Dorney Park recently announced the completed construction of a brand new ride: the “Iron Menace.” Not only is it the first dive roller coaster in northeast America, but also the first dive roller coaster in the world with tilted loops.
“Forge your own fate on Iron Menace, the northeast’s first dive coaster,” the park said on their official website. “Firing up in 2024, this new ride at Dorney Park suspends riders 160 feet in the air before plummeting at a beyond-vertical, 95-degree drop. Four mind-twisting inversions and speeds up to 64 miles per hour leave riders of this drop coaster spellbound—and burning for more.”
The roller coaster was built with seven different inversions, or spins, creating an exhilarating experience as you’re sent flying at a maximum speed of 64 miles per hour. Dropping you at a height of 152 feet, the “Iron Menace” is one of the taller roller coasters currently in the park, and the only one to drop you at a 95 degree angle, sending you flying downwards, the signature part of a dive coaster.
Junior Anna Mazzitelli, an avid visitor of Dorney Park, expressed her excitement to ride the new coaster.
“I’m definitely going to ride the ‘Iron Menace,’” she said. “It looks like so much fun. I’m super excited, especially for the loops.”
Senior Kody Luzader has high expectations for the new ride as a fan of all Dorney Park roller coasters.
“I am excited for the new roller coaster,” they said. “I have hopes of riding it next Dorney Season. I love all their roller coasters; however, the same ones can get boring, so I’m excited for this new addition.”
On April 19, from 5 to 9 p.m., Dorney Park will use their new ride as a platform for charity, hosting the “Iron Menace Ride for a Cause” event, from which all ticket proceeds made will go directly to the Eagles Autism Foundation. Attendees will be among the first to ride the “Iron Menace,” and will have an opportunity to speak to a Philadelphia Eagles member.
The ride is named after a steel hauler, created by Hiram S. McTavish of the McTavish Steel Mill, meant to take down the Bethlehem Steel Company. The steel hauler transported ore and workers at incredible speeds, becoming a critical competitor of Bethlehem Steel. However, McTavish disappeared shortly after, with no evidence left behind. As a result of his disappearance, McTavish Steel Mill closed down, and all that remains are the rusted remains of the factory and urban legends.
Dorney Park will be opening the “Iron Menace” for preview rides on the weekends of April 27-28, and May 4-5. They will open the coaster for everyone to ride starting May 10.
