ThrillNetwork.com :: You'll go nuts for S&S's Screaming Squirrel

Special Features: You'll go nuts for S&S's Screaming Squirrel

By Steven

Oct. 19th, 2003 -- S&S Power premiered their new mad-mouse style coaster Thursday. Our editor-in-chief, Steven Heicher, was invited to give his take on this very unique coaster, which gives riders an unusual upside-down feeling, but has them craving for more.

When we usually think about S&S Power, we usually think about their tower rides, such as Power Tower at Cedar Point or the Big Shot on top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. We may even think of the many installations of its Frog Hopper or its themed variants. Why do we tend to think of S&S in this way? The answer is simple; there are over 120 tower ride installations in the world alone.

That is why S&S has been making an effort to diversify themselves via acquisitions and strategic moves in order to better position themselves in the industry. In 2000, they unveiled their Thrust-Air 2000 coaster, which only have two installations in the world: at Paramount King’s Dominion with Hypersonic XLC, and at Fujikyu Highlands with Dodonpa. In 2002, they brought in Denise Dinn from the former Custom Coasters International to start a wooden coaster division, which completed its first coaster in June of this year (Timberhawk: Ride of Prey at Wild Waves and Enchanted Village in Washington state) and have a few more in the works. It also purchased Arrow Dynamics, which was in chapter 11 bankruptcy, and absorbed the best of Arrow into S&S, including its best engineers such as Alan Schilke, who is currently designing coasters for its wooden division. It also came up with other ride types, such as its Sky Swatter and Sky Sling (a revamp of the original Absolutely Insane ride, which received bad press after a part of it collapsed at Cedar Point and was subsequently removed at all Cedar Fair parks).

Sensing a need to cater to the family market, Stan Checketts came up with an idea that would do just that; yet retain his ability to create such a seemingly insane ride. With that, the Screaming Squirrel was born.

About the Squirrel...

An overview shot of the Screaming Squirrel

An overivew shot of the Screaming Squirrel

The best way to describe the Screaming Squirrel is that it’s a wild mouse turned on its side (well, sort of). It has a very small footprint for a coaster (112 feet long x 31 feet wide on the ground, with an overall length of 144 feet), making it ideal for any space-strapped amusement park, even when you figure in the queues. The ride is designed to have between 8-10 cars, all seating four passengers per car, with a theoretical capacity between 900-1000 riders per hour. The cars also feature the new generation restraints found on its Sky Swatter and Sky Sling rides, with a separate lapbar and shoulder restraint which adjust to the person, not the other way around.

The ride climbs up a 65-degree lift (a traditional chain lift I might add) at about 5 mph up to about 88 feet, and then begins like any other wild mouse… coasting along a straight section of track at a lower speed than other coasters (following the entire path at a speed roughly between 7-18 mph). That is where the similarities end. After the straightaway, you hit the first drop, which is a whopping 180 degrees, hanging upside-down for about 7 seconds. Then, you return to horizontal. This repeats two more times until you hit the safety brakes at the bottom. The only horizontal turns you make are as you leave the station for the lift and before the station. This may not be the case if a park decides to create a custom version of the ride, however.

The ride time, from the time you get in, to the time you get out, lasts approximately 75 seconds. Riders experience no more than 2g’s and aside from being vertical, do get a small pop of airtime after the second inversion.

Steven experiences the Squirrel…

We got there about 9:30am local time. I say “we” as I was in a group that included Ed Hiller from Ride Entertainment Systems, Lance Hart from Screamscape, Paul Reuben and his wife, and a couple of others. Most of us went into a meeting room to discuss the ride at hand, from the statistics on the paper, and from what we saw on a video that was playing.

In the video, there were some who looked like they were not enjoying it, and then there were some who were having the time of their life. What was funny, though, was that those who did not seem to enjoy themselves wanted to ride again. It managed to get a few laughs.

