- September 23rd, 2010, 1:13 am
#43161
119 photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhawkins/s ... 992698338/
Just a few hours from Cedar Point is Kennywood, one of the most classic American amusement parks, which I previously visited in 2003 and 2009.
This year the skyline changed significantly, but more on that later.
The initial crowd rush flocked to Sky Rocket, so Exterminator is always a good place to start the day due to its low capacity. One of the best wild mouse coasters ever, with a clever and fairly elaborate theme.
Next door, one of the many classic and rare rides at Kennywood: The Whip, a simple ride involving two constantly moving turntables that "whip" the cars around each end of the track.
Alan and John came up to visit Cedar Point, and then I joined them for their visit to Kennywood. Alan seemed to be in love from the very start of the day.
The park accepted the problem of people sticking their gum everywhere and decided to make something creative out of it.
Phantom's Revenge: One of those rides that I just cannot explain. In 2003 I found it extremely disappointing, perhaps in large part to a badly injured knee that prevented me from enjoying the park at all.
Last year I returned to the park and enjoyed the ride a lot more, but still found it underwhelming.
This time, I am not sure what happened, but from the very first ride Phantom's Revenge left me nearly speechless. By the end of the day I had it ranked at #6 on my top steel list, just ahead of Millennium Force. I just absolutely loved it.
The only possible logical explanation that I can think of is the top of the second hill. Some track work last season (completely new track for the first part of the ride in fact) left a very noticable kink at the top of the second hill where the car shook from side to side and I would imagine bled off a lot of speed. That section is now fixed and the transition is seemless. Perhaps the rest of the ride is a tad faster, now; I have no idea. The fact that a magnetic trim brake was added near the end of the ride (it does not hurt the ride at all) may back up my theory some that it could be running faster. Either way, whether it is my imagination or not, I now love the ride.
Moving on, it was Thunderbolt time. This was the longest the line ever was. It is a bit annoying having a three person group because you must be paired with another rider. The crew was really cool though, because if there were no single riders to pair up with they would let someone in the line ride with the single rider then ride again with whoever they were in line with. If that failed, an operator would get to hop on for a ride.
Thunderbolt is one of the most famous wooden coasters in the world. Like the other wooden coasters at Kennywood, it is not necessarily a knock your socks off wild ride, but is just plain fun and has a lot of reride value.
As soon as you enter the double helix you know exactly why no single riders are allowed. The laterals in those turns are nuts.
Major credit to Kennywood for still running original style trains on this and Jack Rabbit. The heavily cushioned seats on Thunderbolt make it a very comfortable ride, whereas I would bet it could be quite rough running the terrible unpadded PTC trains that so many parks have.
We were all big fans of Thunderbolt and got a few rides before heading to the next ride.
Ghostwood Estate is the well themed (although somewhat short) Sally shooter dark ride; it is the only one I have seen with a pre-show.
A trip to Kennywood is not complete without a visit to the Potato Patch, no doubt one of the most legendary amusement park food joints in the world.
It is a pretty simple concept: hand cut fries (on the spot) with a variety of salts and melted cheese and bacon if you would like. Simple, but delicious.
Another landmark in the coaster world, the Racer.
Sadly, Racer does not run its original trains, but it is still a classic coaster. There are some surprising forces on it.
The tracks are quite close together, allowing for the hand slapping in the turns that is what Racer is most known for. The times that we rode, however, very few people seemed to be aware of the concept.
Last but not least in the Kennywood wooden collection, Jack Rabbit.
The coaster opened in 1921, and the current trains have been in use since 1947, which is probably the most amazing thing about the ride. They still have the single non-moving lap bars, which provides for a terrifying moment of airtime during the coaster's signature double down. The coaster is short, but incredibly fun and classic in every sense of the word.
Did I mention that this is just a very nice park overall?
Speaking of classic, Kangaroo is the last ride of its kind left in the entire world. Cars move in a circle and bounce over a single hill, creating a nice moment of airtime.
It was just another one of those fun Kennywood rides. There are so many rides here that need to be done in addition to the coasters.
Finally, it was time for the newest Kennywood creation.
