|
KENNYWOOD
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Abbreviation: KW)
Parques Reunidos
 Park News - (8/17/2023) Kennywood has announced that they are shutting down the park’s Turtle ride on Sunday to perform a major refurbishment. The Turtle (also originally known as Tumble Bug) is now 96-years old and believed to be the very last ride of it’s kind running in the entire world. According to the local news report the Turtle’s central foundation needs to be replaced, so they will have to remove the ride and dig down about 15 feet, breaking up the old foundation in order to replace it. The goal is to start the project now to make sure they get the needed ground work done before everything freezes up for the winter.
(8/6/2023) With Steel Curtain down once again this season, many have been wondering what it is that has caused this ride to suffer so much downtime. While I honestly haven’t heard any rumors about this exactly, some interesting photos are making the rounds on social media showing workers inspecting, tightening or replacing some of the bolts on the ride’s support structure.
Obviously there has been a somewhat renewed focus on roller coaster supports this season after the one on Fury 325 broke last month at Carowinds, so it would be easy to jump to conclusions about Steel Curtain prematurely. While it is possible that the current downtime may be caused by an issue with the support structure, one might also argue that if the ride is down for other issues, the park’s maintenance team may be taking advantage of the downtime to perform extra inspections and maintenance on the structure as well.
Thus far, the only official comment Kennywood has made to the media this week regarding the status of Steel Curtain is this: “This record-setting ride is the first of its kind, and the additional maintenance is necessary to ensure frequent ride closures are avoided in the future. We appreciate our guests’ patience as we work diligently with the ride manufacturer to reopen Steel Curtain as soon as possible. We are just as disappointed as our guests and our number one goal is to have the fan-favorite ride up and running soon.”
(8/5/2023) Kennywood is bringing back the Fall Fantasy Parades which are returning for their 73rd season. “The time-honored tradition boasts more than 100 bands from local high schools, colleges and universities, while also showcasing the musically inclined youth from the Southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio regions. Visitors can expect live music and beautifully decorated floats to fill Kennywood’s midways during parades nightly from August 5 through August 20.”
Visitors to Kennywood during this 73rd rendition of Fall Fantasy will enjoy a walk down memory lane with floats paying tribute to the park’s past and present. To celebrate Kennywood’s quasquicentennial year, the parades will honor some of Kennywood’s most iconic rides and characters. Floats will symbolize beloved attractions, foods and events like the more than 100-year-old, Jack Rabbit, the lovable Colonel Bimbo and Jeeters, the famous Dip Cone, Phantom Fall Fest and Holiday Lights.
“This season’s Fall Fantasy Parades will be one of the biggest and most celebratory parades to ever hit the midways,” says Assistant General Manager Rick Spicuzza. “The cherished tradition will honor the park’s past, celebrating 125 years as a beloved community staple in Pittsburgh while continuing the timeless tradition of welcoming band members from the surrounding areas back to Kennywood.”
(7/29/2023) While Steel Curtain is down again, Kennywood did announce that the Black Widow flat ride is now back in action. The park has also confirmed the return of Phanton Fall Fest starting on Sept. 22 on select nights. This year’s event will feature seven haunted houses and four scare zones, with an updated “mALICE in Wonderland” to be featured as the newest haunt for 2023. The details are all still being finalized, but Kennywood did also confirm that a Spooky version of their new Spinvasion flat ride will be added to the fall lineup featuring a “special Halloween light package” along with the return of dark rides on Phantom’s Revenge, Thunderbolt and complete lights-out rides on Exterminator.
(7/27/2023) In an unfortunate update, readers report that Kennywood’s Steel Curtain roller coaster has closed once again for unknown reasons. One popular rumor going around the park was that it may have been struck by lightning, but elsewhere those who claim to know are saying it is due to something else.
(7/23/2023) More good news for Kennywood guests this week. A post to the park’s social media features the return of the Purple train on Phantom’s Revenge, Steel Curtain’s #19 train back in operation, and the return of the park’s Raging Rapids ride in action. It may have taken longer than expected, but it’s great to see everything back in action!
(7/15/2023) Kennywood sent out word to their passholders and fans that Steel Curtain is now back in action, so time to make your plans to visit Kennywood and ride!
I was going to say that you should just make sure to not visit on the Tuesday, however it seems Kennywood has now reversed course on that decision and is now going to be open daily once again through August 20th! Well done Kennywood! Well done!
