The History of The Phantom's Revenge

The Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood is known as one of the best roller coasters in the world. Known for its strong airtime and its large drop into a ravine, this ride is praised by coaster enthusiasts around the world. This ride also has a very interesting history. I have seen some videos about this, but I want to build on it. This is the history of The Phantom's Revenge.

To understand the history of Phantom's Revenge, we need to look a bit into the history of the park. Kennywood was previously known for their wooden coasters. In the 1970's, they had 4. They also had rarer and older rides, though they weren't that uncommon at this point. Eventually, in 1980, they opened their first coaster with an inversion: Laser Loop. This was a Schwarzkopf Flywheel Launching Shuttle Loop, just like Montezooma's Revenge at Knott's Berry Farm.

Kennywood had a non-stop maintenance headache with Laser Loop. The computer system was way too advanced and the ride was closed more than it was open. They just couldn't keep operating it. Here is a link to some Laser Loop footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_5IAoFc7Dk

In 1990, Kennywood announced the removal of Laser Loop. It was upsetting to some fans, but people seemed glad when Kennywood announced what was coming next.

Before I explain what came next, we need to go back a year. In 1989, Cedar Point opened Magnum XL 200, the world's first Hyper Coaster, which is any coaster with a drop of at least 200 feet. At the time, Cedar Point was Kennywood's biggest competitor. Kennywood needed something that would help compete with Cedar Point.

Kennywood's President at the time, Harry Henninger, was wondering how such a ride could fit in the park. Eventually, he had a dream where they built a coaster into the ravine. The first drop would not be the tallest, though. The tallest drop would be in the middle of the ride.

Eventually, Kennywood asked Arrow Dynamics if this could happen. They said it could.

At a cost of $3,500,000, Arrow Dynamics started work on Steel Phantom. Track was kept in the pay parking area at Kennywood. The terrain helped save a lot of money, as Magnum XL 200 cost $8,000,000.

In 1991, Steel Phantom opened to the public. It started with a 160 foot lift hill at 20 degrees. There was then a 160 foot drop before a straight section of about 140 feet. It then went up a large hill, but goes through a 225 foot drop into a ravine, diving under Thunderbolt. There was then a turnaround into a loop. There was then a batwing before a corkscrew. This then led to the brakes.

When people started riding it, they loved the first half. Originally, though, people complained about how uncomfortable the inversions were. After looking into it, Kennywood and Arrow discovered that the ride was going too fast. They added Trim Brakes before the loop, but it was said to not do much.

Soon, the ride began running rough. They even had a policy requiring people to take off earrings to prevent injury.

In 2000, Cedar Point added Millennium Force. In that same year, Paramount's Kings Island added Son of Beast. Also in the same year, Hersheypark added Lightning Racer. Kennywood's biggest competitors made it hard for Kennywood to compete, so Kennywood needed something else.

In that year, Kennywood announced the closure of Steel Phantom. They said they wanted to remain competitive, and they were going to replace Steel Phantom with a new coaster.

People were upset about the removal of the ride. People were trying to save Steel Phantom, and Kennywood decided to go with a different option: a new renovation. They then announced a new ride: The Phantom's Revenge.

The Phantom's Revenge would reuse some parts of Steel Phantom. The station, lift, first drop, straight section, and parts of the camelback were all reused from Steel Phantom. The second drop was when things started changing. First off, they extended the drop to 232 feet. After that was a completely different layout. There is now a turnaround that then dives under Thunderbolt again. There an airtime moment under Thunderbolt. There is then a turn into a bunch of airtime hills. These all provide ejector airtime.

Of all companies to do this, they chose D.H. Morgan Manufacturing. This company is known for making some decent hyper coasters that don't have much airtime.

They also changed the trains. The original trains could have been used, but that would have been very uncomfortable. Instead of using the original Steel Phantom trains, they reused some parts of the originals while using completely new restraints and shells.

Kennywood started using new Lap Bars that have tons of room. These restraints are very similar to Buzz Bars. There are also seat belts, and those are very loose.

When the ride opened, it was praised for the strong ejector airtime. People loved the restraints, and it was overall considered an improvement. Some people were still upset that Steel Phantom was removed, but more people just loved the ride.

In 2009, Kennywood retracked the first drop, straight section, and the arrow track on the camelback.

In 2014, they added new shells to the Phantom trains. These were made out of Fiberglass.

In 2021, Phantom's Revenge celebrates its 20th anniversary. They plan on celebrating with some small things, but as of the time I am writing this (February 2021), those plans have not been released.