Canobie Coaster

I get what the park was going for with the Country Fair section, but that's the one area of the park I never really go to. Honestly, on most days I forget it's even there. Every other area of the park feels so immersive and well themed, but that area reminds me too much of a carnival and really doesn't have anything unique.

Especially since arguably the best of those woodies (Georgia Cyclone) is all but confirmed to be RMC'ed and one of the others (Hurler) is a likely candidate to be RMC'ed as well if it goes well in Virginia (I'm guessing it will since there's no launch, as far as we know).

Waldameer I was afraid I would miss out on Waldameer. The day before, I noticed the weather forecast predicted a 100% chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain. A forecast like that could give pause to a major park opening and would close most smaller, family parks like Waldameer. I called the park the day before asking what their rain policy was. They said as long as it wasn't thundering, they would run everything. Even in heavy rain? They said yes. I went to bed the day before hoping the forecast would be wrong just in case, but it wasn't. The skies were grayer than Obama's hair after he left the office. On the way to Waldameer, I planned to hit Fun Fore All (my hotel was just 5 minutes away, definitely not a coincidence ) and Conneaut (any season could be that park's last). As I pulled into Fun Fore All's lot, it started to rain. Unfortunately, that shut the coaster down. The FEC had a really nice arcade so I stalled for a bit playing pinball and a few games I had never seen before, but the rain didn't stop. I'm not above stopping for a credit, but I wasn't going to wait around like a dog begging for food for a coaster less than 10ft tall to open. That's where I draw the line. Fun Fore All didn't work out, but maybe Conneaut would? Before I could even call them, I saw their Facebook page said they would be closed due to weather. I feel like that's a park that excels in closing so that was expected. I was bummed to miss out on Blue Streak, but at least I should have another better woodie to hit at Waldameer. I called the park again on the way to confirm they were open and they greeted me with an enthusiastic yes. An hour later, I rolled into their almost entirely empty lot (it had less cars than Clementon, a true feat) as my car was pelted with rain. But the park was open! I had a tough time finding a parking spot. On this day, the ride side was also known as Water World. I messed no time heading towards Ravine Flyer II just in case the weather took an even darker turn for the worse. I was not going to miss this acclaimed wooden coaster. As I walked through the empty queue, the rain slowed down a bit. That was enough to get me in the front for my first ride. The lift gives a breathtaking view of Lake Erie that is as good as the views you get on the lifts at Cedar Point. No way I was going to risk missing Ravine Flyer II. The first drop was very steep and I quickly learned Ravine Flyer had an affinity for tunnels. I believe there were 4 or 5. The airtime hill over the bridge gave amazing air and that was followed by an aggressive pop of ejector and a weaker pop on the turnaround hill. The train crawls over the top of the turnaround, but the drop is basically a 2nd first drop so you get all that speed back. The second bridge hill and the two tunnels afterwards give outstanding air and feel even faster than they are thanks to the ride diving in and out of tunnels. The ride loses a lot of speed in parts of the second half when it climbs back up the ravine, but there are still 4 smaller pops of air and a 90 degree turn. What a great ride! I tried Ravine Flyer II in the back afterwards and the ride was excellent as well. The first drop was absolutely crazy, one of the best I've ridden. The major ejector air combined with the view was hard to beat. The air in the second half was weaker in the back, but not by much. I got almost 30 rides in both the front and back (as you can see crowds never became an issue). I preferred the front by a small margin thanks to the better second half and a slightly smoother ride. Despite several aggressive turns and direction changes, Ravine Flyer II is a very smooth ride. It's a great coaster. It just barely misses out on my top 5 since it does let up a tad in the 2nd half. 9.5 out of 10 Remember when the employee on the phone said they run everything in heavy rain, they weren't kidding. Most of my rides were in light to no rain, but a few were in the midst of a torrential downpour. For anyone who has ridden coasters in the rain, yes that can be a tad painful to say the least. But with my rain