CoasterFanatic Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Kennywood is not in the business of removing classic rides. They are in the business of preserving them. Better than almost any other park. However you want to slice it, the Flying Carpet was not reliable or that popular any more. It was fun, but it's time has passed. The Kurve and Swing Around will most likely end up back some day, but not neccesarily at Kennywood. It would surprise me at all if one of them found their way to Idlewild or Compounce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Actually Ted, from what I understand the Kurve will be back at Kennywood probably in 08. The swing around will probably venture its way to either Idewild or Compounce in the next year or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N'at Man Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I was watching the morning news and they had a segment on the construction at Kennywood. They played it up as if a UFO landed at the old site of the Flying Carpet leaving a big hole. They showed the hole filled in with concrete. The park has an update on their website asking for people seeing anything unusual in the area to e-mail the park at UFO@kennywood.com. Kennywood is pretty creative in creating some hype for a flat ride like a mega Disk'O without having much of a budget. UFO, Disk'O, makes sense even if the ride doesn't have much theming. The reporter said to expect an announcement next week for the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenDen Posted January 13, 2007 Author Share Posted January 13, 2007 VERY COOL! I love Kennywood's creativity. Like you said Tim, no big budget, and yet, that's part of the charm Kennywood has. You know it's home-made, but it's awesome. I kinda thought this ride would be themed for Volcano Valley, but I like this UFO much better. Hopefully it will have lots of lights and effects, something that Kennywood likes to stay away from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Its always possible for Kennywood to get a spinning coaster themed to UFOs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas2 Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 A Euro Mir-styled coaster would be cool but I highly doubt that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Its always possible for Kennywood to get a spinning coaster themed to UFOs... They already have Exterminator. Don't see the need for another spinning coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N'at Man Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I kinda thought this ride would be themed for Volcano Valley, but I like this UFO much better. Hopefully it will have lots of lights and effects, something that Kennywood likes to stay away from. We'll see if my source is correct but I'm not expecting lights and effects on the ride. I envision this ride being much like the Flying Carpet which it is replacing. A ride with it's own theme not tied to anything else. I'd have to guess that Kennywood will give this ride a unique name related to UFOs especially since it will help the opening year marketing efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerC Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 The bad thing about Kennywood...is that they always take out the best rides and replace them...not that i'm complaining because they always put in awsome replacements ie SwingShot. I hope that when the expansion is complete, they add back alot of the old rides they took out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergusonat Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I love Kennywood and their ingenuity. They take a small installation and make it a great one. They certainly know how to create hype! This should be a very nice addition to the already stellar Kennywood line-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Disk O' (Large Version) Rockin' Tug for Kiddieland // confirmed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 It's cool to see Kennywood working with what they can. It'll be cool to see what all goes into the theming of the actual ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenDen Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 It's really nice to see they're building an arsenal of "new" rides again, it seemed they were in a slump of used and rejuvenated rides for a few seasons. Two years in a row for "new" stuff, woohoo! I just might make the trip this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N'at Man Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Kennywood to add new thrill ride Friday, January 26, 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Kennywood is adding a new extraterrestrial thrill ride for next season, the Cosmic Chaos. The ride seats 24 people on a giant disk, which looks like a U.F.O. From a height of 50 feet, the disk travels along 120 feet of concave track while riders spin around in a circle. "This ride is definitely the best new 'flat ride' we could purchase," Kennywood Entertainment President Pete McAneny said. "The ride sensation is totally different than anything I've ever experienced." Cosmic Chaos seats riders on a motorcycle-like pedestal seat with a back restraint. With arms and legs unrestrained, riders look outward, Mr. McAneny said. The ride, manufactured as the MEGA DISK'O by Zamperla, Inc., was renamed Cosmic Chaos as part of in-house naming contest among Kennywood ride supervisors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenDen Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 (sigh) This brings back such good memories as a kid, getting SOOOOOOO excited about what was new at Kennywood. Didn't matter what it was, but to me, it was THE topic of the year, every year, and once news broke, that was it, everyone hated Dennis, cause all he'd talk about is Kennywood. Remember the days before the internet, when your only way of finding out was through the local news? It was like clockwork, every spring, the Friday before opening Sunday, was press day. Wish i could find all my old videos, I had 3 VCRs going at the same time to record each channel's take on the ride announcement. OK, I'm done nerding out now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N'at Man Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Remember the days before the internet, when