GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster located at the Ghost Town area of Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.
History[]
GhostRider was manufactured by Custom Coasters International and constructed by Gordon & Williams General Contractors. The ride opened at the park ahead of schedule on December 8, 1998, displacing the Pan for Gold attraction.[1] At the time of its opening, GhostRider was the longest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the Western United States.[2]
In August 1999, a piece of wood was lifted from the track by a passing train and fell onto another train below, injuring several riders, including one that required stitches. As a result, the structure was modified with metal straps to secure the wooden track, but increased the ride's overall roughness.[3]
Due to the ride's increasing roughness, GhostRider was re-tracked by Great Coasters International (GCI) between the 2015 and 2016 seasons, with banking added to some of the initial turns. The original trains from Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) were also replaced.[3]
Design[]
The coaster is a double out and back pattern that utilizes a compact L-shaped layout that traverses Grand Avenue, the road next to the park.[3][4]
Trains[]
The ride features 3 trains with 12 cars per train. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row in each car for a total of 24 riders per train. The original PTC trains were painted gold, silver, and copper. These were replaced with newer Millennium Flyer trains from GCI in 2016. Although the coaster has 3 trains, it is known to operate two at a time.[3]
Gallery[]
Video[]
References[]
- ↑ GhostRider to open at Knott's Berry Farm Dec. 8, The Signal p.47. 1998-11-27.
- ↑ Knott's Berry Farm Historic Timeline, Knott's Berry Farm. 2023-01-01.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Problematic Roller Coasters - GhostRider - The Wildest Wooden Coaster in the West by ElToroRyan, YouTube. 2022-05-12.
- ↑ I just noticed the load bearing supports of [GhostRider over Grand Avenue next to Knott's are unquestionably steel...] by Pippinitis, Reddit. 2025-04-20.
External links[]
- GhostRider official webpage at Knott's Berry Farm
GhostRider at Coasterpedia- GhostRider at Knott's Wiki Farm
GhostRider at the Roller Coaster DataBase- GhostRider at the Roller Coaster Wiki
- GhostRider (roller coaster) at Wikipedia
