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Installed
in 1980, this Italian double-decker by Ernesto Soli was a ride
in transition for the 2004 season.
Prior to the start of the season, Dante's structure was disassembled,
refurbished and reassembled on Morey’s Pier at 25th Avenue.
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According
to Morey’s Resident Engineer Steve Valenti, there are only three
operating Dante’s: Morey's, Coney Island's Astroland and one
located in Italy. The original Soli ride cars were replaced
by cars from Bertazzon in the 1990s. All the original stunts
have been removed over the years, the lone survivor being a
vampire stunt currently stored in the Morey's workshop. The
cars pick up their operating current through their wheels contacting
the floor tread runners. The photo directly below at right shows
the 24VDC feeder tied to the inner runner. The track itself
carries no power, serving only to guide the cars.
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The
original smoke-exhaling demon and the three-headed dragons are
still intact on top of the facade,
but the park commissioned artist Peter Bielings to repaint the
lower level with gruesome scenes of hell;
some of which had to be later 'cooled off' by park staffers.
Neither Steve nor other Morey’s employees
can recall the ride having a hell theme, although Steve has
proposed that it be reworked
to follow the storyline of the Dante’s Inferno novel for 2005.
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