When you retrack a roller coaster, the intention is to make the ride smoother.
And 99% of the time, rides do in fact get smoother after they are retracked. But what about the other
1%? Well, that one percent is known as Wildcat at Lake Compounce. The coaster received all new
trains and trackwork in 2017, but the coaster unfortunately rides rougher than ever now.
In this video, I will be reviewing Wildcat and explaining why this classic coaster
is one of the worst wood coasters in the world. Wildcat was designed by Herb Schmeck of the
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters and it opened in 1927. However, the ride has been retracked several
times over the years. The ride was completely rebuilt by the Dinn Corporation in 1985.
The coaster was then retracked in 1998 shortly after the park was purchased by
the Kennywood Corporation. And most recently, the entire coaster was again retracked in 2017.
I have been riding Wildcat for 2 decades. It has always been a rough ride. But the work done to the
coaster in 2017 somehow made the coaster worse. Martin & Vleminckx performed this full retracking
and the coaster also received two new Millennium Flyer trains. Not only does Wildcat track worse
than ever, but it’s already low capacity got even worse. The old PTC trains seated 18 riders
while the new trains seat just 14 riders. This coaster routinely has one of the longest
lines in all of Lake Compounce. The ride only runs one train at a time. Combine that with
the short trains and decent ride time, and you have a receipe for a slow moving line.
If all the station’s switchbacks are filled, which is a common occurrence even on weekday’s,
Wildcat’s line takes a half hour. And quite simply, it is not worth a half
hour wait. It isn’t even worth half that. Wildcat is a coaster I rarely ride due to
the dismal capacity and brutal ride experience. And it really is a shame how Wildcat turned out.
Wildcat long had a reputation has a brutal coaster. Lake Compounce invested a sizable sum of
cash into this coaster for the 2017 season- enough to buy an all-new coaster- but Wildcat got worse.
Before 2017, the coaster ran 3 bench PTC trains. The first two rows offered tolerable rides.
At best Wildcat was ridable but boring. However, the wheel seats were nasty.
I remember one back row ride as a kid where Wildcat drew blood from my dad.
But ever since 2017, there isn’t a single enjoyable seat on Wildcat.
Every seat is a disaster. I usually love Millennium Flyers,
but these trains can’t save this ride. In fact, they are used as instruments of pain. Unlike the
old PTC trains or even the older Millennium Flyers that had soft cushioned seats, these Millennium
flyers have the hard foam seats. These are less forgiving as Wildcat shuffles down the track.
You also get pain from the lap bar. Millennium Flyers use t-bars, so your legs can bang against
the central bar as the train shakes down the track. Compare this to the old PTC
trains that operated with forgiving buzz bars. And the poor trackwork is evident from the start.
Wildcat has a slow approach to the lift hill and even this stretch of track is shaky,
which is shocking considering you aren’t going more than 5 mph.
You then head up the 85 foot or 26 meter tall lift hill,
which sadly is the best part of the ride. Since Wildcat is in the center of the park, the lift
offers some nice views of the entire park. Plus, it’s about the only smooth part of the ride.
The first drop is 78 feet or 24 meters tall. With the old trains, it was possible to get a little
bit of airtime on this drop. With the new trains, you get zero airtime. And to bury the hatchet,
Wildcat has zero airtime. Despite featuring a double out and back layout with countless
bunny hills, none of them have any airtime. It’s impressive in the worst way possible.
I’m dead serious when I say this, you get more airtime on the road driving
into Lake Compounce than you do on Wildcat. The pullout from the first drop is admittedly
smooth, but don’t get used to that. Every other valley on Wildcat will beat you up.
The first turnaround is this shallow, drawn-out turanround.
Due to the lack of banking, you get a tiny bit of laterals traversing this element.
But that leads into the worst part of the ride- the first bunny hill.
This bunny hill has an abrupt kink to the right at the apex, so you are violently jolted to the
side. Combine that with non-stop jackhammering and this is one of the worst elements on any coaster.
I have PTSD just thinking about this element. The following bunny hill tracks just as poorly,
but it’s straight so it doesn’t have the lateral jolt.
You then traverse another drawn out turnaround. You get some gentle laterals at the top,
but that’s followed by three more bunny hills. The first two gradually bank to the left, so they
combine some painful lateral jolts with standard shuffling. The third is thankfully straight.
You then navigate another slow turnaround and head over two final bunny hills.
And the weird thing with this ride’s layout is that the last two bunny hills are taller
than the ones earlier in the ride. So not only are they comically slow and free of airtime,
but the valleys provide bad jolts as well. You then rise into the brake run and Wildcat
of course ends with a hard stop that will slam you forwards. It’s only fitting for
Wildcat to knock the wind out of you by jamming the lap bar into your stomach.
Wildcat is 2,746 feet or 837 meters of pain. This kitty has claws. Sharp, painful claws.
The one redeeming quality about Wildcat is that the coaster looks great.
The coaster has a white support structure and I’m a sucker for that color on a classic wood coaster.
Then the ride has orange rails, which is an odd color choice, but it compliments the
orange trains. Those colors were selected since the park’s mascot was Garfield for many years.
The entrance is also flamboyant, but I love it. You enter under one of the former trains.
And then there are a half dozen signs for the coaster. While it seems overboard, it’s very much
necessary if you’ve been to Lake Compounce. People struggle to find the entrance for this coaster.
The entrance is on the back midway tucked next to the seating area for Pink’s hot dogs.
But the ride’s placement is excellent. I love how it’s in the center of the park. Wildcat
adds a lot of kinetic energy to the park as the midway circles around the
attraction. And it also helps create one of the most iconic entrances in the industry.
The way the lift hill is centered with the main entrance is picture perfect.
So what would I rate Wildcat? Since this isn’t a fashion show, I’m giving this coaster a 1
out of 10. Wildcat is wretched. The coaster is brutally rough. And even if it weren’t violent,
the layout is terrible. Before the retracking, Wildcat probably would have been a 3 out of 10.
But like I said earlier, it performed the rare feat of becoming worse after retracking.
I feel bad trashing Wildcat given its historical significance
and the amount of effort Lake Compounce has put into fixing this ride,
but the reality is that Wildcat is one of the worst wood coasters in the world.
So those are my thoughts on Wildcat, the classic but painful wood coaster at Lake Compounce.
What are your thoughts on this coaster? Do you hate it as much as me? I would love to
hear your thoughts about this coaster down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!