This week we travel to West Mifflin, Pennsylvania for our A-Z Coaster of the Week: Exterminator. Built in 1999, this coaster is not your typical wild mouse, it takes place entirely in the dark! Unlike many of Kennywood’s other coasters, Exterminator is highly themed. As you walk towards the ride, all you see is what appears to be a factory building. Once inside the factory, news reports inform you that the building has become infested with rats and the exterminators have been called in to take care of them.
You now board a vehicle and suddenly you are the rat. After ascending nearly 50 feet into the dark, you are chased for the next 1,377 feet by the exterminators! The ride is action packed with close calls and great scenery. The first half of the ride is normal, but the second half allows the cars to spin freely, giving riders the sense that they are out of control. You even go through one of the factory’s furnaces!
This is absolutely one of the best wild mouse coasters in operation, and one of the most fun rides I have been on. Kennywood did a great job taking a cookie cutter ride and creating a highly themed attraction. Details and a story can really take a ride to the next level; I believe more parks would benefit in taking the time to do the same with their rides.
Has anyone else taken a spin on Exterminator? Stay tuned for next week’s “F” coaster!
I have to say, this really is a fun ride. Kennywood isn’t known for moving people through lines quickly, and this one loads very slowly. But it’s worth it…the intensity might take you by surprise.
I think Disney should do something similar with their wild mouse at DCA.