One of Kennywood Park’s most famous — and incredibly popular — coasters, the Laser Loop, will be back and operating on U.S. soil for the first time in decades.
Niagara Amusement Park & Splash World has purchased the looping ride — since renamed Cascabel — from La Feria Chapultepec Magico, a park in Mexico City.
The park announced the news Wednesday on its Facebook page.
The news should come as a welcome surprise to the ride’s fans who have long called for Kennywood to bring it back. They can take solace in knowing their Loop will be just a 3½-hour ride north (230 miles) to Grand Island, N.Y.
The Laser Loop made its debut in 1980 in Kennywood, becoming the park’s first looping coaster.
It stayed a favorite until 1990, when it was sold to a European vendor, who refurbished it for the park in Mexico City, where it operated from 1994 to 2019.
German engineer Anton Schwarzkopf manufactured the ride, which is known by coaster enthusiasts as a “shuttle loop,” traveling in a straight line through a 360-degree loop and back again.
According to Coaster101, the yet-unnamed coaster is about 870 feet long, 139 feet tall and has a top speed of 54 mph.
In 2020, the coaster was put up for sale for $490,000.