jacket, it was totally worth it and I applaud Waldameer for still running Ravine Flyer II even if I was the only one crazy enough to ride it. I also want to applaud the ride's staff. Despite the low crowds, they were still loading and checking the trains fast. They were also very sociable and among the friendliest I've come across at a park. The ride had 2 huge drops. This one being the drop off the turnaround. The ride absolutely hauls through the first half and has incredible airtime. The second half has some intense turns, including a 90 degree one. The ride loses quite a bit of speed by the end, but the last few hills still give small pops of air. It didn't matter how hard it rained, Waldameer kept sending out trains as long as people were in line. Steel Dragon was a stark contrast to Laff Trakk. Laff Trakk was braked to death and had the interesting glow-in-the-dark theming. Steel Dragon had as little theming as humanly possible. It was a portable installation; however, once you crest the lift, the brakes don't engage until the very end. While I can appreciate a themed ride, I'll pick the faster, crazier spinning in this case. Also being the only one on the ride ensured there was even more spinning than usual since the car was grossly unbalanced. 8 out of 10 No theming whatsoever, but I'll take that in exchange for an unbraked ride. You can really tell how much in rained from the water that pooled below Steel Dragon. Comet was a solid little coaster. Tucked in the trees, the layout is loaded with some decent headchoppers. I'm pretty sure most other parks would have removed most of those branches but not Waldameer. The setting and slightly longer layout makes Comet better than the junior woodies of comparable size, but the ride experience is otherwise similar. There was one hill with air if I remember correctly. I would have said rain-slicked tracks would help, but the lighter than usual trains probably negated that. 5 out of 10 I really love curved stations. The layout is pretty similar to other junior woodies, but none of the others have tree coverage like the Comet. This is probably the most full train I saw on any coaster all day. No air, but a solid junior woody. Ravine Flyer 3 was a credit I wasn't expecting. I remembered reading that Waldameer only allowed kids on this one. That was a shame since it looked to have a considerably better layout than most kiddie coasters and was over a fountain. However, I didn't notice any signs banning adults so I casually walked up and the op let me on. Hooray! That made up for the lost credit at Fun Fore All. The ride is mostly smooth, has great placement, and the drop over the shed was a nice touch. I'm not sure if adults are always allowed now or if it depends on crowds, but as far as kiddie coasters go, this is top notch. Waldameer has a serious affinity for fountains. Keep that in mind as you continue with this report. Ravine Flyer 3 was a surprise. I wasn't expecting to get the credit. Waldameer is also well known for their two classic Bill Tracy dark rides. Whacky Shack is an acid trip of a ride if I've ever seen one, but that's what makes it awesome! From the creepily friendly welcome spiel running non-stop in the queue to the peculiar odor given off by the ride that should be scented by Yankee Candle, Whacky Shack has so many minor touches that makes the ride special. None of the effects are anywhere close to cutting edge, but they were all immaculately maintained and every square inch of the ride was populated with gags. It also had a drop so I'm sure some of you out there would count it as a credit. I really wish more dark rides like this existed. The nostalgia and classic feel of the ride honestly make Whacky Shack better than some of those multi-million dollar dark rides found at Universal or Disney. 10 out of 10 Everything a classic dark ride should be. This is the true hidden gem of the park. Pirate's Cove is an interesting fun house. Like Whacky Shack, Pirate's Cove tries to disorient riders with rotating lights, darkness, and angled platforms. The ride was incredibly simplistic but a true joy to experience. I came off most rides stumbling side to side like a pirate who had just downed 2 kegs of rum. I would also pay to watch people who were absolutely hammered race through Pirate's Cove since I guarantee you they wouldn't stay on their feet the whole way. 8 out of 10 Ahoy matey, batten down the hatches. Thunder River was an amazing flume. It's a long ride with two fairly steep and tall drops, a nicely shaded setting, and a long, mist-filled tunnel. The ride is also designed to provide the perfect amount of wetness but that was completely irrelevant on a day when the man upstairs