ELYSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Many amusement rides have come and gone at Pennsylvania amusement parks. Some rides are removed due to them reaching the end of their service life, and some get moved to other parks around the country.

But there is one roller coaster that called Pennsylvania home for over 10 years before it was moved out of the country to a different area of the world.

The Whirlwind roller coaster at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg was a coaster that operated at the park from 1993 to the end of the 2004 season. Before being built at that park, the ride was opened in 1984 at a New York theme park called Playland Park. The ride was Knoebels’ first coaster to feature inversions, which is according to the National Amusement Park Historical Association.

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The ride opened during the 1993 season. It was 64 feet tall and was 1,148 feet in length. Its track was white with green supports and features a single train with seven cars. The trains were red and yellow. The ride’s layout is rather simple, as it features two corkscrews separated by a large curve. Besides the inversions, the coaster was mild, with a top speed of around 40 miles per hour.

The coaster itself was manufactured by Vekoma, who has built well-known coasters such as the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Jolly Rancher Remix at Hersheypark.

After the 2004 season, Whirlwind was disassembled and reopened at the Parque Diversiones in San José, Costa Rica. The coaster received a new paint job of yellow track and blue supports and was renamed Bocaraca, which is a species of viper. The entrance to the ride features a large snake head. The ride opened at that park in 2005 and is still in operation to this day.

To take a virtual ride on Whirlwind, click here. To take a ride on the coaster at its new home in Costa Rica, click here.

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