Mad Mouse
How are the old Allen Hershell mad mice? I've seen pics of the ones at Lakemont, Quassy, and Little-A--Merrik-A. They look kinda' run down, but the one at Lakemont seems to have a cool looking entrance. Any info on these rides would be great. Thanx :)
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movies+coasters= the most fun you could ever imagine!
Boblo Island used to have one of the "wild mouse" coasters, if that's what you are talking about. The tracks were thinner with VERY sharp turns, which is really what made these little coasters scary. If I recall, the cars were only two seaters and you sat front and back. I would love to find one of these old rides again. The new ones look cool, but the tracks and cars are much larger.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
I enjoyed Lakemont's Mad Mouse. It has a wonderful rickety feeling. The cars are very small. I suppose with a little squeezing and you aren't very big, you could get two people in there. I think one person per car is much more comfortable. There isn't any active restraint. You're just wedged in there with padding.
The entrance to Lakemont's mouse is no longer the giant mouse head you see in photographs. It is a much simpler design now.
This site has a lot of info on the Wild/Mad genre of rides:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/v/a/vac3/wdm.html
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everything's better with a banjo
*** This post was edited by millrace on 12/14/2001. ***
The Mad Mouse rides were and are alot of fun. I operated one when I worked at a now defunct park called Enchanted Forest when it was in Chesterton, IN. Little-A--Merrick-A now has my old " friend" . The cars that were on this one only had one seat and all it was was padding on the floor! The front of the cars had a bar on the front with a weight on it that would slide for right to left or left to right depending on where it needed it to be. If it rained ,we had to go to the brakes and use a propane torch to dry them out, so that the cars wouldn't slide thru them. If you were'nt careful, when you braked a car, sometimes it would brake to hard and throw the rider(s) into the front bar and break their teeth.
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Beer, My Baby, and Coasters. Is this a great country or what? ;)
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Beer, My Baby, and Coasters. Is this a great country or what? ;)
I guess the reason I recall two people is because I rode it with my brother when we were kids, I was a skinny 12 year old, he was 8 and he sat in front between legs which were on either side of him.
I'll have to see if I can find some historical photos of Boblo Island.
I'll have to see if I can find some historical photos of Boblo Island.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
I have ridden the one at Little A Merrick A and it was alot of fun. The dips at the end really jar you though. Best practice is to ride it leaning forward or your back will ache for days.
Cheers,
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Bob Hansen
"Excuse me while I kick the sky!"
kickthesky@hotmail.com
There used to be a Herschell mouse coaster at Oaks Park here in Portland,OR.From 1974 to 1996 I rode this coaster hundreds,if not,thousands of times as it was the only coaster in the area to ride.I remember 3 of my friends and I crammed in one of cars in an attempt to make it go faster.In those days the ride ops would let you do that.This coaster was replaced in 1996 with the current Pinfari Looping Star coaster.This coaster is the reason my wife will not ride coasters with me.It looked very rickety in operation as the supports swayed a lot and her ex-husband tried to make her fall out on those sharp turns.This coaster still exists and operates at the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup,WA.
Ronald, in regards to the Puyallup... You know I have ridden it. Many times. Love it. Still scares the crap out of me. I remember the days when you could ride these with 3 people. Whatever happened to that? There is always enough room. Not a ton, but heck. I have squeezed into tighter spaces....... By the way, they had 2 mouse coasters at Puyallup until a few years ago. A Mad Mouse and a Monster Mouse. The monster is still there, and has the big drop. The mad mouse just had the turns.
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What happened to the big mouse head on lakemont's mouse????!!!!
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movies+coasters= the most fun you could ever imagine!
Idlewild Park at Greensburg, Pa. (near Pgh) has a 1960 Mad Mouse with the little two seat cars with just padding on the floor, tight turns and sudden drops. It's in a grove of trees so you're skimming leaves and branches on the outer turns.
Ronald, my favorite part of the ride is the section of zig zags after the brake, which is just after the drop. I love the section that runs adjacent to the loading station when you are just flying....very cool!
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Check out the website!
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Check out the website!
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