Sky Rocket is an odd little ride. It starts out with a nice launch into a vertical hill, which then brakes nearly to a stop at the top before dropping.
Premier (the manufacturer) gets huge points from me for continuing to use only lap bars even when their coasters go upside down. These restraints are interesting in that they have shin bars, which are somewhat uncomfortable, and for taller people the shin bar prevents the lap bar from coming down anywhere near the lap. This makes for some crazy airtime during the ride.
The pacing on Sky Rocket was a bit weird due to some of the brakes, but for a smaller coaster it packs a good punch.
The ride is really smooth and has several nice moments of airtime, including a shocking one in this corkscrew. I really enjoyed the ride and would have liked to have done it again, but we had so much fun riding some of the other coasters over and over that we never made it back to Sky Rocket. It was hard to justify waiting 30 minutes for it when there were no lines for the other rides.
Surprise credit of the day! No maximum height for Lil' Phantom, which I had never even looked for in my past two visits.
Hilarious junior coaster. We went around several times, and it felt like the car was riding on shopping cart wheels.
A closer inspection afterward showed that it was not far off from shopping cart wheels!
Kenny Kangaroo is not pleased with being touched.
I loved this; a nice nod to Kennywood's origins as a trolley park. In the last 19th century streetcar lines wanted a way to attract riders on weekends, so many of them built amusement parks at the very end of the line. Kennywood was one such park in 1898. The streetcar line is gone, just as it sadly is most everywhere else in America.
It was a hot day, and I agreed to do a water ride as long as it was not Pittsburgh Plunge or the rapids ride, both of which appeared to absolutely drench riders.
The Log Jammer was just a nice gentle refreshing misting.
If there was ever a major misstep at this park, it was retheming the 1901 Old Mill ride into a Garfield ride. This mistake should be corrected immediately.
3-D is great and all, but where the park takes such care of their history everywhere else, they kind of spit on it here.
Cowboy Joe is not pleased.
While rides like this disappear gradually everywhere else, Kennywood keeps theirs running.
Fittingly, as it starts to rain we head for Noah's Ark.
Walk-through fun houses like this have pretty much become extinct, but Kennywood as always is stubborn. This has to be the best walk-through fun house type of attraction in the country.
Let the history lesson continue with The Turtle. This is one of only two Tumble Bug style rides remaining in America, and it has been around since 1927.
We declared this best ride ever to go on while drunk, but sadly did not get to verify.
Back to Phantom's Revenge, which I could not get enough of.
The airtime during the second half of the ride is some of the wildest ever.
Then came a ride on the Pitt Fall, one of my favorite drop rides.
Next John modeled a hat as we walked around trying to find the "big" gift shop, only to find there really is no main gift shop.
Swing Shot is an S&S Screaming Swing, which is one of my favorite types of flat rides. Just another great addition to the Kennywood collection.
More Thunderbolt action as Alan hangs on for dear life preparing to enter one of the turns.
Pleased.
After the disappointment of missing out on Darien Lake's Skycoaster, I was excited to do Kennywood's similar model using my Site Controller card.
Fail again. I am just destined not to get to use that card. We waited too late, as the Skycoaster closed very early due to low crowds.
As the lights came on at Kennywood, the rain began to come down. Hard. Yet somehow I was convinced to take a ride on Jack Rabbit. Bad move.
Drenched. All the way through.
Luckily the rain ended very quickly and so began a great evening at the park.
Now watch as we try to take a photo with the Lost Kennywood backdrop.
Cocaine is a helluva drug.
These were only three photos I chose to post out of at least ten that were similar.
You just have to experience this park at night as it takes on a new life.
I got several insane Phantom's Revenge rides in the dark before closing, and we made sure to see all of the lights in the park before leaving.
Kennywood could very well be my favorite park I have been to. It is certainly a contender. It is one of a handful of parks that make me want to keep traveling to visit amusement parks and ride roller coasters. The varied collection of rides, great wooden coasters, amazing signature ride in Phantom's Revenge, and an attention to history unlike almost any other park in the country make it a very special place. Can't wait to go back.
