Kennywood 8-22-10

Sporting my Steel Phantom t-shirt, hubby and I left Ohio at 6:45am. It being a Sunday morning there was no rush hour Pa traffic to have to contend with. We arrived in West Mifflin early enough we could get breakfast (side note: AVOID the McDs by the park, service sucked, food took forever, it was cold and just all around bad) and still make it to the park at opening.
Every trip to Kennywood it never ceases to amaze me that it is only 15 more minutes to get there then to CP yet the drive feels like FOREVER!
I KNEW it was going to be a good day when I noticed the paid parking rear view mirror hangy things were Raptor green that day!! :)

Sky Rocket: Nothing can beat the 1st ride on any coaster, but we both really liked it. Forget OTSR (they are the devil) there is just a simple lap bar simular to FOF. Giving you tons of comfort, freedom and no ear whamming or head banging. Launch was no TTD but fun none the less. The 1st hill I loved WAAAY more than Maverick because there is a longer ride heading almost straight down.
Sky Rocket isnt exactly the longest coaster ever but it is long enough for you to enjoy. It is smooth as glass, even the inverts were flawless. There are tons of airtime and it is just plain fun. Nice addition to KW and that alone made the drive worth it. We managed 3 rides for the day with no wait longer than 30 minutes.
Bought the t-shirt :)

Phantoms Revenge: OK I have to mention the gum target in PRs queue line. REALLY? You want people spitting their gum on a target? And which people are you referring to, the ones on the coaster on the lift or the ones in line? Idk which, it was disgusting and if it was an attempt to keep people from sticking their gum all over the part it is an epic fail. Uck! :(
Although I adored Steel Phantom I cant get enough of PR. This ride is off the hook crazy non stop, no trim brake nuts! I LOVE it! We rode 3x, longest wait 20 minutes. I could seriously just ride this all day and be happy :)

The Exterminator: Had forgotten how much fun this ride is, the "special effects" are well few and far between but you dont need them. The 1st time we rode we sat in the separate seats, we were spinning like CRAZY. We got back into the station and we were still spinning fast! We rode it a 2nd time and sat together and noticed that kept us from spinning as much as we did the 1st ride. Still tons o' fun and maybe one of the best Wild Mouses Ive been on.

Jack Rabbit: Wood+airtime galore...enough said :)

The Racer: Wood+airtime+how the heck did we come back to the other side of the station? (I have tried unsucessfully to figure that out for years!)

Thunderbolt: Oldie but goodie, plus you can smell the fries from Potatoe Patch when you're riding. MMMM :)

We both LOVED Ghostwood Estates, it was so fun! The only thing is you cant get your gun real far out of the car so its kind of hard to aim at stuff. But when you did hit the targets it was great! Its no Midway Mania but makes BooBlasters look like a kids ride.

Garfields Nightmare: cute kids 3-d dark water ride.

Cosmic Chaos: I opted to pass but hubby said it looked way better than it was. When I saw how the seat backs came up to lock you in I totally flashed back to Pony Express at Knotts.

Swing Shot: Skyhawks smaller brother. The cool thing about his brother is that you get tons more swings than you do at CP.

Kangaroo: Its an unwritten law that you HAVE to ride this when you go to Kennywood. It is the only one left on earth! It is always fun! :)

I like the automated station instructions ALOT, clear and to the point, there is no way you can not hear them. I found it kind of odd though that same voice will also say clear for dispatch, wondering how safe that is?

Potato Patch: Longest line of the day but SOOOO worth it! OMG those fries are sooo good! We got our 1st order with cheddar cheese, the 2nd order later with cheddar cheese and bacon. HEAVEN!!!
Order of fries and small Pepsi: $6.51 (thats right only $6.51)

We did everything we wanted to do (some more than 1x) and headed back to Ohio around 7ish.

Were there any down sides to our day?

The park overall was pretty clean, bathrooms kinda ucky but thats typical. The ONLY thing I noticed was that the employees were not friendly at all. No "hi", no "thank you" no smiles even. Every single employee we saw all looked like they would rather be ANY place else. It was hard to get them to make eye contact!
I dont expect Holiday World friendly but SOMETHING would have been nice!!

