Phoenix
E3 · Wooden Wonders
E3 · № 59/150
Phoenix
Knoebels Amusement Resort · US · Philadelphia Toboggan Company Herbert Schmeck out-and-back (relocated 1947 'Rocket')
“The old Rocket came north and rose again among Pennsylvania trees.”
UNOFFICIAL · NOT PARK-ENDORSED
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Fast facts
- Phoenix is an operating wooden roller coaster at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. coasterpedia.net
- The ride stands 23.8 metres, or seventy-eight feet, tall. knoebels.com
- Phoenix reaches 72 kilometres per hour, or forty-five miles per hour. knoebels.com
- It has zero inversions. coasterpedia.net
- Phoenix opened at Knoebels on June 15, 1985. coasterpedia.net
- The coaster was manufactured by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters and designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck. coasterpedia.net
- The purchase and relocation are reported to have cost $1.5 million. scottsanfilippo.com
The story of Phoenix
Before it greeted visitors in the shaded lanes of Knoebels, this coaster lived in Texas as The Rocket at Playland Park in San Antonio. Its new name was well chosen, for the ride’s second life became the story by which many travellers first learned of Knoebels’ quiet ambition. knoebels.com· coasterpedia.net
Knoebels brought the coaster north and rebuilt it in 1985, placing Philadelphia Toboggan Company timber and Herbert Schmeck geometry into the rolling, tree-covered hills of central Pennsylvania. The official park history calls this period The Phoenix Era, when the reborn coaster helped open a new chapter for the resort. knoebels.com· coasterpedia.net
Its statistics remain modest and handsome: seventy-eight feet tall, forty-five miles per hour, and no inversions. The pleasure is in the old craft of the out-and-back journey, the station queue on a warm afternoon, and the train returning with the brisk satisfaction of a wooden machine well kept. knoebels.com· coasterpedia.net
The wider amusement world has treated Phoenix with unusual affection. In 2021, Amusement Today recorded Phoenix at Knoebels as the Best Wooden Coaster and noted that it was the ride’s third time receiving that honor. amusementtoday.com
Sources
- coasterpedia.net Preferred source
- knoebels.com Acceptable source
- scottsanfilippo.com Acceptable source
- knoebels.com Acceptable source
- amusementtoday.com Acceptable source
This background is AI-drafted from public sources and human-reviewed before publishing — approved 20 August 2026.