Just a few hours from Cedar Point is Kennywood, one of the most classic American amusement parks, which I previously visited in 2003 and 2009.
This year the skyline changed significantly, but more on that later.
The initial crowd rush flocked to Sky Rocket, so Exterminator is always a good place to start the day due to its low capacity. One of the best wild mouse coasters ever, with a clever and fairly elaborate theme.
Next door, one of the many classic and rare rides at Kennywood: The Whip, a simple ride involving two constantly moving turntables that "whip" the cars around each end of the track.
Alan and John came up to visit Cedar Point, and then I joined them for their visit to Kennywood. Alan seemed to be in love from the very start of the day.
The park accepted the problem of people sticking their gum everywhere and decided to make something creative out of it.
Phantom's Revenge: One of those rides that I just cannot explain. In 2003 I found it extremely disappointing, perhaps in large part to a badly injured knee that prevented me from enjoying the park at all.
Last year I returned to the park and enjoyed the ride a lot more, but still found it underwhelming.
This time, I am not sure what happened, but from the very first ride Phantom's Revenge left me nearly speechless. By the end of the day I had it ranked at #6 on my top steel list, just ahead of Millennium Force. I just absolutely loved it.
The only possible logical explanation that I can think of is the top of the second hill. Some track work last season (completely new track for the first part of the ride in fact) left a very noticable kink at the top of the second hill where the car shook from side to side and I would imagine bled off a lot of speed. That section is now fixed and the transition is seemless. Perhaps the rest of the ride is a tad faster, now; I have no idea. The fact that a magnetic trim brake was added near the end of the ride (it does not hurt the ride at all) may back up my theory some that it could be running faster. Either way, whether it is my imagination or not, I now love the ride.
Moving on, it was Thunderbolt time. This was the longest the line ever was. It is a bit annoying having a three person group because you must be paired with another rider. The crew was really cool though, because if there were no single riders to pair up with they would let someone in the line ride with the single rider then ride again with whoever they were in line with. If that failed, an operator would get to hop on for a ride.
Thunderbolt is one of the most famous wooden coasters in the world. Like the other wooden coasters at Kennywood, it is not necessarily a knock your socks off wild ride, but is just plain fun and has a lot of reride value.
As soon as you enter the double helix you know exactly why no single riders are allowed. The laterals in those turns are nuts.
Major credit to Kennywood for still running original style trains on this and Jack Rabbit. The heavily cushioned seats on Thunderbolt make it a very comfortable ride, whereas I would bet it could be quite rough running the terrible unpadded PTC trains that so many parks have.
We were all big fans of Thunderbolt and got a few rides before heading to the next ride.
Ghostwood Estate is the well themed (although somewhat short) Sally shooter dark ride; it is the only one I have seen with a pre-show.
A trip to Kennywood is not complete without a visit to the Potato Patch, no doubt one of the most legendary amusement park food joints in the world.
It is a pretty simple concept: hand cut fries (on the spot) with a variety of salts and melted cheese and bacon if you would like. Simple, but delicious.
Another landmark in the coaster world, the Racer.
Sadly, Racer does not run its original trains, but it is still a classic coaster. There are some surprising forces on it.
The tracks are quite close together, allowing for the hand slapping in the turns that is what Racer is most known for. The times that we rode, however, very few people seemed to be aware of the concept.
Last but not least in the Kennywood wooden collection, Jack Rabbit.
The coaster opened in 1921, and the current trains have been in use since 1947, which is probably the most amazing thing about the ride. They still have the single non-moving lap bars, which provides for a terrifying moment of airtime during the coaster's signature double down. The coaster is short, but incredibly fun and classic in every sense of the word.
Did I mention that this is just a very nice park overall?
Speaking of classic, Kangaroo is the last ride of its kind left in the entire world. Cars move in a circle and bounce over a single hill, creating a nice moment of airtime.
It was just another one of those fun Kennywood rides. There are so many rides here that need to be done in addition to the coasters.
Finally, it was time for the newest Kennywood creation.
