Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

Kennywood (KW) Discussion Thread


Recommended Posts

Beer may be coming to Kennywood in June

 

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/kennywood-gets-closer-selling-beer-park/nMXy8/

 

Kennywood closer to selling beer at park

reported by WPXI

PITTSBURGH — Beer is one step closer to being sold at the popular Pittsburgh amusement park Kennywood

 

Following a public hearing Wednesday, West Mifflin council approved a liquor license transfer for the park's owner, Festival Fun Park LLC, whose parent company is based in Madrid, Spain, to the amusement park from a closed McKeesport restaurant property the company owns.

 

If the license transfer gets approval from the state Liquor Control Board, beer would be sold in a designated location in the park, starting in late June, Kennywood spokesman Jeff Filicko said.

 

In a statement, Filicko said, "Our plans to establish a beer garden will be done in a responsible manner that will maintain our family-friendly atmosphere. Kennywood would be just one of many family-friendly venues that cater to children and families while offering beer to responsible adults. We plan to offer the sale and consumption of beer in one specific area to ensure a controlled and family-friendly environment. As always, the safety of our guests and team members will be our main priority."

 

The park sold beer for the first time in October during two weekends of Oktoberfest-themed events, using a catering event permit from Sandcastle Water Park in West Homestead, which Festival Fun also owns.

 

Following positive responses from guests at those events and increased requests over the years, Kennywood decided to sell beer regularly, Filicko said.

 

Beer would be sold through the summer season, which ends in September, he said. Sales would also be designated to a gated area.

 

“Families aren’t going to see people roaming around the park,” Filicko said. “Drinking beer will be confined in a small area. We’re not going to change the family-friendly atmosphere.”

 

The announcement has been met by mixed emotions by Pittsburghers.

 

Cindy Zwolenik said, “It’s a bad idea. Kennywood is for kids, not drunk people. It will be abused.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking as someone that worked in a park where alcohol was sold for several years....people don't get drunk in amusement parks. Sure there will be an OCCASIONAL one or two, but 99.9% of people that buy beer in a theme park are only buying one or two to enjoy during a downtime between rides. In eight years I had to call security ONE time because of a drunk guest causing a disturbance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing about beer sales in a park is that more often than not, it's so expensive that nobody wants to spend the amount of money it would take to get drunk. I'll enjoy a beer or two on occasion if I go to a Busch park or SWO, but I'd never get past the second because they cost too damn much (even with my Platinum Pass discount). I'd say the only time I would get even moderately buzzed at a park would be if I drank around the world at Epcot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Who can possibly afford to get wasted at an amusement park? The one time I've ever bothered to drink at a park was on my 21st birthday (it was obligatory) and I got an $8 watered-down margarita at Fiesta Texas. It was so weak, I would probably have to have six of them to catch a buzz. If someone is that desparate to get tanked at an amusement park, then great, the park makes an extra 60 bucks.

 

Also, I fully support Chuck E. Cheese selling beer. Apparently they don't sell it anymore, but my mom was telling me recently that the beer was the main reason she agreed to taking us when we were little lol. I never even noticed that she was drinking when she brought us, so who cares?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that this beer thing is not a good idea to have in a family amusement park where children are present...

So they should keep the beer in the adult only amusement parks where children are not allowed in? Come on, the excuse that children are around or that it is a family amusement park is invalid in my opinion. Because if the holy grail of family parks (Disney) can sell beer, so can Kennywood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did enjoy my 12oz cup of TopHat when I watched Celtic Fyre at Busch Gardens Europe last summer. Besides a beer garden at Kennywood sounds perfect and as the article mentioned there is alcohol already being served down the Sandcastle water park. There used to be a bar called the Sandbar, but I'm not sure if it's still there or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right now I cant name a european park I've been were you cant get beer....

 

I honestly dont see any reason why there shoudn't be beer available - or even wine - at least in the restaurants or beer gardens.

 

At carnivals here you can all kinds of alcohol - even liqours and spirits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see a problem with selling beer in amusement parks. For the daddy's it's a day out aswell, not just the children. And every family member should be able to have a good time in the park. If beer helps, than fine. In europe beer is very common in themeparks and as far as I know only occasionaly brings trouble.

