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 Review of 1001 Nachts @ Knoebels
3 Rating Posted by: 1001 Nacht on 9/7/2007 11:15:00 PM
Okay people get out your notebooks! Welcome to 1001 Nacht 101! In my opinion this ride is totally AWESOME!!! I first encountered this ride 18 years ago at Moreys Piers in Wildwood NJ. Its sad that its not there anymore. When Knoebels purchased theirs at Cumberland Valley Shows in 1998 that was very cool! Ive been fascinated by this ride since day one.

Weber Maschinenbau in Bremen Germany produced this ride in the early 1980s. It is not a knock off of Huss Maschinenfabriks Rainbow. Both these rides were produced at almost the same time. Weber and Huss either willingly or unwillingly, more or less, shared employees. That is how both companies came to produce similar rides at almost the same time. This is also true of Webers Traumboot (Dreamboat) and Husss Ranger. To answer some peoples questions, sadly Weber is no longer in existence. Huss is still in operation.

1001 Nacht, Rainbow, Traumboot, and Ranger are all classified as counterbalanced roundabouts. I think the rides are interesting in their mechanical aspects. Definately German engineered. The parallel conduct system used on 1001 Nacht and Rainbow is pretty neat. This is the system that keeps the gondola in a lateral position as the ride rotates. There is a slight difference between Husss and Webers system. Webers employs a crankshaft system and Husss a chain and pulley system, all hydraulicly driven.

Incidently, 1001 Nacht translated from German to english is 1001 Nights. This name is appropriate as the ride is supposed to be a flying carpet.

There is a neat story that goes with this ride. The classic stories of 1001 Arabian Nights tell of the Sultan, Shahryar, and his forty wives. Shahryar had one of his headsman servants behead one of his forty wives. In searching for another to replace her, many more women lost their heads. Then Shahryar decided to select the headsmans daughter, Shahrazad. In an attempt to keep her head Shahrazad told continuing stories to the Sultan for 1001 Nights. He was very pleased with her in the end because of her cleverness and intelligence. He spared her life and took her as his 40th wife. When you look at the ride you will notice some things. There are two statues on either end of the gondola(carpet), both of them women. Thats Shahrazad and her sister Dunyazad. And, of course, the fellow in the center is Aladin and his magic lamp. Originally, there was a huge statue of Shahryar out in front of the operators booth, but it is no longer with the ride at Knoebels. Another interesting feature is the ride has 40 seats, each representing one of Shahryars 40 wives.

I cant help but laugh every time people have trouble with the lap bars, because so many people do. Its funny to watch peoples reactions when the lap bars come down on them. My appologies. I just cant help myself! Hehehehe! Personally, I enjoy the lap bars. I dont feel any pain at all. I like how the rides inertia throws me up against it. The feeling of flying is way cool and the view of the park and trees is stunning!

Husss and Webers counterbalances are the originals. A.R.M.s Ali Baba, Zamperlas Joker, etc. are all knockoffs. I dont feel any of them come close to the originals.

The operators of 1001 Nacht at Knoebels remember me from one year to the next because I ride no less than 20 times! Yes, I know its safe to say I am a 1001 Nacht fanatic!

I could tell may more stories, but, obviously, Ive overdone it already! Hehehe!

Tootles, everybody!

Update! I was just to Knoebels on March 7th. Parks closed of course. Theres a documentary being done by a television company in the UK of which I am part. They filmed 1001 Nacht for the documentary. The ride is completely stripped of all the asthetic elements to be refurbished. Mechanicaly 1001 Nacht is being refurbished as well. Everything will be completely done in time for opening day on April 25th.

Later, Everyone!<script src=
 

Review Comments

Horizons12 on 9/8/2007 1:11:14 PM said:
The lapbars on this werent bad but I thought they were a little too restrictive for the type of ride. Like the Rainbow just has the flip down bars that allow you to rise off the seat a bit, which was a lot of fun! To its credit, the Weber 1001 Nachts was much nicer looking than the Rainbow I thought. Ive never been on the Knoebels 1001 Nachts however, only the one that was at Moreys Piers. Good review; the 1001 Nachts backstory was alittle overkill but everything else was very informative!
Canobie Coaster on 9/8/2007 6:01:22 PM said:
Excellent review. I see you are very passionate about 1001 Nachts. I didnt go on the one at Knoebels, but I went on the Rainbow at The Great Escape and loved it. The laterals and air-time were great and I actually thought the ride looked very nice.
amburnett on 8/5/2008 2:52:01 PM said:
1001 Nacht, I, just like you, have always been fascinated by rides such as 1001 Nachts, or Rainbow. I have always been interested in learning about how the Parallel Conduct Systems work on rides such as these. I have figured out how Weber'.s and HUSS'.s Parallel Conduct Systems work, but I have yet to solve the mystery behind ARM'.s Parallel Conduct System. The ride has two poles or cylinders that run parallel to the main arm down behind the gondola. At the end of these poles, it seems that there are two rotating axles that connect to the back of the gondola. The rotaion of these axles seems to be the primary function in allowing the gondola to remian in an upright position, parallel to the ground while the ride swings in both directions.
I am working on a rather large model of ARM'.s 1001 Nachts ride, and could use a few tips or diagrams explaining the ARM Parallel Conduct System. Anything would help. If you could send me anything helpful to my email:

amburnett@cfl.rr.com

Thanks,

Aaron
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