Knott's Berry Farm Update: HangTime Media Night

Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA

Happy Monday, everyone!  We hope you had a good weekend, and perhaps some of you even spent part of it experiencing what we're going to cover today--the official debut of Knott's Berry Farm's newest roller coaster and the only dive coaster in California (and the West Coast, I think).  HangTime is the 2018 new hotness for Knott's.  Sitting on the site of the old Boomerang roller coaster, HangTime takes riders up 150 feet, through 5 inversions, running at speeds of up to 57mph.  It's a wonderfully fun ride, and it's sure to thrill children and adults.

Last Thursday served as a combination media night and Knott's friends and family preview night for the new attraction, and Westcoaster was present for yet another debut of a Knott's major attraction.  We've been attending these coaster premieres for a long time, and as usual, Knott's did a fantastic job with the hospitality, food, and exclusive ride time experiences.  Here's a recap of the evening!

Exclusive Boardwalk Time

The activities began at 7pm, as we were granted access to the park after hours.  For attendees, however, the Boardwalk had remained open for exclusive ride time and to serve as the backdrop for the evening ceremonies.  Xcelerator, Supreme Scream, Coast Rider, Pacific Scrambler, the Surfside Gliders, and the Sky Cabin were open for business, providing the special guests with a rare opportunity to take a spin with minimal waits.  And since the skies had been dreary the previous weekend during the Season Passholder preview, this also allowed me to snap a few shots of the new roller coaster in the evening golden hour light.

Welcome to Knott’s at golden hour.

Last weekend, the weather was drizzly, so photographic conditions were subpar.

But the skies and the light were much better this past Thursday!

HangTime looks great.

Its many curves and twists make it quite photogenic!

So there are many angles to been viewed.

Construction continues on the re-installation of Wipeout, which had to be removed temporarily while HangTime was being built.

The Boardwalk has largely reopened up, however, and it looks great.

Our Thursday media night gave us some fun ERT on all the Boardwalk attractions.

That includes the most recent new coaster in this area, Coast Rider.

And also Xcelerator, which reopened last month after a very lengthy downtime.

Our friends from Theme Park Adventure were happy to ride it.

Even if Rick and Johanna may have looked like they had a bit of trepidation right before the launch.

Lets not forget about Supreme Scream, either.

This ride will always have a soft spot in my heart, since I worked here one summer.

But enough about that. Lets get onto the media night activities.

Media Night Festivities

As usual, Knott's was very gracious in their hospitality, with food and drink stations in four areas around Charleston Circle, Johnny Rockets, Coasters Diner, and the Boardwalk BBQ.  The evening was also a chance to hang out with friends from fellow media outlets and enjoy the ambiance and the rides.  A surf band--Ride the Tide--was on hand to provide musical entertainment, and the general vibe was relaxed, fun, and kind of like a big reunion--exactly the atmosphere befitting of a new attraction on the Boardwalk.

After a little over an hour to graze on food and booze and take a few spins on the Boardwalk attractions, the HangTime Opening Moment occurred shortly after 8:15.  First came a preview snippet from the new Knott's summer show to be featured at the Charles M. Schulz theater, Beach Blanket Beagle.  Next, Knott's Vice President and GM Jon Storbeck provided a few words highlighting the ride, thanking everyone involved in the production of HangTime, and touting Knott's upcoming summer season offerings.

Then, with some fanfare, a musical overlay, and plenty of fireworks, HangTime took its first official runs, accented by the special lighting programmed for the new roller coaster and debuted for the first time ever.  It was quite a sight, with different splashes of luminous color cast onto the ride and the chaser lights creating some cool patterns and sequences with the ride.  Though the light chasing wasn't as overt along the coaster train as, say, what one might see with string lights pursuing a classic roller coaster, the effect was still pretty neat.  And the animations of light when the ride wasn't running were almost even more impressive.

There was a bit of a beach party for the HangTime media night.

This meant hula hoops galore, because hula = Hawaii = beach. Right?

Of course, we were fed nicely.

This icee / ice cream combination might be a Boardwalk menu item this summer. It was definitely diabetic and was not allowed anywhere near Dan.

