Kennywood (KW) Discussion Thread

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I hope kennywood doesn't use a stereotypical fighter jet theme for the VR.

When will this madness stop???

When will parks learn that from an operational stand point VR is a nightmare??

Oh wow. I guess I google maps doesn't take that into consideration, and sounds like KW is indeed worth a full day. Well,thanks! I guess this means I can relax at Waldameer then before I jet out, instead of cramming it into a day.

Kennywood is definitely worth a full day or you will feel like you have missed out on a lot and need to go back. Waldameer is more of a half day park but, that being said, there is a lot more to do at Waldameer than you would assume.

Since you are able to spend a whole day at Kennywood, I would suggest doing Waldameer and Conneaut Lake Park on the same day since they are less than an hour apart. Conneaut Lake Park may be struggling but Blue Streak is awesome with insane ejector airtime in the back. The tumble bug is much better than Kennywood's version. The Devils Den is worth checking out (last season it was running more like a wild mouse than a dark ride, very fast around the corners). The property, lake, and hotel are all pretty cool too. The park may be a bit of a mess but the overall property is still very cool and unique. Keep in mind, the park is only open Friday-Sunday

Thanks for the input everyone. I did take it into consideration, among other factors, and decided KW will indeed get a full day.

Guess final question is: For a Saturday in early June, is there a recommended plan of attack? Ya know how the crowds flow/which gets most packed and when. Temptation is Phantom first, but with VR on Skyrocket I have to imagine that kills the load times

Hmmmmm Conneaut only open Fri-Sun? Well that does throw a wrench in the plan. I am doing Waldameer on Thurs, (planning on a half day there) KW Saturday then fly out that night. CP is all day Friday so not sure I can fit it in. Which is fine, I really wanna try Blue Streak but I guess I can live without it.

So I'm planning my first trip to Kennywood this year, looking at June 3. What I am wondering is: What may the crowds be like, is there a certain plan of attack for the park, and is it realistically possible to do Waldameer on the same day? I'd be OK with doing only coasters at KW, unless there is something truly unique or awesome I should do, and basically jetting out of there. Any coaster worth skipping that would make the day easier? I'm not much of a cred whore, the indoor wild mouse for example while I'd like to hit it, I could live without.

I only was at Kennywood for a few hours en transit from Cedar Point to Central PA (going to Knoebels the following day) last summer and while I'm really glad I got to go to Kennywood even if it was only for a short while, I left the place itching for more. I got to ride the three wooden coasters and the two main steel coasters, and do the Noah's Ark walkthrough, but there are so many other things there that looked like they were worth trying and I could have easily spent a whole day there. I definitely want to go back to Kennywood at some point.

Thanks for the input everyone. I did take it into consideration, among other factors, and decided KW will indeed get a full day.

You're making the right decision.

I hope kennywood doesn't use a stereotypical fighter jet theme for the VR.

Being that the ride is already called Sky Rocket I wouldn't hold your hopes too high.

If it's open when you arrive, I recommend hitting Sky Rocket and Exterminator first. Those two rides had the worst two waits of my full day there a few days back. Sky Rocket was 30-45 min all day and Exterminator was an hour. All the other coasters were only 15 minutes.

If it's open when you arrive, I recommend hitting Sky Rocket and Exterminator first. Those two rides had the worst two waits of my full day there a few days back. Sky Rocket was 30-45 min all day and Exterminator was an hour. All the other coasters were only 15 minutes.

Agreed 100%. It's easy enough to hit Sky Rocket right at rope drop since it's next to the main entrance, and yet somehow usually gets overlooked at opening. If you do one quick lap on it and then book it over to Exterminator you should be set for the rest of the day.

Thanks all! This is why I love TPR, experts for every park! Makes planning a ton easier when solo and going to a new place

I hope kennywood doesn't use a stereotypical fighter jet theme for the VR.

Being that the ride is already called Sky Rocket I wouldn't hold your hopes too high.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/04/26/kennywood-sky-rocket-virtual-reality/

According to this article it looks like it will be car/racing themed. It also notes that it will be upcharge so hopefully it doesn't affect lines too bad. Starts at the end of May.

I know I'm a little late to the conversation. But I would definitely check out Log Jammer also. It is my personal favorite log flume out of every park I have been to outside of Orlando. It's an Arrow Model with an uphill section.

^ I agree. Log Jammer is a really great flume. The uphill section caught me by surprise the first time.

I was at Kennywood yesterday despite the cold and lots of rides breaking down, but had a ton of fun. All 3 water rides were running, but way too cold for me. Crowds were really low and we got on everything we wanted to in 4 hours. The weather held out and it was sunny all day.

Black Widow broke down as we were seated and ready to go so unfortunately I still haven't been on this yet. Jackrabbit and Thunderbolt were both better than I remembered. Phantoms Revenge was awesome as always. Love the mansion shooter ride everything was working. I got to experience the squishy tongue for the first time LOL.

Bayern Kurve still might be my favorite flat. The horn cracks me up every time.

Rita's vanilla custard is good and we got the scraps at potato patch unfortunately.

Ate at Burgatory after the park. Not the BEST burger I've ever had but it was damn close and damn good... 5000x better than the trash they serve at Red Robin . Love the customizations.

All in all a great day minus the one wrong turn bringing us to downtown Pittsburgh during some festival and marathon (sigh)... it took FOREVER to escape since so many roads were closed and Google was not aware of the closures so it was a cluster. Luckily the rest of the day made up for the frustration.

^ Thanks for the tip on Burgatory.

