Kennywood on July 1st

So headed out to the park and arrived around 11am. The traffic getting there is absurd as is all of the traffic in the burgh these days because of a profane amount of construction. The queue for SkyRocket was full at 11am so we got in line. Waited around 35-40 mins to board the front seat of the train. Must say, this ride isnt the capacity nightmare that many envisioned. The line moved quickly and they seemed to be getting people on and off the ride with ease. 40 min wait from the very end of the queue for a brand new coaster isnt bad. Anyway, so yeah, we got the front seat. Trains are comfortable and good looking. Restraints are nice, and its great only having a lap bar. The launch was very strong. The 50mph seems much faster than such and the climb up the first top hat is powerful with positive Gs :). The holding brake just grabs you enough to give you some air and make you lean over the vertical drop. It didnt stop us completely, it was actually a nice touch. The drop was very strong and fast and the inverted top hat was great with some nice positive Gs again. The zero-G roll gave a nice pop of air with the inversion. The turn into the MCBR was intense and the MCBR barely slowed our train giving us a great pop of air down the second near-vertical drop. The turn at the bottom of this drop is very sharp, very close to the ground, and very fast. Intense :). The corkscrew was taken at a very nice speed and gave us some air. The trick track S-curves were fun and not very intense by any means. Great way to begin winding down an intense ride. The bunny hops offered smooth air, unlike the ejector air on the Phantom. Again these werent very intense but were fun and not too much to tolerate. Great way to end. The train glided into the final braks with grace. The ride was the smoothest coaster I have ever ridden. A very intense first 2/3 and a fun, leisurely (spelling?) final 1/3. Great ride, 10/10, awesome addition for Kennywood. Instantly one of my favorite steel coasters.

The Phantom was running well as usual, and thanks to the retracking at the top of the 2nd hill, was back to its original smoothness that we were used to prior to 2009. Fast and furious with intense positive Gs and ejector negative Gs. What you'd expect from the Phantom. We waited 25 min for the front seat with a single train operation, which would turn to a 2 train operation later in the day.

Exterminator was its usual fun self, with a minimal wait (15 mins).

Racer was running red and blue, and was smooth. We ended up winning and the wait wasnt bad either. Queue was full but only a 10 min wait.

Jack Rabbit was sporting some nicely painted trains. One blue and white, and one black and gold. 10 min wait here. Great airtime as usual.

Thunderbolt was our last coaster with basically a 5 min wait for the front seat. Red train gave us a strong ride, rough in all the right places. The last drop was smoother than in recent years. Seems to be running well and is well maintained as always.

We hit up several other rides at the park and did not wait long for anything. The crowd was moderate, but kudos to the crews for keeping things moving. The longest line was actually for Noahs Ark.

The park was in tip top shape and amazing as usual. Sky Rocket gets an A+ from me. I am returning in a few weeks with some other friends. I strongly recommend making the trip out. The park is as great as ever and Sky Rocket will blow you away.

Did you happen to be wearing an I-305 shirt. Cause i might have saw you in line there. That ride truly is a fine ride, and everything you experienced was about dead on about the whole day in my view too.