spent the day wringing out his laundry over everyone in the park. 10 out of 10 Want to get even wetter? I had nothing to lose today. The smaller hill gets a Canadian flag. And the taller hill gets an American flag. I found that hysterical for some reason. Splash! Waldameer also has the beloved Larson/ARM tower in X-Scream. Rising high above the treeline, X-Scream gives absolutely breathtaking views of Lake Erie. I would have loved to see how much I would have been able to see on a perfectly clear day, but it was so serene seeing an empty shoreline and smelling the fresh raindrops. And then you hear the little click and the peace is disturbed as the car drops like a rock and you hover a good foot off your seat the whole way down. There's still something unnerving and awesome the moment before the brakes when you realize your butt is 100% off the seat and you are thrown back down. 10 out of 10 Still the best standard tower out there. This one needs no gimmicks to be absolutely terrifying. The Sky Ride can be thanked for several or my park photos. It ran down a good chunk of the park and passed by over a dozen rides. It only had one station, but that's fine for a park as small as Waldameer. It's really all about relaxing and getting a birds eye view tour of the park. This was a day before the accident at Great Escape and am still trying to figure out how someone could have fallen the way she did. Almost a quarter of the photos in this report are brought to you from the Sky Ride. Even Waldameer knows how to subtly add advertisements to their rides unlike a park with more than 5 flags. The rest of the park's ride lineup consists of a mix of new and old flats such as a Spider, Wipeout, Bumper Cars, etc. A few of the ride ops were bouncing across flat rides. One in particular who I ran across at the Flying Swings was particularly awesome. He was clearly excited to have people finally board his ride that he was interacting with us through the speaker all ride. He was also heckling riders on Ravine Flyer II as they flew by. He was so awesome that I stopped by the Happy Swing (it was as meh as you'd expect) when I saw him there later in the day. The Ferris Wheel probably gave good views. I instead chose to sight-see from atop the drop tower or Ravine Flyer II. I've come across a lot of Spiders this year and that's perfectly fine by me. North End is synonymous with world class Italian food for me. At Waldameer, it's all about a swing ride. The park has a massive disk-o anchoring the South End. Another great op was stationed at the Music Express. The louder you were, the faster he cranked the ride up. Since I was the only one on the ride, I experimented and found that to be 100% true. Wipeout's queue was right next to Ravine Flyer II's queue. Wipeout never even had a chance with me. Something seems to be missing on the inside but I can't but my finger on it. I skipped the water park since Mother Nature turned the ride park into a water park. I was absolutely soaked to the bone throughout the day, but after the initial bout of rain, I was having too much fun to care. As far as water slides, they looked to be pretty average and nothing worth paying for since Water World is an additional cost on top of the ride side. Maybe if I wasn't already dripping wet from the monsoon like weather... Amusement parks are well known for fried food, but I found a new fried delicacy I had never seen before at Waldameer, the deep fried pretzel. The park literally takes a super pretzel, deep fries it, and sprinkles a few bits of extra salt on top. It tasted like a hybrid of two of my favorite theme park snacks in fried dough and soft pretzels so I was in heaven. I had two of these. And they were less than $3 too! Wtf is a deep fried pretzel? It was like a hybrid of a soft pretzel and fried dough. They were absolutely glorious. With the low crowds, Waldameer closed two hours early at 8. I don't blame them one bit, but I commend them for staying open that late. I think they were hoping the better weather in the evening (last bit of heavy rain was around 4) would bring people in, but it didn't. I think I was the only person on well over half of the rides I took on Ravine Flyer II and the park's other rides. Waldameer is an amazing park. While small, the park has an amazing collection of rides and really knows how to treat the customer well. This is the type of park I wish was closer to me since you can run in for a few hours and be guaranteed to have a great time. Ravine Flyer II alone is worth visiting for, but everything else makes Waldameer better than many of the larger, corporate parks I've been to. It's a bit out of the way, but I will definitely be returning in the future.

