Knott’s Winter Coaster Solace Deemed a Success Despite Rain

What was billed as a chance for Eastern roller coaster enthusiasts to escape winter turned out to be a rainy March day at Knott’s Berry Farm--hardly amusement park weather. But patrons said few spirits were dampened as they listened to ride experts speak, chowed down on chicken dinners and enjoyed exclusive access to attractions such as the big wooden coaster GhostRider.

Having attracted more than 250 members of coaster fan clubs Saturday, the Winter Coaster Solace at Knott’s was deemed successful enough to become an annual affair.

“We’re pretty pleased with [the turnout] in the rain, when the granddaddy of all coaster events draws 600 to 700 in June,” Knott’s spokesman Bob Ochsner said. (That granddaddy, CoasterMania, is an annual assembly of thrill junkies at Cedar Point, the Ohio flagship park of Knott’s Berry Farm’s owner, Cedar Fair LP.)

When afternoon rains shut down GhostRider before the second exclusive riding session, Knott’s handed out complimentary one-day passes allowing the coaster fans to return. “The park treated us very well, no question about it,” said Shawn Mamros, a 33-year-old software engineer from near Boston who flew in Friday night to attend the $38 event and returned home Sunday.

Mamros, who has ridden 197 coasters, said he has a particular fondness for the wooden attractions-- and for him, GhostRider is one of the best. He met a dozen previous acquaintances during his visit to Buena Park and was able to assign faces to the names of many more enthusiasts he knows from Internet chat.

“I can understand why someone would say ‘Why fly all the way out for one day in an amusement park,’ ” said Mamros, one of about 60 attendees from outside Southern California. “The main attraction is just the desire to get to a park and ride coasters while everything [on the East Coast] is closed. They don’t run coasters in the snow, you know.”