After discussing the ride over some coffee and maybe a danish, some of us got a tour of the entire operation, including where they manufacture some of the components of their rides. I even got a chance to test the new seats (since I am a larger person and cannot fit on some rides, including Wicked Twister and Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point). Thanks to S&S thinking about the American population (if you remember all of those reports about Americans getting bigger), I fit with flying colors!

Stan Checketts giving his Speech

The premiere of the ride came around 11:30am, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Checketts, his wife, and mayor of the city of Logan, who presented an award to Checketts for his service to the community. Besides the media, the employees, and some local government members, there were students from several area schools on hand to ride the ride. They were a pushy bunch, because I could not even join some of the other people who got to ride first (Paul and Lance were among the first). So, I opted to hang back, try to get a few more photos, and I talked with some of those who were responsible for the ride.

While I talked with the others, I observed what the other guests were doing. Many of them were getting on, riding (and scaring others in the process by their screams), and once the ride was over, they got off, and made a mad dash for the entrance again. Eventually, the lines started to die down, and I caught Lance to see if he would be up for another ride. Since him and I were both big people (46” waist and around 260 pounds for myself), it was, in a way, proof that the ride can handle big people.

Screaming Squirrel car going up the lift

We left the station, and came to the lift. It slowly got us into enough of an angle, then started taking us up at about 5 mph. As we ascended, I looked around like I usually do, and observed what the ride was doing. We were quickly over the top, and started coasting down the first straightaway. We came to the drop, and the brakes on the drop did slow us down so we would not get whipped around. So, I find myself upside down, and liking it. My arms were in the air, as were Lance’s, and all I could think about was how sweet it was to be upside down in a fashion that has never been done on a coaster. I was comfortable throughout. Then we came back to horizontal on another straightaway for a breather. It really did not last too long, since we found ourselves upside down again and enjoying more hang-time. A few seconds later, we again came back to horizontal, hitting a very small hill which did give us a little bit of air, and cruised through the last drop. We were going a little faster by then, so the last drop and return to horizontal went by faster. We hit the brakes pretty quick, and of course, had a little help from a guy stationed there to get moving again (which still goes to show, it is a ride that still has bugs to work out). Once we got back to the station, and we got off, I had to think for a moment to make sure that I had really ridden this ride.

The Screaming Squirrel was definitely an awesome ride… I rode it my standard three times throughout the day. The second time, Lance and I were stuck at a 135-degree angle for a couple of seconds at the first drop… while he was filming. We were told that it did it intermittently, but that some of the buyers want it to do that every time, and we definitely concurred with their opinion. After all, there are only two other coasters that stop you before the first drop. They were both B&M dive machines. On my third Screaming Squirrel ride, I got to sit next to an eleven year old girl who had already ridden the ride 15 times (and rode it once more after that ride). She had not ridden any other coaster in her life, yet she was clearly enjoying the experience this ride gives.

Why Steven went Nuts…

Riders get hangtime while they are upside down on the Screaming Squirrel

Checketts himself said that he had intended for the Screaming Squirrel to be designed less intense than his other creations so that kids aged 7-15 could easily enjoy it. What he did not mention was the ride was still very exciting, and there was still a level of intensity that could be felt.

Despite the fact the restraints on the Screaming Squirrel do look like what Togo uses, they really are comfortable, and fit the rider a lot more (instead of the rider fitting the restraints). S&S went all out for comfort and to make sure more guests could ride their rides. Not once was I forced to deal with discomfort or pain during the ride.

Currently, the minimum height requirement is 50 inches. However, one of the things that we actively discussed was lowering it to at least 48 inches, as it would attract more guests and be easier to add among other rides (there is not too many rides with a 50 inch height restriction). In addition, the restraints were already designed with a minimum of a 48-inch guest in mind.

At an installation cost of under $2 million, the Screaming Squirrel packs an awesome punch, and the cost is very easily justified by the ridership it has the potential to satisfy. It provides an excitement and intense level that is unique yet the whole family can enjoy. So far, the ride has been sold to at least one Asian park, and I can only say that if you want to experience the ride, encourage your local (or favorite) park to consider adding this ride. I am sure you will go nuts after riding the Screaming Squirrel!