I heard they may have to remove a trash can or two to add the daisies. Construction markers were seen at the base of one by Coasters Drive In or that may have been a mustard stain.

Based on the troubles with two of their recent used thrill rides, I can't see them going that route again even if it is quite a bit cheaper. Especially an old Huss ride since they are currently having problems with the Frisbee since they can't get a specific part. I still think they have to be announcing a major addition for 2018 or 2019. With that rapids ride getting shelved, I have to think the park had a decent chunk of change saved up for that addition, so they should have enough for a water park addition (makes the most sense for them) or another roller coaster (what I really want).

Is spending two days at Busch Gardens an option? I would pick that since Busch Gardens is absolutely amazing and a park you shouldn't rush through. Kings Dominion is a great park, but Busch is on a separate level. I have never done Water Country so someone else may need to speak up about it, but when I've been to Kings Dominion I've never had an issue with lines. Volcano is the only ride I've ever had a bad wait for, so you could easily hit both the ride side and water park in a day.

This is awful news. I've heard the rumors for the past year and was hoping they wouldn't be true. I do slightly prefer Rockit over Dragons, but these are still my two favorite inverts after Banshee. Even when they aren't dueling, they are extremely forceful and have very unique layouts compared to the other B&M inverts. It's nice not going loop, zero-G roll, cobra roll or Immelmann, corkscrew for a change, even if that progression is still fun. From Universal's standpoint, I can get why they are doing this. If the ride's track needed to be replaced like Hulk needed to, which isn't too hard to believe since it opened the same time, it is more marketable for them to build an entirely new ride in that huge chunk of land. Still stinks as an enthusiast when you see a top tier coaster like this closing.

Even better, watch it get the number 1 spot on the Golden Ticket Awards top wooden coaster.

This is the fourth straight weekday it started at TC and then goes to CD without opening once. Unbelievable.

Especially if the Sky Ride is closing. The Rapids ride is all alone down there along with a train and trolley station. And that game where you try and launch a golf ball onto the island on the lake.

I really want them to make a pathway that connects the entire park along with whatever rides and attractions they plan to build. As is, it's weird having the Rapids ride at such an out-of-the-way dead end like that.

I think the real challenge will be boosting the park's attendance since it's not quite in as touristy/well-traveled of an area as their other parks. It does have the Atlanta metro area to tap into, but Fun Spot just needs to get people down there way since they do have a nice base to work with and the land you mentioned to expand.

Every time I miss Lightning Rod, it reopens 2-3 days later so if it reopened today that would be par for the course.

You can definitely hit all the coasters in 4.5 hours, but you have to start skipping some of the other rides. Kennywood has too many unique things to be rushed for a first timer.

