GhostRider is the premier attraction at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.
This wooden roller coaster is one of the best rides in the state and it has a rather interesting
history.
The ride was originally built by Custom Coasters International in 1998, but it was completely
overhauled by Great Coasters International in 2016.
And in this video, I will be reviewing GhostRider and explaining why it is one of my favorite
wood coasters.
GhostRider was originally supposed to open in Summer 1999, but construction progressed
so quickly that the ride actually debuted in December 1998.
The ride opened as the longest wooden roller coaster on the West Coast.
Interestingly, the ride later gained the records for the tallest and fastest wood coaster on
the West Coast as well when Six Flags Magic Mountain converted Colossus into Twisted Colossus
for the 2015 season.
GhostRider stands 118 feet or 36 meters, reaches a top speed of 56 mph or 90 kph, and has 4533
feet or 1382 meters of track.
The ride was built by CCI and it was one of the final few rides they built with an all-wood
support structure.
And GhostRider’s structure is dense.
Not only is this because of the ride’s sheer size, but it’s also because of the state’s
earthquake building codes.
This is one of the reasons GhostRider’s second half is so exciting since you’re
weaving through the sea of wood.
GhostRider is located in the park’s Ghost Town area and the ride extends outside the
park boundaries.
The ride has an L-shaped, double-out-and-back layout that runs alongside the Knott’s Marketplace
and crosses over Grand Ave four times.
The views you get of GhostRider as you drive into the park will only get you more excited
for your day.
GhostRider opened to universal acclaim.
The ride routinely placed in the top 10 of both the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards
and Mitch Hawker Poll from its inception until 2005.
At that point, GhostRider began a slow decline.
Part of it was the opening of new wood coasters like Voyage and El Toro, but the bigger factor
was GhostRider itself.
The ride was getting rough.
By 2013, GhostRider had fallen out of the top 50 in both polls.
GhostRider is one of the most cycled wooden roller coasters in the world.
Knott’s Berry Farm is open almost every day and since GhostRider is one of the park’s
most popular attractions, it cycles trains constantly.
The ride has annual maintenance, but the aggressive layout was simply tearing itself apart faster
than Knott’s could repair it.
Riders were finding the ride unbearably rough.
Eventually, the park started bringing trains to a full stop on the mid-course.
This would help reduce wear on the second half and make the experience more comfortable
for riders.
But it sapped GhostRider of its elite pacing and intensity.
Knott’s realized something had to be done and for the 2016 season, which coincided with
the 75th anniversary of Ghost Town, the park brought in Great Coasters International to
renovate GhostRider.
The ride was completely retracked and reprofiled in some sections.
The mid-course trim was disabled, allowing the ride to run at its original speed.
And it also received an all new fleet of Millennium Flyer trains to replace the old PTC trains.
I never rode GhostRider before this renovation.
I saw this coaster in my 2014 visit, but it was down for its annual refurbishment.
So I only have experience with the new GhostRider.
I know some have claimed GCI ruined GhostRider.
The updated GhostRider is as smooth as a wood coaster can be and the ride’s pacing is
flawless.
The update may have reduced the laterals and airtime in a few spots, but the ride runs
remarkably today and the modifications should help it continue to run this way for many
years to come.
When I rode GhostRider in early 2020, it was just as smooth as it was in June 2016 right
after it reopened.
Plus the ride is receiving acclaim again, as it once again has climbed into the top
10 of wood coaster polls.
And the park guests have certainly been receptive of this change.
GhostRider always has the longest line in the park.
Even on a dead day, this ride seems to have an hour wait minimum.
It doesn’t help that the ride is located near the main entrance so it gets swarmed
with people immediately after the park opens and the crowds never really subside.
The ride’s capacity isn’t stellar.
The ride has a long duration and even with that, the ride often stacks.
It seems to take forever until the restraints are actually lowered since it takes people
a while to store their loose articles on the platform.
And one downside to the renovation is that it actually reduced the ride’s capacity
from 28 riders to 24 riders.
This is one of the reasons I always budget FastLane when I go to Knott’s so I can maximize
my GhostRider rides.
The other option that was unveiled shortly before the pandemic shutdown was a single
rider line.
I used this a few times and usually I was the only one using it, so I’d often board
the next train.
