On the way to my sister's house in Erie, PA we (the kid & I) decided to make a detour to see if we could get a peek at the construction of Black Diamond, the new dark ride coaster at Knoebels Amusement Park.
So we stopped by the park office & asked if it was possible to check it out. They said that they would check with Richard Knoebel & asked us to wait. After a few minutes he entered the office & to our delight, said he would give us a tour. So here's how the visit went:
"Getting Ready For 2011" <3
The park looks great in the snow...
...and it was a beautiful day for a visit.
Twister
Flying Turns
Phoenix
Our first view of Black Diamond.
The building isn't complete as the track on the second floor seen here will be enclosed & the first floor will be extended out to where the new foundation seen here will be used for train storage with the switch track still to be installed.
We entered through the corner where the plastic covers meet in the first Black Diamond photo to see this.
We went straight up to the third floor, as that's where the theme effects are starting to be installed.
They were testing the animatronics & sound effects while we were there (you can see the miners in the background have moved).
Richard gets updated on what they're trying to do (some of which I captured in the video below).
There will be a few spots where it will look like the coaster will crash off the track.
The drop down to the second floor. We had to return back up to the third floor since the bottom of the drop is currently still outside (as seen in the eighth photo above).
Skellies!
Do work!
Simple yet effective mine shaft effect.
This baby has four lift hills. Here's the one onto the third floor. Themeing hasn't begun here yet or on any of the floors below.
These are going to be running rats effects.
The "eyes" will light up in sequence to give the desired effect (you can also see this wall in the lift hill photo above).
You'll get three different views of the skellies as the coaster goes around the bend.
Another crash effect.
Last photos of the skellies, I promise.
On the second floor they have this cool rotating tunnel that was part of the original Golden Nugget coaster.
Themeing still to come.
There is also more info about the tunnel in the video, so be sure to check it out.
Another lift hill.
The loading platform on the ground floor (behind the plastic in the first Black Diamond photo above).
I didn't take any interior photos of the ground floor, but there is a segment in the video where Richard explains the old switch track that was shot there. Richard gives background on the coaster & explains some of the details in the video, so click already!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WcSeVSfIjI[/youtube]
I can't begin to thank Richard enough for this great tour & I hope this gets those of us going to Knoebels for this year's Live a bit more psyched for this ride. I know I am!
So we stopped by the park office & asked if it was possible to check it out. They said that they would check with Richard Knoebel & asked us to wait. After a few minutes he entered the office & to our delight, said he would give us a tour. So here's how the visit went:
"Getting Ready For 2011" <3
The park looks great in the snow...
...and it was a beautiful day for a visit.
Twister
Flying Turns
Phoenix
Our first view of Black Diamond.
The building isn't complete as the track on the second floor seen here will be enclosed & the first floor will be extended out to where the new foundation seen here will be used for train storage with the switch track still to be installed.
We entered through the corner where the plastic covers meet in the first Black Diamond photo to see this.
We went straight up to the third floor, as that's where the theme effects are starting to be installed.
They were testing the animatronics & sound effects while we were there (you can see the miners in the background have moved).
Richard gets updated on what they're trying to do (some of which I captured in the video below).
There will be a few spots where it will look like the coaster will crash off the track.
The drop down to the second floor. We had to return back up to the third floor since the bottom of the drop is currently still outside (as seen in the eighth photo above).
Skellies!
Do work!
Simple yet effective mine shaft effect.
This baby has four lift hills. Here's the one onto the third floor. Themeing hasn't begun here yet or on any of the floors below.
These are going to be running rats effects.
The "eyes" will light up in sequence to give the desired effect (you can also see this wall in the lift hill photo above).
You'll get three different views of the skellies as the coaster goes around the bend.
Another crash effect.
Last photos of the skellies, I promise.
On the second floor they have this cool rotating tunnel that was part of the original Golden Nugget coaster.
Themeing still to come.
There is also more info about the tunnel in the video, so be sure to check it out.
Another lift hill.
The loading platform on the ground floor (behind the plastic in the first Black Diamond photo above).
I didn't take any interior photos of the ground floor, but there is a segment in the video where Richard explains the old switch track that was shot there. Richard gives background on the coaster & explains some of the details in the video, so click already!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WcSeVSfIjI[/youtube]
I can't begin to thank Richard enough for this great tour & I hope this gets those of us going to Knoebels for this year's Live a bit more psyched for this ride. I know I am!