We love Knott’s. Aside from being the birthplace of the Halloween Haunt, this is one of the best theme parks on earth. They have really been enjoying a renaissance of sorts over the past few years with the renovations of both the Log Ride and Mine Ride,  Iron Reef, a redone Camp Snoopy, a new slew of family rides in Boardwalk, the brilliant Boysenberry Festival, and the THEA Award-winning Ghost Town Alive. They continue on their winning streak with the brand new thrill coaster, Hangtime that easily ranks as the best addition to the park since Silver Bullet arrived in 2004.

The first Dive Coaster in California, Hangtime towers 150 feet over the Boardwalk section of the park. The iconic vertical lift hill pulls riders straight up before then holding them dangling over the 96º drop. Once released the coaster careens into a course of 5 total inversions and 2,198 feet of track. The surreal tangle of steel painted a light, pacific blue and creamy tan seems as if it would be a painful, nerve-jangling gambit. On the contrary, the new, ergonomic seats, coupled with the seatbelt and oversized lapbar, leave riders’ upper-half totally unharnessed giving the sensation of flight.

At night, the eye-popping LED lights track the coaster trains along the track while putting on a light show of their own. The experience is, for sure, much better at night with this beautiful bit of lighting design.

As far as the intensity goes, really, it looks so much more intense than it actually is. I would put this on par with Sierra Sidewinder for intensity, leaving Silver Bullet, Ghostrider, and Xcelerator as the three most intense coasters in the park. The trains careen and glide along the track, pulling just enough G’s without being too much.

The load time might be a minor issue until the team running the attraction finds a groove.

I gotta say, this one is a total blast.