Retro Ride on Boards at Knott’s

BUENA PARK — Knott’s Berry Farm plans to add a huge wooden roller coaster on the amusement park’s west side, a move that would boost the park’s collection of coasters to five.

The new, as-yet-unnamed attraction would rise to a height of 112 feet as it carries 1,680 passengers per hour on a 100-second ride. Park officials outlined the wooden coaster’s basic design in documents filed recently with the city of Buena Park.

Earlier this year, Knott’s added Windjammer, a steel racing coaster with a 60-foot plunge and a 90-second ride. While most new coasters are made of steel, enthusiasts maintain that “woodies” are a ride apart from what the metal-construction coasters offer.

“It’s a different kind of thrill,” said Jim Benedick, a partner with Management Resources, a Tustin-based theme park industry consulting firm. “Steel coasters have the loops and twists, but wooden coasters can give you that certain thrill when you hit the drops. . . . And they’re more jerky, not as smooth as the metal coasters--which just adds to the thrill.”

More than a dozen wooden coasters have been built at theme parks around the world in the last two years, according to the Manchester, England-based World Wide Guide to Parks and Rides. Nine of those coasters were added at parks in Eastern and Midwestern states.

Word of the proposed coaster, which reportedly would be one of Knott’s largest single projects, comes several months after Disneyland hinted that it might add a wooden coaster during a planned expansion of the Anaheim park.

Park officials were not available on Thursday to discuss the planned coaster. But documents filed with the city of Buena Park indicate that the new coaster will be located on the park’s western quadrant and would cross over Grand Avenue and run through an area that’s now used for short-term parking.

The coaster’s entrance would be located near the park’s “Pan For Gold” attraction. Construction would force demolition and relocation of a warehouse, some offices and the park’s steam plant.

City planners indicate that “potentially significant” environmental impacts connected with the ride--including air quality, noise and traffic circulation--could be “mitigated to a level of insignificance.”

The park did not indicate when the new coaster would be ready to open.

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A Thrill Apart

Wooden roller coasters are back in vogue. Some say the lurching, bumping rides provide a special type of thrill. Knott’s Berry Farm is keeping the details on its upcoming wooden coaster a secret, but here are some facts about wooden coasters and milestones established at other parks:

Wooden Coaster Records

Steepest: 58.6 degrees

Coaster: Cyclone

Park: Coney Island

Location: Brooklyn

*

Highest: 179 ft. 6 inches

Coaster: Rattler

Park: Fiesta Texas

Location: San Antonio, Texas

*

Longest drop: 155 ft.

Coaster: Mean Streak

Park: Cedar Point

Location: Sandusky, Ohio

*

Fastest: 65 mph

Coaster: Mean Streak

Park: Cedar Point

Location: Sandusky, Ohio

*

Longest circuit: 7,400 ft.

Coaster: The Beast

Park: Kings Island

Location: Kings Mills, Ohio

New Wooden Coasters Constructed in the U.S.:

1996

Coaster Park Location

Coaster: Timber Terror

Park: Silverwood Park

Location: Athol, Ind.

*

Coaster: Little Dipper

Park: Stricker’s Grove

Location: Hamilton, Ohio

*

Coaster: Ravine Flyer

Park: Waldameer Beach Park

Location: Erie, Pa.

*

Coaster: Underground

Park: Adventureland

Location: Des Moines, Iowa

*

Coaster: Wildcat

Park: Hershey Park

Location: Hershey, Pa.

*

Coaster: Great White

Park: Morey’s Pier

Location: Wildwood, N.J.

*

Coaster: Pegasus

Park: Big Chief

Location: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

*

Coaster: Teddy Bear

Park: Stricker’s Grove

Location: Hamilton, Ohio

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1997 Coaster: Zeus

Park: Big Chief

Location: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

*

World Coaster Facts

* Wooden coasters: 128

* Steel coasters: 743

* Countries with most operating coasters:

Country: Coasters

1. United States: 427

2. England: 114

3 Japan: 66

*

Coasterheads

Where to link up with other roller coaster fanatics:

* Tim Melago’s Directory of Amusement Park and Roller Coaster Links: https://users.sgi.net/~rollocst/amuse.html

* “The Track” online magazine: https://thetrack.rollercoaster.com

* American Coaster Enthusiasts: https://members.aol.com/coasterfun/ACE/home.htm

* Roller Coaster FAQ: https://faq.rollercoaster.com

Source: American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), World Wide Guide to Parks and Rides, Roller Coaster FAQ; Researched by JANICE L. JONES/Los Angeles Times