Gallop on horseback with the famous United States mail service riders...
Gallop on horseback with the famous United States mail service riders...
Theme Park | Knott's Berry Farm |
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Park Area | Ghost Town |
Type | Rollercoaster |
Audience | Older Families and Thrillseekers |
Opened | 22 May 2008 |
Manufacturer | Zamperla |
Model | Moto Coaster |
Height | 44 ft |
Length | 1250 ft |
Inversions | 0 |
Max Speed | 38 mph |
Duration | 1 minute |
Named after the famous US mail service, Pony Express allows Knott's visitors to gallop on horseback through the Wild West.
The rollercoaster features horse-style seats which riders mount, before being launched forwards with their ponies reaching over 30MPH in just a few seconds. From there, the horses follow a delivery route passing over hills and curves past the River Rapids and the Calico Railroad tracks to ensure the mail is delivered in time.
Pony Express was manufactured by Zamperla and is a customised version of their Moto Coaster design, with the usual motorbikes replaced by horse themed seats.
The ride is an ok-ish family rollercoaster, although certainly not among the most thrilling or spectacular coasters that Knott's Berry Farm has on offer. While the launch is fun the rest of the layout is unexciting, comprising a simple figure-of-eight with some hills mixed in. The only real excitment comes as the ponies pass through a tunnel over the rapids. It's rather short as well - most of the ride time is consumed by travelling between the station and launch, and the final brakes back to the station. The actual time from launch to final brakes is barely 30 seconds.
At a small regional park, Pony Express would probably be a better fit. However, despite the theme which fits well into the park's Ghost Town area, Pony Express feels a weak addition to Knott's Berry Farm.