Coaster enthusiasts climb aboard
By Loreen Berlin
Knott’s Berry Farm opened its newest ride, HangTime, during an exciting grand opening Thursday evening, May 17.
It towers 150 feet over Boardwalk and if you are wondering how tall that is, it is 50 yards, or 15 stories tall, which is just about the height of the Chicago Water Tower, which is 154 feet tall.
It is the first and only dive coaster in California and leaves riders “hanging” seconds before it plummets down a 96-degree first drop.
And if you are wondering just what 96 degrees looks like, it is just four degrees less than 100 percent straight up and down.
According to Knott’s, the new coaster “showcases gravity-defying inversions, mid-air suspensions and a beyond-vertical drop—the steepest in California.”
HangTime travels up a vertical lift-hill—more like climbing up a long tower—then drops down, traveling along 2,189 feet of steel track and five thrilling tummy-grabbing inversions.
The coaster has three trains that can carry a total of 48 passengers at a time in single passenger cars at 57 miles per hour.
Pausing at a 60-degree angle leaves guests peering over the first drop before starting a negative G-Stall Loop and is only the second roller coaster in the Western Hemisphere to have the feature, offering unprecedented hang time; the other one is at Cedar Fair in Sandusky, Ohio, owner of Knott’s Berry Farm.
At night, there is track-chasing lighting that is beautifully illuminated against the night sky and follows the train cars along the smooth steel track, changing colors along the way.
Other firsts for Knott’s include: The first corkscrew inversion rollercoaster and the first flywheel launch coaster with Montezuma’s Revenge.
HangTime was manufactured by Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, GmbH.
Knott’s General Manager Jon Storbeck said, “People who crave that adrenaline rush will want to ride this coaster again and again and it puts Knott’s Berry Farm in a position as a must see attraction among Southern California theme parks; we look forward to welcoming our guests to this new experience.”
Storbeck was on hand on stage to welcome first-night guests while surf dancers and a band playing Beach Boys music such as “Surfin’ USA” kept things hopping throughout the evening. Cedar Fair’s statement is, “Fun to us, is serious business and we have the numbers to prove it with 13 parks and more than 5,000,000 stomachs dropped.”