your only way of finding out was through the local news? It was like clockwork, every spring, the Friday before opening Sunday, was press day. Wish i could find all my old videos, I had 3 VCRs going at the same time to record each channel's take on the ride announcement. I can't say I had 3 VCRs going but I still have a tape of the opening of the Steel Phantom. But I do recall the buildup for Kennywood and parks like Cedar Point. I taped the media preview of Magnum but I lost it. Each channel would (and still does) show the media day footage. They'll mention it for an hour throughout the newscast and it's always the last thing they show before signing off. It was more fun in those days as far as anticipation goes. Watching the TV news or getting that copy of ACE News in the mail to find out all of the news was exciting. We know so much more which is great for the off season and planning purposes but it is like opening a gift and already knowing what's inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenDen Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 UhOh! There's a problem. Kennywood is claiming it's new ride is a MegaDisko. Well, if it only seats 24 passengers as in the press release, it's not a MegaDisko, it's a Disko. MegaDisko seats 40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 ^ Haha, well yea we were discussing this over at Kpconnection.com and it turns out that the press release wasn't wrong. Kennywood will have the Mega Disko model with a 24 seater car, capsule, or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N'at Man Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 That still sounds odd to me. But as long as it is a Mega Disk'O size then maybe the ride will be to my liking. I'm not all that impressed with regular Disk'Os. Maybe Mark R. would know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 ^ I think Kennywood went for the big ride/small capacity direction because of pricing (I'm sure) and they really don't need a larger capacity version. This should take some of the pressure off SwingShot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenDen Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 Guess we'll all find out soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 (edited) Link to official Press Release http://www.kennywood.com/docs/12.11.07KECNewChapterRelease.pdf New Chapter in Kennywood Entertainment History Announced PITTSBURGH, December 11, 2007 ? Kennywood Entertainment of Pittsburgh announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its amusement park holdings, including Kennywood in West Mifflin, PA, Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier, PA, Sandcastle Waterpark in West Homestead, PA and New England parks Lake Compounce Theme Park in Bristol, CT and Story Land in Glen, New Hampshire. Kennywood Entertainment has been a closely held family business since F.W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan purchased Kennywood Park from the Monongahela Railway Company in 1906. The Henninger and McSwigan families, now in fourth and fifth generation, have remained owners for over 100 years. Acquiring Kennywood Entertainment is Parques Reunidos, based in Madrid, Spain, an international operator that manages 61 amusement, animal and water parks in the U.S. and Europe, with total annual visitors exceeding 22 million and revenues exceeding $570 million. Parques Reunidos, with the financial backing of the Candover investment fund, a private equity investor in London, approached Kennywood with a purchase offer as part of their plan to consolidate family entertainment venues around the globe. ?The Kennywood experience?as visitors have come to love and expect?will continue. Nothing will seem different, even to the folks working at the parks. Existing management and staff will remain in place,? said Harry Henninger, Chairman of Kennywood Entertainment. ?In recent years, we've had talks with other operators wishing to acquire us, but Parques Reunidos is the first one to share our vision and philosophy.? "We have tremendous respect for the work of the Kennywood management team and are delighted to acquire such a quality organization,? said Richard Golding, Chief Executive Officer of Parques Reunidos. ?They've built Kennywood Entertainment into an industry leader in family entertainment. We are anxious to continue the gold standard of entertainment they have established." ?Richard Golding recognizes and appreciates the deep affection that all of the Kennywood properties enjoy with their communities,? said Peter J. McAneny, Kennywood Entertainment President. ?They intend to preserve these connections and build upon the history and tradition existing at each of the parks." Henninger added, "This has been a very difficult decision for members of the founding families, now numbering over one hundred and residing all over the country. All of us are tremendously proud of what we created with Kennywood Entertainment. It has truly been a magical ride, managing Kennywood, starting Sandcastle, expanding and improving both Idlewild and Lake Compounce.? A March completion date is anticipated. The agreement is subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence inquiries by the parties. The purchase price is not being disclosed. I think I am going to go cry now. Edited December 8, 2011 by larrygator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptorcrew2002 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 What... Better make sure I hit it this year before god knows what will become of it. That sucks, but hope I'm proven wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 It would be sad to see this truly funky, excellent park go corporate, but time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 It's always sad to see tradition end like this, especially after a century of family onwership. Parques Reunidos have quite a diverse portfolio of attractions. Parque De Attractiones Madrid, Bobbejaanland, Mirabilandia, Parque Warner Madrid, Bonbonland, and they also acquired Tusenfryd in November. I've been to a few of those parks and from what I've seen they look really good and are run really well. Concrete and trashcans certainly dont appear to be on the agenda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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