Silver Bullet Shoots to Top

We have all seen the commercials. “More bang for your buck!” And that’s the golden truth for this western themed roller coaster, Silver Bullet, at Knott’s Berry Farm.

Silver Bullt is a suspended roller coaster that zooms guests through six inversions to a height of 146 feet above the ground. Two minutes and 9 seconds is all it takes to cover 3,125 feet of unbelievably smooth track, even through the loops and spirals that make you feel like you are flying free like a bullet.

Being called Silver Bullet, one would assume that the track or cars would be silver.

“With attention to detail, ride designers realized that when a bullet is fired out of a gun it does not retain its color but becomes hot red and yellow,” explains Susan Dust, director of Knott’s Berry Farm public relations.

The track is a bright red and yellow, the cars are orange and red with a splash of turquoise to indicate a cooling of the bullet.

The Silver Bullet roller coaster adds to the wild west feel of the park. With a western theme face on the log ride and an old-time locomotive from Camp Snoopy for the kids winding below, add some desert setttings and visitors feel they are really part of the old west.

Silver Bullet is the seventh coaster added to Knotts. At a cost of $16 million, this coaster - with a mximum speed of 55 mph - is worth every penny. The coaster is one of those rides you get off of and feel that you must ride again, even if there is a long wait. Thankfully, on weekdays, the wait time is only about five to 10 minutes. On weekends, the wait will jump to about an hour. Even at an hour, Knott’s new roller coaster is going to be a popular attraction that will thrill riders.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Charly Shelton will be a junior at Crescenta Valley High School in the fall.