 

But if we are going to allow people taking a drug like alcohol. Why not open a nice little drug area where guest can experiment on taking drugs and doing rides while under the influance Here in the Netherlands, this isn't to big of a problem at all. So I would like to see the first themepark coffeeshop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did enjoy my 12oz cup of TopHat when I watched Celtic Fyre at Busch Gardens Europe last summer. Besides a beer garden at Kennywood sounds perfect and as the article mentioned there is alcohol already being served down the Sandcastle water park. There used to be a bar called the Sandbar, but I'm not sure if it's still there or not.

 

It is nice that you can drink a "pint" while watching a show set in a pub.

 

Halloween events are the only times I've noticed any substantial problems with drunks at parks--go figure.

Edited by cfc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kennywood actually test ran beer sales last year in September with an 'Oktoberfest' setup in the stage area. You had to be 21 to enter the area, you couldn't take beer out of the area, and if I'm not mistaken, they limited the amount of beer a guest could buy. It was handled very well; I noticed no problems (my rides are right across the midway). The article suggests the new beer garden, if introduced, would work the same way. I don't think there should be an issue. The park has thoroughly explained how the system works to all media stations in the area, but local reactions seem to indicate that people don't seem to understand it. Not sure how much the beer cost during the event, to give an idea of the prices this garden would have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not from West Mifflin, but I think that this beer thing is not a good idea to have in a family amusement park where children are present...

 

Kennywood is a park where we Americans have fun, not to get drunk...

 

Even back in the monorail days to the brewery at BG, where they gave you free beer at the end, it never seemed to create drunks on the loose. As a kid we would tour the brewery, albeit fast, so the elders could get their free booze. After I turned 21 and got to experience it myself, I realized that getting drunk and riding rides was really not a good idea. I don't see a problem with a drink or two during a day as others have stated, it is about families relaxing and enjoying a day out. We drink at home with kids present, but it is done in moderation. I don't think KW would allow people excessive amounts of alcohol to get to a point they were out of control, and if they did, they have the right to eject them from the park. I'll tip my glass to anyone who wants to stop and have a drink during a visit and shoot the breeze for a few minutes!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think every park should have a beer garden for adults.

 

While I have witnessed some folks that have been pretty buzzed at parks, I have never observed anyone get so out of control that they were harassing guests or needed to be escorted out of the park. Most kids (and even some of the adults) were having a chuckle at the drunks expense.

 

The worst thing was that hangover I had the next day!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ After being at Oktoberfest, I completely agree!

 

Some people act like a few buzzed adults at an amusement/theme park is going to be totally disruptive for the family atmosphere and ruin the entire day. Is there a chance that can happen? Yes, but I would bet that the situations are few and far between.

 

Now if it were like a Buffalo Bills game where everyone tail-gated and drank for several hours before entering an amusement park & then continued to drink though-out the day, I could see where it might become a problem.

 

Waldameer is an alcohol free park and when we were there last year for Memorial Day, the amount of obnoxious foul-mouthed teens and line-jumpers were enough for us to make an early exit. I didn't smell alcohol on any of them, but I was ready for a drink before we even left!

 

I really don't see adding a beer garden as ruining a family environment at any park. If anything it's going to be a cash cow and gain the park higher revenue.

 

For example: Mom and Dad are sitting in the beer garden enjoying a few cold beers because they don't really like doing rides & coasters. Perhaps they catch a bit of a buzz (they're staying on-site of course, so no D&D) and when the teenage kids come to them looking for money for something to eat or drink, Buzzed Daddy opens his wallet, hands them each a 50 spot and tells them to go out and have a great time!

 

Ya see...everyone wins in the end!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Until last summer when I was vising some parks out east, I thought beer sales at American parks was something widespread and was surprised to find parks that did not sell it. Elitch Gardens sells beer and some mixed drinks, and I never saw any real problems with guests drinking in the time I worked there. People get a 21 and up must get a wristband before they can buy drinks, and can carry them throughout the park. Pretty much the only catch to that is they must either finish their drink or have a non-riding person in their group with a wristband hold it while they are on a ride so it is not unattended at all. I don't understand why some think drinking responsibly is so bad for the family environment at parks when foul-mouthed teens and line jumpers are the ones actually causing more damage to that family friendly atmosphere. Besides, at $8 or $9 for a beer, really helps limit consumption and cut back on problems. And like has been mentioned, many people have only couple drinks at most, which still brings in a huge amount of revenue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/