Coaster’s Up, Up Up and Running : Zero Gravity Adds to the Thrill as Public Tests Knott’s Latest

Paul Ruben counted eight moments of zero gravity during his first turn on GhostRider--Knott’s Berry Farm’s largest attraction, which opened to the public Tuesday.

To those not fluent in the language of roller coaster enthusiasts, that’s the number of times he rose off the seat and could have been flung out of the nearly mile-long, 118-foot-high, two-minute roller coaster ride, if not for the seat belt and safety bar that held him in place.

Ruben considered this a pleasurable sensation.

GhostRider is the first major addition to Knott’s historic Ghost Town since 1969 and is billed as one of the most massive wooden roller coasters in the world.

That Ruben was able to count anything at all during the fast-paced, no-breaks ride is a testament to his work. As editor of Park World, a magazine dedicated to amusement parks, he has ridden more than 500 roller coasters worldwide. Citing “smoothness of the ride” and “few breaks in action,” he offered this review: “One of the best new wooden roller coasters.”

For someone who has not been on all 347 currently operating roller coasters in America, counting much of anything from the front car would seem to be impossible. On the slow climb up, the massive frame of the coaster seemed little more than a grade-school science project made of matchsticks.

The fact that the coaster had 2.5 million board feet of yellow pine wood and 50,000 pounds of nails may or may not have been consolation.

As the coaster plunged--letting gravity do the work--people screamed and shrieked and cried from laughter. The skittish maintained a death grip on the car’s handle, as though, should some massive malfunction occur, they could hang on while the coaster sped at 56 mph.

But most came to the Buena Park amusement park for fun. Robert Vaughn, 48, of Anaheim waited from the moment the park opened at 10 a.m. for his turn, finally boarding the ride nearly four hours later. In a tan Members Only jacket, his hair uncombed, Vaughn took the morning seriously, making friends with the like-minded.

“I love riding them,” he said of coasters. “I plan to scream some.”

Steven Punt, 27, of Huntington Beach didn’t wait to be asked his opinion. Getting off the ride, Punt shouted.

“This is the best wooden roller coaster in the West,” he said, mimicking the park’s own slogan.

The “wooden” modifier is significant for coaster aficionados. Steel coasters can flip you over and loop the loop. The best wooden coasters give you the sensation of being out of control, about to fly out of your seat. That’s why they call it thrill-seeking.

GhostRider is one of 34 new coasters to open this year, the biggest boom since the Great Depression, according to Ruben, who said several dozen new coasters are scheduled to debut next year. He calls it “a roller coaster renaissance.”

Those in the theme park business say the addition of new rides comes down to keeping up attendance.

In the face of ever more competition, nearly everyone is looking for an edge. Last year, more than 290 million people visited theme parks in the United States, spending about $17 billion. Knott’s Berry Farm is in the middle of a $35-million renovation, the showpiece of which is GhostRider.

Richard Kinzel, the CEO and president of Cedar Fair, a Ohio-based company that bought Knott’s for $245 million in cash and stock a year ago, said he briefly considered dropping the multimillion-dollar coaster because of the cost involved.

“I’m glad we didn’t,” he said, with the looming wood structure in the background.

One reason for his change of heart was the impending opening of Disney’s California Adventure, a $1.4-billion project scheduled to open in nearby Anaheim in 2001.

Kinzel and others at Knott’s hope the mammoth GhostRider, which crosses over Grand Avenue, shaking cars below and rattling passersby with the shrieks and screams of riders, keeps people coming back again and again.

The first to board the ride that draws on the mystique of the Old West were restrained. The dignitaries in suits and ties sat with their hands folded and their screams muted. It wasn’t until the general public climbed aboard that applause and whoops filled the air.

Thrills being sought seemed to be found. As one little girl said: “I want to go again. I want to go again.”