HangTime is a steel dive coaster at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, built by Germany’s Gerstlauer Amusement Rides. It opened to the public on May 18, 2018, replacing the site once occupied by the Boomerang shuttle coaster and the RipTide Top Spin ride, and was marketed as the first dive coaster in the state.
Themed around 1960s Southern California surf culture, HangTime is best known for its opening move: a vertical lift hill that crests 150 feet before plunging riders down a beyond-vertical 96-degree drop, officially the steepest in California. From there the ride threads through five inversions, including a negative-g stall, a corkscrew, and a cobra roll, across 2,198 feet of track.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, California
- Manufacturer: Gerstlauer Amusement Rides (Infinity Coaster model)
- Opened: May 18, 2018
- Height: 150 feet
- Top speed: 57 mph
- Length: 2,198 feet
- Inversions: 5
- Drop angle: 96 degrees
The Ride Experience
Riders board 16-passenger trains for a slow, deliberate vertical chain lift to 150 feet, pausing riders at the top before the beyond-vertical descent. The near one-and-a-quarter-minute ride then works through a negative-g stall loop, a corkscrew, a tight cutback maneuver, and a cobra roll, all built into a compact surf-themed footprint near the park’s Boardwalk area.
Replacing a Knott’s Classic
HangTime’s site previously held Boomerang, a shuttle loop coaster that closed in April 2017, and the RipTide Top Spin ride, which closed in 2016. Announced in August 2017 and built over the following months, HangTime became the park’s marquee steel coaster addition and the second Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster installed in the United States, after The Monster at Adventureland in Iowa.
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HangTime FAQs
How tall is HangTime at Knott’s Berry Farm?
HangTime’s lift hill reaches 150 feet before the ride’s signature 96-degree drop.
What company built HangTime?
HangTime was built by Gerstlauer Amusement Rides of Germany as an Infinity Coaster model.
Is HangTime the steepest coaster in California?
Yes, its 96-degree first drop is billed as the steepest drop of any roller coaster in California.
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Photo: METRO96 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.