Kennywood Discussion Thread

[DBruI will provide you with maximum pleasure.]

I wish there was more interest in this project, it could end up being the sleeper hit of the year!

Or next year...

[MovieguyJar-Jar Binks smells like Donkey]

Well, that's the beauty of Kennywood. They don't seem to feel the need to constantly be in the spotlight. They're content to simply let their current setup work for as long as possible, then make changes when they feel they're needed, and not necessarily as competition dictates.

They're adding Sky Rocket now because it feels right to do it now. I think it definitely will be a sleeper hit, because of this.

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://www.pointparkglobe.com/sky-rocket-launch-delayed-for-kennywood-opening-1.1433814

This summer, long-time guests to Kennywood will have a new attraction to look forward to. Sky Rocket is set to open to the public this season and will be the first new roller coaster built in the park since the Exterminator in 1999. However, riders are going to have to wait until well into the season before they get a chance to conquer this multi-million dollar rocket.

Sky Rocket was designed by Premier Rides. This new thriller will launch riders 55 miles per hour in three seconds and then send them 95 feet skyward. From there, riders will experience three inversions, several highly banked curves and numerous moments of weightlessness as they blast through the 2,100-foot course.

While the park’s opening day is set for May 8, Sky Rocket currently has an estimated opening time of early June. Major delays in construction were encountered due to the massive amounts of snow that crippled the east coast this past winter.

The national organization known as the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) has been eagerly awaiting its chance to experience this new attraction since it was announced in August. Bill Linkenheimer III, former national president and current regional representative for ACE, said he is “ecstatic that Kennywood is finally putting in a new coaster.”

Linkenheimer also admires how the park “manages to blend the old and the new together” with the coexistence of older, classic rides and the newer high-tech rides currently on the market for amusement parks.

While many people are thrilled with the idea of a major new roller coaster being erected at Kennywood, the new addition does not come without sacrifice. Sky Rocket will be located on the site of a longtime favorite of the younger riders, the Turnpike. This choice was met with mixed emotions from the general public. Opened in 1966, the Turnpike was an antique car ride that took Kennywood by storm with its scenic course and the opportunity for children to drive. Jeff Filicko, a Kennywood public relations spokesman, said the choice to remove the Turnpike was made due to space restrictions in the park.

“It was all about compromise,” Filicko said. “You can’t put a big new ride in here without changing the land in some way.”

Kristina Brown, a junior jazz dance major at Point Park University, is not sorry to see the classic ride go.

“I’m more of a coaster person, [and] I think they need to update their rides more often,” she said.

ACE historian David P. Hahner, Jr. called the departure of the Turnpike “bittersweet.”

“I’m excited to see a new coaster opening at Kennywood, but I am also sad to see Kennywood’s first ‘theme park-style’ ride be removed,” Hahner said. “It’s good to know that it’s not only being replaced with what promises to be an exciting addition for the park, but that it may return in some form in the very near future.”

King Kahuna has also been removed from Kennywood due to its lack of popularity and high maintenance costs.

“It’s sad that they have to get rid of so much at once,” Michael Mann, a sophomore education major who never had the chance to ride King Kahuna, said.

It is currently unknown exactly what the empty space left on King Kahuna’s site will be used for. Phantom’s Revenge has also undergone what Filicko referred to as “surgery” on its second hill to fix a small bump in the ride that was the result of a re-tracking that the coaster underwent the previous winter.

Kennywood will open to the public on May 8 with FunDay passes set at a price of $35.99 and Night Rider tickets costing $20.99. Limited season passes are also currently on sale for $89.99.

[DenDenFabulously FIERCE!]

While the park’s opening day is set for May 8, Sky Rocket currently has an estimated opening time of early June. Major delays in construction were encountered due to the massive amounts of snow that crippled the east coast this past winter.

That's not so bad! JULY would be bad. hehehe

[EastCoastn07“Fear can make a donkey attack a lion”]

http://www.pointparkglobe.com/sky-rocket-launch-delayed-for-kennywood-opening-1.1433814

This summer, long-time guests to Kennywood will have a new attraction to look forward to. Sky Rocket is set to open to the public this season and will be the first new roller coaster built in the park since the Exterminator in 1999. However, riders are going to have to wait until well into the season before they get a chance to conquer this multi-million dollar rocket.

