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Kennywood Park announced on social media Tuesday that it is retiring four of its rides: Kangaroo, Paratrooper, Bayern Kurve and Volcano.
Read more and see video from WTAE/Pittsburgh.
I can’t imagine a scenario where they remove these rides and don’t replace them with something but Kennywood continues to surprise me.
When I clicked on the link, I was fearing Kangaroo and Kurve were on the list. Sad to see these 4 rides gone.
I recall my first visit back in 02, I took my only ride on the roo. I remember just sitting there and watching this ride as it went through several cycles. Watching everyone's faces light up each time as each car went over that hump, was priceless. Oddly enough for me, this is one of those moments I hope I never forget.
What a unique ride!!
Joseph Croft- yes it is indeed the last one.
Oh, there are other similar rides from various manufacturers. In the UK rides by the name of Ski Jump travel around. But Norman Bartlett was the creator of the Flying Coaster. I think the first one came to the CNE in 1957 and was a sensation. Showmen and park owners picked them up and I remember seeing (and riding) many in the 60’s.
Oddly, the second to the last one was at Waldameer, and it was removed a while back. I think Wipeout went in to replace it.
There is a certain weirdness to this. Volcano was probably at the end of its service life when the park installed it. The Paratrooper is a beautiful installation of a surprisingly common ride, dead simple and while Frank Hrubetz Co. is long out of business there is a current company that supports the ride. Still, the ride was damaged in a hurricane a few years ago.
The Bayern Kurve, though, was refurbished not so long ago with all new scenery panels and LED lighting. The Kangaroo is the last of its kind, and its entire drive system was redesigned and modernized a few years ago. Another dead simple ride, it’s hard to believe that thing doesn’t have a few more good decades in it.
I do wonder if Kennywood is clearing out a good sized space for...something, probably another themed zone. This in turn has me wondering if two or three of these rides (sorry, Enterprise fans) aren’t on their way to other Palace parks.
In any case I really hope the Flying Coaster and Bayern Kurve find good homes. Both rides are too good and too rare to waste!
—Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
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Volcano I get. Heck, I encourage it. And even Paratrooper, if for whatever reason they opted to remove it for something else or for cost savings, there are plenty of models still around, including at nearby Waldameer.
But Bayern Kurve and Kangaroo? Those rides are not only one of a kind now, but are loads of fun and fit in with Kennywood's unofficial reputation of being a place for historic ride preservation. To me the removal of Kangaroo is just as noteworthy as had they decided to get rid of Thunderbolt or Jack Rabbit or when Big Dipper at Geauga Lake was demolished.
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