Exterminator (roller coaster)

Last updated
Exterminator
Exterminator Sign.jpg
Entrance to the attraction
Kennywood
Location Kennywood
Coordinates 40°23′22″N79°52′04″W / 40.389443°N 79.867657°W / 40.389443; -79.867657
StatusOperating
Opening dateApril 18, 1999
General statistics
Type Steel  Enclosed
Manufacturer Reverchon Industries
DesignerReverchon Industries
ModelSpinning Coaster
Track layoutWild Mouse
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height42.7 ft (13.0 m)
Length1,377.9 ft (420.0 m)
Speed29.1 mph (46.8 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration1:48 (2:30 including start/stop)
Capacity900 riders per hour
G-force 2.5
Height restriction46 in (117 cm)
Trains9 trains with a single car. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 4 riders per train.
Exterminator at RCDB

Exterminator is a steel roller coaster located at Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The coaster was manufactured by Reverchon Industries. It opened on April 18, 1999.

Contents

The ride is heavily themed around the concept of the rider as a rat attempting to escape from exterminators. The concept is a pun on the phrase '' wild mouse", the type of spinning coaster that Exterminator is. Like other spinning wild mouse coasters, the cars face forward for the first half of the ride, but are free to spin during the second half.

History

In September 1998, Kennywood officially announced Exterminator as their sixth roller coaster and the park's first indoor coaster, complimenting the park's history of iconic dark rides. Described as "a subterranean roller coaster adventure", the ride is fast, rough, includes a few sudden falls, and ends with a fast finale that includes flashing lights and the car seemingly spinning out of control. [1] The coaster itself was manufactured by Reverchon Industries, while the ride's storyline and theming were developed by R&R Creative Amusement Designs. The ride's four exterminator animatronics were designed by Sally Corporation.

The ride held a media day on April 16, 1999 to news personnel and members of roller coaster enthusiast organizations such as American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) before officially opening to the public on April 18.

When the park introduced their Speedy Pass virtual queue system in 2022, some of the props in the queue room were removed to make room for a separate line for guests using Speedy Pass.

Ride experience

Queue

Riders enter the queue line through a concrete tunnel passing underneath the ride's logo. Turning right, the riders walk down a short ramp and then turn left into the main queue room, themed to an underground electrical substation decorated with electrical cabinets, fuse boxes, gauges, and meters. A red button located on the far side of the room can be pushed by guests and after a certain number of pushes, it activates two sirens mounted to the ceiling which light up red and sound a loud buzzer. [2]

Ride

Exterminator's loading station Kennywood - 48555573146.jpg
Exterminator's loading station

Entering the dimly-lit loading station, riders enter the four passenger rat-themed cars and are secured with a seatbelt and an overhead lap bar. The car is dispatched and passes by a large exhaust fan and a pair of large red eyes staring from a hole in the left wall. Continuing straight down a dark hallway, an animatronic exterminator dressed in a bright orange hazmat suit appears, aiming a poison gas gun at the riders. In the ride's earlier years, the exterminators would blast fog illuminated by green light, giving the riders the illusion of being sprayed with rat poison. The car makes a sharp turn to the left and begins to ascend the lift hill. Nearing the top of the hill, a spotlight reveals another exterminator animatronic standing on the left side of the track, who calls for backup into his radio.

The car crests the top of the hill and makes a sharp turn to the left into a straightaway where another exterminator waits at the end of the hall and tries to blast the riders as the car makes a U-turn. Making another U-turn, the car rolls toward a large electrical transformer, which the car swerves away from with a hairpin turn. After navigating another hairpin turn, the car passes under a sign reading "Danger - Boiler Room". The car then makes a sharp left turn into the ride's first drop into a large boiler room, passing by a giant furnace.

