Herschell Mouse coasters- What's the difference?

AFAIK, the Allan Herschell Company built three different versions of their "Mouse" coasters- the Mite Mouse, the Mad Mouse and the Monster Mouse. Can anyone tell me what the difference was between the three rides?

The Mad Mouse is like the one Lakemont Park removed.

The Monster Mouse is basicly a Mad Mouse with a taller lift and 2 big drops.

I'm not sure about the Mite Mouse. There was only 1 listed on RCDB and no pictures.

I've never been to Lakemont so I have no idea what that one looked like. Am I correct in assuming that it was pretty much a standard mouse?

Does anyone know what Bertrand Island used to have? Some people claim it was a Mad Mouse while others claim a Monster.

I believe some of the smaller ones have less drops, but I'm not really sure.

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Rob Ascough said:
Does anyone know what Bertrand Island used to have? Some people claim it was a Mad Mouse while others claim a Monster.

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Rob, the Bertrand Mouse was not a Monster Mouse with the typical large drop. You can plainly see that in this picture:

http://rcdb.com/installationgallery2066.htm?Picture=1

As stated in the rcdb text for this ride, it seems to be somewhat a mystery as to exactly what category this mouse falls in. It has the unusual out & back extension, yet it has the height (seemingly) of the Monster Mouse (without the big drop).

Maybe it is a piece-mealed mouse built in house with parts from various dismantled Herscell mice. To me, it looks larger than the standard Mad Mouse but smaller than the Monster Mouse.

I guess its a Mutant Mouse. That out-and-back section of track is strange. Is there any word on where this ride ended up going?

The Puyallup Fair used to have both the Mad Mouse and Monster. They now only have the Monster, but have killed it with the very hard trim. Too bad... It used to scare the bejesus out of me as a kid. To do that, I have to head up to the PNE, and get a taste for terror on their wacked mouse. :)

Unfortunately, the Bertrand Island book is not helpful. There is one picture of the mouse with a caption that reads "The Wild Mouse was a small thrillride during the park's final years."

The Bertrand coaster could be a hydrid between several types of Herschell rides as Victor Canfield 's website (a must for anybody interested in Wild Mouse type coasters) mentions a Monster Mouse modification kit available for the Mad Mouse.

Rob - which park did you tell me requires 2 riders per car? I'm not sure that would be possible for normal-size people My wife and I couldn't fit on Lakemont's Mad Mouse together.

I forgot all about that site. That modification kit for the Mad Mouse makes more sense to me than anything else I've been able to come up with!

Lake Quassy is the park that makes you ride "two riders per car". Last time I was there (about a decade ago), the park enforced that rule relentlessly. Too bad... I have a customer right down the road from that park and I'd be glad to stop by if I knew that I'd be able to get a Monster Mouse ride that I'd enjoy!

I can confirm that Quassy strictly enforced the "two riders per car" rule in June of this year. This amused myself and my companion somewhat as at the time we appeared to be the only two customers in the park! Fun little ride though.

I wish I understood the logic behind that rule. After growing up on a steady diet of Jet Stars and Flitzers, I can't see any advantage to the two-rider rule.

Especially when one person can be more than enough to fill up one of those cars!

Well I do know that while at Quasy (with Martin V), I saw one more than once the weight limit broken because the two ridder rule. Why two people is needed I don't know, all it did was cause the preson sitting in front of me to slam into my legs every turn. But while they did enforce the two ridder rule like non-other, they didn't the wieght at all on all of their rides. We even got a roll back on the Little Dipper (a coaster with a chain lift) because they had us fill up the entire train.

I would think that requiring two people any larger than little children to ride two in a car would cause more problems than letting people ride by themselves.

And yes, at 6'3" tall, I'm willing to bet that I can more than fill up one of those cars.

You're already too much for the Rye bumper cars ;)

That's because Rye has weak bumper cars. I am apparently more than they can handle!

I found these sketches of a mad mouse and mite mouse. The Mite Mouse looks like a completely different design.

Joyland in Lubbock also has a mad mouse. Look at this picture and compare it to this picture. Everything after the flat spot (after the lift in Joyland, and after the second drop at Quassy) is pretty much identical. The Monster Mouse was basically an add-on to the regular Mad Mouse.

Note that Quassy's is a Monster Mouse even though the sign says Mad Mouse.

We got to *see* Quassy's Mouse on Con-Quest, but alas, the rain prevented us from riding riding the thing. At Ridefest, the Mouse was sitting idle, so no rides on that one either....

Looking at rcdb's (extensive!) list of Herschell Little Dipper models, I've certainly gotten my fair share of rides on those (not that I'd turn *any* of them down, LOL)...;)

The only Herschell MOUSE I've ridden was the one at PNE, and it is *good insane*...:)

Wow... those sketches are pretty cool. It looks as though the Mite Mouse has practically nothing in common with the larger versions aside from the same type of cars. I guess the Monster Mouse was what you'd call an "upgrade" package to a Mad Mouse. Interesting concept.