The Phoenix is a wooden coaster at Knoebels. It is just under 2,980 feet long and just above 78 feet tall, reaching a max speed of about 48 miles per hour. It was first called ‘The Rocket’ when it was in San Antonio, Texas, from 1947 to when the park closed in 1980. Knoebels acquired it in 1984 and renamed it the Phoenix. It has won many awards, like the Golden Ticket Award, The Favorite Wooden Roller Coaster, and more.
The Flying Turns from Knoebels is the only trackless roller coaster in the world! Throughout, it uses a track and a chain lift to get up the hills, but the way down is through a wooden curved path with no track. The supports and parts it does use are all wooden. Its max height is 50 feet, reaching only 24 miles per hour.
Kozmo’s Kurves is Knoebel’s smallest roller coaster, reaching only 17 feet tall. It goes around a short track three times. This is similar to a ride at Hersheypark (See Cocoa Cruiser from Hersheypark). It is a ‘kiddie coaster,’ targeting young riders. It was built by E&F Miler Industries in August of 2009.
The Twister is a large, wooden coaster at Knoebels. It is just over 101 feet tall, and has 3,900 feet of track. It crosses over/under itself 36 times, and lasts about 2 minutes and 10 seconds. It was custom-built by John Fetterman in 1999, costing about $3 million. The cart goes up a first chain lift, down a few feet, then up another chain lift to the maximum height.
The Impulse is the biggest steel roller coaster at Knoebels. It is 97 feet tall, with a straight up chain lift and a straight down drop right after, heading into a loop. It was built by Zierer, opening in 2015. It’s duration is 1 minute and 20 seconds, with lots of twists and turns.
The Wild Mouse at Ildewild is a modern version of the classic roller coaster. It has many sudden dips, turns, and hills, just like many other Wild Mouses across the country. It reaches heights of 56 feet, and is the only steel coaster in Idlewild. It was built by Vekoma in 1985 in Vienna, Austria, then moved to Alton Towers in England in 1988. Finally, in 1993, Idlewild acquired it. One feature that sets this Wild Mouse apart is the design for their carts, as seen below.
This is one of the only roller coasters in Idlewild that isn’t in the water park. It was built in 1938, and considered to be an out-and-back roller coaster. It is a wooden roller coaster only reaching heights of 27 feet, making it fun for the whole family. It maneuvers through the area’s topography over 900 feet of dips and downward turnarounds. One interesting feature about the Rollo Coaster is the black wings on each cart.
