Knoebels Crystal Pool

Knoebels Crystal Pool

(Figure 1)

One of the first things that visitors at Knoebels notice is not just all the great smells like fresh popped kettle corn,  and many other Golden-Ticket award winning foods, and the many sounds of children's cheers riding the 60+ rides, but also the sights are always drawn to the very large bright green 850,000 gallon crystal clear pool which stands in the heart of Knoebels.  The pool has 4 diving boards.  Two of the diving boards stand an impressive 3 meters tall, one has an old-fashion wooden board and the other has a spring board.  The next size is a 1 meter with a spring board, and the smallest one is only a half meter for those not daring enough to take on the intimidating 3 meter climb.  The main pool also has a great big brown stone fountain that is settled in the middle of the pool with water majestically flowing down the sides at a constant rate.   There are also two metal slides, one in the shallow end for the youngsters, and one in the 5-ft area for the young at heart. "Our pool is filled with refreshing water that comes straight from the Mugsters Run creek that flows right through Knoebels," says Park Facilities Manager, Jeff Kashner, who stands tall with short brown hair and a vibrant blue shirt with the name Knoebels stitched into the right side of his shirt over his chest.  It takes about 24 hours to fill Knoebels' massive pool. 

(Figure 2)

Tucked away in the back is a delightfully contained area for children who haven't quite learned how to swim yet and just want to get a feel for the water, yet enjoy the sights and feel of creek water beneath their feet. "Back in our kiddie pool area, we have many different things for young children to play on, and to simply have a great time" says Kashner.  There are swings for babies to sit in, a bright blue splash pad with water spraying skyward from it, a large purple mushroom with water cascading from the top flowing down the sides.  "One of the biggest hits in our kiddie pool is the inviting frog slide," says Kashner with a small chuckle.  The slide is bright green with little dark green spots all around it with a large pink tongue rolled out for children to slide down.  They also have 2 baby frogs for children to sit on, along with 2 purple whales that spray water when you rock back and forth on them.  "Many of our guests have little kids, and this is the perfect area for the parents to come and just get their feet wet and have a great time with their children," exclaimed Kashner.  

(Figure 3)

At the KCP there are many other fun things to do than just swimming in the large swimming pool and kiddie pool area.  In the other corner of the pool complex, there is a huge net that is suspended from the trees and supported by large metal bars.  It's called the Nets O' Fun.  "We often have adult customers come up to our staff and ask if they aloud to climb on the nets, or are they just for the kids?" shared Jeff Kashner.  With a chuckle under their breath and a smile on their face, they kindly reply "yes of course, they are for anyone".  The nets are a  favorite entertainment area at the pool for both young and "young at heart".  However, the greatest hit is probably the 2 different water slides at the Knoebels pool.  The tube slide is 2 grand, dark blue colored tubes that are very windy and shoot you out at the bottom (figure 3).  At the tube slide, there are big yellow inflated inner tubes with blue handles on the sides.  Some of the tubes have green tiger stripes.  You can either choose from a single or a double tube to share the fun with a friend.  To get to the top of this slide, you have to be willing to ascend a tremendously long and towering incline.  Once you get to the top, you sit with your bottom end in the center of the tube, and let the water swish you down the slide.  If you just take a short walk across the deck, you will see the dark green speed slide.  On this ride you do not use a yellow tube, you use a squishy foam blue mat with handles on the top of it.  This slide has quite the walk to the top as well.  Instead of riding on your butt though, you lay flat on your stomach, chin up and elbows tucked against your body.  This slide is incredibly fast and rockets you all the way to the end of the slide.


Since the pool is so enormous, they need many lifeguards to diligently watch all the people in the pool.  "We always have 12 or more lifeguards on the pool at once," says Jeffrey Kashner Jr., Pool Manager at Knoebels, with light brown hair and a bright orange shirt with the Knoebels logo printed on the left upper chest. "No matter if there are hundreds of people or just 3 people, we always have  12 or more guards spread out on the pool at a time," says Jeffrey with a serious look on his face. The Knoebels Crystal Pool, KCP for short, employs over 50 lifeguards and approximately 45 slide guards.  The lifeguards and slide guards have to go through a tenacious training every year.  They also meet every Saturday morning before the pool opens to the public to go over the training.  Every guard has to be certified in CPR and first aide, often certified by their very own head lifeguard Matt Weller, who is certified to train and certify others in life guarding and CPR, AED (Automatic External Defibrillator), and first aid.  He is also a water safety instructor, as well as certified pool operator.  At the Saturday trainings the guards use each other to practice making a save and how to properly use the backboard to prepare for any type of emergency. 

(Figure 4)

The pool is often used as a spot where most of the gatherings are held for the employees.     Knoebels treats all of their employees remarkable.  They put on many different events just for the workers quit often.  One of the main events is the block party.  The block party use to be held in and around the different spots in the park, but they moved it to the pool because it brings everyone closer together.  There're different themes every year.  "The them of the block party this year was A Night In Hollywood"said Jeffrey.  At the block party they have a pig roast and get pizza from Cesari's Pizza in the park.  They always have fun games, and a raffle ticket give away with lots of great prizes.  Another main event that the pool holds is the boat regatta.  This event is held every other year.  Each department makes a boat out of only cardboard and duck tape.  Then they race them from the deep end of the pool to the shallow end. "Everyone always has such a great time at the boat regatta", stated Jeff.  "All the different departments cheer for their team mates", he continued.   There are a couple awards that the different departments can win.  The titanic is for the boat that sinks the fastest.  Best design goes to the most creative boat.  The last one is the over all winner.  "We (the Pool) have won this award (over all winner) for many years in a row, and every year the departments try to beat us", proclaimed Jeff.  "We're undefeated champs, woooo" cheered one of the employees walking by.  He was helping close the pool to prepare for the winter.  Interesting fact that not many people may know, is that although the pool is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day each year, Knoebels employees over 200 full time employees year round making improvements to the pool as well as every aspect of the Park itself.