Sierra Sidewinder, Steel spinning roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California
Sierra Sidewinder is a steel roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. The train is made up of cars that spin freely as the ride moves, so passengers rotate in different directions rather than always facing forward.
The ride was built by Mack Rides, a manufacturer based in Germany, and opened at Knott's Berry Farm in May 2007. It was the eighth roller coaster to join the park's lineup.
The Sierra Sidewinder sits in the Camp Snoopy section of the park, an area designed around the Peanuts characters that families with younger children tend to gravitate toward. Snoopy and his friends appear throughout the zone, giving it a recognizable look that sets it apart from the rest of the park.
Riders need to meet a minimum height requirement to board, so check the posted sign before joining the line. Because the cars spin, the experience can feel very different depending on where you sit, so a second ride often feels nothing like the first.
When it opened in 2007, this was the first roller coaster in the United States where multiple cars on the same train spin independently at the same time. This means no two rides are exactly alike, even if you sit in the same seat each time.
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