Kennywood Questions

With no set closing times for Kennywood listed, just wondering what is a normal closing time for a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in mid June. Also, what might we expect the crowds to be like on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in Mid June?

Kennywood will probably be having school picnics those days, so you can expect a good sized crowd, pending weather. The closing time depends on the crowd and the weather. Early close would be 10pm, usual close is 11pm, but I've been there until about 11:45pm at times

School picnics going on June 19-21? I thought all schools would be out by then?

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

You've probably heard the joke that Kennywood's closing time is one of the two biggest secrets in the amusement industry (the other being what CP will build next). Since it's not a huge park, you should have plenty of time to do what you want if you get there in the morning. I've yet to make a trip there that I didn't leave with some amount of daylight and total satisfaction!

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Well, here's the deal...

My wife's cousin is getting married in Johnstown PA on June 22. My wife and I both have off Wed, Thur, and Fri of that week.

Saturday is a no brainer... we have to be in Johnstown for the wedding.

However, on the other three days, there are several places that we wish to visit:

Kennywood, Idlewild, Conneaut Lake, Waldamere for parks... Ashtibula OH, Presque Isle / Erie, Barcelona NY and Dunkirk NY for Light Houses... Ashtibula OH to Dunkirk NY is a 2 hr drive... Erie, Barecelona fall between these two points.

We have been to Kennywood before (May of 2000) and know what the park is like... but we want to return for Phantom's Revenge and Exterminator (which we missed the first time)... as well as the other coasters again and a few of the flats.

As for Conneaut and Waldamere... The coasters (yeah, even though Waldamere's Comet is a Jr), any dark rides and some fo the Flats. With Idlewild... mainly the Wild Mouse and Rollo Coaster (another Jr, I know).

We are just trying to figure out what we will be able to fit and what we will not and when would be the best time.

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

I would say that you should definitely hit Kennywood. The only downside is that if you plan to stay in Johnstown that whole time, then Kennywood is about a two hour drive.

Idlewild on the other hand, is the closest of the places you listed. If you have a family, it is a great park with low-key rides, and some nice classics, like the caterpillar.

There shouldn't be any school picnics at Kennywood that late in June. Most school picnics in Western Penna. are in the first two weeks of June. So, the crowds shouldn't be too bad.

Although Kennywood (and Idlewild) don't post their closing times, it isn't that much of a mystery. Personally, I think it is pretty smart. Both parks have a farily good idea of what crowds are going to be like on any given day because they know how many picnics and other groups are coming. Also, if there is any sort of promotion during a particular day, then they will expect bigger crowds as well. In turn, they use the projected crowd information to schedule more employees to handled the larger crowds. Kennywood and Idlewild's closing times are a direct function of how much money people are spending. For example, say it is a beautiful, warm day in June. If the park had a set 8pm closing time, you could be kicking out hundreds of people who want to stay another two hours and eat food, play games, ride rides, and buy souveneirs. On the other hand, if it is a dismal, dreary day and you have a 10pm set closing time, then you are forced to keep the park open for hours later even though no one is spending their money.

Now if we could solve the mystery of what CP is building next year . . . .

Well, there is still indeed school picnics late in june, and this year it has closed everywhere from 6-11:00 so far.

Well, for what it is worth, to sum all of this up, we made our finalized plans this past weekend...

The trip will hopefully be as follows:

Tuesday evening: Drive to Darien Center NY

Wednesday: Six Flags Darien Lake (closes at 5pm that day), then drive to Erie stopping at the lights at Dunkirk NY and Barcelona NY on the way.

Thursday: Ashtibula OH light house, Waldamere park, Conneaut Lake Park, drive to West Mifflin

Friday: Kennywood

Saturday: drive to Johnstown from West Mifflin for the wedding and then home.

We decided to cut out Idlewild because it is a small park and an easy day trip for us (3 hrs there... stay an hr or two... 3 hrs back)

Anyway... thats the plan. Now just waiting till June 18.

Looks like a good plan. A bit hectic, perhaps, but definitely feasible (I've done worse ;) )

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

SLFAKE, if your going to Kennywood, then get your ride in on PR early because it closes a whold 30 minutes before the park does, which I found to be very weird along with the way Kennywood handles there queue system.

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mmm, roller coaster
(Homer Simpson)

That sounds like a good plan to me. We did a day trip last summer from my parents house in Pittsburgh that went like this: Waldameer, Lake Erie sight seeing (including the boat tours), CLP until close. It wasn't very hectic at all, and we actually had time to spare coming back to Pittsburgh. You should be all good.

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"He's blazin' away like the stars in the universe.." A. Vega + M. Rev "Ghostrider"

Someday there will be something here.

I was at Kennywood on Sunday of Memorial Weekend. The only REAL waits were for Phantom's Revenge (One Train) and Exterminator. About 45min each. The three woodies were about 5 minute waits. Of course, we were brilliant enough to hit the woodies first and make our way toward the other two after the crowds got larger and lines got longer (yes, we're idiots). Hit the two steelies first, then ride the others. Both PR and Exterminator were great fun. Wish we could've had walk-ons.

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My other car is now an Arrow X4D!