Knoebels Amusement Resort

Knoebels is located in a small wooded valley in central Pennsylvania. The valley, originally known as "Peggy's Farm", with its creek-fed swimming hole, was a popular picnic destination in the early 20th century, attracting Sunday travelers and horse-drawn hayride wagons. Henry Knoebel, who farmed in the area, tended the horses and later sold soft drinks, ice cream, and snacks to the visitors. As the popularity of "Knoebels Grove" grew, Knoebel leased plots of land along the creeks for use as summer cottage sites. Some of these privately owned cottages, as well as cottages Knoebel built and rented, still exist in the park today.

In 1926, Knoebel added a restaurant, a steam-powered Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, and a few simple games to his grove, marking the beginning of Knoebels Amusement Park. On July 4, 1926, he opened a large concrete swimming pool on the site of the old swimming hole. Featuring a filtration system that provided clean water instead of muddy creek water, the pool was named "The Crystal Pool". Since then, the park has developed around the pool, adding 50 rides, assorted games, concession stands, and other attractions. A campground with six sites opened behind the amusement park in 1962, and as of 2004, the campground covered 160 acres (65 ha) with 500 sites.[2]

On June 22, 1972, both South Branch Roaring Creek and Mugser Run that run through Knoebels, swollen with heavy rains from Hurricane Agnes, rose 6 feet (1.8 m) over their banks. The flood destroyed six cottages and damaged many other buildings, including 24 of 25 rides and the park's roller rink. The roller rink building was re-floored and used as a skating rink until the mid-1980s, when it was converted into the "Roaring Creek Saloon", which now contains a concession stand, an arcade, the XD Theater, and performances. A new building constructed after the flood became the Haunted Mansion, where the Haunted Mansion dark ride opened in 1973. The ride has been recognized as one of America's best dark rides by organizations,such as Dark Ride, Funhouse Enthusiasts and the National Amusement Park Historical Association.[3]

The park again suffered major flooding in 1975, 1996, 2004, 2006, and 2011. Each caused substantial damage, but the 1975 and 1996 floods occurred during the off-season. Although the January 1996 flood left substantial damage, the worst occurred after the waters receded, when everything froze, making cleanup and repair throughout the amusement park difficult. The September 2004 flood, caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, was only a half-day affair and Knoebels staff had the amusement park partially reopened by mid-afternoon.

On June 28, 2006, a flood second only to the Agnes flood struck Knoebels. About 90 percent of the amusement park was under water just prior to the July 4th weekend. As the waters began to recede, Knoebels staff was able to reopen over 60 percent of its attractions within two days and 90 percent within four days. Because over 100 tons of mud had to be dug out of the Crystal Pool, it required 10 days to be operational. The last ride to return to operation was the Kiddie Panther Cars, whose repairs took almost three weeks.

In 2008, the park’s dark ride was the subject of a one-hour documentary, "Laff In The Dark’s Behind The Scenes At Knoebel’s Haunted House".

On September 7, 2011, Knoebels experienced its most recent flood, caused by Tropical Storm Lee. Water levels neared those of the flood of 1972 and damages exceeded that flood. The majority of the park reopened the following weekend, having missed only two days of operation.

For the 2013 season, Knoebels added StratosFear, the park's tallest ride at 148 feet (45 m), which quickly became a top thrill for everyone. In 2015 a new roller coaster opened, named the "Impulse", that replaced two former rides, the bumper boats and boat tag, both of which had been losing popularity, while maintenance costs became increasingly high.

In 2016, Knoebels celebrated its 90th anniversary and opened The Nickle Plate Bar and Grill at Knoebels Three Ponds Golf Club.

On July 23, 2018, Knoebels was flooded when a creek overflowed and flooded the park. About 150 employees were at the park cleaning up. The park then flooded again on July 25, 2018. The park reopened on July 27, 2018.

The park offers free admission, free parking, and free entertainment. Visitors are able to ride the park's attractions by purchasing either pay-one-price, all-day/unlimited-access wristbands (which are not usually available on weekends, except near the beginning and end of each season), limited-access hand stamps or books of tickets, with hand stamp costs varying depending on the height of the rider. Knoebels has several hand stamp options, such as "Sundown Plan" and "Bargain Nights", when the park offers discounts on regular ride passes. Knoebels all-day passes do not include the Haunted Mansion or the Crystal Pool, which are additional fees. The "Scenic Skyway", Black Diamond, and the Flying Turns were also an additional fee when opened, but they have since been included in most pay-one-price plans.[4]

In 1999, an attorney representing two girls who sustained injuries while riding the Speed Slide discovered 15 injuries had been reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards in recent years, including six other reports of injuries to riders' genital areas. Both girls underwent emergency surgery. The park was charged with negligence, failure to monitor the amount of force of the water and its effect on riders, failure to fix defects, and failure to provide adequate warnings to riders. Both of the plaintiffs fully recovered.[31]

• Incidents at independent amusement parks

• Futrell, Jim. Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2002.
• Deitz, Harry J. Knoebels: An Amusement Park with a Heart. Reading, Pennsylvania: Westlawn Graphic, 2001. (Now out of print)

• Knoebels Amusement Resort official site
  • Park history
• Knoebels Amusement Resort at the Roller Coaster DataBase