(7/7/2023) According to a few sources, Steel Curtain at Kennywood is currently down and expected to be down for maintenance for the next couple weeks.
(7/4/2023) A reader sent in a couple of pictures of Kennywood’s Aero 360 ride, which is still sitting dark and untouched. The quiet rumor is that it will likely be retired. (UPDATE - Kennywood reached out to us to confirm that the Aero 360 isn’t going anywhere. The ride is currently being refurbished and they’ve still got a lot of work to do on it.)
As for other rides, Black Widow looks like they are preparing it to open soon, and they’re still trying to get the Rapids up again, though the issue currently may have more to do with the load/unload platform than the ride itself.
As for the operational schedule change, as speculated, staffing issues are thought to be the main reason behind this move. Operations in general this season have been said to be somewhat chaotic.
(7/1/2023) In a bit of a surprise announcement, Kennywood has confirmed a change to their operational schedule that will keep the park closed on Tuesdays starting on July 11th. From the look of the schedule posted on the website, this change will remain in effect for the remainder of what would normally have been their daily operational season.
Kennywood will return to a weekends only schedule after Labor Day for a couple of weeks, and then move to a Friday, Saturday, Sunday schedule starting on Sept. 22nd through to the end of October for Phantom Fall Fest.
According to Kennywood the change came about because, “We are always evaluating our operating schedule and are committed to optimizing our guest experience on each day we are open”. In other words, attendance on Tuesdays is likely to be very light, and Kennywood may have been unable to get fully staffed at a level they would like, so they’re making the best use of the labor-pool they have by eliminating one day out of the week.
If this was 2021, I wouldn’t have been surprised by this move, but as virtually every other major theme park has returned to offering daily operations all summer long, this seems to be a sign that Kennywood is still suffering some operational issues.
(6/24/2023) While the Rapids have still not opened at Kennywood, there is hope that they could come back online in time for the July 4th holiday period. Meanwhile a reader also spotted the lead Purple train car for Phantom’s Revenge in the park. It had not been returned to the rails, but was sitting on a pallet nearby, awaiting installation, which should help shorten the wait times on Phantom.
(6/10/2023) A reader dropped into Kennywood this week and reported back that both trains are now back in operation on Steel Curtain, reducing guest wait times significantly as a result. While Kennywood said it was returning soon, so far the park’s rapids ride has yet to reopen, and Phantom’s Revenge is still only running with one train, with the Purple train nowhere to be seen. Oh, and Aero 360 is still sitting dead as a doornail, with no update from the park on if they are planning on being able to reopen it, or if they may be planning on retiring it.
(5/23/2023) Spinvasion, Other Ride Improvements and More!
(5/14/2023) According to the local news firefighters were called out to Kennywood on Friday afternoon to put out a small fire that had started on the construction site of the new Primanti’s Restaurant. Fortunately it was put out quickly and no one was hurt.
In other news, I’m told we can expect Steel Curtain to only have one-train operation for awhile. According to our source the second train is still in pieces, stored in a nearby building.
(4/30/2023) Kennywood has updated the chaperone policy they put into effect last fall for the 2023 season. On the park’s “Know Before You Go” page, they state that “Guests aged 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years of age (with a valid ID) to enter the park after 4:00 p.m.”. Unlike the rollout at the Cedar Fair chain of parks they don’t go into more details beyond that, but as Kennywood is just one park in the region operated by Parque Reunidos it looks like this policy is quietly being rolled out to many of their parks as they open for the season.
(4/24/2023) The good news is that despite last month’s political drama, Kennywood did open for the 2023 season this past weekend. The weekend did not go without incident however, as four teens were arrested when the park’s new security systems detected that they were attempting to climb over a fence to gain entry into the theme park on Saturday afternoon. They were quickly caught and banned from the park, so it does appear that whatever new security systems Kennywood has put in place to monitor their fence line is working so far.
In other news, the new Spinvasion ride is not quite yet ready, though we’ve seen a couple of videos of the park testing it out. Another bit of bad news is that the Steelers area was left closed off, and the Steel Curtain coaster doesn’t look quite ready to roll yet, as there was no sign of the trains on the track yet.
(4/16/2023) We previously mentioned how the Swingshot ride at Kennywood was getting a new paint job, but now all new details and swooping lines of color have been added to the Swingshot according to the latest pictures sent in to Screamscape.
