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.
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Backstory: The Mystery Behind the Menace
In the early 1900s, Scottish businessman Hiram S. McTavish opened McTavish Steel Mill, a direct competitor to Bethlehem Steel Company. Greed dictated McTavish’s every move, and he was well known to prioritize profits above people.
With an eye on maximizing output, McTavish created a massive hauler he dubbed “Iron Menace,” a device the steel industry had never seen. The rail transporter moved workers and ore at record volumes and dizzying speeds.
Suddenly the greedy steel baron mysteriously disappeared—no one knows how or where. Shortly after, McTavish Steel Mill closed. All that remains today are the mill’s decrepit shell, rusty relics and wild tales of the owner’s whereabouts.
The Drop
Just as it did in the early 1900s, the Iron Menace hauls riders throughout the now-defunct steel mill. The hulking train 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.)
Four Inversions
Only the most twisted thrill rides offer numerous inversions, and Iron Menace boasts four. After the initial, beastly drop, the train pulls up sharply and flips 180 degrees in an Immelmann inversion. A zero g-roll dishes out a 360-degree inversion in wild weightlessness. A tilted loop (the world’s first on a dive coaster) and a mind-bending, 360-degree corkscrew spin leave you wondering which way is up—and counting the seconds until you can ride again.
Ride Stats
Designed by: Bolliger & Mabillard
Coaster type: Dive
Height of drop: 152 feet
Angle of first drop: 95 degrees (for reference, 90 degrees is vertical)
Top speed: 64 miles per hour
Inversions: 4 (Immelman 180-degree turn, zero g-roll 360-degree inversion in weightlessness, world’s first tilted loop on a dive coaster, 360-degree corkscrew spin)
Length: 2,169 feet
Duration: 90 seconds
Trains: 2
Riders per train: 21
