Kennywood : 8/1/02

We were greeted with an average crowd at Kennywood today, where the temperature hit 94, which felt roughly 176 degrees. Didn't get to the park until about noon, but we were able to put in a full day of riding. Good friends, good rides, good times.

Notes: PR is running fantastic. What a ride. Two-train operation makes lines very bearable. ... The MTV Drumscape is, without a doubt, my favorite arcade "game," if you can call it that. Well worth the $1. Or $5, depending on how much you can handle. ... When the temperature's flirting with 100 and the humidity is high, avoid heavy foods, ie the chicken (breading) strips from the Parkside Terrace. All four of us slammed on 'em, and a couple ended up regretting it. ... Had the single-most intense Exterminator ride of my life today. To say it's a different ride every time is the biggest understatement since Noah said, "Looks like rain." ... And finally, the Whip without its building is a sad, sad site. :(

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Matt Lynch

I'm a huge Drumscape fan (been playing since I was 8 :) ) - but this year Kennywood's had some "glitches", kind of like it was skipping. I was forced to play along to a version of Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" - when all I wanted to do was "jam" with my daughter. Then the stupid song kept skipping and reapeating like a scratched up old LP.

Sigh.

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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park visits in 2002: 15

Does anyone else agree that Kennywood itself is a hidden gem? With their collection of lumber, and a reborn steelie, I can't see how anyone would disagree, yet we hear so little about this park.

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Thank You for challenging TOS: The Ride. We hope you enjoy the rest of your day, here at SFCB.

Bull Guy, true, they have good coasters, but I think the reason is that they rarely have anything new there. I mean, with parks adding major attractions every other year, or even year, they're able to take all the headlines, not a park with a thirty year old woodie (as good as it may be). There's just nothing new with it.

It's more than just the coasters. It's the entire park. It has kept it's early Twentith Century charm without being either left behind or overwhelmed by the notion of "if it isn't bigger and newer it isn't any good" syndrome. The key word here is "balance".

A couple of reasons why "not much is heard" of Kennywood (all are only my opinion, as cynical as it is)...

1) Who goes to Pittsburgh for coasters? You don't see it in on the Travel Channel like you do California parks, and it is not in Orlando. It's not a destination park.

2) With the exception of when the old Steel Phantom first opened, none of its coasters are record breakers. Also, the majority if its coasters date back to at least the 1940's (even the 1960ish Thunderbolt is a "revamp" of the 1927 Pippin). Also, 3 of its 5 coasters are wood. It's coaster count is not record breaking either (Of the 4 major parks in PA alone, 2 have more coasters than Kennywood). Because of these facts the Newer / Bigger / Most crowds do not seem to pay it much attention.

I think these are the two biggest reasons why it doesn't really get paid that much attention to.

All that being said, I personally would take it over most Newer / Bigger / Most Coaster parks around.

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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"

*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 8/26/2002. ***

SLFAKE - actually Kennywood's coasters have been prominently featured on many Discovey and Travel Channel coaster shows, mostly Thunderbolt, Racer, and the pre-mod Phantom.

But I agree with you that I'd prefer a day at Kennywood over a park w/ double the coasters. I've been to Kennywood when 3 out of 5 coasters were closed [Jack Rabbit blew its lift motor, Phantom was not ready, and Thunderbolt had yet to be put back together]. I still had an amazing time!

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"I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean S-M-A-R-T!" - Homer Simpson

Then I must be missing those shows... of course I watch very little TV... especially coaster shows (something about so called "enthusiasts" having deliusions of grandure on TV that just doesn't interest me).

Seems like all I ever see are shows featuring west coast coasters and CP. VERY FEW seem to spot light others.

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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"

SLFAKE - Oh, I totally agree about coaster shows. Way too much California, Florida, Las Vegas, and Cedar Point. ..*and* Paul Rubin!

Nothing bores me more than POV, and even more annoying is out-of-sequence POV. I was bored the other day and saw a show in which Ghostrider POV was shown. Not only did the train change colors but the sequence of drops was completely wrong.

Secondly, how can enthusiasts have any credibility when I hear one call Manhattan Express "one of the best if not THE BEST coasters in the world." Huh? Or when that woman on Raptor says her favorite part is the drop coming off the mid-course brake. WTF? Or when the soon-to-be ACE Pres says The Beast is an airtime machine? Or when Paul Rubin keeps naming each coaster as his #1? LOL!

Worse, the shows get awfully repetitive. How many times must we see time-lapse footage of Raptor being built? And if I see that annoying Montu segment one more time I'm gonna barf.

Anyway, back on topic: Kennywood ROCKS!

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"I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean S-M-A-R-T!" - Homer Simpson

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh on 8/26/2002. ***

Kennywood does get featured alot for its classic / old coasters, unqiue rides, and very importantly, that it's a beautiful park. However, I think too much emphasis is placed on the intensity of the coasters and not enough on perhaps the park beauty, park landscaping, park themes, and non-coaster rides. It's almost like these different coaster shows just repeat each other... and I no longer watch them.