I was just looking through their menu and found this...

PS - I still prefer the fries at CP over Potato Patch. What do you mean by scraps? All end pieces of the potato, or fries that had been sitting under the heat lamp for a while?

I could really get into something like this!

^^ Exactly. In regards to the fries at Kennywood, It's like we got 3 actual -whole- fries, the rest was just soggy half or 1/4 pieces, and then just a bunch of tiny crusty ends. Just picked a really bad time and had bad luck I guess. Oh well. Burgatory made up for it 8)

Did anyone else hear a rumor that Thunderbolt got seatbelts? I mean, not that seatbelts make or break a ride, but it would still stink. The ride has operated safely for over 4 decades. Related, Idlewild may get "new modern" trains for Rollo Coaster. That really REALLY sucks.

It's 2017 and people still can't take responsibility for their own behavior. I say, if we have to have all these stupid modifications to classic rides due to stupidity, put air gates on all trains and subways across the nation. Maybe that would be a good lesson. Obviously I'm just ranting, but man this is stupid.

Meanwhile, Germany does just fine with their spinning flat rides that have no fence around them. Even with all that beer!

Unfortunately, yes. Seatbelts are also now required for all riders on Exterminator, not just those under a certain height. We (meaning the Kennywood Connection folks, I am not speaking as a Kennywood team member since I am currently not one) have a hunch this is all related to Idlewild's incident on Rollo Coaster last year.

Unfortunately, yes. Seatbelts are also now required for all riders on Exterminator, not just those under a certain height. We (meaning the Kennywood Connection folks, I am not speaking as a Kennywood team member since I am currently not one) have a hunch this is all related to Idlewild's incident on Rollo Coaster last year.

It definitely seems as if that's the case. From this article;

The first requirement is installing manufacturer-approved secondary passenger restraints, such as seat belts. Idlewild must also obtain written verification from a professional engineer affirming that the ride can withstand normal stresses and is made to certain safety specifications.

 

The park is also required to re-evaluate the rider height requirements and consider adopting the minimum height requirement prescribed by the ride manufacturer for new roller coasters.

 

Lastly, Idlewild will be required to provide the state with a written description of changes in operator training requirements to reduce the risk of an accident and an auditing function to ensure all operators are trained properly and are adhering to requirements.

 

Walt Remmert, director of the Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards, wrote to the operators and owners of similar rides in Pennsylvania on March 2017 encouraging them to make voluntary improvements that would bring those attractions in line with the most current industry standards.

Since Kennywood is owned by the same group as Idlewild, I'm not surprised in the slightest that we're seeing the same sort of thing happen here.

I hope kennywood doesn't use a stereotypical fighter jet theme for the VR.

Being that the ride is already called Sky Rocket I wouldn't hold your hopes too high.

 

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/04/26/kennywood-sky-rocket-virtual-reality/

 

According to this article it looks like it will be car/racing themed. It also notes that it will be upcharge so hopefully it doesn't affect lines too bad. Starts at the end of May.

I saw that a few days after I posted that. Apparently you control your car by tilting your head and it's a literal race.

I saw that a few days after I posted that. Apparently you control your car by tilting your head and it's a literal race.

This sounds...odd. I'm not sure how they'll pull that off; if you can control the motion of your "car", bump other riders/players, etc...how is it possibly going to be synched well to the ride motion? Not sure I'm sold on this idea...

 

 

This sounds...odd. I'm not sure how they'll pull that off; if you can control the motion of your "car", bump other riders/players, etc...how is it possibly going to be synched well to the ride motion? Not sure I'm sold on this idea...

Maybe motion sensors in the headset will move the car and the racetrack will be the layout?

While the seat belts on Thunderbolt don't bother me that much, the reaction the park has taken in the aftermath of the Rollo Coaster accident is... disappointing, to say the least. The Ride Height Restrictions PDF on the site displays the new height requirements for ALL rides, and can be easily compared with the 2014 PDF that is strangely still available on Google.

Infants are not permitted to ride any ride PERIOD in the park now, as I presumed Palace Entertainment would have responded But the addition that one must be 16 years of age in order to count as a "responsible person" just really is going to devastate many families who attend the park, because this really limits those who meet height restrictions even further. And correct me if I am wrong, but aren't the majority of people involved in irresponsible incidents at amusement parks ABOVE the age of 16, rather than people 15 and under?

I haven't been paying attention to this. What exactly is going on? Height requirements increased? Seatbelts on Thunderbolt? Anything be altered on Jack Rabbit? Clue me in.

Ya hate to see it. I can't wait to get out of the US someday to see with my own eyes just how different other parks are in regards to "guest safety".

I get it though...you really got to cover your tracks if you don't want to lose a lot of money. Take any measures necessary just to keep people happy and coming back. Us on here, we know it all to well...roller coasters aren't dangerous but everybody thinks that they are and it hurts to hear others say it.

2017 Height Restrictions

More rules have been imposed for infants going on rides. It might lead to a few spats in Kiddieland by frustrated parents over a couple of small rides, but I don't think any of this is a huge deal breaker. 48" for Phantom, 46" for Racer & Exterminator, and just 42" for Jack Rabbit and Skycoaster is still generous and family-friendly.

I wonder if seat belts dampen the laterals on T-Bolt, which would be a little bit of a bummer, but Racer & Jack Rabbit have had seat belts for years & are fine. If this covers the park's bases from a PR standpoint, I say OK. There's no devastating Mean Streak trim or horse collar restraint on Schwarzkopfs going on here.