Left Cleveland about 7:00, arrived Kennywood about 10:00. My views of the coasters and the park.
1. Phantom's Revenge - a winner. Since I never had the opportunity to ride its predecessor, Steel Phantom, I can't make any comparisons. Even though I knew about the 230+ foot second drop into the valley, it still took me off guard. It never seemed to lose speed after the drop and the bunny hops and camelback hills at the end provided some very good air time (especially that little "double dip" before the plunge into the final curve before the station). I was able to ride twice due to very light crowds at opening.
2. Speaking of double dips, the Jack Rabbit may look lame in layout, but I pretty much screamed "WOW" on the double dip. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe the world's first stand up wooden coaster has been at Kennywod all these years. I rode it again later on to experience that drop and somehow was lucky enough to get the front seat (first time was towards the back).
3. The Racer is a pleasant little ride that I feel is good for those who are just beginning to ride coasters. Not much in the amount of air time (though that's not a big factor in riding coasters for me), but very enjoyable. I like how you start from one side of the station and end on the other side.
4. Thunderbolt was a pretty good coaster. I wasn't sure if I was going to get to ride it as there was a sign that says you have to have a partner and you can't ride single. Well, I was able to find another single rider and sat towards the back.
5. Exterminator has good theming and I did enjoy the ride but I was slightly disappointed as the car I sat in did not spin. I was bracing myself for it but it didn't happen. Maybe next time. ;-).
I also was able to ride the Kangaroo (very cool ride), Whip, Pitt Fall, Turtle, Bayern Kurve (my all time favorite- 2 rides), and Aero 360 (a little intense but fun).
As for the park itself, it was way beyond what I had imagined the park to be. Very laid back and was nice not to have "theme park" in my face for the day. The park was empty until around 2:00 when things became more crowded. Phantom's Revenge was up to an hour and half wait by 4:00 (I left the park at 4:30). The park was very nicely landscaped - beautiful gardens all over the place and plenty of shade everywhere (except Lost Kennywood but the "theming" there is stellar). The food and drink was much more reasonable than anywhere I've been this year. Potato Patch fries - easily the best cheese fries ever made.
I will definitely be back next year!
X Factor
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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com
*** This post was edited by X Factor on 9/2/2001. ***
