Also Copper was repainted to a more metallic orange/copper.Īlthough the ride has three trains, only two are in use at any time.
Lastly, the third update added airbrush effects on the sides of the individual cars along with a customized "Knott's GhostRider" logo on the front.
Later on, ride logos were added and a metallic sheen added onto Gold and Copper trains. All trains sported the standard "Knott's" logo on the front of the train. The PTC trains were originally delivered, Copper was a dark brown, Silver was a flat gray, and Gold was a light brown. Over the twenty two years of GhostRider's operation, the trains have gone through several different design updates. At night, orange rope lights light up the handrails of the ride. The initial drop was covered with a “scream shed” shortly after opening with a metal overhang after nearby residents complained of excessive noise.
The first two in the first half and last two in the second half. The ride crosses over Grand Avenue four times, road connecting southbound Beach Boulevard to the parking lots. Most of the attraction resides on the parking lot near the marketplace. The ride follows an L-shaped double out and back pattern. After rising over another airtime hill, the trains enter a 450-degree downward helix to the right, before rising over a final hill and hitting the final brake run. Diving off a straight section that contains the midcourse brakes, riders descend a steep drop, making a left-hand turn, rising over an airtime hill, before making a right-hand turnaround underneath the turnaround in the first half. The turnaround starts in the second half of the ride. After the turnaround, riders descend another drop, and rise up a gradual right-hand climb, before descending into the structure of the lift hill, making a left-turn chicane, and turning into the midcourse brake run. At the top, riders descend a 108-foot (33 m) drop, turning left and rising up over an airtime hill before making a sweeping left-hand turnaround. Trains then pass through the transfer track and climb the lift hill. There is a small left turn and initial descent into a ravine, which is followed by a gradual sweep to the right. As of May 2016, Pan for Gold has returned to its former location and the queue for GhostRider now snakes around it. The tunnel entrance was once part of the Pan for Gold attraction. The trains themselves are colored gold, silver, and copper similar to the precious mining metals. After a wait in both levels of the queue, riders board one of the three GCI Millennium Flyer trains of the ride. The queue begins in a mining tunnel and leads into the mine-themed queue house. Riders approach the ride near the entrance to Ghost Town. GhostRider was originally planned to reopen on May 27, 2016, but this was delayed. The refurbishment saw the replacement and re-profiling of most of the track, the removal of the mid-course brake run and the replacement of the PTC trains with GCI's Millennium Flyer trains. The refurbishment, conducted by Great Coasters International, began on September 8, 2015, and was completed in June 2016.
On August 20, 2015, it was announced that GhostRider would be refurbished and restored for Ghost Town's 75th anniversary. Five people sustained minor injuries and the attraction was temporarily closed for inspection and retrofitting of the track. In August 1999, an unsecured piece of wood from the track was lifted by a passing train and thrown into another car that was passing below. Construction on the attraction proceeded so quickly that the coaster was completed and opened on December 8, 1998, nearly six months ahead of schedule. The ride was formerly manufactured by the defunct Custom Coasters International. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train. JSTOR ( September 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "GhostRider" roller coaster – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.