Steel Curtain Closed for 2024; Will Undergo "Extensive Modification"

Not sure if this is news page-worthy, but Kennywood announced that Steel Curtain will be closed for the season for "an extensive modification process."

https://www.facebook.com/wa...0314159354

My understanding is that they had engineers working on the ride for several months now so at some point they must've decided that whatever problems it has can't be solved with some new bolts.

S&S: The Lowest Bidder™

I find this amusing considering that multiple elements were obviously inspired by Drachen Fire.

Side Note: Doubt they’ll do anything about this being the ugliest hunk of metal in roller coaster history!

I haven't ridden Steel Curtain, what's wrong with it? I didn't realize it had issues.

I've been waiting for the ride to become more reliable before I take the short four-hour drive to Kennywood to ride it. Looks like 2025 will be the year.

It's gone through periods of 1 train only, 2 trains, down completely, etc, with a lot of silence from the park. I am glad they are coming out and saying it's not going to open.

I'd love some transparency- to know what the issue with the ride is. The video I watched said that they are just as frustrated as visitors are.

What's really frustrating is that because of the parks money-saving choices, they don't offer near the amazing park experience that they used to. I remember when Kennywood was awesome.

New this year.. Bumper cars are getting a name change, and Aero 360 and Turtle are both not going to be closed. Looks like they are spending the money just trying to keep their rides open. Are they really struggling that much?

It’s not in its family-owned heyday but things aren’t that bad there. Turtle got a scheduled refurbishment to keep it running for years to come. Aero reached the end of its service life and needed a rehab. Raging Rapids got a major overhaul to conform to the newest safety standards and keep it running for many years. Thunderbolt got a new control system and brakes last year.

The park is better than it has ever been IMO. It's like someone in charge actually cares.

I've been putting off a Kennywood trip waiting for this thing to become somewhat reliable... I guess I will add another year to the wait list!

Hopefully with the entire season to fix the thing they have some success.

I’ve never understood the decision for purchasing this unproven coaster type, especially in a park with no B&M’s which tend to be automatic hits. I would have loved to see Kennywood do something unique with a B&M inverted instead. Hopefully for their next coaster they go the reliable route.

Somewhat off topic, but supposedly it's being reported Thunderbolt was struck by lightening and on fire at the moment... Hopefully the damage is minor if true.

What would you like to see removed for Kennywood’s next coaster? IIRC the history of that park includes as many removals as it does additions. (Wait- did Phantom replace anything? Mini golf…)
Anyway, Kennywood appears to be a victim of space. This latest coaster was rumored for years and “leaked” plans included another ravine coaster with a dramatic drop down a hill on that side of the park. Instead we got this. I rode it the first season (one of the lucky ones?) and only because I paid to cut past a 2 hr line. I liked it. I thought it was thrilling, a bit unique, and more comfortable than a lot of other recent steel coasters. I’m not mad at the ride’s appearance and I don’t get the hate for that, except maybe the locals’ never-ending droning about the removal of a flume and the alteration of the park’s familiar footprint. I thought its appearance was striking, especially from across the road. Maybe not as elegant as other rides in the park but it sure is tall.
Whenever I hear “extensive modification” I wonder what that will entail and if I will be grateful to have ridden the original.

SteveWoA:
Somewhat off topic, but supposedly it's being reported Thunderbolt was struck by lightening and on fire at the moment... Hopefully the damage is minor if true.

In more than just a bit of irony…

Actually it appears that it was an ice cream stand, and West Mifflin fire fighters knocked it down in a hurry. The Thunderbolt was not at risk.

LostKause:

Bumper cars are getting a name change, and Aero 360 and Turtle are both not going to be closed. Looks like they are spending the money just trying to keep their rides open.

Bumper cars are all new because the old ones were not reliable. Aero needed parts to be replaced that were delayed for many months and is also getting a control system investment. The Turtle is 100 years old and the last one in the world. While every other park has scrapped theirs, Kennywood decided to invest a crap ton of money to refurbish it and keep it running. Are you suggesting that these projects are either inexpensive or not needed?

RCMAC:

(Wait- did Phantom replace anything? Mini golf…)

If my memory serves me correctly, Laser Loop was located on part of the land where Phantom stands today.

What bothers me more, is that from an engineering standpoint, if there are this many major issues that haven't been resolved, it is tough to think they ever will be resolved. Think of Son of Beast. Think of Drachenfire. Think of CP Shoot the Rapids (the new version) or Pilgrims Plunge at Holidayworld. I hope they can get things fixed up and going, but only time will tell.

Son of Beast was brutally rough, not properly constructed (or maintained?) which resulted in an incident that injured riders and ultimately new trains which required removal of the only good part of the ride. Drachen Fire was brutally rough (allegedly) which resulted in low ridership and removal of one of the corkscrews, which still didn't help much. Shoot the Rapids flipped a boat and hurt people.

To my knowledge, Steel Curtain hasn't hurt anyone. I just read on a particular site that "according to reports," the ride is closed because of structural issues. But then it goes on to say that "this would be the third or fifth major roller coaster at a famous theme Park to have shut down due to this type of problem this summer", so I'd take that info with a decent sized mound of salt. And what an odd thing to say. Literally.

We know of at least 1 other (Fury 325) that shut down.

*Puts on lemon chill hat* I think that the issue is structural due to the weight of the trains. *Removes lemon chill hat*

In checking I found that RayP1970 is correct- Laser Loop’s last season was 1990 and OG Phantom opened in 1991. I thought Laser Loop was removed for the Lost Kennywood expansion but it didn’t happen til ‘95. So there, I guess I was half right and I maintain KW is heavy with the axe.