Pilots Take a Hand on New Knott’s Ride That Creates Barrel Rolls of Excitement

Think of Knott’s Berry Farm’s new XK-1 attraction as Disneyland’s decades-old Tomorrowland rockets on steroids. Or a Kirilian carnival ride for Han Solo.

The $2-million XK-1, which opened to the public over Memorial Day Weekend and was previewed for the press Friday, takes the same concept as the Disneyland rockets--simulated flight during which the pilot has some degree of control over the vehicle--and gives it, quite literally, a new twist.

For in addition to the control stick that allows would-be jet pilots at Disneyland to make their rockets ascend or descend while rotating high above the ground, the XK-1 lets riders execute 360-degree barrel rolls in either direction. And, hold on to your pocket change, the ride lets the truly unflappable turn their cockpits 180 degrees and leave them there, even if only for 4 seconds before the cabin automatically rights itself.

That may not sound like very long but if you are upside down, spinning at 10 revolutions per minute at the end of an arm that’s 70 feet off the ground to begin with, it feels plenty long enough. And for what looks from the ground like a fleeting 90-second spin, it’s an unexpectedly satisfactory time aloft.

Unless you were to embark on a continuous series of rolls for the entire trip--the prospect of which may actually enthrall some titanium-stomached riders--the XK-1 is a less nausea-inducing ride than, say, the spinning teacups at Disneyland. And it lacks the stomach-dropping lurch of the major roller coasters.

XK-1, designed by a Swiss manufacturer of amusement park rides, looks like a mutant metal squid with 20 arms attached to a central shaft around which they spin. At the end of each arm is a small, two-passenger car, or cockpit. Inside is a T-shaped bar lap restraint and an overhead chest restraint that are locked into position by the ride operator. So once you’re in, you’re in. (At the press preview, one arm didn’t return completely to the lowered position at the end of the cycle, which forced technicians to vent the stuck piston manually; meanwhile, all the other riders remained pinned in their XK-1s.)

When the ride begins, the arms rise and start to rotate simultaneously, as the pilot experiments with the “joystick” on the floor between the two seats. This stub should have been shaped a little more like a handle to fit comfortably in the palm--perhaps design safety precluded this bit of (Tom) Swiftian fantasy fulfillment.

All in all, the XK-1 seems well worth its $2-million cost, something that can’t be said as enthusiastically for “Whirlpool,” a $1-million attraction that also opened over the weekend as part of the park’s $4-million summer expansion.

Advertisements claim that “Whirlpool” will “take riders to new dimensions in disorientation” by creating “the impression that they have descended below the surface of the ocean.”

The idea, it would seem, is a visit to the lost city of Atlantis without getting your shoes wet.

But in this case, it’s the ads that are all wet. It turns out that “Whirlpool” is simply the old Scrambler, long a popular thrill ride at carnivals. This scrambler is in a darkened room with underwater scenes painted on the walls while strobe lights flash overhead and thumping dance music booms out of loudspeakers.

Of those on the first couple of rides on Friday, most (this reporter included) didn’t get it. For a ride reportedly costing $1 million, it would be tempting to suggest that Knott’s should go ask for change.

The remaining $1 million was poured into the “Incredible Waterworks Show,” which, we are told, delivers its full effect only after dark, when the colored lights, lasers and pyrotechnics come into play.

Knott’s Berry Farm, at 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, is open daily, 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday. Admission, including all park attractions, is $14.95 to $19.95. Information: (714) 220-5200.