construction photos April 2010
construction photos November 2009
COMING TO KENNYWOOD - SPRING OF 2010
A seriously twisted, pulse detonating, Supercharged, stratospheric new ride Experience! Feel the seismic surge of a launch that takes you from zero to 50 in under 3 seconds! Take a fulll-throttle, 95-ft. Vertical climb and say adios to gravity as you go over-the-top and plummet 90-degrees due south! It’s an upside down, downside up, sky-flying adventure you won’t soon forget. Come feel the rush of a fully caffeinated, double-shot adrenaline espresso…on rails.
This morning it was announced that Sunday, August 16, would be the last day of operation for the Turnpike, as the ride will be removed to make way for...a new roller coaster!
Kennywood's newest roller coaster doesn't yet have a name, but we're assured it will have a fitting one well before the time it opens. This is the first adult coaster installed at the park since 1999 when The Exterminator debuted. It will fit within the footprint of The Turnpike, making it a compact coaster, but one packed with thrills, including a LSM launch, vertical climb, vertical drop, strong G-forces, airtime, and three inversions including a Top Hat element. The coaster, which tops out at 95-feet, is being designed and built by Premier Rides of Millersville, Maryland. It will utilized two trains, each carrying 12 passengers.
The park describes a ride on the new coaster as follows: After leaving the station, the train enters a curve to a LSM launch where it are accelerated to a speed of approximately 50 mph. The vehicle is launched up a vertical hill--riders see only the sky ahead. There is a slight moment of pause (cliff hanger effect) before riders experience the thrill and fear of "falling off of a cliff", going straight down and through a maximum G pullout. The riders enjoy extended airtime as the vehicle races into a top hat element (first inversion). The train passes through a barrel roll (second inversion), go vertical again through a "twist up" before pausing again. Riders experience a second "cliff fall", followed by another maximum G pull out and then race into a highly banked fan curve. Riders will be thrilled by a traditional corkscrew (third inversion), curve to a zero G hill, and lastly, a series of wave turns before the final brake zone and return to the station.
The ride is expected to be operating in time for Coaster Con XXXIII, ACE's annual convention, which begins June 20, 2010.
Media release
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