Kennywood first timer, any tips?

I was there in late May, and all the wooden coasters were running very well. To say I wasn't a fan of Thunderbolt on my two previous visits would be a grave understatement... but visible track work has been done, and riding in the middle of the last car was fantastic.

And I too love the double-down on Jackrabbit. So unexpected and so fun. Another good time is the front seat on Sky Rocket.

The second to last seat on Thunderbolt is my go to seat. If you sit in the middle of any of Thunderbolt's cars you will have a great time. You can also generally sneak into the second row when the station is full, similar to the way you can on Magnum.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I hope I'm able to get out there in July, if not I'm going to go in August. I saw there are discounted tickets at Giant stores, are there any near the park I would be able to go to before the park opens that day?

Not Giant. Giant Eagle. 2 different PA grocery chains.

Hard to predict which locations will have them by August. Many stores are running out by then and they may not get more in stock so late in the season. There is a store directly next to the parking lot and one about a mile down the road, with a third directly off of the highway exit you'll probably take to get to the park.

Another fairly unusual ride is their log flume. It has a coast-uphill section. The time I rode it, the line was ridiculous though. (Being about 96 degrees probably didn't help that.)

Speaking of ridiculous lines, you can encounter them on Exterminator and Phantom's Revenge, so best to do those early. (Of course, you'll probably want to do them more than once.) You probably won't find long lines on the woodies, unless maybe Thunderbolt. (I was underwhelmed by Thunderbolt, so, good for them if they've fixed it. Everybody talks like it's the Holy Grail of classic woodies, but I thought it was slow. The only good ride I had on it was in the rain, but I didn't like waiting in the rain.)

I haven't been there since they built Skyrocket, so I don't know what the lines are like for it, but I can't imagine that they'd be short either.

Has anyone been there during the time when they're setting up for Fright Nights, but not yet doing Fright Nights? I have a Saturday wedding to attend in Pittsburgh in mid-September, we were thinking about going to the park the following day, and was wondering if anyone had experience as to ride availability, crowd sizes, etc. I'm kind of hoping the park experiences a lull similar to Cedar Point's "bonus weekend."

Maybe it's just me, but I've never been mad over the lines/wait times at Kennywood. I mean, there's Kennywood busy and then there's Cedar Point busy. I'll take Kennywood for less time in line any day.

Noah's Ark, Exterminator, and Garfield are probably the slowest. Phantom can get a "long" line as well. But if you get there and see Thunderbolt's infield full of people, the Jack Rabbit line around the front of the coaster, or Racer riders waiting out on the midway, go for it anyway. Compared to larger parks the wait time is considerably shorter.

Bonus Weekends in September can be crazy. A lot of people have tickets they didn't use over the summer and wanted to use up. There have been quite a few rain out days this year already and the park issued return passes for those days so I am afraid a lot of people will use them in September.

Last year we went on the last Sunday of operation hoping the crowds would be slow because there was a Steelers game (Pittsburgh worships the Steelers) but nope, the park was still packed.

Some rides are closed for PFN set up like the Whip, Raging Rapids, and Garfield's Nightmare.

What do considered crowded? Is that an hour for Phantom and 30 minutes for the woodies?

Thanks, jml142. Not what I wanted to hear, obviously, but since it's my only real opportunity to go this year, I'll make do. I was there a couple years ago one one the the last operating weekdays, and the lines for each coaster were about 30 minutes, with Exterminator and Noah's Ark having one-hour lines. I could handle that, but not much more crowd-wise.