Wild Mouse is a steel wild mouse coaster at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It opened on May 6, 2000, giving the historic park a compact, family-friendly thrill ride built by German manufacturer Maurer Söhne, known for its classic “Wilde Maus” coaster line found at parks around the world.
The ride’s theming leans into a playful cat-and-mouse chase, with non-spinning, four-person cars, arranged two rows of two riders each, painted alternately as mice and pursuing cats. Riders climb a roughly 49-foot lift hill before the train dives into a tight series of switchback hairpin turns, a hallmark of the wild mouse coaster genre that creates the sensation of nearly running off the track’s edge.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
- Manufacturer: Maurer Söhne (Wilde Maus Classic)
- Opened: May 6, 2000
- Height: About 49 feet
- Top speed: About 28 mph
- Length: About 1,214 feet
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
After the chain lift pulls the train to its peak, Wild Mouse launches into a rapid sequence of hairpin turns stacked across a compact, multi-tiered steel structure. The tight switchbacks are the defining feature of the wild mouse design, giving the small, non-spinning four-person cars the illusion of teetering off each turn before snapping back toward the next drop.
Small dips and airtime moments punctuate the turnaround sequence, adding brief moments of weightlessness between the sharp direction changes. Unlike spinning wild mouse variants, the cars stay fixed in orientation, letting riders anticipate each hairpin while still feeling the sudden lateral snap of the turns. The whole circuit is short, but its density of turns and drops packs a surprising amount of action into a footprint far smaller than a typical steel coaster.
A Family-Friendly Fixture
Because wild mouse coasters run at modest speeds without inversions, Wild Mouse has long served as an entry point for younger or first-time riders at Dorney Park, bridging the gap between kiddie rides and the park’s larger steel and wooden coasters. Its accessible height requirement and manageable intensity make it a common stop for families touring the park together.
The cat-and-mouse paint scheme on its cars has remained a distinctive visual signature at Dorney Park since the ride’s debut, helping it stand out among the park’s lineup even as newer, larger attractions have opened around it.
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Wild Mouse FAQs
When did Wild Mouse open at Dorney Park?
Wild Mouse opened at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom on May 6, 2000.
Who manufactured Wild Mouse?
Wild Mouse was built by Maurer Söhne, the German manufacturer behind the classic ‘Wilde Maus’ coaster design used at parks worldwide.
Does Wild Mouse spin or have inversions?
No. Wild Mouse uses non-spinning, four-person cars and has zero inversions, relying instead on tight hairpin turns and small drops.
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Photo: Anonymous Postcard Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.