Kennywood (KW) Discussion Thread

[A.J.]

The only time I've seen people more passionate about a gas station/convenience store is Buc-ee's down in Texas. People but shirts for that place and proudly wear them! At least people don't do that with Wawa or Sheetz.

Yeah, it was so strange. I was driving on Interstate 10 from California to Florida and I started seeing billboards for Buc-ee's like it was some huge major attraction. Let me tell you what, those are the largest gas stations I have ever seen in my life. The one to the west of Houston on Interstate 10 has over 1,100 feet of gas pumps. I don't recall, I had to have seen at least one hundred pumps as I drove by.

 

Sheetz definitely has central and western Pennsylvania to itself. The northernmost Wawas in Pennsylvania are up in the Pocono region, and the westernmost are near Lancaster. Sheetz is pretty much everywhere else in the state.

[redfoot12]

Wawa and Sheetz are both great, but Sheetz is superior.

 

Wrong!

The Turkey Gobbler Sandwich makes your statement inaccurate

[SharkTums]

They're all gas stations!!!!!!

 

Saying which is the best is like saying who's the tallest dwarf!

 

Back to Kennywood please! And yes, Phantom's Revenge is always underrated, that ride is awesome!

[PKI Jizzman]

Jackrabbit's double down is probably my favorite moment on a coaster. Or maybe most memorable.

 

It's just crazy!

[Married a Canadian]

We got back from our short trip to Pittsburgh a couple of days ago, which included a day at Kennywood. I had problems crossing the US border this time (land crossing) as the left hand (airport) doesn't seem to know what the right hand (land crossing) does. There is never a problem when flying, this time...a bit different! I travel on a Nexus card with a British passport but Canadian residency (confusing eh!). If anyone on this forum has this combination then it might lead to some delays when you cross the US/Canadian border

 

Anyway, thankyou for the advice earlier in the thread, which we put to good use. We thought Kennywood was an excellent park, and was great fun for this family. The staff were friendly, the "VIP coaster tour" which we bought (fast pass for each of the coasters in the park) was great. Given that Skyrocket was down, they allowed us to "substitute" an extra coaster instead, and if there were any that we wanted to "skip" to do another ride again (ie my son did not go on Exterminator) then they allowed another choice. We thought this was very flexible, and everyone was very friendly about it.

The only question we had (for those in the know) was although the park opened at 1030 am, hardly any rides started before 11am. This was something we have not seen before at other theme parks. They seemed to do their ride tests between 1030 and 11. It wasn't a problem, more of an observation.

 

Anyway, our rides. Once again thankyou to all for the tips. We didn't go on everything, but did a wide selection.

 

Bayern Kurve: That thing moves way quicker than it looks!! Great fun

 

Whip: They have a child's version at Canada's Wonderland called "Peanuts 500". We like both, although the history behind this one (plus the smell of oil and grease) made it more memorable.

 

Noah's Ark: Nice Funhouse

 

Garfield's nightmare: Felt like a 3D Jackson Pollock painting with some Garfield stuff in there. I kept taking the glasses off to see what the paint really looked like. Definitely memorable because I don't think we have done a ride like it anywhere!!

 

Exterminator: Preferred "Laff Trak" at Hershey park, but that is not to say this isn't a good coaster. It is. The theming is fun, the cars are spacious (there is a lot of sliding around) and the wild mouse elements are as you would expect. My only wish was there is a section where it truly was pitch black and I thought there would be a dip or a spin or something. Nothing happened! Shame because that would have been a great "OH!!" moment.

 

Racer: Great fun. My son is a Harry Potter fan so this ride became "Slytherin vs Gryffindor" (green vs red). We won both times...so happy family all round!

 

Jackrabbit: What a great coaster!! Just reading the history adds to the ride itself. When people earlier in the thread said that Kennywood shows their woodies love and attention.....they aren't lying. Smooth, comfortable, thrilling, speed....and no teeth breaking! The double dips were great!

 

Thunderbolt: Our favourite wood coaster of the park (just beat Jackrabbit). Using the valley is great, and the first drop out of the station is a great and unique selling point. When you look at the ride from the entrance it doesn't look that "exciting" but the reality is totally different. We rank both Thunderbolt and Jackrabbit as two of the better wood coasters we have done anywhere for the sheer history, excitement, design and drops. A credit to the park.

