Phantom's Revenge | |
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Previously known as Steel Phantom (1991-2000) | |
Kennywood | |
Coordinates | 40°23′20″N 79°51′58″W / 40.388992°N 79.865978°WCoordinates: 40°23′20″N 79°51′58″W / 40.388992°N 79.865978°W |
Status | Operating |
Opening date | May 10, 1991 May 19, 2001Renovation |
Closing date | September 4, 2000 | as Steel Phantom
Cost | $4.6 million |
Replaced | Laser Loop |
General statistics | |
Type | Steel |
Manufacturer | D. H. Morgan Manufacturing |
Designer | Henry Henninger |
Model | Terrain Mega Coaster |
Track layout | Terrain |
Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
Height | 160 ft (49 m) |
Drop | 228 ft (69 m) |
Length | 3,200 ft (980 m) |
Speed | 85 mph (137 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 |
Duration | 1:57 |
Max vertical angle | 52° |
Capacity | 1400 riders per hour |
G-force | 3.5 |
Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
Trains | 2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train. |
Phantom's Revenge at RCDB Pictures of Phantom's Revenge at RCDB |
Phantom's Revenge (formerly known as Steel Phantom) is a steel roller coaster at Kennywood. When it opened in 1991, it was the fastest roller coaster and had the longest drop of any roller coaster in the world. The ride was originally manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. After the 2000 season, D.H. Morgan Manufacturing was brought in to renovate the ride, most notably to remove the four inversions. Unlike most roller coasters, the ride's second drop through Thunderbolt's structure is longer than its first drop.
The ride has been ranked in the Golden Ticket Awards every year since 2000. It was ranked in the top 10 every year from 2002 - 2011. In addition, it has been ranked in the top 25 of Mitch Hawker's Best Steel Roller Coaster Poll every year since 2001 and in the top 5 of the National Amusement Park Historical Association Favorite Steel Roller Coaster poll every year except 2008.
Henry Henniger, the president of Kennywood Entertainment Company, wanted a large steel coaster in the late 1980s. The park had only built wooden roller coasters in the past. The park also had a very tight layout and they were not sure how to fit it into the park. On July 27, 1990, Kennywood announced the name of their new roller coaster would be Steel Phantom and it would use the same station as Laser Loop, which it replaced. The ride opened on May 10, 1991 as the fastest and steepest steel roller coaster in the world. The inversions were a vertical loop, a Boomerang, and a corkscrew. As a result of the inversions, riders experienced more-than-usual head banging. Shortly after its debut, a trim brake was added because the coaster was going faster than it should through the inversions and riders were experiencing pain in their necks.