With some extra time thanks to Delta delaying my flight an hour (as I write this it was delayed yet another hour, thanks Delta), I was able to pop into their recently acquired park in Atlanta (formerly Fun Junction) for an hour. It was definitely better than hanging around the airport and a solid FEC. The park is definitely in the midst of an identity crisis. The park has 3 signs out front- a banner saying Fun Spot, a tiny picket sign saying Fun Junction, and large sign saying Dixieland Fun Park (the name before Fun Junction). Receipts and wristbands said Fun Spot, the tickets said Fun Junction, and then the drop tower still says Dixieland. So getting an identity is something Fun Spot should work on. Am I at Fun Spot or Fun Junction? Well this complicates things. Dixieland too? The park has 3 signs out front. The biggest is one is the name they haven't used since 2012. The park charges $5 for parking, which seems odd for a FEC, especially one that isn't in a tourist location. However, they give you $5 in ride tickets when you park so it's essentially free if you plan to use ride tickets. The coaster costs 6 tickets in case you were wondering. Or you can get a $25 wristband which works on everything but the simulator. Speaking of the coaster, the park has one in the Screamin' Eagle. This looks like an innocent family coaster, but Screamin' Eagle is a surprisingly wild coaster. This is my first non-kiddie Miler and this one has some steep drops that build up good speed. The double up gives good air in front and the double air gives good air in the back. Then the last two hills absolutely try and eject you, which completely caught me off-guard. The second to last hill is one of the most powerful and abrupt airtime moments I've experienced. The turns are very jerky but thankfully they are taken slowly. 7.5 out of 10 I know we bash Castaway Cove's Wild Waves (still no excuse for taking this long to open), but based on Screamin' Eagle it may be a surprisingly intense little ride with the most air in NJ after El Toro and Nitro. The real reason I'm here. This Miler looks like a death trap. But the drops were smooth and some gave really great air-time, especially the second to last hill. Some jerky turns, but definitely a fun little coaster. The park has an interesting mix of other attractions. They have the FEC staples in an arcade, bumper boats, go karts, mini golf, and laser tag, but they also have a diverse mix of rides. They have some spinny rides like a Scrambler and Spider, a screamin' swing, and a full-on Antique Car ride with a custom layout. For a FEC, they have a ton of land so Fun Spot has a lot to work with. FEC staple. It was hot so people were parking themselves under the squirting elephant. I'm glad the park has a classic Spider. I've seen a lot of these lately. The screamin' swing (Giant Swing) is definitely their most thrilling ride. Still weird to see a single swing version like this. The Antique Cars had a much longer and more expansive layout than I'd expect for a FEC. The park's most popular ride was the Zip Line. Everything else in the park was a walk-on, but the Zip Line had a half hour wait. It also had a putrid capacity (max of 3 riders and 350 total pounds) which may have helped explain it. I've never done one of these chairlift style zip lines before. The seating is a major improvement over standard ziplines since it doesn't make me regret being a guy during the descent. The views from the top were just ok (nothing to see other than the park) and the descent was decently fast but not overly thrilling. Glad I tried it, but I don't see myself doing on of these again since they are usually upcharges. At Fun Spot it was included for a change. 6 out of 10 The Zip Line towers over everything else at the park. Fun to try once, but not something I need to try again. The park also has some weird bits. First, there is this massive Western facade that spans almost 2/3 of the park. There is no additional theming around it and in fact as you walk by it, I believe you are standing on the park's old lot since you can clearly see the lines for parking spaces. The facade has a restaurant inside and the arcade. It looks really nice but just doesn't seem to tie into anything else at the park in any way. They also had this weird tram thing parked in the middle of a walkway. No one was around it so I have no clue if it's ever used or not since that seemed like an odd place to park it. The western facade seems very out-of-place but it does look nice. The facade spans the length of most of the park. No clue what this thing was. It was parked dead center on a pathway. Kids only. I tried, but was denied. If you ever have some time to burn before a flight at the Atlanta Airport, definitely check it out since it's just 15-20 minutes down the road. It's also about 35-40 minutes from Six Flags if you're in the area next year for the likely new RMC. Based on Fun Spot's track record, I expect the park to grow in the next few years and it already has a solid base to start with.

I do like the Potato Patch fries if they are plain but think they are overrated. Knoebels has better fries. Kennywood definitely needs a full day the first time. I had that luxury my first time there and needed it to get on all the different rides since their lineup is so strong and diverse. I feel fine once I am in my car. I made a pit stop at a nearby Primanti's since I had never been but was advised by a friend to not be there at night after the fact. The sandwich was worth it though. At least they will add two trains when it becomes necessary. Lake Compounce is firmly sticking to one train on Boulder Dash even if the line fills the queue. Honestly the line just slowed rerides but 20 min was still not too bad of a wait for a park's signature ride.

I can still have fun at Dollywood with Lightning Rod down, but I don't think I'll plan another trip until I see Lightning Rod running reliably. And I know that could be a while.