Neither were these hordes of cupcakes.

Pretty fruit art.

Delicious barbecue from the Boardwalk BBW.

Coasters featured tasty sliders, as modeled by our lovely Jenny O.

Also showing off the “HangTime shake,” our also-lovely pal, Bob Coker, of ThrillRide! fame (or infamy, he might put it).

The decor was nice.

And it turned out the seating was all the way at the end of the Boardwalk from where we entered.

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The event was a chance to hang out with our fellow coaster nerds. People like David and Spears from Theme Park Review, and that diabetic guy on the left who used to take pictures more regularly around here.

Spears decided to rock the 90’s style backwards cap look after a couple of glasses of wine.

Meanwhile, in adhering to fine Westcoaster tradition, Dan unearthed his ancient HP315 digital camera for the evening.

This was the first camera ever used for Westcoaster updates, and he was delighted that it miraculously still functioned.

This camera is all about quality, so you might see a very special best Knott’s update ever with Dan’s content later this week…

A surf band provided some evening entertainment.

They pumped out surf rock covers of various radio hit songs.

It added to the fun atmosphere.

But soon, it was time for the HangTime Opening Moment!

It started with a preview of Beach Blanket Beagle, the new summer production at the Charles M. Schulz Theater debuting on June 9th.

It seems like it will be a cute show.

I mean, surfing Snoopy? How can that go wrong?

High kicks for excitement!

Then Knott’s GM, Jon Storbeck said some nice things about the ride and what to expect at Knott’s this summer.

Then, it was time to throw on the lights.

And have HangTime take its first formal runs!

Cue the pyro!

There it goes!

I’m not sure why the park was trying to blow up their brand new ride with fireworks…

…fortunately, it didn’t work.

HangTime stuck around, and it kept on running.

Oooooh…

Aaaaaah…

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There goes the train.

And confetti!!

Throughout the night, Snoopy would show up for photo ops.

And the beach party continued as media, family, and friends were invited to ride HangTime and the other attractions.

Exciting, right?

Dan thought so. He jumped into the conga line to show how thrilled he was!

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HangTime at Night

The ride is pretty beautiful at night, and it's great to see Boardwalk just about 100% back in working order.  The aqua color of the track really brings a fresh, friendly feel to the area, and the cool, shifting colors are soothing and very pleasant.  They really highlight this top notch attraction, and I had a chance to snap plenty of pictures in between rides on both HangTime and other attractions.

The Boardwalk Surf Shop looks great at night!

The color scheme is fantastic.

The coaster ain’t too shabby at night either!

It’s got quite a presence over the Boardwalk BBQ.

And behind the Boardwalk games.

The lighting really showcases this ride like an ocean jewel.

Nighttime signage.

Going up the lift.

That first drop…

Notice how the lighting changes.

The lighting package is definitely dynamic and adds extra life to the ride at night.

Zoooooom!!

Here are some more close-up’s.

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The fountain at Charleston Circle was light up in cool aqua too.

It juxtaposes nicely.

The park has really done a great job with the area at night!

It’s super pretty.

And to close out, I also played with some long exposures at the end of the night.

Compositing several exposures together to capture the coaster train blurring through the course.

This was my favorite angle, though.

HangTime is not the most intense ride in the park.  I'd say that Xcelerator, Ghostrider, and even Silver Bullet provide more of a "big boy" ride experience than Knott's newest feature.  But it is very fun, largely smooth, and certainly with its share of intimidating moments (going up the vertical lift and pausing before dropping are the two big ones).  The seat belts are a little finnicky, which might impede the ride capacity a little bit as riders struggle to unbuckle themselves after the ride.  But that's really about the only complain I can make.  It's just a really solid, very enjoyable experience, with plenty of hangtime (often inverted) and a pop of air at the drop and double down right before the last two loops.  

HangTime is open now, so make sure you stop by when you visit Knott's.  Lines are sure to be long initially, so arrive early or bring patience.  But bring an appetite for thrills, because HangTime will most certainly satisfy that!