 

Before I get to Phantom's Revenge, I will just give a small bit of background about my son (as it shows why this trip was so special). My son was born 3 months premature and weighed less than 2lbs at birth, which lead to a whole list of medical conditions, which he lives with to this day. He is also autistic and wears hearing aids, and like a lot of children on the "spectrum" has anxiety issues, sensory issues along with his medical stuff (CP, Shunt, pierced liver etc).

Obviously we are a theme park family (I wouldn't be on this forum otherwise), but we have had to work a lot with my son over the years to get him comfortable in a stimulating environment, and also find out what he can and can't take "ridewise". Up to this point, we have done some big rides with him over the years (Vortex at Canada's Wonderland, Minebuster CW, Mummy Returns at Universal...that type of size) but never a hyper coaster as he has not been able to overcome his anxiety. For this trip we did our usual education beforehand, what type of rides he might like, watch videos online (thankyou TPR pov videos), building coasters with Knex, building with Minecraft, walks with Daddy when we talk about rides and "G forces", all with the "hope" of him wanting to try a "bigger" ride.

For this trip it worked for Thunderbolt, Jackrabbit and Racer which were all rode with vigour and enthusiasm, however Phantom's Revenge was met in the morning with a resounding "NO!" My wife and I went on it in the morning (LOVED it) and were happy not to push as we have found that is never the right way to deal with anxiety. Now in the afternoon after we had been on Jackrabbit twice, we went over to Phantom again to use our "skyrocket credit" on the VIP tour, as we got to the ride my son all of a sudden piped up "I want to ride this!". My wife and I couldn't believe it (232ft hyper coaster!). We managed to get him on the ride as quickly as possible (it is terrifying when you think they might break down as we are being buckled in!) and we were out the station and up the lift hill before he had a chance to think about it.

I will say it was BRILLIANT!!! He loved it.....and so did we as a family! What a great coaster....the second drop, the airtime hills, going through Thunderbolt. And the fact that we did it with my son, who like a lot of children is truly special (he was not supposed to live and has had more brain surgeries in life than should be fair!) made this a special coaster and a special day. I never thought that he would go on it, it was already a great coaster in the morning when we went on individually, but in the afternoon it became one that will ALWAYS be a momentous occasion for us as a family...my son's first hyper coaster, and hopefully the next step along (he asked to go on Behemoth at CW as we left Kennywood!). The only coaster he did not go on was Exterminator and that is because he couldn't see what it looked like before hand.

 

So thankyou to Kennywood for giving us a great day. A special park that provided this family with some great memories, and a very happy 10 year old boy.

 

 

 

As a PS

 

POTATO PATCH FRIES. Very short background, I am from the North East of Scotland, and grew up near the coast. Fish and Chips is plentiful and of good quality. I now live in Canada...where they are famous for "poutine" (fries, cheese curds and gravy...plus all sorts of other stuff), in other words I have been spoiled with good quality "chip" dishes over the years.

We thought the fries themselves were pretty good (I love "skin on") but the toppings did not add to the quality. If you give me those fries with poutine or some decent battered fish...then they are top notch!

[Married a Canadian]

We took a quick picture after his first ride. I don't think the poor teenage ride attendant understood why I shook his hand and was high fiving people afterwards. Sometimes we don't think about how much work goes into something even as simple as "going on a roller coaster".

Proud Dad with hypercoaster son.

[bluestreak]

How awesome for your son and your family. Stories like these always make me happy. Can't wait to hear what he thinks about Behemoth!

[bert425]

We took a quick picture after his first ride. I don't think the poor teenage ride attendant understood why I shook his hand and was high fiving people afterwards. Sometimes we don't think about how much work goes into something even as simple as "going on a roller coaster".

 

 

absolutely wonderful!

 

thank you so much for sharing the experience. . .so proud of him for riding, and Loving, the coaster!

 

and yes, please tell him a total stranger on TPR is proud of him

[Married a Canadian]

and yes, please tell him a total stranger on TPR is proud of him

 

That is much appreciated, thank you, and also for your tips earlier in the thread.

 

My wife and I had a discussion on Weds evening in the hotel (after our day at Kennywood) about medical stuff with our son, but also in relation to theme parks in general and the concept of something as simple as going on a ride.

I would be surprised if there was anyone on this entire forum who didn't know someone (medical issues or not) who would not go on something due to fear/anxiety/motion sickness etc. As fun and as great as going to parks and going on rides are, I am more consciously aware now of what going on a thrill ride means, especially when there are some people who would never be able to ride even if they wanted to.