The park has an 80-85ft height restriction so they can't go too high. I'm hoping for an inverting flat so an air race would fit the bill.

Sadly not shocked after there was no activity by the ride yesterday (that could be seen).

I agree the rest of the park is still awesome, but when this has happened three straight times, especially when the ride was down my last visit to get it operating consistently for the rest of the summer, it's frustrating to say the least.

This is so depressing. Sorry bud. I'm trying to remain positive a la Boldikus but really am just bracing myself for the same experience (err, lack thereof) in 8 days. Are the ride wait times really this low? App is saying Blazing Fury 5 mins, Daredevil Falls 10, FCS 25, Mystery Mine 20, River Rampage 35, Tornado 15 and WE 5 mins. Seems like minimal times to me for it being a Saturday in the summer! Perhaps the heat is keeping the GP away or maybe they're all sardine canning it up in the shows? Mystery Mine and Firechaser were 40 min at one point. But the two longest waits were Daredevil Falls (45 min) and the rapids (70 min).

Lightning Rod has one train on the track today. So it looks like it's not them trying to use the 2nd train. Maybe they kept it closed if the ride truly has issues in the heat since it's the hottest day of the year? Then again they have everyone's favorite RMC sign out front again.

Well that was fast to list it as CD. Can't believe I'll miss it again.

But if you try and stop the boat, you'd get stuck in hell longer. The ride system is definitely cool. They just need anything but Garfield. Lake Compounce removed the Garfield IP from their kids section a few years ago so maybe the day is coming when Garfield leaves the Old Mill too. I'll go with those teens. Magnumcreep was definitely creepy but at least he wasn't violent. I've seen crazy enthusiasts before, but this is the first I've seen a brawl like that on a ride.

