Kennywood Help?

We will be leaving Dayton, OH tonight and will be at Kennywood all day on Thursday. We will have about half a day Friday available for anything else before returning home. Are there any other parks, zoos, museums, etc. to check out in that area?

Any Kennywood advice? Thanks, Jim

*** This post was edited by Jim S. on 6/12/2002. ***

There is Sandcastle the Water Park located in homestead waterfront, and the Pittsburgh zoo, I'm not good with directions, I'm sure someone else can give you directions;) I don't know what school's are going to be there, but it shouldn't be too crowded, I went on a thursday and it wasn't bad, 20 min max for all the wooden coasters! And if it's crowded enough you will see two trains on the Phantom's Revenge, which will cut the lengh of time. If you get to the park early hit the Phantom revenge and exterminator first!! Those rides are the longest. There will be all different kinds of flat rides to ride, and my favorite is the Flying Carpet, Aero360, and the Baren curve. The only rides that you will probley see closed is the Whip, and the Partrooper due to the storms. Other then that hope you enjoy the unique rides:)

STEELrevenge

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:)KENNYWOOD:)

Hey a subject I know I can talk about and not be wrong!

No lines in the park are going to be that long. Pittsburghers like to whine and complain about the lines at Kennywood, but a half hour wait for any ride in the park is a long wait (except Phantom and Exterminator)

In the Oakland area, there are a lot of museums and stuff - Oaklands real near Kennywood too - and the zoo is right off the main road through Oakland. The "Oakland" or "Forbes Ave." exits off I-376 will put you in Oakland and there are orange and purple signs that are actually very helpful to find attractions like this.

Also, I recommend just wandering the park after dark - Kennywood really is a wonderful place after dark, I think one of the (if not THE) best night-park in the world. Have fun! (We'll try and keep the freak microbursts to a minimum for ya ... )

Personally, while I like PR, I preferred Exterminator over it...I rode PR twice, once in the front, once in the back and it was a good ride, but not great...Exterminator was a BLAST!!!

I can't put my finger on what exactly made it so much better, but the best I can describe it is that I just thoroughly enjoyed it and was giggling during the ride from the fun of the twists, turns, and spins...

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Posting, "Me too" like some brain dead AOLer. I ought to to the world a favor, and cap you like old yeller...

How can I be politically correct about this ...

If you are a "larger" individual or have a "larger" individual travelling with you, put them on the edges of the Exterminator cars - nothing like off-balance weight distribution to make those cars go ... ;)

The Carnegie museums are excellent, as is the Pittsburgh Zoo. If I'm not mistaken, the Carnegie Museum has one of only two complete Tyrannasaurus Rex skeletons in the world, including the skull.

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Proud CB club member

Your best other park is Idlewild. It's further east of Pittsburgh, but you can hit I-70 straight from there and head home, so getting from Idlewild to the state line isn't much longer than getting from Kennywood to the state line. At Idlewild you can ride possibly the greatest remaining 1950s Wild Mouse and certainly the only one running over and through the treetops, a traditional bench seat Ferris Wheel, one of two remaining covered Caterpillars, a classic out and back family wooden coaster running through the forest, two old style trains (one running across the creek, the other around the lake), the original log flume on which all the others are based, the only nonroofed Whip, one of the best remaining Roundups, and, if you have any kids along, an outstanding Kiddieland, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Storybook Forest, Jumpin Jungle Jim and Waterpark. Plus Idlewild is the most beautifully landscaped of any amusement park in America. You're in deep shade all day with the creek bubbling by,the lake visible in the background, and the forest rising up the hills around you. Even the drive to get there is neat, with the creek (good fishing and canoing) running along below you and little fishing camps and old restaurants and 1930s style motels. You're getting up into the Laurel Highlands, where Pittsburghers go to escape the summer heat and humidity and for skiing in the winter.

I thought the Idlewild Wild Mouse was a newer addition to the park... an Arrow model originally at Alton Towers in England in the late 1980's? (at least that is what the RCDB says about it)

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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."

Pittsburgh has quite a number of other attractions, to the point where we're actually getting international tourist traffic! (There was a rather lengthy article in the paper this weekend about this).

As for zoos and museums:

Not far from Kennywood are the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, Phipps Conservatory, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Over on the North Side (a bit farther away, but reasonably easy to access) you find attractions such as the Warhol, The Carnegie Science Center, The Mattress Factory, and the National Aviary.

Any of those could easily take an afternoon if you wanted.

Plenty of other attractions abound. You could go for a walk in the Strip District, or along the Southside. If you were here longer, you could see if you could catch a Pirates game, or see what's playing in the Cultural District.

--Greg, who ironically enough hasn't been to a few of the places listed above in a number of years... Funny what being "a local" does :)

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--Greg
"Are you justified in taking life to save life?" -- The Great Debate, Dream Theater
My page

Yea thanks Greg for giving a little more detailed info than I could - you always forget stuff when its there for ya every day.

Also, dont forget, the Pittsburgh Arts Festival is going on Downtown right now - it has a reputation for drawing rain every single day for its entire two weeks but this year is bucking the trend! There are lots of displays, live bands, food etc., and theres a real nice atmosphere downtown - showcases our best part of town =)