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The Great Pennsyltucky Road Trip of 2017


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I think that the key to good Primanti Bros. is to not get their "famous" burger...go with the other options like the roast beef, pastrami or corned beef and it tastes a hell of a lot better!

 

I love the Primanti burger on a regular buns, but the classic thick slices of bread between a mountain of foods really does call for the shaved meats.

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Looking at all those Kennywood photos is making me itch to get back there. Thankfully, I've only got... *counts on both hands and feet*... seventeen days to go!

 

Glad to know I'm not the only one who doesn't get the Noah's Ark hype, btw. "Oh it's so amazing and it's one of a kind and it's a classic..." Meh.

 

No Aero 360 either?

 

#teamwawa

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The Phantom's Revenge is a great "Frankenstein's monster" of a coaster.

 

I remember reading about Kennywood in Funland USA, a book my parents gave me when I was a kid. The place really intrigued me, but I never got around to visiting until many years later.

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Wednesday morning we awoke and took our time checking out of the hotel in order to prepare for our four hour journey to Knoebels from West Mifflin. Nick and I got on the road around 9 am and drove for a good hour until we had to get gas and stop for a quick bite to eat. So....We stopped at everyone's favorite place again, Sheetz! After the stop we made the roughly three hour journey without stopping. We arrived at Knoebels I want to say around 1:15 and was greeted with the welcoming sign of a less than half full parking lot. Once park we strolled into the park past Skloosh and too a ticket booth.

 

Our first ride of the day was Flying Turns and we had bit of a scary experience while on line. A teenage girl in the station started suffering from a seizure while about to board the ride, luckily her parents were there to hold her and the Knoebels staff did a great job of ushering them out of the station for medical assistance. Besides that Flying Turns was its usual fun self.

 

Next up was Stratosphere. God do I hate Larson ARM's. They are the scariest, most intense drop towers out there. The fact that the car does not stop at the top of the tower and you can't see what is above you just heighten's the sense of anticipation.

 

After Stratosphere we decided enough was enough, it was time for Nick to experience his first ride on the Phoenix. Boy did it not disappoint. Phoenix is a living legend and one of the best rollercoasters of all time. There is airtime on every hill from start to finish. It is simply amazing how a coaster of that size packs that much a punch. I wish all classic wooden coasters could just have buzz bars. We got three amazing rides in.

 

Where do I begin with Pork Chop on a stick? I can think of many adjectives but I will only use one. Otherworldly the meat was so damn tender it was falling off the stick. After we chowed down on pork chops the tragedy of Black Diamond was next. Talk about a ride that has to storyline and does absolutely nothing. It was designed to confuse the riders. Black Diamond was so tragic I just had to buy roasted corn after to lift my spirits.

 

Although this was my third trip to Knoebels I had yet to ride their flume so I finally took care of that. It was a very fun flume ride with two nice drops and a perfect amount of water at the end.

 

After completing the back end of the park we started to make our way towards the front. We rode Twister twice and man does that thing haul. This coaster has a lot of heart as it gives 110% every ride. The laterals are some of the best I've ever experienced.

 

Okay, so I know Bill will not be pleased with this, but as I said this was my third trip to Knoebels and checked off another first this time, the pirogies. My God were they delicious, I can't believe I never tried them earlier. Now it is a must every time I visit the park. After the pirogies we rode the chairlift to give a big "F-you" to the rest of the amusement industry for shutting theirs down but we rode it mostly to digest before we rode Impulse.

 

I've been on two of Zierer's major coasters now (Verboten and Impulse) and both are great rides. Impulse is smooth and super freaking intense. I've ridden it every year since opening and it has maintained quality. What a great addition for the park.

 

Thats the end of the trip report, now scram!

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Congrats, You've officially reached the middle of nowhere.

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Antique Merry-Go-Round.

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Knoebels is a very fine looking park.

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More great scenery.

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The Flying of the turns.

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The part about this man being a Pilot in the First World War was interesting.

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About to engage in Flying of the Turns.

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Best drop towers out there, sorry everyone else.

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Phoenix was running spectaculary as usual.

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The self playing organ.

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I hope they're hungry for the airtime buffet.

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An example of the airtime for those who unfortunately don't know.

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Only the gold train was running today.

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Opting for pork chop on a stick was one of the best choices of the day.

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This tragedy.

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I immediately got off Black Diamond and got corn with garlic butter to try and forget about what I just rode.

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The log flume had a pretty steep drop as far as long flumes go.

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Nick decided it was time to play Fire - In - The - Hole. It is an objectless game where the player shoots water and causes chaos among plastic townspeople.

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More of the stream and its many bridges.

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The lateral force king.

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In the midst of the double helix of doom.

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I'm ashamed to say I've been to Knoebels numerous times and this is the first time I've gotten the pirogies. My lord did they live up to the hype.

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This was mandatory due to what has been going on with parks and chairlifts lately.

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*Money Shot*

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Phoenix is down there somewhere. You have to actively look for it.

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Im very impressed with the two larger Zierer coasters I've been on (Impulse and Verbolten).

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First drop into a cobra roll? Zierer you mad man!

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Very forceful loop.

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Not to toot my own horn but I loved this shot.

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Made some new friends on the way out of the park.

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Stopped quick for a small bite at Quick Check. Now you can all fight over where this place lands in the rankings. Thanks for reading, till next time!

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Black Diamond sucks. I rode it because I needed to see the freak show that Justin described to me in person for myself.

 

Words can't do justice for how terrible it is. I hope it gets torn down, because IMO it's the only blemish at the paradise that is Knoebels.

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Wow...the hate for Black Diamond is intense. I've always enjoyed it as a silly, classic ride. No, it doesn't have a story, but then a lot of old dark rides didn't. It's just fun, cheesy effects and scenes, a few mild but fun hills, and a rather nice Centralia scene at that. Given how many people were so excited to see it saved from Kennywood and rebuilt, it seems strange to hear people saying they want to see it torn down!

 

-edit- Sorry, Hunt's Pier, not Kennywood! Confusing Gold Rusher with Golden Nugget!

Edited by Rai Fox
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It never operated at Kennywood, it was from Hunts Pier in Wildwood (which became Dinosaur Beach). It was originally called Golden Nugget and I grew up riding it.

 

https://rcdb.com/400.htm

 

I still haven't been to Knoebels so haven't ridden it as Black Diamond but we used to love the sh*t out of it as kids in WW.

 

More Photos: http://www.funchase.com/Images/GoldenNugget/GoldenNugget.htm

 

All that was reused was the track from what I understand. Themeing is all Knoebels.

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It never operated at Kennywood, it was from Hunts Pier in Wildwood (which became Dinosaur Beach). It was originally called Golden Nugget and I grew up riding it.

 

https://rcdb.com/400.htm

 

I still haven't been to Knoebels so haven't ridden it as Black Diamond but we used to love the sh*t out of it as kids in WW.

 

More Photos: http://www.funchase.com/Images/GoldenNugget/GoldenNugget.htm

 

All that was reused was the track from what I understand. Themeing is all Knoebels.

 

Ahh, you're right, I'm confusing Golden Nugget with Kennywood's Gold Rusher! But my point stands as far as, I thought it was a pretty popular ride!

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^ It was popular, people were definitely riding it. At the same time everyone was coming off the ride with the same confused look.

 

see. . you have to go into the Mining Museum next door.

 

that's why you were confused

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