Kennywood Day, July 12th

I'm not going to bother anyone with copious amounts of details, just sum things up here.

8th consecutive trip, on the second Tuesday in July, to the best place in the world.

Jack Rabbit - Ran normal, 2 train operation, Ride ops were fast, and did great. Got 2 laps in, one up front, and one in the middle. As always, you just can't imitate that double dip anywhere else.

Racer - 2 Laps, Awesome operators, they were very efficient. New trains were incredible, they just performed exceptionally well. Faster ride than I've ever had before.

Thunderbolt - 4 laps in today, Ran beautifully like always, and I got to witness the addition of the Red Train, which I had never seen before. Ops were fantastic, and made sure the single riders got through properly.

Phantom's Revenge - I got real lucky... first ride of the day for me, was about Noon + 15 minutes, and there were no trims in use. This fast ride turned into an absolute ROCKET. I loved every adrenaline filled second of it, of the 50 some laps I've had on it, this was by far the most incredible.

Exterminator - Eh, mediocre at best, I believe it's lost its flare. Good ops though, everything went smoothly.

Rides - All were spectacular, I hit almost all that I could, and felt like a kid all day. I just loved it.

The day was awesome, very light crowds, 10 minutes wait on anything, at most... and I treated myself to the $60 Kennywood arrow I had been wanting for quite some time now. Met lots of family there, which I think is what Kennywood is really all about.

Everything was in tip top shape, the new entrance was awesome, I thought the ride operators performed to the max on every ride, and did an awesome job at catching numerous line cutters, even in the light crowds.

Just two things I need to ask.
1. Does anyone else just get tickled pink at the disgustingly awesome amounts of sugar that are put into the lemonades? ;)
2. Did the screaming swing area seem a little small to you?

The Verdict?
Get to Kennywood this summer.

- Josh

Sounds good. But I personally just can't get all giddy over KW, but sounds like a decent day. I'm heading there in a few weeks. GL and CP are my preffered parks. I'm sure if the day is like yours though, I'll have a decent time.

JBird,

I can't wait to go back to KW in about a month. We all love Exterminator, and it's the ride that helped get my 7 year old Godson to go on larger rides and coasters :)

Midwave,

Thats great to hear, I always like seeing a first timer get off with the will to ride something better.

My brother, who never liked anything about coasters, hesitantly rode all 5 with his girlfriend, and I sort of hoped that would crack him open... but no such luck. :(

- Josh

Jbird,

1. I don't believe I have tried the lemonade but I remember hearing that comment from someone else.

2. Now that you mention it......yes it did.

I have been to KW probably about 7-8 times since 1999 or 2000 (whenever the last year the Steel Phantom was running) and I have always been pleased. You just can't go wrong. It's always been one of my top 5 parks and will probably stay there.

There are not very many parks where ALL the coasters (I will even include Little Phantom here just to be fair....lol.) just rock your world. And they are very unique in their own ways:

Racer: Not too *intense* but a BLAST to ride with friends (and my favorite hand-smacking coaster).

Jack Rabbitt: I love this thing. The double dip alone always forced me to grab on the bars.

Phantom's Revenge: One of my top steelies. Great ejector air near the end and those turns........WOW! Who needs loops? Plus you still gotta love that heavenly second drop.

Thunberbolt: I still can't believe how smooth this thing is after all these years. Truly a classic and very underrated if I might add. Plus it's fun to ride it with guys. ;-)

Little Phantom: What can I say? It's cute.

Exterminator: Since I am a HUGE Reverchon spinning mouse fangirl I always enjoy this one, although my last ride back in May wasn't too "spinney".

Added with a GREAT selection of flats, especially the Kangaroo, Pittfall, and Aero 360 it's just an amazing park. My friends and I absolutely had a blast there Memorial day weekend. I do kind of miss the Bayern Curve, though. ;-)

And yes, although I do kinda miss Old Mill I think the Garfield thing is hilarious.

And then the blissful PP fries, but it already has it's own thread. lol..............:-P

It still amazes me that Kennywood is only 4 hours from Charleston but NOBODY here has heard of it. I assume they only market locally?

-Tina

<----who is sad to say will be missing KennyKon this year. :-(

*** Edited 7/14/2005 12:55:16 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

Yeah Tina, It took me quite awhile to be able to let go of that bar, but once you do, its a whole new ride...

Try wedging your leg between the bar and floor, that way, you aren't holding on, but still get ejected with *some* feeling of safety. Eventually, that helped me graduate to just going all out, and man, is it incredible.

- Josh

I agree with the screaming swing, the are does look a little small to me, but it will be one big ride!

Jack Rabbit, hands up whole way! Gotta love that. Thunderbolt has been running the red and green trains a lot this year from what I have seen.

Phantom's Revenge does NOT have a mid-course. It doesn't have any brakes until you hit the station. The ejector air is friggin amazing.

Yes the sugar in the lemonade is very plentiful. I had some in May, and WOOHOOO sugar rush.

Aero 360 is a must ride for anyone that DOESN'T have vertigo lol! Great flat ride.

The Exterminator was running great on the 6th. If you get a ride with 3 total people, it spins great! I almost sprained my wrist from trying to brace myself, where I wasn't getting FLUNG around!

All the other rides are classic, and a great time, and Patch Fries are OH SO GOOD!

Here are the pictures from my trip if anyone is interested in seeing them:

http://photobucket.com/albums/y259/CoastinKatie/Kennywood%20July%206%202005/

Katie, who is glad you had a great time at her home park!

Well jeez, I could have sworn I saw trims on the way up the second hill.

Maybe I was impaired by the sheer speed of the ride that I had. ;)

- Josh

I'll tell you it now tops my top 5 list...probally near the top. Kennywood is a one of a kind park...and I know I'll be making a return trip. :) That double dip on Jack Rabbit, yea I was holding on...so great...I think I got the most ride time on Phantom's Revenge...like 10 or more the whole day...that was just extreme...all I can say to this park is wow I loved it!

J Bird, you aren't going crazy. While there aren't any trims going up the second hill, there is a mounting bracket for either a trim brake or sensors. Given the speed at which you saw them, it isn't hard to think they're trims.

1.i never had the lemonade.

2. The racer has been running the blue and green train for the past couple of weeks.

3. you guys need to ride the exterminator with the ride ops, they know when to put all their weight towards one side to unlock the car earlier so that you spin the entire ride. That means going down the 2 bigger hills backwards and sidewards etc... thats a lot of fun.

4. I don't know why i'm counting lol

5. i still haven't gone to KW just to ride yet and i work there lol.

6. i guess i have nothing else to say but great report.

^If that is the case I want to ride Exterminator with you guys! PLEASE! ;-)

-Tina

And I'll be right next to you, Tina.

And Phantomtails, thanks for clearing that up.

- Josh