Video: Dorney Park’s New Dive Coaster’s Stomach-Churning Drop

Dorney Park took its new coaster, Iron Menace, out for its first ride on Monday and the video of a 160-foot drop made my stomach do a summersault.

The Iron Menace Debuts This Season at Dorney Park

Dorney Park gave us a sneak peek of its new 2024 attraction. Iron Menace, one of just six "dive" coasters in operation in the United States, is set to debut in late May at the amusement park in Allentown, PA.

The test video shows Iron Menace runs for about 80 seconds, including a brief pause at the top of the drop to let riders take in views of the park. The ride has four inversions after the initial drop.

Here's how Dorney Park describes the ride.

Forge your own fate on Iron Menace, the northeast’s first dive coaster. Firing up in 2024, this new ride at Dorney Park suspends riders 160 feet in the air before plummeting at a beyond-vertical, 95-degree drop. Four mind-twisting inversions and speeds up to 64 miles per hour leave riders of this drop coaster spellbound—and burning for more.

 

What Are Dive Coasters?

Dive coasters differ from most steel roller coasters in that they have fewer trains with more horizontal seating, offering more of a theater-style experience.

Iron Menace has two trains, each with three cars that seat up to seven people for a total of 21 riders.

Like other dive coasters, it has a holding brake at the top of the lift hill to build suspense before the sudden drop.

Dorney Park Adds to its Fleet of Roller Coasters

Iron Menace will be Dorney Park's seventh steel roller coaster and eighth overall. Dorney Park's The Thuderhawk, a wooden coaster built in 1923, is one of the oldest operating roller coasters in the world.

A little More Information About Iron Menace

As someone who suffers from vertigo issues, reading this next part is all I have to see to know I will never take a ride on Iron Menace. But, it should excite all coaster thrill seekers.

The Iron Menace...elevates riders to a height of 160 feet and lets them dangle over the edge—face-down—for what seems forever. Suddenly the train releases, and riders dive down 95 degrees. (Remember from math class that a 90-degree drop is straight down, so this drop is BEYOND straight down.)

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