Cyclone at Wonderland in Amarillo, Texas is a classic wild mouse coaster.
This Miler mouse has a lot more spirit than newer wild mice
and in this review, I will explain why it’s one of the better ones in the genre.
In the 1950s, several companies started developing wild mice coasters.
B&A Schiff was the first in 1950. This model was immensely popular for its compact footprint,
exciting hairpin turns, and sharp drops. So other companies started building similar coasters.
Miler built their first wild mouse in 1955 with the Wild Chipmunk at Lakeside in Denver, Colorado,
which still operates today. And Herschell unveiled their own wild mouse model in 1959.
Schiff built 71 wild mice, but none remain today. Herschell built 42 wild mice, but only two still
operate at Little Amerricka and Arnolds Park. Although if you want more information, I have a
review on Quassy’s former Monster Mouse coaster. Meanwhile, Miler built only 4 wild mice,
but their’s lasted longer. The aforementioned Wild Chipmunk and Wonderland’s Cyclone still operate
today. The other two closed after the 2012 season. So all of their’s operated for at least 50 years.
One of the biggest reasons for this is probably the fact that Miler still operates today.
Carl Miler founded Miler Manufacturing in the 1940s, which produced coasters until
the mid-1970s. A decade later, Carl’s sons Eric and Fred Miler, reopened Miler
Manufacturing and renamed it E&F Miler. E&F Miler focuses primarily on kiddie coasters,
but they have built some larger coasters and even one wild mouse that currently operates today at
Scandia Sacramento as the Crazy Dane Coaster. Meanwhile, both Schiff and Herschell closed in
the 1970s, which made it hard to find replacement parts.
But back to Wonderland, Cyclone opened at Wonderland in 1968 as their first
adult coaster. But Cyclone had two pit stops before finding a long-term home at Wonderland.
It originally opened in 1960 at Springlake Park in Oklahoma City. The ride only operated
there for one season before being relocated to Funtown in Atlanta where it operated until 1966.
Cyclone was running three cars the day I visited.
Each car held a maximum of two people. Despite this, it was no more than a 2-3 car wait.
And I find it fascinating they operate multiple cars on this coaster. To quote El Toro Ryan,
a block zone is a section of ride that only one train may occupy at a time. At the end of a block
zone there is a method to stop the train, in case the block zone ahead is still occupied.
This is the safety system that prevents roller coaster trains from colliding with one another.
This is how most coasters operate. And this is how my coasters
operate in Roller Coaster Tycoon if I’m too lazy to switch my rides from Continuous Circuit Block
Sectioned Mode to Continuous Circuit Mode. Cyclone does things much differently. There
does not appear to be any blocks between the top of the lift to the final brake run. I saw
no emergency brakes or methods to stop a train. Despite this fact, Wonderland
will allow two trains on this section of the ride simultaneously, which was quite the shock to see.
If I’m incorrect and there is a way to stop the train on the course, I’d love to know.
Cyclone’s cars are quite interesting. 99% of roller coasters have restraints.
Actually, I think that number may be higher. But Cyclone is in the less than 1% that operate with
absolutely no restraints. There are no seatbelts, no lap bars, nothing. I couldn’t believe it.
The cars feel like well-padded bathtubs. You sit really low to the track with your legs extended
straight outwards. All you have to hold onto are these thin rails on the outside edge of the car.
It’s a foreign riding position even for a seasoned coaster enthusiast.
The cars also have a similar feature to the Herschell wild mice. The front wheels are
set quite a ways from the front of the car. This means the nose of the train extends beyond each
hairpin turn before you start turning. Combined with how far back you’re sitting, it really does
feel like you’re going to fall off the track. The ride starts with a 35 foot tall or 11 meter
lift. This leads into a long series of hairpin turns like most wild mice. These turns are quite
wild for the aforementioned visual, but they also have some solid laterals because of the lack of
restraints. There’s nothing stopping you from slamming into the well-padded side of the train.
There isn’t even a seat mold- the bottom of the train is a flat pad. This makes the laterals more
enjoyable than usual on this type of ride. At the end of the elevated hairpin turns
you go down this funky double down. There’s this hybrid hairpin turn/banked drop that gives a quick
jolt of laterals. And immediately after you level out, you plunge down the ride’s largest drop,
which is 15-20 ft or 4.5-6 meters depending where you look.
This drop is sharp and you have some good speed going into it, yet it doesn’t offer any airtime.
The following hill has a banked hairpin turn at the top,
so it gives another abrupt jolt of laterals. You then travel to the opposite side of the ride
and drop down another sizable drop that actually gives a faint pop of airtime,
the only bit of airtime on the ride. You then rise up and over another camelback. While none
of the other hills give airtime, they do have some good zip to them because of how compact they are.
And then you rise up another hill that also has a banked hairpin turn at the top
to deliver another abrupt jolt of laterals. You then cross back to the other side of the ride
and drop back down to the ground. You then rise over another camelback.
This one is notable though because of the crazy headchopper with the track above you.
It catches you off-guard since you can’t see it until you crest the hill.
You then rise up into another turnaround that has yet another banked hairpin turn at the top.
Like the others, it delivers another abrupt dose of laterals.
That leads into a 360 degree downwards helix that is the most intense part of the ride.
Because of the helix’s compactness you get some great sustained laterals. And because of
how the helix is angled downwards, the laterals only increase as your rapidly build up speed.
You then pop up into the brake run, ending the ride.
And despite being over 60 years old and being relocated twice,
Cyclone is a pretty smooth ride. It throws you around, but that’s deliberate on the laterals.
So what would I rate Cyclone? I would give this coaster a 7 out of 10. The experience is probably
closer to a 6, but I am bumping it up a point since this is one of the best wild mice out there.
The unique vehicles combined with the lovely laterals make this a standout in the genre.
I really enjoyed Cyclone and it’s a shame more of these Miler wild mice weren’t made.
So those are my thoughts on Cyclone, the classic wild mouse coaster at Wonderland. Have you ridden
this coaster? Or have you ridden a different Miler wild mouse at another park? I would love
to hear your thoughts on 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!