New Kennywood Coaster in 2010
Update: Sky Rocket is now open! Read the review and see the pictures from media day here!
Discuss Kennywood’s new coaster in our forums!
West Mifflin, PA – Kennywood is proud to announce the addition of a seventh roller coaster for the 2010 season! Joining the ranks of the Lil’ Phantom, Exterminator, Jack Rabbit, Racer, Thunderbolt, and Phantom’s Revenge, the new Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) launch roller coaster is unlike any other roller coaster at Kennywood.
“This roller coaster will provide a thrilling new experience for coaster lovers at Kennywood,” explains General Manager Jerome Gibas. “The use of LSM launch technology will allow riders to blast from 0 to 50mph in three seconds and offers our first roller coaster with inversions since the Steel Phantom.”
Kennywood’s new launch coaster will feature many exciting and unique features including three inversions and a 0-50mph launch in three seconds! After the high-speed launch, riders will experience a vertical ascent to 95ft before a brief cliffhanger pause at the top and a 90-degree drop into a maximum G-force pullout. The riders then enjoy extended airtime as the train races into an inverted top hat element, passes into a barrel roll and goes vertical again through a twist up leading to another pause.
Riders experience a second vertical free fall followed by another maximum G-force pullout on the way into a highly banked fan curve. After a traditional corkscrew, a curve to a zero gravity hill, and a series of wave turns, riders finally return to the station. The new roller coaster will be placed in the current location of the Turnpike, a ride that has been at Kennywood since 1966. Guests will only have to say ‘see you later’ to the Turnpike since plans are already underway to bring back the ride in the near future. The Turnpike’s final day of operation will be Aug. 16, 2009.
Kennywood’s new launch coaster is proudly built in the U.S.A. by Premier Rides of Millersville, Maryland. The project is expected to be complete in May of 2010. Official coaster name and logo information will be released in the coming weeks. See www.kennywood.com for a preview video and updates.
Ride Statistics:
Track Length: 2100 feet
Maximum Speed: 50 mph
Ride Time: 65 seconds
Number of Trains: 2
Number of Cars Per Train: 2
Number of Riders Per Train: 12
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
See http://www.premier-rides.com for further information about Premier Rides. Kennywood is part of Palace Entertainment. Palace Entertainment hosts over 14 million visitors annually at 38 locations with seven theme parks, ten waterparks and 21 family entertainment centers and is the largest operator of waterparks and family entertainment centers in the nation. For more information, visit www.palaceentertainment.com.
I don’t know how the crowds are at Kennywood but that sounds like a capacity nightmare. Glad to see them getting a new coaster though.
It sounds like they will need to add a few more 2 car trains to the line up.. When the original Steel Phantom opened – the line wrapped the park, with a 2-3 hour wait, and that was with 3 trains running!
i could use 1 more train but it is so alsome that kp is geting this new ride
They announced the names as Sky Rocket!
How are they expecting to make people come back if the # of trains is 2! This is not going to be a fun coaster if you have to wait in line for the whole day to find out that it sucks. I think they should have thought about adding a lot more trains. if you look at the Top Thrill Dragster(you Cedar Point fans know about this awesome coaster) they run 5 trains and the line is usually 45 min- 1 hr. this is going to suck.
Cedar Point’s attendance is much higher than Kennywood. I think this is a wait and see but I do see the concern.