I was shocked when I saw sagging shorts, shirts hanging out, tattoos proudly displayed, huge earrings, multi colored nail polish, sloppy hair and piercings everywhere.
Where I think CP is alittle anal about their employee's appearance (especially this year with the ugly 70's female uniforms) you couldnt help but almost feel like at Kennywood they are just happy if their employees show up, who cares what they look like.
I know CF would have a stroke if any of their employees looked like that!
The bottom line was:
Did their appearance take away from our great trip? No.
Did their lack of personality take away from our fun? No.

Maybe it's just because I am spoiled, used to the HWs, CPs, KIs and even SFMMs employees. I just dont remember KW being that "sloppy" and uncaring in previous years visits.

But all in all a GREAT visit, congrats on Sky Rocket Kennywood, nice ride! :)

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2236 :)

LuvRaptor said:
OK I have to mention the gum target in PRs queue line. REALLY? You want people spitting their gum on a target?

Pretty sure they did that so kids wouldn't throw their gum on the roof anymore.

LuvRaptor said:
Maybe it's just because I am spoiled, used to the HWs, CPs, KIs and even SFMMs employees. I just dont remember KW being that "sloppy" and uncaring in previous years visits.

In my experience living in PGH it has always been that way. They aren't particularly bad at their job, but they certainly don't seem to care much either.

How long did it take you to get there? I live just north of you and can usually make it to Cedar Point in about 2 hours. When I map quested directions to Kennywood it was saying the trip was just about 4 hours. I want to make the trip and would 100% do it if I knew it was only going to be 2 and half hours, 4 seems pushing it especially since it would probably just be myself going.

Jo, regarding Racer...you haven't figured it out? Seriously? It's easy when you think about it. When you leave on the left and return on the right, you've only competed half the course. Clever, huh!

Degado said:
How long did it take you to get there? I live just north of you and can usually make it to Cedar Point in about 2 hours. When I map quested directions to Kennywood it was saying the trip was just about 4 hours. I want to make the trip and would 100% do it if I knew it was only going to be 2 and half hours, 4 seems pushing it especially since it would probably just be myself going.

It takes us 2.75 to get to CP if we go 270-71N-250W. 143 miles driveway to causeway. HATE this route but hubby loves it. Uck.
Takes me 2.25 (sometimes less if I can find a semi to stay behind) if I go 270-23-98-4. 123.5 miles driveway to causeway.

It only takes us 1.5 to get to KI. 99.9 miles driveway to Mason exit. LOVE that drive!! :)

If Mapquest is telling you it would take 4 hrs Id believe it cause our Tom Tom said 3 hrs for us so did Mapquest when I looked it over online before we left. The only construction concern was that the WV I-70W tunnel is closed, but Tom Tom took us to 470 to skip that all together. However, keep in mind if you're planning a trip during the week there is ALOT of construction going on (yeah I know so what else is new) We lucked out being Sunday morning so no one was working yet. I can see all the orange barrels delaying the drive even more. Highway Patrol wasnt too bad either, only saw a couple of them.

The trip is well worth it, really. Kennywood is a gem. Truly :)

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2236 :)

Totally agree with you on the drives, love the KI one! Can usually make it in 1.5 hours, and its all highways. That's the main reason I've been to KI 14 times this year and only twice to Cedar Point. I go the 98 to 4 also to get to Cedar Point, but am thinking about taking another route next time. The cops in Attica hate me, got pulled over twice there, once for window tint and another for speeding. You ever check out Tiger Treats on route 4? Love that mom and pop ice cream shop. I'm thinking about making the trip this Sunday to Kennywood if I can get the woman to tag along with me, don't think I can handle the 8 hours of driving alone in one day.

Degado said:
The cops in Attica hate me, got pulled over twice there, once for window tint and another for speeding. You ever check out Tiger Treats on route 4? Love that mom and pop ice cream shop.

Thats funny you should say that cause one of my CP buds (who has since moved to Vegas) got busted 2x for the same thing (plus no front license plate) in Attica too!
I always watch my speed real close going that route unless Im behind a semi. I got behind a semi one morning and got to Sandusky like in 2 hrs 5 minutes! He was FLYING!
Have you ever taken the 71n to 250w route? Its good for a change of scenery, but oh so boring, especially the 250 part. Also watch your speed-all the little towns before Norwalk is a speed trap haven.

The only ice cream place I've ever checked out was Gus and Maggie's many years ago (its on 98) it was ok. I think the last time I passed it it was closed but Im not sure.

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2236 :)