 

I posted on my FB "why" we were such proud parents on Weds, because no one sees the amount of work it took to get my son on the ride. All they see is a picture with a happy kid and think "it is just a roller coaster". Well yes it is.....but the journey it took to get him to ride it was not simple!!

 

In relation to Kennywood, was Thomas Town supposed to be opening for the start of summer season, is it on schedule or delayed? I was surprised that they were still working on it!?

[Samuel]

Whew, I loved this report! What an awesome story that you shared -- just reading it made my day, too. There's a Pittsburgh-famous documentary called "Kennywood Memories" that you can find chopped up on YouTube, and the gist is that for all the rides and attractions at the park, Kennywood's magic is the memories you make with your friends and family. It sounds like you had the quintessential experience!

 

And yep, Thomas Town is now coming together, but it's been a work-in-progress over the spring and summer. I don't think it was planned to open with the park -- it's been one of those "coming this summer" kind of projects.

[Skittles]

Brief update from the park. It's been open for a few hours, and I'm not too terribly impressed. Most of the rides didn't even open until 20 minutes after the posted opening time, and the ride ops I felt were pretty slow and some aren't terribly nice. Has a good collection of coasters however; a bit bummed that Sky Rocket is still down, but I have every other cred and rode the flat rides that I was told are some of the better ones. Not sure how much more time I'll spend here. I'm not trying to sound like I'm complaining too much here; it's not a bad park, just needs some operations improvement. Phantom's Revenge kicks ass and is easily in my Top 5. Jack Rabbit is a very close second however; that double down makes it a favorite of mine. Thunderbolt and Racer are good too.

[FeelTheFORCE]

Brief update from the park. It's been open for a few hours, and I'm not too terribly impressed. Most of the rides didn't even open until 20 minutes after the posted opening time, and the ride ops I felt were pretty slow and some aren't terribly nice. Has a good collection of coasters however; a bit bummed that Sky Rocket is still down, but I have every other cred and rode the flat rides that I was told are some of the better ones. Not sure how much more time I'll spend here. I'm not trying to sound like I'm complaining too much here; it's not a bad park, just needs some operations improvement. Phantom's Revenge kicks A$$ and is easily in my Top 5. Jack Rabbit is a very close second however; that double down makes it a favorite of mine. Thunderbolt and Racer are good too.

 

They've always done things that way. For as long as I can remember, it's always been a "park gates open at 10:30, rides open at 11:00-ish" type of deal. Phantom runs one train for a while in the beginning until the ops deem it necessary to add the 2nd. They've never been known for great operations, but I think the park's charm kind of masks that a bit.

[jconsolmagno]

Is the yellow B&M track headed to KW?

 

 

 

http://www.wildgravitytravels.com/clermont-steel-track-plant-7-4-18-canadas-wonderland-dive-coaster-and-more/

[Yubstep101]

My best guess would be somewhere in China, to be honest.

[JJLehto]

Brief update from the park. It's been open for a few hours, and I'm not too terribly impressed. Most of the rides didn't even open until 20 minutes after the posted opening time, and the ride ops I felt were pretty slow and some aren't terribly nice. Has a good collection of coasters however; a bit bummed that Sky Rocket is still down, but I have every other cred and rode the flat rides that I was told are some of the better ones. Not sure how much more time I'll spend here. I'm not trying to sound like I'm complaining too much here; it's not a bad park, just needs some operations improvement. Phantom's Revenge kicks A$$ and is easily in my Top 5. Jack Rabbit is a very close second however; that double down makes it a favorite of mine. Thunderbolt and Racer are good too.

 

They've always done things that way. For as long as I can remember, it's always been a "park gates open at 10:30, rides open at 11:00-ish" type of deal. Phantom runs one train for a while in the beginning until the ops deem it necessary to add the 2nd. They've never been known for great operations, but I think the park's charm kind of masks that a bit.

 

heh...funny what we will look past when at a smaller park eh?

If anything is less than immaculate at the bigger parks the cascade of gripe will flow over the internet.

 

Good to know though, I will be sure to take my time and enjoy the park and take it all in and not be too concerned about racing around.

[DILinator]

Bummed about Sky Rocket, our first visit is in two weeks. I feel like I will have a great park experience, coaster credit notwithstanding.

