Phantom's Revenge- Surprise Hit of the Year?

As I got into that 2 hour line for the Phantom's Revenge, I wasn't expecting to be blown away.

The trains looked so....secure. At least in comparison to B&M or Intamin trains. I didn't think that Arrow and Morgan could really design anything this good! Magnum was great, but it really didn't compare to Millenium Force, and bears little resemblence to the new B&M hypers.

But I am now a believer- Phantom's Revenge is awesome! The twisting first drop is nice. But its drop under the Thunderbolt provided the best headchopper illusion I have ever seen! Normally the headchoppers on a ride don't get to me much, but that one was nice! The paintjob is a new favorite of mine, and it has the best coaster logo that I have ever seen! :) What an excellent ride, much more than I expected.
Anyone else agree here, or is there another new ride this year that turned out better than you thought?

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RAPTOR-Kick the Sky!

I agree. I was expecting a good ride, not great, but what PR turned out to be was an INCREDIBLE ride with awesome airtime and wonderful drops and turns.

Being a native to CP, I really hadn't experienced a coaster like this that was so smooth and with so much air....

And as for the trains, TONS of room, great restraints, one of the most comfortable around.

Kudos to Morgan and Kennywood.

The Phantom's Revenge is awesome. There's no other word to describe it. I gives a little less air than MF but is still an awesome ride. Hold your hands up on this ride. I almost got thrown out of the car on the last bunny hop.

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"Incoming riders, please stand behind the red safety line and wait for the train to come to a complete stop."

I thought X-Flight and especially Batwing were great - got to ride Stealth 1x last year (last day of the season, last ride of the day). I was kind of surprised at the helices (I'm a positive-G junkie), and thought the "New Dutchmen" were simply better rides. Of course, Stealth WAS the prototype. The only other 2001 model coaster I've ridden so far is Cheetah, and the looks are kida deceiving - it's faster than it looks!
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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

raptorfan00 said:
I gives a little less air than MF but is still an awesome ride. -----------------

If it gives less air than MF, then it gives no air at all.

PR is my top new coaster of 2001 hands down. It's the most re-ridable hyper I have ridden. I just wish I lived closer to it.

YES! Phantom's Revenge is definitely one of the best! Let's see here...#1 is Millennium Force, #2 is Phantom's Revenge, and #3 is Nitro. Hmmmm.....ypu, I think PR makes the cut! LOL. Anyways, raptorfan00, how can you say it gives less air than MF? What the heck have you been smoking?! This ride gives the most amount of airtime I have ever experienced on a coaster! Plus the fact that it is the most extreme! If you ride it in the back, you are thrown around like there is no tomorrow! Those bunny hops are taken at such a fast pace that you FLY out of your seat! MF also gives a lot of Airtime, but not as much as PR. Now, MF has great floaster air in the 182' hill, excellent ejector air on the 120' hill, and ejector air on the bunny hop next to the station....PR gives more, but MF is the better one! PR is almost as great, it just lacks the length....that's the one problem.
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Gone, a sense of confidence, I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take! - Linkin Park, Crawling

KoЯn still Яules!

acctually i never realized how short the ride was til i got to kennywood and all through the line i kept thinking that it was to short. never did i realize it that all those short hills and humps gave u the most airtime i've felt on a coaster.
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I thought it was a very sweet ride. First drop was sweet, Second drop was off the hook!The only problem I had with it was that the bunny hops were a little herky jerky. I also didn't like the fact that the day i went they were only running one train. Do they always only run one train on Phantom's Revenge?

This is getting to be a FAQ... Yes, PR has been running only one train, due to having so much speed coming into the station. Trims will be added right at the end to bleed some of that speed, and PR will run two trains next season.

