Kennywood 8/17/02 - Dreags style

I’ve lived two hours from Kennywood my entire life, and yet this was my very first time visiting. I know…it borders on sacrilege that it’s taken me this long to get there, but the chastising from all of the enthusiasts who know me can now end.

My friends Brian and Chris, as well as Chris’ girlfriend Jen, made the trek to Kennywood from Cleveland on Saturday. For the most part the trip went rather quickly. The only back up came as we made our way from the freeway exit to the park. Once there we paid the cheap $4 to park and made our way through the tunnel.

PHANTOM'S REVENGE

WOW! I can’t believe this ride hasn’t received more praise and attention. It’s smooth, fast, and packed with airtime from beginning to end. The highlight of the layout has to be the double up near the end. I was able to take a ride in both the front and back cars and was surprised to find the great amount of airtime to be up front. This is easily one of my top ten steel coasters. 9/10

EXTERMINATOR

This ride is just plain fun. What starts out as a themed version of an ordinary mouse ride soon turns into a disorienting trip through the dark. I knew that the cars began to spin freely at some point and so I kept waiting and waiting for it to begin. But when our car took that curve and the car broke free I was completely taken by surprise. 7.5/10

THUNDERBOLT

I’ve seen numerous features on television specials and video that profile this ride, but I just don’t think it’s that thrilling. I can understand the historic side of it and respect that, but something was lacking from the experience itself. The ride has a few large drops and the turns create a bit of later force, but there’s no real climatic point. 6/10

JACKRABBIT

I was told to ride this one as near to the back as possible and so I ended up in the front row of the last car. I found this one to slightly more fun than Thunderbolt—especially with its double down. Out of nowhere you take that drop and find yourself completely ejected from the car. It certainly took my breath away. 7/10

RACER

Going into this ride, there wasn’t much I was expecting out of it. Perhaps this was a good thing as I ended up really enjoying it. The layout contains some great swooping drops and curves. Just like on Gemini at Cedar Point, it’s always fun to reach out and slap hands with those on the other train while taking turns. 7.5/10

The park itself was quite busy, but that’s to be expected on a Saturday in August. Wait times varied from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the ride and time of day. The midways were packed and it made for some difficulty as we walked through the park. While there, we also road Pittfall and Noah’s Ark.

I was very impressed with Kennywood and regret not visiting sooner. I would much sooner drive the extra two hours to visit this park instead of SFWoA. The park was clean, employees were friendly, and prices were very affordable. You can be certain I will be visiting at least once a year now.

On a side note, after leaving the park we stopped for dinner at Philty McNastys. Located downtown in Station Square, this Canadian-owned restaurant was a treat. If you places with televisions at each both, lots of greasy food, scantily clad servers, and loud music this is a place you must try. Others locations exist as well.

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James Draeger
-Proud co-founder of the Coasterbuzz street team

*** This post was edited by Draegs on 8/19/2002. ***

Glad to see you liked Kennywood, James. Also glad to see you took our suggestion of Philthy's in Station Square. That place is top notch! Speaking of food, did you get to indulge in the famous Kennywood fries?

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Jeff Tobe
tobejeff@pilot.msu.edu

I think you're thinking of Phantoms Revenge, lol. You don't want to ride the old Phantom. That thing was an anuerysm on wheels. Only ride I HAD to take an advil after it.

Im with you about Thunderbolt, I like JackRabbit a lot better than it. I'm an airtime whore though, so JackRabbit is my fave woody there by far.

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Coastingohio- thanks for pointing that out :o) I ws mixing up the two names all day while at the park.

Jeff- I didn't mention it in the report, but I did partake in the fries and they were yummy!

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James Draeger
-Proud co-founder of the Coasterbuzz street team

Mmmm... scantily clad servers. Oh wait, what park did you go to? ;)

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM

I had my first visit to Kennywood too recently (Sunday the 11th) as the first park of our "coaster honeymoon" trip and loved the park! Phantom's Revenge just blew me away! I think it is probably my #1 coaster now :) I just wish the park was closer!