Elysburg, Pennsylvania – Saturday, July 14th, 2012
You can buy unnecessary, somewhat expensive handcrafted household items here... how has this place not been overrun by hipsters already?
I had to check out their second historical carousel in closer detail.
Stein and Goldstein Carousel, which turned 100 years old in 2012.
Great to see the park is still family run after all of these years.
Murals honoring the surrounding Pennsylvania area.
Daniel Plainview in Kulpmont.
One of several band organs that can be found in Knoebels.
Click to view the video of the band organ and carousel in action.
Historical info. This would not be the last historical amusement attraction that Knoebels would rescue and restore at their park.
Old steam belcher
Knoebels' renewable energy department.
Ole Smokey train, one of two miniature railroads in operation at Knoebels.
Less typical amusement park souvenirs on sale here...
Whereas a theme park will simulate its relationship to history, at Knoebels the connection between past and present is much more real.
Kettle corn... I really shouldn't...
There's so much that's both wrong and right about details like these.
Knoebel's The Haunted House, also known as the Haunted Mansion for whatever reason.
Opening four years after Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, it's not difficult to see where they got some of their inspiration from. The inside, however, is far more traditional in design, filled with a non-sequitur of stunts and settings, including an arbitrary jungle scene with ooga-booga men and a trick rain curtain.
In addition to having one of the best collections of antique carousels in a single amusement park, Knoebels also has a carousel museum that's free with admission.
So I decided to check it out...
It's just a small one-room display, but you could still easily spend twenty to thirty minutes in here examining all the figures close-up and reading about their history.
A pair of menagerie figures over one hundred years old.
I believe the lioness was the oldest figure in Knoebel's possession.
I love the sadly expressive eyes on this wooden lioness. The world has long since passed her by yet here she still stands.
Carousel appreciation I'll admit is a big blind spot for me, which is a shame because even more than roller coasters or dark rides, carousels are most often regarded as works of art.
Ostrich
Nice review. I was there on a really nice Fall Sunday in 2012. Thanks for the photos of the Carousel Museum. I missed that when I was there, I’ll have to make sure I find it next time. I really enjoyed the park also. The sky ride wasn’t as happy as the one at Lake Compounce perhaps because it’s missing a Boulder Dash as you pointed out. My favorite thing was their Fascination, I wouldn’t mind crossing over to the other side mesmerized by the sound of those little rubber balls softly bouncing between the wood and plexiglass. I’m surprised you had no comment on the pricing structure the park uses. It’s fascinating in it’s own right. Free admission but All day wrist band for rides not including roller coasters, hand stamp for roller coasters, tickets for rides that do not accept wrist band or hand stamp, ticket for rides that do not accept the kind of ticket you purchased and cash only for attractions that do not accept either kind of ticket, wristband, or hand stamp. And tickets required for non-riders. I thought that was fun. I didn’t uncover the key for the snap on the flyers either but I did manage to just keep the flyer up flying high along the trees, which I preferred but never have seen anyone else do, I felt like was a defying some law of flyer physics. Those things are fun. I hope to go back there sometime.
Looks like you stayed in something like a Hyatt Place. Very simply put, the cost of consumer goods has fallen enough at this point that rooms like you’ll see at a Springhill Suites or Hyatt Place are actually affordable to the average person travelling. For a more basic room (and probably more chances for hookers/meth labs in adjoining rooms) there’s plenty of non-chain motels off the grid in cities like this who don’t do e-booking and might be cheaper, but they’re pits.
Realistically, if you’re in a position of travelling and can only afford $40 instead of $60, the place that’s charging $40 can be hell on earth and you’re not going to have an alternative.