I'm honestly NOT that surprised with how good PR turned out. PLEASED, yes, but not surprised. I'd have been disappointed if it HADN'T been this good. I guess that's what I get for watching the thing go up all winter... ;)

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--Greg
My page My other page And my coaster page

Ah yes it was just last August when most people counted the coaster out from one little rendering. Some people even questioned bringing two track types toegther. Nonetheless, the Phantom has gotten his Revenge on those naysayers...
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Assistant Webmaster
Kennywood Park Unlimited
www.kpunlimited.com

My new #1 coaster out of all of CP's and SFWoA's. Just happened this Mon. Awesome ride.
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"Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!"~SFWoA Rules In 2001~X Marks The Spot In 2001(SFWoA)~With SFWoA ANYTHING Is Possible!

I just rode it my first time last week and I loved it, PR is a truly great ride. I loved the original Steel Phantom and thought without the inversions it would'nt be as great as the original (speaking that this was my first hyper without inversions). But I was wrong. Phantom's Revenge is a great ride. The helix after the 2nd hill is my favorite part of the ride especially when your riding the front seat. Another positive for PR is the huge airtime. With all the elements put together you get a great coaster, Phantom's Revenge. So I can agree that it was a surprise hit of the year.
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-Ryan
AIM: illeminemepill

Where did you hear they'd add trims in order to add a second train? How certain is this?

Sounds like they could potentially tame this ride in order to increase capacity, which is of course a benefit to KW, but I hope the Kennywood planners carefully weigh this against changing a very fast and awesome coaster as it stands today....

I don't know what all the hype is about this ride, I rode it 2 monthes ago and thought the ride was below average. I just don't care for redesigns, what will Kennywood do with it 10 years from now, put a loop back into it? They should have left it alone, the way the ride was originally built!

Because it had gotten so rough, the Steel Phantom HAD to be redesigned as it was no longer drawing people to ride it. Kennywood would run one train on it and the line would almost never be more than 15-20 minutes. Now, people are raving about this ride, so obviously the redesign really worked to gain interest back in the ride.

As for the ride itself, I was also blown away. I didn't really expect it to be anything spectacular and was underwhelmed when I first saw the layout. Then, the TR's started rolling in and it looked like this thing was going beyond everyone's expectations. Finally, I made the trek to Kennywood to ride it, and I came back more than satisfied! The airtime on this ride is the strongest I've ever felt, especially on the double dip in the back! I like PR more than MF (but not Magnum) and may make another trip next year. Kennywood has a definite winner, both among enthusiasts and among the GP (who I noticed all had gigantic smiles on their faces when they got off the ride).

As for the trims, they won't really make too much difference. Since they're magnetic trims, they won't be as noticeable as regular brakes, and since they are right at the end of the ride, the final hill is the only one that will be affected. I don't think a few mph less will affect the airtime on that one hill too much, either. Still, I'm glad I can say I rode it before brakes! :)

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It's a simple equation: CCI + CP = #1 Wooden Coaster!

Doug Rowe said:
Where did you hear they'd add trims in order to add a second train? How certain is this?

This has actually been known for quite some time, basically since the ride opened.

It is 100% certain. The brackets for the magnetic trims are already in place.

I don't expect the ride to be tamed much, either. The trims will be on the final two hills coming into the station, after the turnaround. Most of the ride, including the double down and trench-level turnaround, will be exactly the same, and with the smooth magnetic trims I don't expect we'll lose much, if any, of the airtime on those final hills.

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--Greg
My page My other page And my coaster page

I've been wondering why they took down the 1st phantom in the first place? Did it have something majorly wrong? I really hope I ca ride the new one someday, but southern California is far, far away from Pennsalvania.

Did it have something wrong? Yes, it was very nearly unridable!

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow: http://www.sillynonsense.com/subdivision/

From all the report Cornball Express is the suprise hit of the year, but that is a discussion for another thread.

Anyway, PR gave me my second "What the $%^& was that!" coaster moment this year on the double down (The first occured about my 4th ride on The Legend, where coincidently I was again sitting next to GregLeg ;)). I had never been on a Morgan anything (though you could almost call Maggie a morgan since the same engineers worked things out, save Toomer) so I didnt know what to expect. But PR felt fast and the double down was exquisite! My thrid favorite hyper after Raging Bull and S:ROS(SFA) and ahead of Nitro.
lata,
jeremy
--Blessed be his Holy name...His name is Jesus