Knoebels will debut new ride, update aging PowerSurge

Sep. 22—ELYSBURG — One ride is temporarily leaving while a new ride is coming to Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg.

The PowerSurge has been temporarily removed from its spot in the park while Knoebels works with the manufacturer to build a new version. In its place for now is a new ride called Rock-O-Plane, located on Knoebels Boulevard next to the Alamo restaurant.

Rock-O-Plane is anticipated to be operational for Hallo-Fun weekends in October.

"We purchased Rock-O-Plane in February of this year," said Stacy Ososkie, the park's public relations manager. "Our team traveled to Lubbock, Texas, to Joyland Amusement Park, which has unfortunately closed. The ride was manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company, which was also the manufacturer of our Satellite ride."

The ride is similar to a Ferris wheel, but with eight enclosed ride cars that rock as the ride moves. Guests can control part of their ride experience with a handle in the car, which can either make it more mild, or more thrilling, said Ososkie.

'Better than new'

The ride was previously featured at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, until the early 1990s. It was moved to Joyland until the park closed earlier this year, according to project lead Brady Petrovich.

"We sent a team of four down, including me, to disassemble the ride, truck it across the country and completely refurbish the ride here," said Petrovich. "We went through it with a fine-tooth comb. We went through everything, redesigning and remanufacturing parts as needed, essentially making a completely new ride system. We brought it back to factory ride specification. I would claim this ride is better than new. We updated the controls of the ride and have a higher degree of safety than originally existed."

This specific ride is the 52nd Rock-O-Plane manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company. There are quite a few portable versions around the country, but not many stationary, as the Knoebels version is, said Petrovich.

"Our ride is driven by a cable, like the early style Ferris Wheels, which is uncommon today," he said. "We prefer the vintage style operations for rides."

Park guests have "quite a bit" to look forward to, he said.

"This is unique to most modern parks since guests can control it," said Petrovich. "I've described it as a hybridization of a Ferris Wheel and Looper ride. Guests have a lever to engage a rotation. You can decide whether your ride is calm, or intense. It's completely dependent on the decision of the rider."

The total height of the ride is 52 feet and the ride vehicles travel along a 23-foot swing radius. The overall duration of the ride cycle is two minutes and 15 seconds, said Petrovich.

New PowerSurge coming

The PowerSurge, which opened in 2000 as a brand-new ride, has been open every year sporadically since the pandemic started in 2020. As the wheel took riders cartwheeling through the air, individual cars spun around and around for an unpredictable and dizzying adventure.

"Our PowerSurge has existed longer than any other PowerSurge," said Petrovich. "The previous one is hydraulic based. We have decided the complexity of the ride is not worth it. We've been working with Zamperla (of Italy) to design a new PowerSurge."

The new PowerSurge will be run with DC electric motors, which is expected to reduce maintenance issues, said Petrovich.

The new PowerSurge is anticipated to be on-site by March. When it returns, it will be in the same place as the old PowerSurge. The Rock-O-Plane will be relocated to another location in the park, he said.

"It's quite an important area," he said. "We wanted to make sure we had a spectacular attraction at the heart of the park."

The highest point of the PowerSurge is 53 feet. The ride lasted 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Bayern Kurve not ready yet

The park is also working on introducing Bayern Kurve. The roller coaster-like attraction has three asynchronous electric motors that provide 663 pounds per foot of torque to accelerate the seven-ton train to nearly 70 mph in seconds around a circular track with banked curves. The 32-passenger train with 16 vehicles can hold two riders in each car.

The ride was manufactured in 1963 for the German carnival circuit by Anton Schwarzkopf, of the same company that designed the defunct Jet Star Roller Coaster, formerly at Knoebels. They rested for decades in Rodessa, La., before being transported 1,315 miles on four tractor-trailers to Knoebels.

Given the complexity of the ride and the fact that only six are still in existence, the process is taking longer than expected, said Petrovich.

It will be located at the former site of the 1001 Nachts near the Pioneer Train.