Primeval Whirl

Primeval Whirl was a steel Wild Mouse roller coaster at Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. The ride was a spinning roller coaster purchased from Reverchon Industries. The ride was part of Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama, which is itself part of DinoLand U.S.A. It was a roller coaster in the "Mild But Wild Thrills" category. It had cars that spin in circles while traveling on tracks, permitting the ride experience to vary greatly each time it is ridden. The ride featured 13 cars, each seating up to 4 riders.

Primeval Whirl
Car going up chain lift
Disney's Animal Kingdom
LocationDisney's Animal Kingdom
Park sectionDinoLand U.S.A. - Chester & Hester's Dino-Rama
Coordinates28°21′23.05″N 81°35′15.8″W
StatusClosed
Opening dateMarch 31, 2002
Closing dateMarch 15, 2020
General statistics
TypeSteel Spinning Wild Mouse
ManufacturerReverchon Industries
DesignerWalt Disney Imagineering
ModelSpinning Coaster
Track layoutWild Mouse
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height42.7 ft (13.0 m)
Length1,377.9 ft (420.0 m)
Speed29.1 mph (46.8 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration1:30
Capacity900 riders per hour
G-force2.5
Height restriction48 in (122 cm)
Fastpass+ available
Primeval Whirl at RCDB
Pictures of Primeval Whirl at RCDB

Similar to Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom, Primeval Whirl was actually two roller coasters facing opposite directions. Unlike Space Mountain, both tracks had an identical layout instead of the mirrored track.

The ride had been reduced to seasonal operation from June 17, 2019, and later in September park officials stated that the attraction would only be operating on a seasonal basis. On July 16, 2020, officials confirmed that the attraction would not re-open after various speculation.[1]

The ride

The ride was themed to time travel and to the meteor which was believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. This gave the coaster a storyline very similar to that of Dinosaur, the nearby dark ride.

Incidents

On November 29, 2007, a Disney employee died in a hospital after falling from the Primeval Whirl ride platform and hitting her head. Four months later, Disney announced it was adding sensors that would detect if a cast member entered into areas that are off-limits and stop the movement of the ride vehicles in the immediate area.[2][3]

On March 14, 2011, another Disney employee died after suffering from head trauma while working on a dip on the ride the previous day.[4]

See also

References

  1. Tuttle, Brittani (July 16, 2020). "Disney World permanently closes of Rivers of Light, Primeval Whirl, Stitch's Great Escape". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  2. "Primeval Whirl". WDWHistory.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012.
  3. Powers, Scott. "Disney's Animal Kingdom ride gets added safety features". Orlando Sentinel.
  4. Curtis, Henry Pierson. "Disney's Animal Kingdom worker dies from injuries". Orlando Sentinel.
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