The Laser Loop, a former Kennywood favorite, is for sale

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop
Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 1:26 p.m. | Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 1:26 p.m.

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Courtesy of Kennywood Park

Kennywood’s Laser Loop was a top attraction at the park from 1980-1990.

Courtesy of Dan Hower

Pittsburgh resident Dan Hower is owner of coasternation.com, a website providing news about amusement parks, zoos, fun centers, trade-shows, and haunted attractions around the world. He’s been visiting amusement parks such as Kennywood in West Mifflin since he was 2 years old.

Are you loopy enough to buy a roller coaster?

Now, you can.

The Laser Loop, an attraction at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin from 1980 to 1990, is for sale.

You’ll need to negotiate the $490,000 asking price, which does not include the cost of dismantling the ride, transporting it and putting it all back together. By the way, the ride is in Mexico at the moment.

All these details come from CoasterNation.com, a website providing news about amusement parks, zoos, fun centers, trade-shows, and haunted attractions around the world. The website’s proprietor is Pittsburgh resident Dan Hower, an amusement park enthusiast who has been visiting them since he was 2

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Hower recalled that the ride has a huge following in Pittsburgh as well as from coaster enthusiasts across the country. In his professional opinion, it could fit well with an upstart park or one that features what he calls “legacy” rides.

Kennywood had sold the Laser Loop to a European vendor, who refurbished the ride for La Feria Chapultepec Magico park in Mexico City, where it operated until 2019. It is still there.

Technically speaking, the ride is a “shuttle loop,” travelling in a straight line through a 360-degree loop, and then back again. A video from 1988 shows it in action, operating as a single train with seven cars. It reached a height of 139 feet and a speed of 54 mph. Potential buyers can see the coaster on the website UsedRides.com.

Kennywood declined to comment on the ride up for sale.

Bill Linkenheimer, of Ross, was on the final ride of the Laser Loop, 30 years ago, on Labor Day. He recalled a champagne toast for the final spin. Linkenheimer, the regional representative for American Coaster Enthusiasts, said it was the first of that production model to use the launch mechanism and a fly wheel cable.

It’s not unusual for the Laser Loop to be up for sale, he said. Other similar rides have been bought and sold.

“Every time I went to Kennywood, I rode the Laser Loop,” he said. “It was a classic. It was simple but fun. Even though you went upside down, it didn’t bang your head around.”