Knott's Berry Farm · Operating · 2008

Pony Express

44 ft · 38 mph

Photo: See Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Family rideKnott's Berry Farm Official park siteGhost Town

Zamperla44 ft · 38 mph

The first Zamperla Moto Coaster built in the United States, Pony Express straps riders into horse-saddle-style seats and launches them from 0 to 38 mph in about three seconds. A flywheel-and-clutch system sends trains through 1,300 feet of banked hills up to 44 feet tall. It opened in 2008 on the former Wilderness Scrambler site, themed to the historic Old West mail route.

Specifications

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Ride profile

Scaled against Knott's Berry Farm's operating coasters

LaunchFamilySteel

Park intensity

Height

44 ft

#7 of 8 at Knott's Berry Farm

Height44 ft

Speed38 mph

Length1,300 ft

InversionsNone

Ride experience

Launch
Family
Steel

Specs from sixflags.com

Learn more

All guides

Launched coasters

Motors or hydraulics replace or supplement the lift hill for rapid acceleration.

Mine train coasters

Smaller trains, winding layouts, and family-friendly pacing — often themed as mining adventures.

Flywheel launches

Store energy in a spinning mass, then dump it into the train in one burst — classic hydraulic acceleration feel.

How launches work

LIM, LSM, hydraulic — different ways to shove a train from rest to serious speed.

History

Sourced timeline and background for Pony Express.

Timeline

2008
Pony Express opens to the public
Replaces the Wilderness Scrambler in the Ghost Town/Wild Water Wilderness area.
Source

Background

Zamperla had recently introduced its Moto Coaster model — a launch coaster with straddled, motorbike-style seating and a flywheel launch system — when Knott's became the first American park to install one, choosing to reskin the concept around the historic Pony Express mail route rather than a generic motorcycle theme.

The ride replaced the aging Wilderness Scrambler on a site bridging Ghost Town and Wild Water Wilderness, giving trains horse-saddle-style seats instead of Zamperla's standard motorbike design. A flywheel-and-clutch launch system flings riders from a standstill to 38 mph in about three seconds, sending them through 1,300 feet of banked hills at up to 44 feet tall in a ride lasting well under a minute.

Pony Express opened May 22, 2008, giving Knott's a launch coaster themed specifically to its Old West setting and making it one of only two Zamperla Moto Coasters built anywhere in the world at the time, alongside a motorcycle-themed installation at another park.

The ride remains a distinctive family launch coaster nearly two decades later, its horse-themed trains and Wild West branding setting it apart from every other Moto Coaster installation that followed elsewhere.