such as the fact that Mister Twister had been decaying ever since 1994 and was not in good shape, and at any rate there wasn't enough space to relocate the ride as was (due to cottages and Roaring Creek on the north side of the space, and the campground on the south side).
So as a result, the team of staff designer John Fetterman (no relation to the U.S. Senator and former Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania) created a modified mirror image version of Mister Twister, allowing it to keep most of its signature elements, including the double helix and the swoop curve at the top of the lift hill. Construction on the ride began in the fall of 1998, and the ride opened to the public on July 24, 1999.
These modifications made by Fetterman's design team are the source of the two biggest deviations this ride has from the original Mister Twister, and one of its unique gimmicks. The first is that due to the space limitations, in order to keep the swoop curve, the lift hill was split. This creates a unique zigzag ascent where you climb halfway up on one chain lift, then make a jughandle turn to finish the climb to the top on another chain lift directly above the first one, now traveling in the opposite direction. The other one is that to maintain the helix, it had to be moved, such that the first drop and lower lift hill thread through it, and moreover, the station is squeezed in to the base of the helix. Because of the tight space, the station and the brake run are curved, and the ride uses traditional skid brakes, at a time when modern wooden roller coasters were being built with pinch and magnetic brakes. (Worth noting is that Mister Twister did have coaster track that threaded through its helix, just not the station itself; the final turn into the brake run passed through the helix. In addition, Elitch Gardens' other wooden roller coaster, an out-and-back ride called Wildcat, passed through the lower part of the helix, as seen in this NoLimits recreation by ‪@RaptorAlex‬: • Elitch Gardens Mr. Twi... .)
The roller coaster has two 24 passenger trains, each with 6 PTC cars that seat four passengers, with one magneta train and the other painted turquoise. They have the same capacity as the trains on Phoenix, but use smaller cars in order to better maneuver the more and sharper curves of Twister.
__________
Additional Resources:
Support the channel:
Membership sign up: / @thelewistowntrainspot...
RUclips Super Chat and Super Stickers (click the $ sign in the live chat box during premieres and live streams)
My social media:
Tumblr: / breckstonevailskier
Flickr: www.flickr.com...
Patreon: patreon.com/us...
Full playlist of videos from Knoebels on 07/26/2024: • Visit to Knoebels Amus...
All videos from Knoebels in 2024: • Knoebels 2024
My camera gear:
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: www.samsung.co..., www.amazon.com...
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (fitness tracking): www.samsung.co...
GoPro Hero 11 Black (for driving videos): www.amazon.com..., gopro.com/en/u...