(4/9/23) Good news from Kennywood as the local news reports that the theme park will be bringing back the Raging Rapids ride this season, following the testing of a new control system installed as part of a refurbishment of the ride.
(4/2/23) In the fallout of the threat by local D.A. Stephen Zappala to keep Kennywood closed over concerns over the park’s security efforts, the local news reports that the park is preparing to show off their security measures in an upcoming presentation to elected officials.
(3/26/23) Spring is here and Kennywood is preparing to open for the 2023 season on April 22! But would you believe a local D.A. is threatening action against the park that may keep it closed? In the fallout of the in-park shooting that took place on the opening night of the park’s Halloween event, obviously a number of new policies and procedures have been put into place to increase park safety, including the blocking of minors from entering the park without a guardian who is at least 21 years old.
According to the article trees along the perimeter have been trimmed, new floodlights installed and patrols along the park’s perimeter increased. However… as Screamscape itself spotted just by looking at Google Maps images, there are some large gaps in the fence, especially by the gates, where weapons or other objects could easily be passed from someone outside the park to any guest inside the park who happens to be standing there. In fact, according to District Attorney Stephen Zappala, one gap is big enough that a small skinny person could likely slip through.
Following the September shooting the Zappala says his office has provided a list of security demands that they keep the park must take action on immediately, otherwise they will declare that Kennywood is unsafe and go to court to keep Kennywood from opening for the 2023 season until these issues are addressed. Zappala also says that thus far Kennywood has been “uncooperative with his office”, and stated to the park in a press conference that “You will do these. It’s not negotiable”.
On Kennywood’s side of things, the park has stated that they have increased security measures and will fully cooperative with local law enforcement, with comments seeming to indicate that the D.A.’s actions are more political in nature and that the park is “not going to engage in any political controversy”. Seeming to back up the idea that the D.A. has political aspirations, State Rep. Nick Pisciottano seemed to endorse the efforts Kennywood has taken to upgrade security, and took issue with the actions of Zappala.
Pisciottano stated that staging a press conference a month out from the season opening is “not responsible treatment of a regional historic treasure and national tourist destination”, referring to Kennywood as “a major economic driver” for the area. He also encouraged the D.A. to “make clear what his specific concerns are, what recommendations are not being met and actively participate in ongoing discussions in the community so that families across Pennsylvania can safely enjoy Kennywood Park this season“.
Now, I’m not sure how the local laws work, but it does seem on the surface to be a bit of a reach that a local District Attorney is trying to keep a theme park closed, rather than focused on their normal job of putting the bad guys in jail. On that note, it is worth noting that to date, no one has been charged in connection with the September shooting, and that all charges against the only suspect they had were dropped back in November.
(12/31/2022) According to a Kennywood local, the park is in the process of repainting their Swingshot ride (S&S Screamin’ Swing). From what I’m told the former Blue arch with Yellow swings color scheme is being replaced by one featuring a bright yellow frame, orange lower swing arms, with the tops of the arms being blue.
(11/13/22) In the fallout from the shooting that took place at Kennywood in September, the local news reports that a teen (age 15) initially charged and apparently “wounded” at the event has had all charges against him dropped by a judge. According to the judge, there was not enough evidence to charge 15-year-old Darryl Pirl, who was also one of the three reported as being wounded at the shooting. The case against him argued that Pirl fired a gun hidden within his clothing and the resulting graze-wound was thus self-inflicted. They now believe two guns were fired at the time and that they are searching for a second suspect.
 2023 - Spinvasion - (5/23/2023) A reader who visits Kennywood often sent in some observations about the park’s new Spinvasion ride that is now open. The park has been adjusting the ride program/cycle from what I’m told, as the original program was similar to what you’ve seen in the promotional videos, where the cars alternate between performing wave style movements and then the alternating up/down patterns. Despite how it looks, I’m told that Spinvasion is way more intense than it looks, while comparing the G-forces to something more akin to a Musik Express or Gravatron ride. The original cycle program was also very long… too long actually, as many guests were coming off with their feet burning a bit from all the blood rushing down their legs from the G forces.
