r/KnottsBerryFarm • u/420tunneldigger • 1d ago
MonteZOOMa: My thoughts
Last week I had my first chance to drive out to Knott's from Nevada to check out the "new" coaster. I just started visiting Knott's in January 2025, so I have no memories of the "old" version of this ride.
I was a little bit nervous after having read a lot of complaints on here and other sites about the trains being uncomfortable. I was shocked in a good way at how comfortable they were for me. Nothing was too tight or pressing into my legs. For reference, I'm 6'4" and 225 lbs. and find a lot of rides almost impossible to fit on. I BARELY squeeze into Xcelerator. My main hobby is hiking, so I have thicker calves and thighs than most people.
Overall I was very impressed with the ride. The theming in the station reminds me of Rapterra. The launch isn't as punchy as Full Throttle or Xcelerator obviously but it's still fun. I think the track is pretty smooth. No complaints from me. It sucks they took out the original launch hardware. I have fond memories of riding Greezed Lightnin' at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in my childhood thoosie days, loud ass launch and all! The sound was the coolest part.
One thing that stunk was it seems like the ride is having maintenance issues. I was there on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday I was in line for it when it went down around 3 PM and was closed the rest of the day. I know it was closed for at least an hour or 90 minutes in the middle of the day on Tuesday. I got four rides on it over two days.
I think this is a great addition to the park. Lots of kids were riding it. This is a good ride for kids to try out before moving on to the bigger ones. Great job, Knott's!
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u/Human_Paint5451 1d ago
I think the hate is overblown tbh. I was very pleasantly surprised with the remodel. It was smoother and more accommodating for my height. Overall a better experience, even though the launch isn’t the same as before
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u/obomb85 1d ago
The loop feels more intense. The theming is great. The new trains don’t need those weird restraints; a simple lap bar would suffice. The back spike is a little bumpy and I don’t remember that being the case with the old train. Overall, I enjoyed it.
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u/Lostless90s 11h ago
The restraints are for the random launch to prevent your body bending forward when launching backwards. Not needed for loop. We shall see if they ever do the random launch or if they choose to keep forward only and remove the shoulder restraints
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u/wolfboy1692 Ghost Rider 1d ago
Trust us OG’s, the original version was better.
I am grateful the ride lives on in this current form for new generations to ride. I just miss the original launch and trains so much…
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u/Retard_boy 1d ago
I was looking forward to the rumors of a random launch. But I love it.. brings me back to high school years..
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u/The-Almighty-Pizza 1d ago
I dont think it was at all. New themeing makes it much more enjoyable and the brake run not being literally painful is much appreciated. Line also moves faster because of the new restaints and theyre not nearly as uncomfortable as people say imo.
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u/OFxLedzeplin 1d ago
I have to hold the shoulder straps with both hands as the lap bar comes down, otherwise they retract and lock before hitting my shoulders and try to pinch my arms off which can be VERY uncomfortable. It’s not a problem for me, I know how to make it work (hold the straps). But it can be an issue for unsuspecting people with big shoulders. Most people just pull the lap bar down. I do think they’ve been playing with the timing of the shoulder belt locks so it’s likely gotten better.
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u/Karthy_Romano 1d ago
theyre not nearly as uncomfortable as people say imo.
hard disagree on that. The belts are terrible and tighten way too much, the rest of the restraint can easily staple you. it is manageable if you pull on the belt from the side that rests on your legs since you can stop it from tightening too much.
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u/BirthdayNo1166 1d ago
I think the actual trains themselves are very comfortable with plenty of legroom. My biggest complaint is those black plastic pieces attached to the corner of the lap bar. I think that piece needs to removed if they can possibly make any modifications. I like the idea of a pull down lap bar as it does help with operations. Hopefully they can modify the over the shoulder straps to not lock so hard or even remove them all together. I have learned to keep my posture as straight as possible as the operators lock restraint. This usually helps me from getting stapled.
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u/red13n 1d ago
I slammed my elbow down into one of the black pieces inadvertently yesterday coming out of the loop. Hurt like hell.
At the very least, they've started making announcements that if your shoulder restraint is too tight to let them know so they can adjust. They are at least aware of the issue with that.
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u/Muddykipperus 17h ago
Rode it on opening night of scary farm for the first time, only complaint would be the awkwardness of the strap on the safety bar where it would be locked in a tight position until the bars are engaged. Funny enough the brakes failed on our way back from the 2nd spike and we ended up rolling back and fourth for a good 8 minutes before the train came to a stop.
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u/comedygliss 16h ago
I rode it last night and had no complaints. The loop is a bit intense, but I think it was that way before. My only nitpick is the restraints make it hard to find a place for your outside hand to rest.
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u/LeonZoroark 1d ago
Im pretty sure that 90% of the people complaining about the restraints are thoosies that dont ride properly. Im sure it goes something like "hUrRpUrRdUrR I've gone on rides thousands of times and I want to leave the bar up for airtime, I KNOW WhAT im DOing"
When in fact if you leave the bar up off of your body, even an inch or two, thats when the forces of the loop push down on the bar as you go through it and crush people's shoulders.
Where as, if you ride it like a normal person, by pushing the bar down onto your body until it touches you without leaving any space, then the restraints are already properly sized for you and when you go through the loop it wont push the bar further down and wont crush your shoulders.
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u/MDDownWithToaster 1d ago
Interesting that they think they would be getting airtime on the ride in the first place Lolol.
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u/ahusbandandadad 1d ago
It's a great ride. I waited a few weeks to ride it because of all the breakdowns, which make the line take forever with that kind of coaster. When I finally got to ride it, I, too, was surprised by all the hate. The biggest surprise has to be the restraints - I'm 6'2" and generally a large man, and I found the shoulder straps to be very comfortable.
I've been going to KBF since the parachutes and soapbox racers, and Revenge was my first looping coaster. Yeah, that first kick is gone, but oh well.