In terms of seat selection, I strongly preferred the back until my most recent visit.
Now I’m torn since both offer similarly awesome laterals, but each has certain elements
that are better from an airtime perspective.
One thing to watch out for with GhostRider’s trains is that the t-bar restraint will continuously
lower and tighten unless you hold on.
Ghost Rider begins with a short dip out of the station and a turn that gives you some
surprise laterals.
You then ascend the lift.
If you look to the right, you get a great view of Knott’s.
And then you plunge down the 108 foot or 33 meter drop.
This drop is covered and if you’re seated in the back, you get a pop of floater air
going over this 51 degree drop.
The pullout is an underrated part of GhostRider as well.
It’s really sharp, so it gives some good positive Gs for a traditional wood coaster.
It also banks you to the left so you get a small burst of laterals as well.
And you have some shocking headchoppers as you charge through the ride’s structure
for the first time.
You then fly over a giant camelback.
The second hill gives a good pop of ejector airtime up front.
In the back, you get sustained floater airtime as you’re pulled over this hill.
You then rise up into the first turnaround, getting some faint floater airtime up front.
You then charge around the turn since it dips downwards and it delivers some great laterals
throughout the train, but its just the appetizer for what will come later.
The drop off this turnaround gives some decent floater airtime in the back since you have
some good speed going over it and then you zip over this elongated L-shaped hill.
It’s too drawn out to offer any airtime, but it does over solid laterals throughout
since it’s minimally banked.
You then rise up into the second turnaround.
You don’t get any airtime entering this element, but you take the turn with more speed
than you’d expect and get another great dose of laterals.
You then breeze over the old mid-course brake run location and drop off GhostRider’s legendary
5th drop.
In the back row, this is one of the best drops on any coaster.
This drop in itself is one of the steepest on the ride.
And you take it with a considerable amount of speed.
So you get some insane ejector airtime in the back row.
It’s comparable to the Raven’s 5th drop in terms of power.
And this drop has the same effect, as it kicks off a crazy second half.
As I mentioned earlier, this second half takes place entirely within the ride’s support
structure, so you have countless near-misses.
And being enveloped with wood on all sides enhances the sense of speed and you’re hauling
anyway.
You then fly over this little L-hill.
Everyone gets strong laterals throughout this element, but the airtime differs depending
where you’re sitting.
The front gets an abrupt pop of airtime.
The back gets sustained floater airtime.
Any airtime is particularly memorable when you’re paired with laterals such as this.
That’s followed by another L-hill.
This one oddly doesn’t offer any laterals, but the drop provides some nice floater airtime
throughout the train.
You then rise up into the third turnaround, getting a quick pop of airtime up front.
Like the first turnaround, this one is barely banked and it has a dip halfway through it,
so it delivers even more great laterals.
The drop off this turnaround gives some good floater airtime towards the back.
You then fly over a bunny hill.
Like the prior turnaround, riders up front get a strong pop of airtime while back row
riders get sustained floater airtime.
You then enter arguably the most intense part of the ride- the helix.
The helix on Holiday World’s Legend is considered by many to be the best helix in the world
for sustained laterals.
But I think the one on GhostRider is just as good.
The laterals are insane.
This helix has zero banking and the dip midway through it increases the strength of the laterals
further.
You will struggle to keep your body upright.
And then before you can reposition your body, you charge over a tiny hill before hitting
the brakes.
Front row riders get one last ejector pop while back row riders get a tiny bit of floater
airtime.
My final recommendation is to try and get a night ride.
Night rides on this coaster are fantastic.
The structure is extra disorienting at night and when GhostRider is fully warmed up, the
forces are even more pronounced.
So what would I rate GhostRider?
I would give this coaster a 9.5 out of 10.
I actually think I underrated this coaster in my recent coaster rankings after thinking
about it more.
It probably should have made the top 10 for wood coasters.
The ride is relentless in the best way possible.
The pacing is incredible, as you’re either getting airtime or laterals at all times-
and often you’re getting both.
The ride is super reridable as well with how smoothly it rides.
I could ride GhostRider all day.
So those are my thoughts on GhostRider, the incredible wood coaster at Knott’s Berry
Farm.
Have you ridden this coaster?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments, especially if you rode it before
the renovation.
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Thanks for watching!