Steel Force is a
steel roller coaster located at
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located between Allentown and Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The park features 64 rides, including six roller coasters, other ad ...
in
Allentown, Pennsylvania. As of 2022, Steel Force is tied with
Mamba
Mambas are fast moving highly venomous snakes of the genus ''Dendroaspis'' (which literally means "tree asp") in the family Elapidae. Four extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essentially arboreal and green ...
at
Worlds of Fun
Worlds of Fun is an entertainment complex with more than 235 acres located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is the largest amusement park and water park in the Midwest. Founded by American businessmen Lamar Hunt and Jack Steadman, the park opened in ...
as the
eighth longest steel coaster in the world.
Built by
D. H. Morgan Manufacturing and designed by Steve Okamoto, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 30, 1997, and was billed as "the tallest and longest roller coaster on the east coast",
featuring a drop, of track, and a maximum speed of .
History
On September 16, 1996, Dorney Park announced that Steel Force would be coming to the park.
The ride opened on May 30, 1997.
Steel Force has been ranked among the top 10 steel coasters in the world.
Its
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
was originally intended for the stand-up coaster
Mantis
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...
(now Rougarou), which opened at
Cedar Point a year earlier. Mantis was originally going to be named "Banshee," but the name and logo were changed prior to its debut.
Dorney Park adopted it for its Steel Force coaster a year later.
Ride experience
The train departs the station entering a slight decline into the lift hill. After reaching the top, the train enters the first drop of , reaching a maximum vertical angle of 61 degrees. At the bottom of the first drop, riders pass through a tunnel and into a camelback hill. The train then ascends a third hill, which doubles as the entrance to the downward, helix turnaround. After the helix, the train enters a mid-course
brake run, before entering the ride's finale – a series of three back-to-back airtime hills and a
double up. The first airtime hill in this series features a tunnel, and an on-ride camera snaps photos at the bottom of the second. Following the double up element, the train passes over the entrance plaza and enters the final brake run before returning to the station.
Awards
Construction data
The following materials are included:
*2,000 tons of steel
* of concrete footers
*2,742 anchor bolts
Ride elements
*Two tunnels
*510-degree downward helix
*Mid-course brake run
*4 airtime hills, including a double-up hill
*On-ride photo camera (between the last two airtime hills)
Gallery
Image:Steel Force (Drop).jpg, Steel Force's first drop
File:Steel Force (Full Drop).JPG, Steel Force's first drop
File:Steel Force (Airtime).JPG, Steel Force's first airtime hill
Image:Steel Force (Return).jpg, Steel Force's final airtime hills
References
External links
Official ''Steel Force'' page
{{DP Coasters
Steel roller coasters
Roller coasters introduced in 1997
Roller coasters operated by Cedar Fair
Roller coasters in Pennsylvania