The car rises again making two more left turns into its biggest drop. The car ascends into a double-up and encounters another exterminator animatronic as it takes a left turn into another hallway. At the end of the hall is a large mirror that creates an illusion of colliding with another car. As the car makes another U-turn, the spin lock mechanism on the car disengages, allowing the car to spin freely. The car spins out of control through three hairpin turns in pitch darkness before emerging at the gates of the giant furnace. The car enters the furnace illuminated by bright red lights, completing a wide turn, before exiting the furnace into a sudden dip and a final "bunny hop" hill. The car turns left into the final brake run in the station, slowing down and re-locking the spinning mechanism.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinning roller coaster</span> Type of roller coaster

A spinning roller coaster is a roller coaster with cars that rotate on a vertical axis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster</span> Enclosed steel wild mouse roller coaster

Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster is an enclosed steel wild mouse roller coaster located at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is based on the 2002 live action film Scooby-Doo, which was filmed at the studio adjacent to the park at the same time the ride was being constructed. In 2018 the ride underwent a significant theming overhaul and reopened in December under the name Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster: Next Generation with a new ride storyline, new theming and new special effects. It closed for refurbishment in January 2023 and is set to reopen in 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster Transport</span> Defunct roller coaster at Cedar Point

Disaster Transport was an enclosed steel bobsled roller coaster built by Intamin at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It was notable as being the only indoor roller coaster at Cedar Point, the only bobsled roller coaster in the Midwestern United States, and the only enclosed bobsled roller coaster in the world at its debut. The name of the ride stems from a rearrangement of the letters "Dispatch MasterTransport", which could still be seen in the ride's logo in its later years. Before the ride was enclosed, the supports and outer sides of the track were painted blue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nighthawk (roller coaster)</span> Steel roller coaster

The Nighthawk is a steel flying roller coaster from Vekoma located at Carowinds amusement park. The roller coaster is located in the Thunder Road section of the park. The roller coaster originally opened as Stealth at California's Great America on April 1, 2000. In 2003, Paramount Parks decided to relocate the roller coaster to Carowinds. It reopened as Borg Assimilator – the first coaster in the world to be themed to Star Trek – on March 20, 2004. After Cedar Fair purchased Carowinds in 2006, Paramount themes were soon removed from the park, and the ride was renamed Nighthawk. It is one of only two Flying Dutchman models still in existence from Vekoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bat (Kings Island; opened 1993)</span> Suspended roller coaster at Kings Island

The Bat, formerly called Flight Deck and Top Gun, is a suspended roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Built by Arrow Dynamics, the ride was known as Top Gun when it opened in 1993. It is the park's second suspended coaster following an earlier prototype from Arrow Development — also called The Bat – that operated at Kings Island from 1981 to 1983. The layout is designed to give riders the illusion they are narrowly missing track supports and other elements while swinging through sharp turns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantasy Island (UK amusement park)</span> A Resort Theme Park on the East Coast of Lincolnshire.

Fantasy Island is a Resort Theme Park located in Ingoldmells on the East Coast of Lincolnshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystery Mine</span> Steel roller coaster at Dollywood

Mystery Mine is a steel roller coaster located at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, the Euro-Fighter model is heavily themed as a haunted mining operation from the 19th century. The roller coaster was Dollywood's largest single investment in the park's history at the time, costing $17.5 million to construct. A large portion of the track is located indoor, where the ride utilizes a series of special effects. It was the first Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter installation in the United States and had the steepest drop of any coaster in North America at the time of its opening. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

Reverchon Industries is a developer, designer and manufacturer of amusement park attractions that were sold all over the world. Its production unit is still set in the French city of Samois-sur-Seine, near Fontainebleau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gold Coaster</span> Steel roller coaster at Dreamworld

The Gold Coaster is a steel roller coaster operating at Dreamworld. The roller coaster is one of the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere, after originally being the tallest when it was first built. Designed by Arrow Dynamics, built in Melbourne by Able Leisure Pty. Ltd the ride was originally installed at Luna Park Sydney in 1995 as the Big Dipper before being sold and relocated to Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in 2001. When it was brought to Dreamworld, the ride was the first roller coaster to be opened on the Gold Coast since 1997. The roller coaster was named Cyclone from 2001 until 2015 when it was refurbished and named Hot Wheels SideWinder as part of the new Motorsport Experience themed land from 2015 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain</span> Roller coaster in Indiana

The Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain is a wooden roller coaster at Indiana Beach in Monticello, Indiana, themed to that of a mine shaft. It was the last coaster Custom Coasters International (CCI) finished. The ride is unusual as it has an elevator to raise the cars to the top of the track as opposed to the more traditional lift-hill. CCI constructed new cage-enclosed cars due to the proximity between riders and the themed 'mountain' sections of the ride. Eight people may ride in a two-car train simultaneously. Two face forward and two backward, opposite each other in each car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phantom Theater</span> Former dark ride at Kings Island

