Kennywood Announcement

Regarding Garfield's Adventure, many purists don't like it but the GP does as evidenced by the increased ridership that has been maintained even after the novelty has worn off. It's more family friendly than the "Old Mill" of the past.

As for that beloved park in southern Indiana, it is definitely not a "traditional" park like KW or KG. It however has many of the things that some of us consider special just like those other two parks.

I can say that if you could only go to three parks, you could do much worse than KW, CP and CLP. The first two are excellent parks, each in its own way, and the third (assuming it survives) is a living time capsule showing the way many parks used to be.

Pittsburgh shouldn't take so much for granted. There are so many wonderful parks within reach and they are so affordable compared to similar parks in other parts of the country. I can see how envious some of you in places such as Houston must be not to mention those places where the only real choice is a Six Flags with Q-Bots, (greatly) overpriced food, and $15 parking. *** Edited 3/12/2007 11:55:20 PM UTC by Arthur Bahl***

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Rob Ascough said a bunch of stuff ending with:

The difference between Noah's Ark and the Old Mill? Noah's Ark may have changed, but it's still an ark with something of an animal/aquatic theme. It may not be the way the ark was when it opened, but it's obvious the spirit of the ride lives on. As for the Old Mill, I love Garfield but he has no place in there. The Old Mill shouldn't be filled with neon cut-outs of a commercial entity- it's just... wrong.

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See, that's the complete opposite of how I see it.

Noah's Ark is a completely new ride. Except for the shaker boards, what's left? It's way too modern for a classic ride.

The Old Mill, however, is essentially the same ride as it was 105 years ago. It got a new paint job. That's it. It's been rethemed on average once every 10 years for over a century, so this isn't a new thing. I hate Garfield as much as the next guy, but the ride is more popular now than it has been in at least 20 years.

Oooh. Good points.

I too can claim Great Adventure as my closest "mega Park".

The charm of places like Kennywood and Knoebels for me (and my family) is the clientele they attract.

While I was on line for the Jack Rab, we saw one marching band after another. The park was filled with teenagers, but they weren't rude, obnoxous or drawing negative attention to themselves.

They actually made the nigt a bit better, despite thier numbers.

It's been debated many times on this board before about the proximity of Great Adventure to large cities affects thier customers, but the kids I saw made me kind of jealous I didn't grow up in West Pennsylvania. *** Edited 3/13/2007 4:08:48 AM UTC by Richie Reflux***

KW did have concerns about gangs back in the 1990s and had to put some restrictions in place involving the teens and pre teens. They did not use a draconian "Lake Winnie" policy because school picnics (involving many teens and pre teens) in May and June are a big part of their business and this adds about 3 weeks to the daily operating season compared to many other parks. What they actually did was to require them to buy a Ride All Day ticket (no general admission). Now, of course, the general admission had been dropped. KW is one of the few POP only parks that does not offer season passes. The reason this is done is to prevent the park from being used as a teen hangout as had happened with so many of the Six Flags parks.

As for the marching bands, KW has a parade every night for over two weeks during the last part of the season. Students in high school bands generally tend to be among the "better" kids in the schools and they are accompanied by their teachers. Overall, however, the teens at KW appear to be interested in having the right kind of fun and not causing trouble. Keeping the park family friendly has gone far in maintaining this positive kind of atmosphere.

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kpjb said:

Noah's Ark is a completely new ride. Except for the shaker boards, what's left? It's way too modern for a classic ride.

The Old Mill, however, is essentially the same ride as it was 105 years ago. It got a new paint job. That's it. It's been rethemed on average once every 10 years for over a century, so this isn't a new thing. I hate Garfield as much as the next guy, but the ride is more popular now than it has been in at least 20 years.

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Hey, am I the only one that DOESN'T hate Garfield? I like the cat, just not as the basis for an old mill!

I can see your point. Interesting how it's easy for two people to see things from completely different corners. It just seems to me that, if arks had survived throughout the years, they would have evolved and ended up looking like Kennywood's. The Old Mill, on the other hand, doesn't need some kind of "tie-in" because that likely wouldn't have ever been done. I guess it's just how one PERCEIVES things and how they would have evolved over time.