Merlin's Mayhem

Last updated
Merlin's Mayhem
Merlin's Mayhem, Dutch Wonderland.jpg
Dutch Wonderland
Location Dutch Wonderland
Coordinates 40°01′43″N76°13′07″W / 40.028651°N 76.218628°W / 40.028651; -76.218628
StatusOperating
Opening dateApril 28, 2018 (2018-04-28)
Cost$7,500,000
ReplacedTurnpike
General statistics
Type Steel  – Family  – Inverted
Manufacturer S&S – Sansei Technologies
DesignerJoe Draves
ModelFamily Inverted Coaster
Track layout Twister
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height60 ft (18 m)
Length1,300 ft (400 m)
Inversions 0
Duration1:00
Height restriction39 in (99 cm)
TrainsSingle train with 10 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 20 riders per train.
Website Official website
Merlin's Mayhem at RCDB

Merlin's Mayhem is an S&S Sansei family inverted roller coaster at Dutch Wonderland in East Lampeter Township, just east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The coaster opened on land formerly occupied by the original Turnpike attraction. It was originally slated to open for the 2017 season, but numerous construction setbacks and a longer than anticipated approval process resulted in the ride's opening getting pushed back a year, to 2018.

Contents

History

For the 2014 season, Dutch Wonderland opened the new prehistoric-themed Exploration Island park area, which cost in excess of $1 million to construct and saw the addition of 15 animatronic dinosaurs and various activities associated with them. [1] Alongside this development, the park's classic Turnpike attraction, which was built in 1963 by Arrow Dynamics, was reconstructed along the perimeter of the Exploration Island. This was said to be doubled in length, rendering the original obsolete and leaving space in the centre of the park for future development. [2]

On October 24, 2016, the park began to release teasers that were soon connected to the addition of a new ride. [3] On November 1, 2016, Merlin's Mayhem was officially announced, in the form of a high-flying family inverted coaster that would take guests on a quest to find Merlin's mischievous pet dragon Mayhem. [4] Built on the old Turnpike site, it would become the park's first coaster in nearly two decades as well as the largest and tallest ride in the park. [5] [6] Two weeks later, on November 16, 2016, the Merlin's Mayhem ride vehicle was revealed by the ride manufacturer, Utah-based S&S – Sansei Technologies, at the IAAPA 2016 Expo in Orlando, Florida. [7]

Track pieces would begin to arrive in April 2017, and the ride would go vertical soon after. Despite a fast construction pace, Merlin's Mayhem missed its projected summer opening, and on December 20, 2017, the park announced that the attraction's grand opening had been delayed to 2018. This was attributed to various construction setbacks and a longer-than-anticipated approval process, [8] reportedly due to the coaster's interactions with the park's Sky Ride and other attractions. [9] Following the delays, Merlin's Mayhem was officially opened to the public on April 28, 2018. [10]

Characteristics

Ride experience

Leaving the station, the train immediately enters the 60-foot (18 m) tall lift hill. At the peak of the lift, the ride descends into a pre-drop gradual left hand turn over the Sky Ride before hitting the main drop. Riders immediately navigate a turnaround over a pond and speed through a gradual S-bend, before hitting the ride's helix. The train dives into a tunnel under the Wonderland Special Narrow-gauge railway, hits a final right-hand turnaround, and enters the brake run into the station.[ citation needed ]

Statistics

Merlin's Mayhem is 1,300 feet (400 m) long and stands 60 feet (18 m) tall. It is the first Inverted roller coaster to be manufactured by S&S – Sansei Technologies from Logan, Utah. It was designed by former GCI engineer Joe Draves, who had also worked on projects such as Steel Curtain at Kennywood and Lightning Run at Kentucky Kingdom. [11] The coaster utilizes a single open-air 20 passenger train with lap bars, onboard audio, and a Chain lift hill. Merlin's Mayhem also interacts with the park's Sky Ride and Wonderland Special railroad.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roller coaster</span> Rail-based amusement park ride

A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements designed to produce a thrilling experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters first appeared in the 17th century, and LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennywood</span> Amusement park in Pennsylvania

Kennywood is an amusement park which is located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1898, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada's Wonderland</span> Amusement park in Vaughan, Canada

Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a 134-hectare (330-acre) amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life Assurance Company, it was the first major theme park in Canada and remains the country's largest. Cedar Fair purchased the park from Paramount Parks in 2006, and they have owned and operated the park since then. In 2019, it was the most-visited seasonal amusement park in North America with an estimated 3.9 million guests. The park still retains this record, with an estimated 3.8 million guests in 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Dominion</span> Amusement park in Virginia

Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, 20 miles (30 km) north of Richmond and 75 miles (120 km) south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the 280-acre (1.1 km2) park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including 13 roller coasters and a 20-acre (81,000 m2) water park. Its name is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island, and the nickname for the state of Virginia, "Old Dominion."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vekoma</span> Dutch amusement ride manufacturer

Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrow Dynamics</span> Defunct American roller coaster manufacturer

Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (1946–1981) and Arrow Huss (1981–1986), which were responsible for several influential advancements in the amusement and theme park industries. Among the most significant was tubular steel track, which provided a smoother ride than the railroad style rails commonly used prior to the 1960s on wooden roller coasters. The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, built in 1959, was Arrow's first roller coaster project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S&S – Sansei Technologies</span> American themed entertainment company

S&S – Sansei Technologies is an American company known for its pneumatically powered amusement rides and roller coaster designing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch Wonderland</span> Amusement park in Pennsylvania

Dutch Wonderland is a 48-acre (19 ha) theme park just east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania in East Lampeter Township, appealing primarily to families with small children. The park's theme is a "Kingdom for Kids." The entrance to the park has a stone imitation castle façade, which was built by Earl Clark, a potato farmer, before he opened the park in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypersonic XLC</span> Defunct roller coaster at Kings Dominion

Hypersonic XLC was a roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. Hypersonic was built by S&S Worldwide, a company specializing in air-powered rides, and was the first compressed air launch coaster in the world. Hypersonic was S&S Worldwide's actual prototype for an air-launched coaster, called Thrust Air 2000.

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

The Exterminator is a steel roller coaster located at Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The coaster was manufactured by Reverchon Industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legoland Florida</span> Lego themed resort in Winter Haven, Florida

Legoland Florida Resort is a vacation destination in Winter Haven, Florida. The resort features the Legoland Florida theme park itself, the Legoland Water Park, three on-site accommodations and a separately-ticketed on-site park based on the British children's animated series Peppa Pig that opened on February 24, 2022.

<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 near Pittsburgh 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 the Steel Phantom as well as the first to have a launch since the Laser Loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toverland</span> Amusement park in Sevenum, The Netherlands

Attractiepark Toverland is an amusement park located in Sevenum, the Netherlands. It first opened in 2001 as an indoor family entertainment center, operated by the Gelissen Group. Toverland won the European Star Award for the Best Theme Park in 2018. More recently, the park has shifted towards the adult demographic, partially rebranding and adding new attractions. A name change was also considered in 2018.

Sansei Technologies, Inc. is a Japanese manufacturing firm based in Osaka, Japan. The company specialises in the manufacturing of amusement rides, stage equipment, and elevators.

<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, United States, near Pittsburgh. 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 Slayer (roller coaster)</span>

Dragon Slayer is a 4D Free Spin roller coaster at Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. The coaster was built as a replacement for the Dragon looping coaster, which opened in 1990 and was mostly dismantled during the first half of 2020. Dragon Slayer began public operations on May 29, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VelociCoaster</span> Roller coaster at Islands of Adventure

VelociCoaster is a launched roller coaster at Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride opened to the public on June 10, 2021. It is themed to the Velociraptor dinosaurs depicted in the Jurassic World film franchise and is located in the Islands of Adventure's Jurassic Park area, occupying the site of the former Triceratops Encounter attraction. VelociCoaster features two high-speed launches powered by linear synchronous motors, a signature 155-foot-tall (47 m) top hat, four inversions, and a maximum speed of 70 mph (110 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickelodeon Slime Streak</span> Indoor roller coaster at Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream Meadowlands

Nickelodeon Slime Streak is a steel family roller coaster located in the Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park at the American Dream Meadowlands megamall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The coaster opened for the park's grand opening on October 25, 2019, and is primarily targeted at children and younger audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tumbili</span> Roller coaster at Kings Dominion

Tumbili is a steel roller coaster at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, United States. Announced in August 2021, the 4D Free Spin model is manufactured by S&S – Sansei Technologies and opened on March 12, 2022. It is located within Jungle X-Pedition, a newly-themed section of the park formerly known as Safari Village. The ride takes its name from the Swahili word for "monkey."

References

  1. ↑ "Dinosaurs Discovered at Dutch Wonderland". prweb.com. January 25, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  2. ↑ Mekeel, Tim (January 30, 2014). "15 huge animatronic dinosaurs coming to Dutch Wonderland's new Exploration Island". LNP . Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  3. ↑ @FUNatDW (October 24, 2016). "Merlin has some "tricks" up his sleeve, and an..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ "Merlin's Mayhem: Dutch Wonderland's New Ride for 2017 Unveiled". Dutch Wonderland. November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  5. ↑ Richards, George (November 2, 2016). "Local park gets new roller coaster for 2017". www.abc27.com . Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  6. ↑ John (November 2, 2016). "Dutch Wonderland Opening Merlin's Mayhem Suspended Coaster in 2017". Coaster101. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Dutch Wonderland Reveals Vehicle for 2017 Coaster: Merlin's Mayhem". Dutch Wonderland. November 16, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  8. ↑ @FUNatDW (December 20, 2017). "Dutch Wonderland regretfully announces that the debut..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ Nick (July 31, 2018). "5 Reasons Why We're Still Buzzing About Kennywood's Steel Curtain Announcement". Coaster101. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Dutch Wonderland unveils Merlin's Mayhem". parkworld-online.com. June 5, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Joe Draves". RCDB. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.