Ever since the signs went up marking the beginning of the season for Knoebels Amusement Park, my son has been begging to go! He knew I still had tickets left over from last year, thanks to the special at Weis Markets. I mean, who can turn down discounted tickets? I bought them near the end of last season to have ready to go for this year! Well, the day came. Because of all the snow days here, the local schools didn’t let out for the summer until June 13, so there were school picnic days at Knoebels during the first two weeks of June. When I saw the weather forecast for the day, I knew the day had come because it was supposed to be cooler.
We were fortunate to get a fairly close parking spot as it appeared that most of the guests here today had arrived via school bus. There weren’t many school busses that day, and it didn’t look like it was crowded in the park. When we walked in, DS11 saw the Crazy Submarine, which is the ride he likes to ride first. The kids grabbed their tickets and ran toward the ride. No one was in line, so they got to ride by themselves.
After the Crazy Submarine, we headed over to the Whipper. The Whipper is a classic antique ride, and honestly, we had never seen a ride like this until we visited Knoebels last year. This ride is on an oval track and when the “car” comes to each end of the loop, it “whips” you around the corner. It is a little jerky, but I’m sure it is very smooth considering the age of the ride. My kids LOVE this ride!
On to the Tilt-a-Whirl! This is probably my kids’ favorite ride! It’s the only ride where there is no argument. As soon as one of them says, “Tilt-a-Whirl”, they head right over. Believe it or not, I like this ride, too. I don’t always do well with rides that go round and round, but I don’t normally have too many issues with this one. Sometimes, I ride it with the kids, and other times, I let the kids ride by themselves. Since we pay per ride, I normally just hand the tickets over. They get more rides that way, and I get to take more photos. Good trade, huh?
While the 1 1/2 mile Pioneer Train isn’t that elaborate, it seems to be another favorite of the kids. I’m not sure if it is the simplicity of the ride,
the fact that it goes underneath the Twister, or the tour of the area near the campground sometimes complete with animals. Whatever it is, this ride provides a chance to sit down and see a little bit behind the scenes.
One of my “must-dos” on the way out is to pick up a bag of kettle corn for snacking at night while I’m on the computer. Knoebels’ kettle corn ranks right up there with the kettle corn I used to get at my “old haunt”, Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. It’s just the perfect combination of sweet and salty!
Stay tuned for our next trip to Knoebels Amusement Park!
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