Riders fall for Panic Plunge

The screams came in a rush, just like the drop. A group of people had slowly ascended 140 feet in the air only to be plummeted back to the ground in a matter of seconds.

It wasn’t a faulty elevator at a high-rise building – it was Panic Plunge, the newest addition to Silverwood Theme Park, which opens for the season today in Athol.

“This one just takes your breath away because it’s so fast,” said Nancy DiGammarco, Silverwood’s marketing director. “It’s a totally different experience, and you’ll see that when you ride it.”

The attraction is the first addition to the park since 1999 that isn’t water-related, DiGammarco said.

Commercials are airing all over the region touting it, and she expects the excitement to double the number of visitors opening day usually brings.

About 1,500 people typically show up, but DiGammarco compared the anticipation surrounding Panic Plunge to the anticipation that comes with a blockbuster summer movie.

“This is going to be the same thing,” she said. “Everyone wants to go back home to their friends and say ‘I rode it.’ “

Panic Plunge’s price tag was nearly $1 million, and it took a group of about six maintenance workers months to get the ride ready, DiGammarco said.

There’s still a bit more work to be done, she said, such as the addition of a red and yellow striped canvas that will cover the ride’s waiting area and give riders the illusion that they’re plunging toward a target.

Park worker Sandra Lopez said the slow ascent adds to the adrenaline rush of being dropped so suddenly.

“The anticipation is what really gets you,” Lopez said. “You can’t see when it’s going to stop.”

Riders are told to keep their heads closely against the headrest for the entire climb up and plunge down, making it difficult to see how much longer the climb is, but park worker Rachel Roberts said she can tell the plunge is about to happen when she sees the top of the neighboring roller coaster.

“I’ve done it five times, and every time it scares me,” Roberts said, grinning as she walked away from the ride. “I love it.”

Jeff and Denise Davenny of Spokane and their two sons coined the name Panic Plunge, winning the right to be the first people who experience it today.

The first 400 riders will receive complimentary T-shirts.