Sky Rocket was designed by Premier Rides. This new thriller will launch riders 55 miles per hour in three seconds and then send them 95 feet skyward. From there, riders will experience three inversions, several highly banked curves and numerous moments of weightlessness as they blast through the 2,100-foot course.

While the park’s opening day is set for May 8, Sky Rocket currently has an estimated opening time of early June. Major delays in construction were encountered due to the massive amounts of snow that crippled the east coast this past winter.

The national organization known as the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) has been eagerly awaiting its chance to experience this new attraction since it was announced in August. Bill Linkenheimer III, former national president and current regional representative for ACE, said he is “ecstatic that Kennywood is finally putting in a new coaster.”

Linkenheimer also admires how the park “manages to blend the old and the new together” with the coexistence of older, classic rides and the newer high-tech rides currently on the market for amusement parks.

While many people are thrilled with the idea of a major new roller coaster being erected at Kennywood, the new addition does not come without sacrifice. Sky Rocket will be located on the site of a longtime favorite of the younger riders, the Turnpike. This choice was met with mixed emotions from the general public. Opened in 1966, the Turnpike was an antique car ride that took Kennywood by storm with its scenic course and the opportunity for children to drive. Jeff Filicko, a Kennywood public relations spokesman, said the choice to remove the Turnpike was made due to space restrictions in the park.

“It was all about compromise,” Filicko said. “You can’t put a big new ride in here without changing the land in some way.”

Kristina Brown, a junior jazz dance major at Point Park University, is not sorry to see the classic ride go.

“I’m more of a coaster person, [and] I think they need to update their rides more often,” she said.

ACE historian David P. Hahner, Jr. called the departure of the Turnpike “bittersweet.”

“I’m excited to see a new coaster opening at Kennywood, but I am also sad to see Kennywood’s first ‘theme park-style’ ride be removed,” Hahner said. “It’s good to know that it’s not only being replaced with what promises to be an exciting addition for the park, but that it may return in some form in the very near future.”

King Kahuna has also been removed from Kennywood due to its lack of popularity and high maintenance costs.

“It’s sad that they have to get rid of so much at once,” Michael Mann, a sophomore education major who never had the chance to ride King Kahuna, said.

It is currently unknown exactly what the empty space left on King Kahuna’s site will be used for. Phantom’s Revenge has also undergone what Filicko referred to as “surgery” on its second hill to fix a small bump in the ride that was the result of a re-tracking that the coaster underwent the previous winter.

Kennywood will open to the public on May 8 with FunDay passes set at a price of $35.99 and Night Rider tickets costing $20.99. Limited season passes are also currently on sale for $89.99.

Those are extremely old pictures...You really should check out KPConnection.com, they've been posting new pictures just about every day. They have just about half the track up already and from what I've been hearing most of coaster, with the exception of the first hill and barrel roll should be up by Tuesday. I won't be surprised if this whole coaster is up by the second weekend the park is open, which leaves the station, queue line and other remaining stuff to be built, testing and of course training to do by the time it can open. I'd say that an opening in the first or second week of June is highly likely at this point.

[Zack44Donkeys are my way of life!]

Frankly, the changing of Sky Rocket's opening day isn't a surprise considering the fact that the first pieces of track came much sooner than expected (just a couple of months ago, right?)

[sixflagsguy5I wrote the book about donkeys!]

That's sad to hear, because I was planning on running into Kennywood on the way home from King's Dominion in late May. I guess we'll have to add a different park on the way home or stay out East another day.

[coasterfanryanI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

Looks like the inverted top hat now has track. This is going together pretty quick. Shouldn't betooblong before it is complete.

[EastCoastn07“Fear can make a donkey attack a lion”]

^ I understand you are trying to keep everyone in the loop, but I might advise that you might actually want to ask the owner of those pictures (Myself) before you start posting them around on other forums.

[KPfreak519Have I mentioned how awesome donkeys are?]

Holy crap at this rate I wouldn't be surprised to see a soft opening by the end of May...they don't need that long to test do they, only like 2 weeks right? They'll almost certainly be 100% done with circuit construction by the end of next week...