Wild Mouse (Pleasure Beach Blackpool)



The Wild Mouse is a Wooden roller coaster located at Pleasure Beach, Blackpool in Blackpool. Opened in 1958, it's one of only 5 remaining wooden Wild Mouse coasters left in the world and is held in very high regard as one of the finest and most extreme examples of Wild Mouse coasters.

History
Begun in 1955, both the design and construction of the Wild Mouse was done entirely in-house by the Pleasure Beach. Designed by Frank Wright and opened in 1958 it was the first major ride to be built at the Pleasure Beach since World War II.

The ride was subsequently modified in 1960s by the Velare Brothers (the originators of Sky Wheels and Space Wheels). The top circuit preceding the switchbacks, containing a big drop and a shallower dip, was added making the ride about 1/3 longer. Apparently this change was inspired by a similar alteration of the Velare's Wild Mouse at Nu-Pike in Long Beach, California.

Ride Layout & Experience
The Wild Mouse is by far the smallest of the "adult" coasters at the pleasure beach. The ride itself is packed into more-or-less a cube, bar one turn which pops out over the busy foot path below. Unlike most versions of this type of ride, passengers sit one in front of the other, in tandem.

From the station, two 90 degree turns lead to the lift hill. Half way up this, the car passes underneath another part of the track, so close that it is quite easily possible to reach up and touch it. At the top comes the first of many 90° "near miss" turns, as the car nearly ploughs straight into the turret of the nearby Ghost Train. Trim brakes are present just before the next turn, which leads to the first drop; however, these are rarely used. Even if the brakes are working, the car launches itself into the steep first drop, with the proximity of the structure giving a real feeling of speed.

Following this drop, the ride goes through a traditional zig-zag section, common to all Wild Mice, where the car darts forward and backward, gathering speed as it goes. These turns (as with almost all on this ride) are particularly tight, with the car wheels noticeably lifting from the track. Following this are two more very sharp 90° turns, followed immediately by two steep drops, one after the other and, both well hidden amongst the structure. These are followed by the aforementioned turnaround out of the structure over the heads of the queue pen (possibly designed to give the impression that the car has "burst" out of the ride). This leads the car heading straight towards the lift hill, only for a violent right-left chicane to throw the car aside at the last moment. This is immediately followed by a last hidden dip, throwing riders into the air, immediately followed by another 90° "near-miss" turn resulting in extremely high lateral G-Forces of 1.8 G. One final turn brings the car back toward the station.

Refurbishment
The ride was closed in November 2007 and re-opened in time for Summer 2008. This was due to a complete refurbishment of the ride including replacing all wood and repainting the entire structure.