Kennywood I'm at the airport and have some time to burn so I'm going to try something ambitious, a trip report from my phone. After leaving Idlewild, I got to Kennywood around 5. The parking lot was relatively empty, which I figured would be great for lines. And it was! The downside was the park realized it too and planned to close a half hour early. 4.5 hours was plenty of time to get the rides in, but I wasn't able to time a night ride on Phantom since Kennywood closes their queues early, something I ran into back in 2011. Follow the sign carefully. Failure to do so leads to an interesting looking neighborhood to put it mildly. Lake Compounce take note. Kennywood isn't closing their sky ride. Kennywood is one of my favorite parks. I'm a sucker for classic theme parks that aren't afraid to keep up with modern times and that perfectly describes Kennywood. They have the old wooden coaster and flat ride collection you'd expect from a park nestled in the middle of a neighborhood, but there's something weird and awesome seeing an epic hyper towering over the decrepit buildings around the park. The entrance reminds me a lot of Lake Compounce with the underground tunnel by the entrance. I planned to hit Phantom first, but saw Sky Rocket had absolutely no line so I couldn't pass that up. While it's not as intense as the Sky Rocket II's, I prefer the expanded and unique layout. The ride is glass smooth and has a great first 2/3. The launch isn't super powerful but it's fun. The top hat gives great airtime and the weird holding brake results in abrupt air in the back. The first zero-G roll gives marvelous hangtime thanks to the lapbar only trains. The drop off the brake run gives fantastic ejector air in the back and the second zero-G roll is as good as the first. The ride then just dies. It's like the Falcons in the Super Bowl (totally not biased but I think that's the best Super Bowl ever). After the second zero-G roll, the ride crawls through a slow trick track section and two final hills so drawn out that they give no air. If the ride kept up the first 2/3, Sky Rocket would easily be a 9 or 10. Also why do the back rows on Sky Rocket have way less space than the other rows or the back rows on the other Sky Rocket II's? I loved the back but found the fit very tight. 8 out of 10 Kennywood's newest coaster, but that may change in the next year or two based on the rumors. The top hat gives some seriously good air. Inversions are so much better with just a lap bar. Sky Rocket is amazing until the last third when it pretty much does nothing in its return to the station. Sky Rocket could only distract me so long. It was time for Phantom's Revenge! I only got one ride on it in an abridged visit last year so I was hoping to marathon it. Unfortunately I quickly found out the park pulled a Boulder Dash and was only running one train. I regretfully skipped the very front since it had double the wait of other rows, but I waited about 20 minutes for each of my 3 rides (2 in the 2nd row, 1 in the back). One of my favorite things about Phantom is the restraints. There's a seatbelt and a lap bar like most hypers, but because of how the weird lap bars come from the side, there's an inch or two gap between you and the bar. That meant airtime heaven. The first drop gives good laterals and builds good speed. The second drop is legendary. The view of the factory over the ravine is quite imposing and that tiny little passage below the Thunderbolt looks too small to fit a coaster train. This drop gives a great pop of ejector air in the back and goes on for what seems like forever. The following overbank is fast and forceful and that's followed by the finale. Yes Phantom's Revenge is short. But the finale consists of 5 or so insane pops of ejector air. I forget if there's a double up, double down, or both but the main takeaway is that there's no way your butt will be on that seat. I remember Phantom being a great coaster, but it absolutely blew me away this visit and it shot into my top 5. I preferred the front due to the stronger air during the finale but the back is great too thanks to that 2nd drop. I would love to get a ride on this in total darkness someday, but my last ride was around sunset. I got off only to find the line closed off. 10 out of 10 Phantom's Revenge was better than I remembered. It's a top 5 coaster for me. The first drop looks fantastic from the parking lot. The ride's famous second drop is as good as advertised. Great air and what a view. Note the transition from Arrow to Morgan restraints. Y'all ready for airtime? Just look at that hair! That's some serious airtime. It's short but there's never a dull moment. The Phantom's layout surrounds the park's classic Turtle. Thunderbolt is my favorite of the three woodies. Like most rides at Kennywood it's unconventional. Unfortunately the ride did add seat-belts this year which took away some of the air, but the drops into the ravine all still did provide decent air. Then again, airtime isn't Thunderbolt's primary goal. It's all about sitting next to someone and being forced against your will into the side of the train with those laterals. 