Sky Rocket is an odd little ride. It starts out with a nice launch into a vertical hill, which then brakes nearly to a stop at the top before dropping.
Premier (the manufacturer) gets huge points from me for continuing to use only lap bars even when their coasters go upside down. These restraints are interesting in that they have shin bars, which are somewhat uncomfortable, and for taller people the shin bar prevents the lap bar from coming down anywhere near the lap. This makes for some crazy airtime during the ride.
The pacing on Sky Rocket was a bit weird due to some of the brakes, but for a smaller coaster it packs a good punch.
The ride is really smooth and has several nice moments of airtime, including a shocking one in this corkscrew. I really enjoyed the ride and would have liked to have done it again, but we had so much fun riding some of the other coasters over and over that we never made it back to Sky Rocket. It was hard to justify waiting 30 minutes for it when there were no lines for the other rides.
Surprise credit of the day! No maximum height for Lil' Phantom, which I had never even looked for in my past two visits.
Hilarious junior coaster. We went around several times, and it felt like the car was riding on shopping cart wheels.
A closer inspection afterward showed that it was not far off from shopping cart wheels!
Kenny Kangaroo is not pleased with being touched.
I loved this; a nice nod to Kennywood's origins as a trolley park. In the last 19th century streetcar lines wanted a way to attract riders on weekends, so many of them built amusement parks at the very end of the line. Kennywood was one such park in 1898. The streetcar line is gone, just as it sadly is most everywhere else in America.
It was a hot day, and I agreed to do a water ride as long as it was not Pittsburgh Plunge or the rapids ride, both of which appeared to absolutely drench riders.
The Log Jammer was just a nice gentle refreshing misting.
If there was ever a major misstep at this park, it was retheming the 1901 Old Mill ride into a Garfield ride. This mistake should be corrected immediately.
3-D is great and all, but where the park takes such care of their history everywhere else, they kind of spit on it here.
Cowboy Joe is not pleased.
While rides like this disappear gradually everywhere else, Kennywood keeps theirs running.
Fittingly, as it starts to rain we head for Noah's Ark.
Walk-through fun houses like this have pretty much become extinct, but Kennywood as always is stubborn. This has to be the best walk-through fun house type of attraction in the country.
Let the history lesson continue with The Turtle. This is one of only two Tumble Bug style rides remaining in America, and it has been around since 1927.
We declared this best ride ever to go on while drunk, but sadly did not get to verify.
Back to Phantom's Revenge, which I could not get enough of.
The airtime during the second half of the ride is some of the wildest ever.
Then came a ride on the Pitt Fall, one of my favorite drop rides.
Next John modeled a hat as we walked around trying to find the "big" gift shop, only to find there really is no main gift shop.
Swing Shot is an S&S Screaming Swing, which is one of my favorite types of flat rides. Just another great addition to the Kennywood collection.
More Thunderbolt action as Alan hangs on for dear life preparing to enter one of the turns.
Pleased.
After the disappointment of missing out on Darien Lake's Skycoaster, I was excited to do Kennywood's similar model using my Site Controller card.
Fail again. I am just destined not to get to use that card. We waited too late, as the Skycoaster closed very early due to low crowds.
As the lights came on at Kennywood, the rain began to come down. Hard. Yet somehow I was convinced to take a ride on Jack Rabbit. Bad move.
Drenched. All the way through.
Luckily the rain ended very quickly and so began a great evening at the park.
Now watch as we try to take a photo with the Lost Kennywood backdrop.
Cocaine is a helluva drug.
These were only three photos I chose to post out of at least ten that were similar.
You just have to experience this park at night as it takes on a new life.
I got several insane Phantom's Revenge rides in the dark before closing, and we made sure to see all of the lights in the park before leaving.
Kennywood could very well be my favorite park I have been to. It is certainly a contender. It is one of a handful of parks that make me want to keep traveling to visit amusement parks and ride roller coasters. The varied collection of rides, great wooden coasters, amazing signature ride in Phantom's Revenge, and an attention to history unlike almost any other park in the country make it a very special place. Can't wait to go back.
Thank you, Jonathan, for the TR. I will be making it there in the next couple of years!