INTRO:

Welcome to Trackless, the podcast where we strap in to the world of Dark Rides and more. I'm your host, Jay Pelham, and each week, I’ll bring you the latest news, innovations, and stories from the attractions industry with a focus on Dark Rides - from ride announcements, ride openings, ride closings and reimagining. And, before we get started, I humbly ask that you take a few seconds after listening to rate and review the podcast. And, I thank you in advance.

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As Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania begins to grow closer to the season opening of Dorney Park, the anticipation for Iron Menace grows, too. Dorney Park recently invited press for a preview of the new coaster and the reviews are solid. While the park doesn’t open to the public until May 10th, preview days are being held both weekends prior to the park opening. Those tickets, available at dorneypark.com, are available for select rides INCLUDING Iron Menace.

So, what makes this coaster so special? Well, start with the 95-degree drop from 152 ft. For those of you who can still remember basic geometry from math class, 90-degrees is straight down… so, 95-degrees is already getting extreme. Let’s not forget the 180-degree inversion, a zero-g-roll, and the world’s first tilted loop on a dive coaster.

Iron Menace tops out at 64 miles per hour, stretching 2,169 feet in length, and lasting a thrilling 90 seconds from start to finish. So, if you’re in the area, go say hi to Jessica Naderman and the Dorney Park team and be sure to let me know what you think of Iron Menace and other improvements being introduced this season.

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To the West, over in Pittsburgh, Kennywood has announced that their Steel Curtain coaster will be closed for the entire 2024 season. The statement on the Kennywood website, reads “To increase ride reliability and longevity, the Steel Curtain will undergo an extensive modification project this year. The park has worked with third-party engineers and the ride’s manufacturer to determine a long-term solution that will allow the ride to run without interruption. The coaster will be closed for the entirety of the season as we work on this project.”

The coaster, named the 2019 Best New Roller Coaster of the Year, will be certainly be missed by fans. However, Kennywood is touting improvements such as The Turtle, which has been completely restored. The Aero 360 will once again flip riders head-over-heels, and the park will introduce the rethemed Potato Smash Bumper Cars with 20 all-new vehicles and a lower height requirement.

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OUTRO:

Thanks for joining us on another adventure through the world of attractions on Trackless. I've been your host, Jay Pelham, and I hope you enjoyed today's episode and more great news from the attractions industry. If you want to stay up to date on all things dark rides and attractions, be sure to follow or subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app. Don’t forget, I would love it if you would rate and review the podcast when you’re done listening to this episode. And, until next week, Be Kind and Do Good.