KNOEBELS Amusement Park - America's Oldest Free Admission Amusement Park!!
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00:00Welcome back to another exciting episode, today brings us to Knoebel's.
00:29Knoebel's is a free admission amusement park in Pennsylvania, it is actually the oldest
00:41free admission amusement park in all of America, well the United States of America.
00:50So come along with us and see what you can see.
00:54As we go around, I'm going to let my new friend tell you all about Knoebel's.
01:03But before that happens, let me explain that we are here because my son's work had a group
01:10event and they invited us.
01:13They have all kinds of picnic areas under pavilions that you can reserve and we were
01:20given vouchers from the company that gave us $20 worth of tickets which was really cool.
01:27We just had to go over to the group planning center and redeem those coupons and we got
01:34a little $20 book of tickets that we could use.
01:38You can also buy additional ticket booklets for $5, $20 or $50 at pretty much any little
01:46kiosk throughout the park.
01:50Knoebel's Amusement Resort is a family owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove and
01:55campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
01:58Opened in 1926, it is the United States' largest free admission park.
02:03The park has more than 60 rides including three wooden roller coasters, three steel
02:08roller coasters, a 1913 carousel and two haunted house dark rides.
02:14This park is located in a small wooded valley in central Pennsylvania.
02:18In 1829, a local man by the name of Henry Knoebel purchased the land for $931, equivalent
02:24to $26,638 in 2025.
02:27The valley, originally known as Peggy's Farm, was used as farming land until the early 1900s
02:33when a creek fed swimming hole was introduced.
02:37Knoebel turned the property into a popular picnic destination, attracting Sunday travelers
02:42and horse-drawn hayride wagons.
02:44Soft drinks, ice cream and snacks were sold to visitors.
02:48As the popularity of Knoebel's Grove grew, Knoebel leased plots of land along the creeks
02:53for use as summer cottage sites.
02:55Some of these privately owned cottages, as well as cottages Knoebel built and rented,
03:00still exist on the property today.
03:03In 1926, Knoebel added a restaurant, a steam-powered Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel and
03:09a few simple games to his grove, marking the beginning of Knoebel's Amusement Park.
03:14On July 4, 1926, he opened a large concrete swimming pool on the site of the old swimming
03:20hole.
03:21With a filtration system that provided clean water instead of muddy creek water, the pool
03:26was named the Crystal Pool.
03:29Since then, the park has developed around the pool, adding over 50 rides, assorted games,
03:35concession stands and other attractions.
03:37A campground with six sites opened behind the amusement park in 1962, and as of 2004,
03:44the campground covered 160 acres with 500 sites.
03:48On June 22, 1972, South Branch Roaring Creek and Mugser Run Creeks rose six feet over their
03:54banks due to heavy rains from Hurricane Agnes.
03:58The flood destroyed six cottages and damaged many other buildings, including 24 of the
04:03park's 25 rides, as well as the roller rink.
04:06The roller rink building was refloored and used as a skating rink until the mid-1980s,
04:12when it was converted into the Roaring Creek Saloon, which now contains a concession stand,
04:17an arcade, the XD Theater, and performances.
04:21A new building constructed after the flood became the Haunted Mansion Dark Ride, which
04:26opened in 1973.
04:28The ride has been recognized as one of America's best dark rides by organizations such as Dark
04:34Ride and Funhouse Enthusiasts and the National Amusement Park Historical Association.
04:39The park again suffered major flooding in 1975, 1996, 2004, 2006, and 2011.
04:47Each caused substantial damage, but the 1975 and 1996 floods occurred during the off-season.
04:54Although the January 1996 flood left substantial damage, the worst occurred after the waters
04:59receded, when everything froze, making cleanup and repair throughout the amusement park difficult.
05:06The September 2004 flood caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan was only a half-day affair,
05:12and the amusement park partially reopened by mid-afternoon.
05:16On June 28, 2006, another large flood struck the park.
05:21About 90% of the amusement park was underwater just prior to the July 4th weekend, as the
05:27waters began to recede, 60% of the park's attractions were reopened within two days,
05:33and 90% within four days.
05:36Because over 100 tons of mud had to be dug out of the crystal pool, it was closed for
05:41ten days.
05:42The last ride to return to operation was the Kitty Panther Cars, whose repairs took almost
05:47three weeks.
05:49On September 7, 2011, the park experienced another flood, this time caused by Tropical
05:54Storm Lee.
05:56Water levels neared those of the flood of 1972, and damages exceeded that flood.
06:01The majority of the park reopened the following weekend, having missed only two days of operation.
06:07For the 2013 season, the park added Stratosphere, the park's tallest ride at 148 feet.
06:13In 2015, a new roller coaster opened named Impulse, which replaced two former rides,
06:19the Bumper Boats and Boat Tag.
06:21On July 23, 2018, the park was flooded when a creek overflowed.
06:26About 150 employees aided in cleaning up the park.
06:30The park then flooded again on July 25, 2018.
06:34The park reopened on July 27, 2018.
06:37In 2023, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum acquired a trolley that had been converted into a cottage
06:43at the park.
06:44The park and its rides have won awards from organizations such as Amusement Today, American
06:49Coaster Enthusiasts, and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
06:55In 2014, Travel Channel rated this park one of their Top 10 Family-Friendly Amusement
07:01Parks in the United States.
07:14Oh, and there are handicap-accessible bathrooms throughout the park in case you need them.
07:19And we did ride a lot of rides, including the teacups and the tilt-a-whirl.
07:50But my favorite was the only trackless roller coaster in the world, at least according to
07:59them, called the Flying Turns.
08:03The slogan was, they told us we couldn't build it, but we did it anyway.
08:08This roller coaster technically does not even run on a track.
08:14Though the inclines are pretty steep, nonetheless, they're always absolutely under control with
08:23centrifugal force, which makes the cars just as safe as riding a baby carriage.
08:30At least, that's according to some of the literature that you read before getting on
08:35this trackless coaster.
08:37We did have to wait in line for this ride because it is very popular.
08:42You do have to put all loose items in a basket before you go on the ride, and you cannot
08:49videotape on the ride unless you get extra special permission, and you have to have a
08:55special harness to hold your camera so it doesn't fly off and hurt anybody, which I
09:00just happened to have that harness.
09:02So let's go on a ride and see what it's like.
09:12Woo!
09:16Hahaha!
09:20Woohoo!
09:24Hahaha!
09:28Woohoo!
09:30Hahaha!
09:34Woohoo!
09:38Hahaha!
09:42This is awesome!
09:58Here we go!
10:02Hahaha!
10:06Hahaha!
10:10Hahaha!
10:14Hahaha!
10:18Hahaha!
10:22Woohoo!
10:26Woo!
10:30That is great!
10:56Woo!
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11:20Eli, what did you think?
11:26It was a very nice ride.
11:30Yes, I loved it.
11:38A family favorite, and one of our personal favorites, is Old Smoky.
11:44Now this is a train that takes you around the property, shows you some of the sights,
11:50and a few of the more forestry areas.
11:54It is a really nice ride, very relaxing, especially on a nice hot day.
11:59Let's see what Old Smoky has in store for us today.
12:14Woo!
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