By Brooklynn Wong
The newest attraction at Knott’s Berry Farm, a surfing-themed roller coaster called HangTime, is coming along nicely and is slated to be ready to ride just as the summer masses begin pouring into the park in a couple of months.
Knott’s Vice President of Maintenance Jeff Gahagan explained the concept behind the ride, saying that they are trying to create more themed areas throughout the park. This one will be in the “boardwalk area,” where Johnny Rocket’s is, near the Western entrance.
The roller coaster itself is essentially completed, but tests are being conducted, and the ancillary structures and accessorizing features, including a large sunset mural, are still under construction.
The trains will take off from a garage-like structure, which Gahagan says, in keeping with the theme, is “the surfboard maker’s shop.”
In describing the lighting package, Gahagan says, “What the intention is to go with the theme of surfing, is that you’re sitting out there on the waves, waiting, and you just missed one wave. So that white light went through, and as it was coming up again, you’re going to be riding the wave.”
Water dummies have been the only riders of the coaster so far, experiencing a 90-degree chain lift, then a hold at a 60-degree angle for between two and three seconds, and a high point of 150 feet, and speeds of up to 57 miles per hour, for a total ride time of 123 seconds from station to station.
Gahagan says, “It will drop 96 degrees, coming back down the drop, coming into the zero gravity stall at the very top…through the loop, back over, coming through two inversions before it goes on the high bank on the far south end of the ride, where it’ll come back into the cobra roll here in the middle for the last two inversions for five total inversions, and then come down the magnetic brake run into the station.”
A white, a yellow, and an orange car will be riders’ options, with a capacity of 16 passengers per train.
And when it rains and some of the other coasters at Knott’s are rendered inoperable, this one will not be, “because of the fact that it’s almost all magnetic braking, before we get to true hold brakes,” says Gahagan. The coaster also safely speeds up in the rain, exceeding its maximum dry speed of 57 mph.
The biggest challenge building HangTime has been the soil. Gahagan says, “We had to go in and remove all the dirt here, down 10 feet, and pack it all back in, mixing it with other dirt.”
As for other features, there are Siemens controllers on the trains, functioning as GPS’ so that computers know exactly where the train is at all times.
But all systems have been go so far, and the coaster is beautiful, modern, and well-built, and soars to new heights, heralded as the first dive coaster in California.
A virtual ride can be taken at https://www.knotts.com/explore/hangtime.
An opening date will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
