Kennywood, 5/9/2010

I spent Mother's Day at Kennywood this year. My Mom and I have been visiting Kennywood on Mother's Day since 1987, give or take a year or two for sickness or terrible weather. Over the past couple of years we've visited Hershey instead since I moved to Harrisburg. But this year, she wanted to resume the tradition at Kennywood and we did.

The weather wasn't that great, so I didn't do as much as I may have normally. I've realized that I'm getting too old to enjoy the amusement parks in 50 degree weather. I end up getting all stiff and my nose runs perpetually. It's just not as much fun. But the crowds were light as they typically are for Mother's Day and that's always nice...for us, anyway. :)

There were only a few things I wanted to point out about the trip. Sky Rocket is looking pretty cool. I know some others have already reported about how it looks in the thread in the main forum, so I don't need to try to hurt myself with enthusiast details that I don't fully understand to be honest. :) But for some reason when I saw it and the way it begins from on top of the tunnel entrance, I was reminded of the Laser Loop. There used to be two entrances to Kennywood and one was under the Laser Loop. I know the Turnpike was on top of the tunnel, too, but for some reason this just reminded me of the "old days."

If you haven't ridden the train at Kennywood in a while, I recommend it. This may have been talked about previously, but the spiel for the train has changed. It used to talk about the history of the area in Pittsburgh. Now it's talking about the history of the park kind of Kennywood Memories style and there were some really cool pictures of the park over the years. It's worth checking out, but don't sit in the back seat because it's a little hard to hear.

Cosmic Chaos was a lot of fun. I wish every park had one of those. I was a little concerned when I sat down because I wasn't sure how the restraints worked. The guy next to me joked that "we're tough in Pittburgh... you just have to hold on real tight!" Then I realized the back comes up and it snuggled me into my sit. It's a fun ride that offers a simple, float-through-the-air experience.

I was hoping to meet kpjb while I was at the park. I did not. Our fail-safe plan of me checking name tags looking for his name didn't work. Crazy, I know. ;) But I did meet up with someone I used to work with before I moved. It was awesome to see her and her family again. Thanks to Facebook we realized we were both going to be at the park.

The only problem area I saw was at the Thunderbolt. My Mom didn't ride with me so I had to find a partner. The attendant was not very helpful, so I had to find my own partner. They didn't line the train up right at the station, unfortunately, and that caused much confusion about who is riding in what row. And if I'm not mistaken, they didn't check restraints before sending us out. Perhaps I missed it or there's some reason they don't have to be checked on Thunderbolt, but it was strange all the same. Nothing a little more training couldn't fix.

In other news, we killed it at Bowler Roller and now I have an over-sized penguin I need to figure out what to do with. We caught some of the Kenya Acrobats show and they were phenomenal as always. And the staff across the park was so friendly and accommodating. Everyone seemed to go above and beyond to make it a nice day.

It was just a great day at an awesome park. We enjoyed ourselves for our 23rd Mother's Day. :)

I <3 Kennywood's Bowler Roller. That's the one game there that I always get the "you're done for the day" line.

It's a usual stop for me, too. It's fun to keep trading up, but then I get this giant animal and I'm like, uh, now what? ;) I usually end up donating them at Christmas time.

But I do love me some Bowler Roller. :)

So does kpjb's name tag say 'kpjb'? In my mind it does. :)

Oh, riiiiggghhhhtt.... I was looking for Mr. kpjb. Oops! :)

I had an issue last year on RFII with a train not perfectly lined up with the queue in the station. Some dude took this as an opportunity to ride one whole seat ahead of where he was standing, and caused a Chinese fire drill.

P.S. It's not called getting too old, it's another day closer to senior admission.

Did Jeff and Pat tell you that you had to avoid me to be part of the cool kids' crowd? Gonchar goes as far as only scheduling his visits on my days off.

No, but I'm starting a rumor that you are Kennywood's phantom and that's why nobody sees you.

You never work on the days I visit either. If I didn't get a little envelope from you, I wouldn't be sure you really work there.

kpjb said:
Did Jeff and Pat tell you that you had to avoid me to be part of the cool kids' crowd?

Crap, I seem to recall actually meeting you once (briefly) -- guess I'm not one of the cool kids anymore...

You're just hanging around because you still want the enhanced Exterminator ride... ;)

I'd settle for an Exterminator ride that actually spins. ;)