Wild Mouse Coasters Are Fun For All Ages
At first glance wild mouse roller coasters look like boring 'kiddie' rides. They're typically no taller than 40 or 50 feet with mild speeds that top out at about 30 mph. Unlike most roller coasters that use trains with several cars, wild mouse coasters run single cars that seat four riders (two in front and two in back). Wild mouse coasters are known for their flat, un-banked track and tight hairpin turns.
The tight turns give riders the feeling that the car may just fly over the edge. If you've never ridden a wild mouse, they're worth a ride. As I said, they look tame, but the turns will really catch you by surprise. I generally don't ride them because once you've ridden one, you've ridden them all. Aside from the themed indoor versions that we'll see this year with Six Flag's new Dark Knight coasters, I haven't seen a lot of variation on the wild mouse concept. For the most part they are cookie cutter installations and often even bear the name 'Wild Mouse'.
Check out this video of a wild mouse coaster (Ricochet at Carowinds):
What do you think of wild mouse coasters? Leave a comment below. Also, you can get the lowdown on floorless, dive, hyper coasters and more in my Coasterology 101 posts. Photo courtesy of CoasterImage.
2 comments:
I was looking for a coaster that used to thrill me as a kid in the NYC area in the 60's. It was called either the White Mouse or the Wild Mouse and I can't remember where it was. We used to go to a Playland but I thought it was in Rockaway, not Rye. We also went to Palisades and Coney Island. I just remember it as being a blast - basically a flat riding platform with hairpin turns that made you feel like you would go over the edge and into the water...
Bud, you should be able to find the coaster you're looking for in the Roller Coaster Database. Here's a picture of a Wild Mouse at Coney Island, but it doesn't look that close to the water. I found Rockaway in the database, but it didn't have a wild mouse. And Palisades had a coaster called Wild Mouse, but it was wooden.
Hope this helps.
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