Tac Talks Coasters - Post 153: #17
Photo Sources: All photos are mine
Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood!
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Opened: 1991 (Renovated into its current form in 2001) Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics (Renovated by D.H. Morgan) Height: 160 ft (49 m) Drop: 228 ft (69 m) Speed: 85 mph (137 kph) Length: 3,200 ft (980 m) My most recent ride: 2021
It's been a long time since I've talked about Kennywood, huh? The last time I covered a coaster here was way back in mid July when I talked about Sky Rocket, which is way down at number 82 on my list lol. But Phantom's Revenge is such a different beast from anything else at Kennywood that it makes sense as to why there's such a huge gap between my number one and number two ranked coasters at the park. Though to be fair, both Thunderbolt and Steel Curtain were closed when I went, so one of those two (particularly Steel Curtain) could be a new number 2 in the park when I get back to ride them lol.
Anyways, one word I would use to describe Phantom's Revenge is unconventional. You're not gonna find another hypercoaster like this one really anywhere. I mean look at those stats above, it's drop is almost 60 feet taller than it's lift height. The only coasters I can think of with a greater difference between their height and drop are Oblivion at Alton Towers in the UK, and it's clone, Diving Coaster G5 at Janfusun Fancyworld in Taiwan. How does Phantom pull off a height difference of that much? Masterful use of the park's hilly terrain.
Phantom's Revenge uses terrain better than just about any coaster I've ever seen. Let alone any other ride I've ridden other than maybe Iron Rattler at Fiesta Texas. The ride's biggest drop is actually it's second drop, since it goes down a swooping first drop off the lift, rises up again, turns slightly and then plummets down into a wooded ravine. This huge drop feels like it goes on forever, it is so sustained. It almost feels like a drop you'd find on a B&M giga. Then as you fly down, you pass through the structure of Thunderbolt, one of the park's wooden coasters. This makes for a ridiculous headchopper since the gap doesn't seem nearly big enough to fit through, especially at the angle you're hurtling towards it at.
After that amazing drop, you fly around a huge banked left hand turnaround. This turn offers some great positive Gs and laterals all the way through before diving back down, turning up to the right and passing through Thunderbolt again on its way out of the ravine and back up the hill. The way this turn is profiled gives it like a little notch or small hill halfway through that gives a surprisingly sharp pop of airtime that you wouldn't expect at that moment. You then go around a turn over some other rides that sets you up for the ride's crazy finale.
The finale kicks off with a dip out of the turn over the midways and a second small-ish hill that dives down to ground level. These are both fantastic ejector airtime moments in any row on the train. You then shoot underneath the ride's final brake run, rise up and then hit an awesome double down. This is where you drop, level out for a second and then drop some more. This double down is taken so fast that you almost don't have time to land back in your seat after the first drop before you're going down the second drop. It's a very out of control feeling moment, especially since you're going so fast. Phantom hits its top speed at the bottom of that big second drop and then really never lets off the gas until the end of the ride.
After the double down, you go around one more forceful banked turn, fly over another very sharp airtime hill and then shoot into the brake run. Phantom is absolutely nonstop from the drop off the lift to the final brakes. It is kinda short since you go through the course so fast, but considering the land constraints that Arrow and later Morgan had to work around, I get why the ride is the length that it is.
And speaking of Morgan, they did absolute wonders to the ride when they renovated in 2001. See, Phantom's Revenge originally opened in 1991 as Steel Phantom, built by Arrow Dynamics. It had a similar layout, but rather than a crazy airtime finale, there were four inversions on this thing. Just thinking about going that fast through old Arrow inversions with those bulky over the shoulder restraints makes me shudder. Based on what I've read, the original Steel Phantom got painfully rough, and Kennywood had to decide what to do with it less than a decade after it originally opened.
And to the benefit of everyone, D.H. Morgan Manufacturing got the job and turned Steel Phantom, a rough, uncomfortable headbanger of a looping hypercoaster, into one of the smoothest and most airtime packed hypercoasters out there. A big reason as to why Phantom's airtime is so good is Morgan's very minimalist restraints. Gone are the hard over the shoulder harnesses of Steel Phantom, and they were replaced with a lapbar that lowers in from the side of the train that doesn't even get close to your lap. There's also a seatbelt, which I usually find unnecessary on some coasters, but here, you owe your life to that thing lmao.
But anyways, if you're coming out to Kennywood for anything, it should be Phantom's Revenge. This ride is world class and is easily one of the most unique coasters out there. Also, lemme tell you, if you can get back row night rides on Phantom, that is something that is truly out of this world.
Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!