Phantom Theater was a dark ride located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States. Manufactured by Morgan Manufacturing, the ride opened to the public on April 11, 1992. Its design incorporated a continuously-moving chain of vehicles similar to Disney's Omnimover ride system. The attraction was furnished with sets and characters created by R&R Creative Amusement Designs, Inc., and it was themed as a haunted, abandoned theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocalypse: The Ride</span> Wooden roller coaster

Apocalypse: The Ride, formerly known as Terminator Salvation: The Ride, is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 23, 2009. It is located in The Underground section of the amusement park on a plot of land formerly occupied by the Psyclone (1991-2007), Shockwave (1986-1988) and Sarajevo Bobsleds (1984-1986). It was the first wooden coaster to feature onboard audio, and its Terminator theme was short-lived following a corporate restructuring by Six Flags in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raptor Attack</span> Enclosed steel roller coaster in the UK

Raptor Attack was an enclosed steel roller coaster at the Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. and was the world's first underground subterranean rollercoaster, opening in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sky Rocket</span> Steel roller coaster at Kennywood

Sky Rocket is a steel roller coaster located at Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Manufactured by Premier Rides, Sky Rocket opened to the public on June 29, 2010. It was the first major coaster addition at the park in almost a decade, following the renovation of Phantom's Revenge in 2001. It was also the first coaster in the park to feature inversions since Steel Phantom, as well as the first to have a launch since Laser Loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dark Knight Coaster</span> Roller coaster at Six Flags theme parks

The Dark Knight Coaster is the name of three enclosed steel roller coasters located at Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Great America, and Six Flags México. They opened in 2008 and 2009, timed closely to the theatrical release of The Dark Knight. All three installations were manufactured by Mack Rides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revenge of the Mummy</span> Roller coasters at Universal parks

Revenge of the Mummy, officially named Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride, is an enclosed roller coaster located at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Singapore. It is themed to The Mummy film franchise, and the ride features linear induction motors (LIMs) that launch riders to a maximum speed of 40 mph (64 km/h) in a matter of seconds. The Florida and Singapore locations have the same track layout, although each location offers a slightly different virtual experience. Manufactured by Premier Rides, the attractions feature track switches installed by Dynamic Structures. Universal Creative and ITEC Entertainment Corporation created the theme at each location, with Adirondack Studios responsible for several of the unique elements implemented at the Singapore location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slinky Dog Dash</span> Roller coaster at Disney World

Slinky Dog Dash is a family launched roller coaster, located within Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios, that opened on June 30, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure</span> Roller coaster at Islands of Adventure

Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is a multiple-launch steel roller coaster located in the Hogsmeade section of Universal Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando. Manufactured by Intamin, the $300-million attraction opened to the public on June 13, 2019. The partially-enclosed motorbike coaster operates both indoor and outdoor, and it is the sixth Harry Potter-themed attraction created for the resort. Universal marketed the ride as "a highly-themed roller coaster" that focuses on "a different corner of the wizarding world".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel Curtain (roller coaster)</span> Roller coaster at Kennywood

Steel Curtain is a steel hypercoaster located at Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Manufactured by S&S – Sansei Technologies, the coaster reaches a height of 220 feet (67 m) and features nine inversions, including a 197-foot (60 m) corkscrew that is the world's tallest inversion. Themed to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the roller coaster is named after the Steel Curtain, the nickname for the Steelers' defensive line during the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragon Challenge</span> Defunct inverted roller coaster at Universals Islands of Adventure

Dragon Challenge, formerly named Dueling Dragons (1999–2010), was a pair of intertwined inverted roller coasters in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, United States. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland, the ride was a dueling roller coaster featuring two tracks – one side was called Chinese Fireball and the other Hungarian Horntail – that were themed as two chasing dragons. Its layout involved two trains sharing adjacent lift hills, with each traversing unique courses. Trains on the Chinese Fireball track reached a maximum speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), while trains on the Hungarian Horntail reached 55 mph (89 km/h). Both tracks featured five inversions and an identical ride duration of 2 minutes and 25 seconds.

References

  1. Team, Dave Zuchowski WV Travel. "WV Travel Team: Kennywood Park offers 123 years of fun, thrills and adventures". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  2. Kennywood - Exterminator Pre-Show/Queue Video , retrieved 2023-02-02