I'd prefer it to be open, but I don't think we're missing much. There are plenty of similar launched coasters out there. I'm more focused on Pantom's Revenge, the classic wooden coasters, and Exterminator. Those rides seem to be a bit more unique. I know Exterminator seems somewhat typical, but apparently the themeing is great.

 

Having been to KW and ridden Sky Rocket, I'd agree. It's kind of fun, and not a bad coaster by any means. But at KW, you have those older woodies, with both Jack Rabbit (awesome!) and Thunderbolt being very unique (Racer is probably my least favorite coaster there, honestly though), as well as a riotously fun indoor coaster (I'll leave out any other details so as not to spoil it) in Exterminator. PLUS, one of my personal favorite roller coasters, the amazing Phantom's Revenge! So yeah, a coaster like Sky Rocket that's just "good", isn't anything to lose sleep over missing, unless you're hung up on your coaster count - which I know you aren't! Enjoy your time there! I can't wait to take my kids to this awesome park! Though I'll probably wait until 2019 at this point!

[Skittles]

Is the yellow B&M track headed to KW?

 

 

 

http://www.wildgravitytravels.com/clermont-steel-track-plant-7-4-18-canadas-wonderland-dive-coaster-and-more/

That yellow "Mega Coaster" track, if it's in North America, would be for California's Great America (just a guess at this point, obv.) Assuming that all the other rumors I've heard are true about one coming in 2020.

Edited July 16, 2018 by Skittles

[crw16]

We took a quick picture after his first ride. I don't think the poor teenage ride attendant understood why I shook his hand and was high fiving people afterwards. Sometimes we don't think about how much work goes into something even as simple as "going on a roller coaster".

 

 

Awesome,. great story. Im so happy for you and your son. Nothing beats that.

[PhantomNick]

Exciting news!! Kennywood is set to announce their new 2019 attraction this Thursday, July 19th!

 

Kennywood 2019 Announcement this Thursday!!!

 

After months of rumors and speculation, Kennywood finally is set to disclose what its mysterious new ride will be.

 

Kennywood officials have scheduled a news conference Thursday for the big reveal on the project mysteriously dubbed Project 412 that will debut in 2019. There is strong sentiment that the new attraction will be a mega-sized coaster that will utilize the lagoon, the vacant space formerly occupied by the Log Jammer water ride that was retired last year, and possibly some of the property located behind that space and the Racer that currently is used for storage.

 

Kennywood has promised that the ride designer will be on hand for the project's official groundbreaking ceremony to take place after the news conference.

 

The West Mifflin amusement park has teased the project for the past month via an online game and word search puzzle. More than 2,500 contest entries have been received from those attempting to guess exactly what the project will be.

 

In a live stream with one of the local news stations, Kennywood's PR guy revealed there will be a news conference at Noon to reveal details for Project 412! They claim the ride designer will also be in attendance for an "official groundbreaking ceremony" to take place after the news conference.

 

Home park or not, I'm really stoked for this big announcement!! They've done a great job with the teaser campaign and kept everything very secret, which is pretty rare nowadays!

Edited July 18, 2018 by jedimaster1227

[thrillseeker4552]

Well that will be a fun birthday present, for me! I’m pumped.

[ThemeParkJunkie51290]

Excellent! I can't wait to see what's in store for Kennywood, and I'm sure it's going to be fantastic!

[Samuel]

As my home park, I feel 95% excitement and 5% trepidation because I really want Kennywood to get this right! Kennywood doesn't have a ton of shots at major new coasters, and we haven't seen management's approach to a big attraction in some time. I also want it to be something that I can enjoy for years to come -- no Smilers or spinning, please. Even with the clues and an alleged blueprint leak, the project has a lot more questions than answers, and it's impressive that this thing has remained under wraps.

 

Can't wait!

[jedimaster1227]

I'm genuinely curious to see what they end up doing with this space. Log Jammer took up a pretty decent plot so it will be interesting to see just how much of this land is used for the new addition.

[The Geek Mojo]

I have to give it to Kennywood, they have put on a hell of a teaser campaign for this new ride. I don't think anyone is 100% sure what this park is getting...Probably not even 50% sure. I'll be a Kings Dominion tomorrow and I'll be glued to my phone to see what the announcement is. I'm excited for this park...It's definitely on my itinerary for next year.

[thesman]

I'm so pumped. My final guess is an S&S launch coaster