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Kennywood (KW) Discussion Thread


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As you come through the tunnel entering the park, turn left and you'll run into the Phantom's Revenge entrance. Do that first. The Phantom exit will put you out in the Lost Kennywood area. Turn right, and do Black Widow if you are so inclined. That line can get up to an hour long when it's full. When you leave Widow, turn right again and hit Exterminator... another line which can be horrifically long later in the day. After that, I would suggest Thunderbolt while it's still relatively early and then the other coasters in any order.

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^Thanks! Haven't been in many years but I do remember waiting a stupidly long time for Exterminator.

 

I would actually suggest Exterminator first, UNLESS when you pass by Phantom's entrance the line is rather short. . in that case, do Phantom 1st, then Exterminator.

 

Black Widow does seem to get long lines, but if you hit it still early in the morning, won't be more than a 2-3 cycle wait, so I'd do that 3rd.

 

have fun!

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I found Black Widow to be so much more fun than MaxAir, personally... The switch of directions, restraints and I believe it felt faster/more intense. Don't skip it.

As above -- I rode Black Widow on Saturday and MaxAir on Sunday, and I feel very strongly that Black Widow is the better of the two. Might be the longer ride cycle, might be the revolutions, but Black Widow feels legitimately disorienting and awesome. It's a can't-miss when you're there.

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How does Black Widow compare to maXair at Cedar Point? If it's that good I might hit it, otherwise I'll probably skip it. Man I wish they'd kept Pit Fall instead. =(

I actually enjoyed Black Widow slightly more than MaxAir. You have to ride it! In my opinion, giant frisbees/giant discoveries DESTROY any drop tower, even Zumanjaro and the Larson towers.

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Sorry for the noob question but what's the "order" at Kennywood now if you get there at opening? Which ride is it most important to get on first before the lines set in?

I would do Exterminator and the lower-capacity rides first. I would highly recommend the VIP coaster tour pass, since I used the evening pass last season, and it was great. it lets you do each major coaster once with a specific schedule. What I did was I got on most of the rides in the morning when the lines weren't very long, then I got the VIP tour for extra night rides. It's only about $15, so it's really worth it.

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How does Black Widow compare to maXair at Cedar Point? If it's that good I might hit it, otherwise I'll probably skip it. Man I wish they'd kept Pit Fall instead. =(

 

I'll also drop my affirmation into the praise bucket for Black Widow. It's a very intense ride -- more so than maXair, in my view. This is one ride type where I feel like Zamperla has definitely out-muscled the competition. It's very powerful once it gets going. I actually seldom ride it because I don't like the excessive spinning, and Black Widow delivers a long cycle, but that's a good thing for riders who have a higher tolerance for that sort of thing than I do!

 

And as others have mentioned, I usually go for the Lost Kennywood area first, something like 'Phantom-->Exterminator-->Black Widow' would be a good order. Just like a lot of GP does Raptor early at Cedar Point, lots of casual traffic at KW will go 'Sky Rocket-->Jack Rabbit-->Racer-->Thunderbolt' and then head toward Phantom/Lost Kennywood. Do the reverse order, and you'll avoid the surge migrations to the more popular rides.

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I'm so glad Kentwood got a Giant Discovery. Those things are great pendulum rides, alongside Giant Frisbees. By far, the park models that I find not to be as enjoyable are the Mondials that CW and KD have, which make for a different ride depending on where you sit, added to the short cycle. I wouldn't say these replace drop towers, though. Totally different.

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Echoing all the others - Black Widow is FAR better than MaxAir. I went to Kennywood in June of last year and rode it for the first time. My friend and I had almost an out of body experience on it, the intensity cannot be accurately described. I get super sick and dizzy easily but this didn't kill me like I was worried it might. Talked about it nonstop until SO and I went to CP a month later. "This is so great, this ride will change your life!!!" We rode MaxAir and were all "that's it?" Kings Dominion just got a similar ride but I'm not on here enough to know if it's manufactured by one of the same manufacturers as BW or Max.

 

TLDR; Ride Black Widow and hold on for dear life on Phantom's Revenge. And by that I mean hands up all the way!

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Echoing all the others - Black Widow is FAR better than MaxAir. I went to Kennywood in June of last year and rode it for the first time. My friend and I had almost an out of body experience on it, the intensity cannot be accurately described. I get super sick and dizzy easily but this didn't kill me like I was worried it might. Talked about it nonstop until SO and I went to CP a month later. "This is so great, this ride will change your life!!!" We rode MaxAir and were all "that's it?" Kings Dominion just got a similar ride but I'm not on here enough to know if it's manufactured by one of the same manufacturers as BW or Max.

