Specific Type: Wild Mouse, Enclosed
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Kennywood Park has always been known for excellence in both roller coasters and dark rides. During the West Mifflin, Pennsylvania amusement park's ride-packed history of well over 100 years , coasters of both wooden and steel varieties, such as the 1921's classic Jack Rabbit and Steel Phantom of 1991 (now Phantom's Revenge), have found a spot that they call "home" at Kennywood. In the dark ride category, everything from Old Mill of 1901 to Gold Rusher of 1981 has made residence in the park, but never before had Kennywood Park combined the two types of experiences into one, until 1999's Exterminator. Exterminator brings dark ride and coaster together by enclosing a wild mouse-type ride in a building complete with heavy theming throughout. Created by Reverchon, who is known for their top-notch mice coasters, and designed by R & R Creative Amusement Designs, the Kennywood version twists along a compact layout, featuring cars with the ability to spin 360 degrees at select points of the layout to create added surprise for unsuspecting riders. Mouse cars navigate the 1,377-foot long layout of Exterminator, reaching speeds of twenty miles per hour during the ride, all combined with a shroud of darkness over the ride for maximum effect.
Guests wanting to ride Exterminator travel to the edge of the park, into Lost Kennywood, before catching sight of the ride's entrance. Future riders travel underground and into the coaster's building as the queuing line winds around in the dark. Finally, one of nine round, four-rider rodent-themed vehicles is boarded, and leaving the loading area rolls into a tunnel and curves to the left. The track heads up the lift hill and climbs to a height of fifty feet, where riders prepare for what's to come. After reaching the top, the carload of passengers slides off of the lift and rounds the first hairpin U-turn to the left, then a second sharp curve in the opposite direction. After another turn, Exterminator plunges down the ride's largest drop and enters a themed room before climbing back up and making another leftwards curve and dipping back down to the floor again. Suddenly, the car begins to rotate as it navigates a sharp curve to the right, then reverses direction for another hairpin turn. After another drop, thrill-seekers encounter a small hop and a dose of negative g's, then fly around several more curves and enters the brakes. If you want the wild ride of your life, get to Kennywood to take on the Exterminator! |
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