Kennywood June 11, 18: Maybe it was the beer?

Visited Kennywood on Friday June 11th and 18th for the first (hopefully annual) Bites & Pints festival. Those of you that read my last trip report know that I haven’t been pleased with Kennywood in recent years but dare I say things are looking up?

First a quick thought on the festival. I wasn’t sure Kennywood could pull this off but I am happy to say that I think they did. The food is good, the beer selections are good, and people seem to be enjoying it. They could do better with keeping the pub tables clean but even Universal and Disney struggle with that.

Thunderbolt is still only a one train operation. Ghostwood Estate is still not interactive.

Phantom’s Revenge was running 2 trains both evenings and the ops crew was really hustling and enthusiastic. The woman in the booth was on the mic and poking fun at Steel Curtain stacking trains, cracking jokes, etc, it’s a far cry from the dreadful 1 train ops and slow loading that I am used to on Friday nights.

Steel Curtain was not only open both nights but it was also a 2 train operation. I’ve now ridden it 4 times on 2 different nights. Front, back, middle/back. My wife and I both love this ride. There’s a ton of airtime and in the back you really get pulled through everything with some strong positive forces. My only complaint is that there’s a strong vibration coming from the wheels. I especially felt it towards the back of the train. I worry that long-term it’s going to get worse and make the ride uncomfortable. Right now it’s on the edge for me.

Browsing through the stores shows that they are stepping up their merch game with some retro t-shirts, mugs, pint glasses. These are nice shirts that I wouldn’t feel stupid wearing in public. I bought the Steel Curtain shirt with Kenny Kangaroo twirling a Terrible Towel. I hate the Steelers but really like this shirt.

There’s still plenty to criticize but these two trips made me feel good. Maybe it was the beer?

That's nice to hear. I haven't seen a positive Kennywood Trip Report in a while now.