8 out of 10 I also had the most Kennywood of rides on Thunderbolt at the end of the day. When Phantom closed early, I decided to finish on the classic woodie. As I hinted at the beginning, Kennywood isn't in the nicest of neighborhoods and that's putting it mildly. For those familiar with Thunderbolt, you know it has a separate load and unload area. After the incoming train unloaded, an army of 13 teens (seems too specific to be true but I counted, more on that later) hurdled over the queue and filled up half the train. The staff turned their eye at the stampede but the ride was empty so they didn't end up cutting anyone. Being a single rider, I had to wait for a partner to ride. When I noticed an odd number enter the train, I knew someone needed a partner. I made a new friend. And for those who remember my Clementon report, you know I have bad luck with new friends. The ride started as usual with the great drop out of the station. Then I was treated to the most violent ride of my life. Not bumpy but in this case I started witnessing a WWE wrestling melee between them. Pushing, slapping, choking using doo rags- I got everything. Meanwhile I threw my hands in the air pre-emptively in case the police were at the exit and becasue it's the right way to ride a coaster. Since a winner wasn't crowned in round 1, the ops (who either didn't care or didn't notice) started round 2 since we were the last train of the night. More of the same. Thank god they left me out of it. I don't think I'll ever witness anything like that again. Kennywood's best coasters all use the ravine to perfection. See the lack of banking? This is your chance to get revenge on someone with powerful laterals. Gotta love those classic trains. Jack Rabbit is a one trick pony (or is it rabbit in this case), but it's a great trick. I got a seat in the back car and that double down gave airtime stronger than Phantom's Revenge and the restraints are even more minimalistic. The rest of the ride is smooth and uses the ravine well but the double down is the whole ride. Much like how Mike Trout is the entire Angels team. 8 out of 10 It looks so cute but the double down is intense. Unbelievable how much air it contains. Racer is often considered the worst of Kennywood's woodies but it's still a really good coaster. I was fortunate to get the back seat in the pick-a-seat free-for-all since a few of the drops give nice air in the back. The racing is a lot of fun and unlike a lot of other coasters, it genuinely seemed like a 50-50 which side would win. Like the other two woodies, Racer runs perfectly smooth too. For what it's worth, my side won. 8 out of 10 And they're off! Are you ready to slap hands? 3 or so of the drops gave fantastic air in the back. I wasn't planning on hitting Exterminator since that line was one of the slowest and worst I had ever been in. I didn't want to burn an hour on a day with limited time in that queue, but I checked in an hour before closing and lucked out. I only had to wait 15 minutes in the sweaty, overheated scream box of a queue. The ride itself has decent theming (just a step above Dark Knight) but the most critical thing is the darkness and narrow passageways really enhance the spinning. 7 out of 10 The queue was surprisingly short so I was able to ride the spinner in a box. The darkness really enhances the spinning. Time for the kiddie coaster portion of this report. Yes I rode Lil Phantom and of course I was the only adult on the train. It was pretty poor even by kiddie coaster standards. 1 out of 10 What a cute little phantom. Kennywood has some fantastic flats. The one I was most looking forward to riding was Black Widow. I've never tried one of the Zamperla giant discoveries and was interested to see how they compared to Huss giant frisbees. While waiting for Phantom, I saw the ride was testing. The ride certainly looks impressive and appeared to have a super long cycle. When I went over to the ride, the employee removed the "Closed" sign so I felt lucky. I could only dream of that happening in my last visit to Dollywood. Well before we could board we were told to leave the queue and the ride didn't reopen or test the rest of the night. Bummer but maybe SFNE or SFGAdv will get one of these in the near future. Black Widow looked awesome. I say looked because... Crap. Guess the spider being on a ride is a universal sign a ride will close and not just a SFNE thing. Of the flats, I rode SwingShot, Kangaroo, and the Whip. SwingShot is still my favorite Screamin' Swing. For whatever reason the air seems stronger on this one. Speaking of air, the unqiue Kangaroo ride gives exactly that in bunches and also makes that quirky sound every time a vehicle jumps. The Whip is about as well run as any whip other than Rye Playland's (that one is run sadistically fast so you crush your partner). My favorite screamin' swing. If you like airtime, this is the ride for you. Boing, boing, kangaroo! Skipped it this visit. Still looks as fast as ever, but I remember it being bumpy. Lost Kennywood really comes alive at night. The park also has a great trifecta of water rides. I skipped the Raging Rapids and Pittsburg Plunge since I preferred not to be soaked to the bone. I did ride Log Jammer and it's still an above average flume. The final drop is pretty decent, but it's the first drop and the subsequent uphill section that's the real star. I've heard one rumor this ride could be removed for Kennywood's new coaster and I hope that's not true. The last drop may be taller, but it's the first one that's better. Splash. Bigger splash. Kennywood also has 2 great dark rides in Noah's Ark and Ghostwood Estate. For those keeping score, I know Kennywood has 3 dark rides. The third one doesn't qualify as great nor average or even mediocre. Garfield is an embarassment of a ride that should be gutted. Noah's Ark is a rare, quirky walkthrough that I somehow forgot to take a picture of. Ghostwood Estate may look like your typical Sally shooter from the outside, but it has a Haunted Mansion-esque pre-show and the ride has detailed figures that react with each target. Much better than the cardboard targets on many of their other rides. Two thumbs way up. Much better targets than your average shooter. Two thumbs way down or two middle fingers way up. Either work in this case. Even in a half day I was able to hit pretty much everything I wanted aside from the closed Black Widow. Phantom alone makes Kennywood worth visiting, so when you add in the classic woodies, a good launched coaster, great flats, solid water rides, and cool dark rides, you have a truly special park.