Wild Mouse (Idlewild)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Wild Mouse


caption=
location=Idlewild and Soak Zone
type=Steel
tyep2=
status=Open
opened=1993
manufacturer=Vekoma
designer=
track=Wild mouse
lift=Chain lift
height=56
drop=
length=1640
speed= 30
inversions=0
duration=
cost=
gforce=
restriction=048
rcdb_number=271

Wild Mouse is the name of a roller coaster at Idlewild and Soak Zone in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. It is the one of two coasters in the park, along with the small classic wooden Rollo Coaster, and its only steel roller coaster.

The Wild Mouse was originally designed for Weiner Prater in Vienna, Austria where it operated as Speedy Gonzalez from 1985-1987. Built by Vekoma, it is thus far the only wild mouse coaster designed by this corporation. It was later moved to Alton Towers, an amusement park in Staffordshire, England. When it opened there in 1987, its name was the "Alton Mouse". The ride featured a covered lift hill there, which was used to conceal the treacherous curves at the top of the hill from patrons until they reached the top. The lift hill was also tilted, which suggests that the cover was a rotating tunnel, which with the tilting track, created the effect of going upside-down. The Alton Mouse was closed in 1992, partly because the harsh curve and braking system had diminished its popularity, but mainly due to the fact that the area of the park it was located in was small and the ride was popular, causing congestion. Local residents also complained of the noise levels, so when the Alton Mouse ws removed, so were the other rides in the area, which was closed off from the rest of the park.

In 1993, the Wild Mouse reopened at Idlewild. The track was originally painted a rust red with black supports when the ride first moved to Idlewild. Rough air brakes continued to hinder the ride until 2002, when a new, much smoother magnetic braking system was installed by Pribonics Technologies and the color scheme was changed to gray track, still with black supports.

The Wild Mouse features a traditional setup, including tight, unbanked curves and short but steep hills. However, the ride's height is somewhat taller than that of the average wild mouse coaster and includes a somewhat rougher ride.

Many familiar with this ride claim it is the best traditional wild mouse coaster ever built. This may partially be due to the location of the ride within the park because it is tucked away and fully surrounded by large, beautiful trees.

References