 

TLDR; Ride Black Widow and hold on for dear life on Phantom's Revenge. And by that I mean hands up all the way!

 

Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland have a Mondial Revolution, which to me, are the least exciting compared to both the Giant Frisbees and Giant Discoveries. I think the Giant Discoveries, like Black Widow, are my favourites by far.

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My ONLY complaint with Black Widow is that the pendulum's change in swing and rotational directions throughout its cycle are noticeable. I found that a little unnerving the first time even though I know there's no danger. maXair's motion is nearly seemless. Otherwise, the much improved restraints and wide open view make the Zamperla model better in my opinion. I was very sad to see Pitfall go, which I still consider to be one of the best Drop Towers ever built in the US. But, Black Widow is a very suitable replacement and I'm happy Kennywood thought of the thrill seekers when replacing the Pitfall.

 

I would love to see Six Flags roll these out to several of their parks assuming Riddler at SFOT is successful.

 

I've was told by a friend in management at Kennywood that a drop tower is not in Kennywood's near future. I hope they change their mind when they need a thrilling marketable attraction with a small footprint. I also learned that Kennywood briefly considered a Windseeker attraction but quickly opted out after seeing Cedar Fair's struggles with them.

 

How does the HUSS and Zamperla model compare to the Modial model?

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How does Black Widow compare to maXair at Cedar Point? If it's that good I might hit it, otherwise I'll probably skip it. Man I wish they'd kept Pit Fall instead. =(

 

Black Widow is a great ride. Compared to other models, this one is fantastic. Better restraints, smoother swinging motion, tall, fast, great views, etc. Kennywood hit a home run with this ride. The wait can hit an hour during peak times so that can be a downer but it's worth the wait. I've ridden 5 similar pendulum rides but Zamperla has them beat.

 

Pit Fall was a really good ride but it fell out of popularity with guests. I don't know if it was too intimidating or just a general lack of interest but the lines significantly shortened over the last few years of operation. Black Widow has helped bring more foot traffic back to that section of the park.

 

With regard to ride order, I usually hit Black Widow first, then Exterminator. Then hit SwingShot on my way to Phantoms Revenge. After that, down to Thunderbolt, Aero 360, Racer, Jack Rabbit and finally SkyRocket. Most days that's about a 3-4 hour circuit.

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Black Widow's change of rotation puts you facing the same direction every swing. If you're staring at the sky on the first full upswing, better get used to it because that's what you're going to be looking at the entire cycle. MaXair gives you more of a variety of different angles & spots.

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maXair is without a doubt the best flat I've ever ridden, I was totally not expecting Black Widow to even compare. But now with all this feedback I'm definitely going to have to give it a go! I'm actually really excited now, I hope it's as good as you all say.

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maXair is without a doubt the best flat I've ever ridden, I was totally not expecting Black Widow to even compare. But now with all this feedback I'm definitely going to have to give it a go! I'm actually really excited now, I hope it's as good as you all say.

 

it is

IMG_0667.thumb.jpg.292263e1e52e02b2a3c8eadb613bf942.jpg

IMG_0668.thumb.jpg.c41042d674686556388b89b1b68671e9.jpg

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I agree,their log flume is really good. And Bert, your pic with you seated on Black Widow was as close to riding it we ever got. We got on, around 9:15 pm, just as in your pic, lowered the restraint, and just sat there. The ops stopped anyone else from entering. After about 8 minutes or so, they released the restraints and announced that the ride would be closed for the rest of the day. So, we did get "on" the ride, but that is it. Bummed out about that.

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I agree,their log flume is really good. And Bert, your pic with you seated on Black Widow was as close to riding it we ever got. We got on, around 9:15 pm, just as in your pic, lowered the restraint, and just sat there. The ops stopped anyone else from entering. After about 8 minutes or so, they released the restraints and announced that the ride would be closed for the rest of the day. So, we did get "on" the ride, but that is it. Bummed out about that.

 

we were there on a good day. . .the lady next to me? Her two (large) kids, were on the opposite side of the ride, and we were the only 4 folks on it!

 

(later in the afternoon the line got much longer).

 

you must go back to ride it. . you swing really, really high, and the forces are amazing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm planning on going to Kennywood the first weekend of September. I also plan on hitting up Waldameer that same weekend. Should I hit Kennywood on Saturday or Sunday if I want shorter lines? The only other time I was at Kennywood was during a weekday.

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