I’ve ridden many wooden roller coasters. From gravity group coasters, to GCI’s,
CCI’s, and to even RMC topper tracks. Ghostrider is often regarded as an elite roller coaster,
but with its long length and powerful airtime hills, is it the perfect roller coaster? I’ll
be reviewing Ghostrider at knott’s berry farm. Ghostrider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott’s
Berry Farm. Originally constructed by Custom Coasters International
and retracked by Great Coasters International. This ride is known for its history. And it’s
definitely an iconic wooden roller coaster. Standing 118 feet and ripping through its
lengthy 4,500 feet at 56 miles per hour. The stats may not be impressive today but for its
time this ride was groundbreaking. Knotts had been planning on building the wildest ride in the west.
And there was plenty of competition. You had Magic Mountain an hour away, and that park is
home to some of the greatest coasters on the planet. There was definitely competition. But
Ghostrider lived up to all the hype. If I have to be honest, my first ride left me disappointed.
The airtime wasn’t hitting as hard as I thought and people told me I would love the ride.
I mean obviously the layout was still great and it was a long ride but it barely had a
spot in my top 10. I knew this could’ve been a perfect ride for me. It had the length,
it had the airtime, and it was a massive wooden roller coaster.
It really couldn’t let me down… but it did. I decided to ride the other rides in the park.
I went to the back for Hang Time afterwards, and then headed to silver bullet.
As I collected some of the other credits in the park I decided to give Ghostrider another go.
The sun was just setting and the lines were getting even longer. I was hoping the 2 hour line
would give me a night ride but the best I got was a sunset ride. Which I was still happy with.
But while waiting for each ride I noticed Knott’s theme. People don’t seem to talk about the amount
of details in the queue. The western theme is perfect and I don’t think they could’ve done
anything better… It's already perfect. My last ride was a back row ride and the ride was much,
much better. Every hill was hitting. The previous floater hills turned to ejector
and the floater pops were just so good. In this industry, there’s two types of roller coasters.
Wood and steel. Usually people prefer steel, but we encounter some wood coasters that are
just elite. Ghostrider is one of those coasters. In its lengthy layout it features several powerful
airtime moments. The section before the lift hill gives a great preview of the ride to come.
It supplies surprising doses of laterals as you twist and turn your way to the lift hill.
I’m probably going to say laterals a lot and it’s for a good reason. While it may not be
my favorite pre lift section, even out of the wooden roller coaster collection I have ridden,
it does what it tries to do perfectly. No airtime but still fun and entertaining.
Plus it gives you something to watch and enjoy in that long queue line because this park is going
to rack up long lines. Then you begin the climb up the 118 foot lift hill. This lift hill may not be
anything too special. The views it supplies are great but nothing to blow you away. But honestly
it doesn’t need to. I’ve ridden so many great coasters with so many great views, but I just
care about the ride to come. Lifts can be special. Building all that gravitational potential energy
just before converting it through a great first drop. And Ghostrider is just one of those rides.
The lift hill sets up the ride to come, and that’s all it needs to be.
Because in the back this drop hits, it’s not the best in the park but it’s floater filled.
It isn’t steep or tall so I wasn’t expecting a pop. But the drop managed to surprise me. It’s
really fun and definitely a highlight of the ride. However it isn’t the best element on the ride.
You even get laterals on the bottom of the drop as it turns the train to the left
before popping you back up into a giant camelback. This is my second favorite element on the ride.
It’s huge and has great flojector in the back. The turnaround following isn’t anything special.
I think it is the weakest element on the ride but it does give floater in the back
dropping off the turnaround. Then you get hit with a sharp turn supplying laterals and even
airtime as you head back into the structure. Up next is a moment of really intense laterals.
Although it isn’t taken fast it jerks you left and rank with minimal banking. It feels like there’s
no banking at all. I just love it because you feel like the train is going to get pushed off
the track from the laterals. You feel the wheels functioning before heading into the midcourse.
This doesn’t slow you down too much. You enter the best part of the ride. Honestly one of my favorite
airtime moments on any roller coaster. It’s insane ejector in the back row and you will fly up into
your lapbar. Its my favorite element on the ride and its not even close. Before Ghostrider,
my favorite mid course drop was on Raging Bull in the back row. That element is also insane
and has great airtime. Steel Vengeance has a great mid course break run drop too. I noticed this
element was a lot more strong later in the day. Airtime Thrills had always hyped up this element
and on my first ride I just didn’t see it. But it took me until my second ride to see it.
The rest of the second half is bunny hills in the structure of the previous hills.
It’s very reminiscent of the second half on Steel Vengeance where you’re constantly
getting thrown out of your seat in a giant mess of wooden structures. However before the ride
ends it sends you into another unbanked helix. This time it is taken even faster so you could
only imagine the intense laterals. And this takes you to the break run before one last airtime pop.
This ends a crazy long ride. I wouldn’t change a thing about this ride. I walked off my second
ride absolutely mind blown. Long rides have always been my cup of tea. And I’m glad I
got the back row on both rides. While it may be nice to have an unobstructed view in the front,
the airtime in the back row is great. This is the coaster that got me to like laterals.
Zeus at Mt Olympus was my previous favorite, and let me tell you that the spaghetti bowl section
is unhinged. That ride is similar too but it’s a short ride and focuses more on pacing. The ride
mixes a CCI layout with a GCI experience. Which is perfect, especially for you airtime lovers.
I love Apocalypse and all but I just think the ride could use a little more stand out airtime,
and Ghostrider for sure fixed that. I exited the ride a tad disappointed. I wanted a little bit
more. But Ghostrider succeeded. And the ride isn’t too rough either. It’s perfect. It doesn’t rattle
your brain out like some other wooden coasters but it also isn’t glass smooth like the newer wooden
coaster models or even modern steel coasters with nearly zero imperfections. The trains are
some of the most comfortable out there. The cushions feel like a coach and the restraints
allow for plenty of airtime. Personally I still think Velocicoaster is my favorite roller coaster.
It’s an intamin masterpiece and it truly has it all. The theming, the airtime, inversions,
and intensity- all in one coaster. But it isn’t even my number one. I primarily enjoy
coasters that are airtime focused and long rides. And Ghostrider is one of those rides.
In my opinion Ghostrider is the perfect wooden roller coaster. But people have different tastes
and opinions in coasters. So I can respect people who think Hades is their favorite or maybe other
rides that are smooth yet just as intense. I still believe there is no such thing as a perfect roller
coaster. Some people look for different things in a ride. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone.
Tell me in the comments what roller coasters you guys think is perfect and I’d love to
hear your thoughts on Ghostrider. Thank you so much for watching and staying until the end.
Here is a montage of the roller coasters at Knott’s Berry Farm.