Before long Kennywood changed the ride program to one only about half as long, and only running the alternate up/down pattern instead of the wave, which made the experience more enjoyable, and also increased throughput and shorted the wait times. The report also praises the queue theming, saying that the UFO ship over the entrance features lights, sounds and fog “lasers” that help sell the alien invasion theme. Spinvasion also features an impressive lighting package that looks fantastic after dark. (see the video clip below and you’ll also see what I mean about the intensity!)
Elsewhere in the park, I’m told that the second train on Steel Curtain (#19) is now being put back together and can be seen near the brake run. If things progress, hopefully they’ll have Steel Curtain back up for two-train operations in time for the summer, possibly even Memorial Day Weekend. Elsewhere on the coaster front I’m told Jack Rabbit’s trains are all on the tracks, but the Purple train on Phantom’s Revenge was nowhere to be seen .
On the Dark Ride scene, apparently Kennywood has made some enhancements to all of their creations. New additions and lighting can be found throughout The Old Mill as well as some new or updated animatronics, Exterminator has some new colored lighting and some returning special effects that haven’t been seen running in years. Ghostwood Estates was also said to have added some new “mirror themed monitors” that feature ghosts who taunt the riders, as well as a few new set pieces. According to Kennywood the ride’s whole Ghost Blaster system (guns, targets and animatronics) received a “ghastly overhaul”.
Thunder Rapids was also seen testing ahead of that ride’s eventually reopening. On the down side… apparently Aero 360 appears to be dead in the water, and no sign of any work taking place to fix whatever is broken.
(4/1/23) According to the local news report the pieces of Kennywood’s new Spinvasion ride has arrived at the park. Over the next few weeks the ride will be assembled on site, and assuming the park gets to open as planned on April 22nd, we’ll see what kind have progress has been made over the next three weeks.
(12/30/2022) For anyone wondering exactly what kind of ride the new Spinvasion coming to Kennywood is, it appears to be a Zamperla creation called the Gryphon. More video footage showing off the Gryphon in action can be seen below.
(12/23/2022) Due to some family medical issues that were taking place at the time, I still can’t believe I forgot to post that Kennywood announced their new ride for 2023 would be called SPINVASION! They say that Spinvasion will be the first ride of its kind in the United States and located into a new “alien themed” revamped section of the park that they are calling Area 412.
According to Kennywood’s General Manager Mark Pauls, “This extra-terrestrial thrill ride is the centerpiece of the all-new alien-inspired Area 412 section of the park. Featuring a massive themed ride backdrop, along with a fresh new look to the Cosmic Chaos and an improved retail shop, this is one giant leap for all Kennywood fans and Season Passholders.”
Spinvasion casts you as daring pilots in the middle of the Battle for the ‘Burgh. “Riders will strap into their solo manned aircraft and prepare for a classic swing experience after takeoff. Next-level fun quickly begins by crisscrossing with other pilots, flying sideways at certain points parallel to the ground. Spinvasion thrills with every revolution while gliding along the giant waves. The illusion of close encounters with the rider in front fuels the excitement and energy while in flight. The whole experience is enhanced by a spectacular, colorful light display that makes riders feel as if they’ve entered the fourth dimension.“
(11/15/22) It looks like the announcement for the Battle For The Burgh and Kennywood’s new attraction will take place on Nov. 15th at 8:30am. Look for info on their social media platforms about how guests can climb aboard to a new intergalactic vehicle to save the city, and Kenny Kangaroo who has been abducted apparently.
(11/2/22) While Kennywood hasn’t revealed what the new attraction for 2023 is just yet, they’ve now adding a themed paint job to the building behind the attraction area, that includes images of flying UFO’s and the words, “Battle for the Burgh”.
(10/17/22) A reader dropped into Kennywood yesterday and reported that the same walls are still up around the former Volcano ride, but nothing seems to have been updated about what the new attraction for 2023 will be. Nearby the Cosmic Chaos ride, which already has a UFO theme, seems to be getting repainted, and two photos were sent in of that project.
(9/11/22) So what’s going on at Kennywood on the site of the former Volcano attraction? Blue walls are now up around the site, with weird yellow banners asking about alien sightings, “Aliens are Real!” warnings and so on. So is this a hint about a new alien themed attraction coming next season?
I’m pretty sure it is, because if you can scan the QR code on the wall it will take you to a page on the Kennywood titled as “UFOTracker” that features a distorted aerial image of the site in the park labeled, “Site 1122 Image #2023” along with warnings that “All Systems Are Currently Down” and that more information will be coming.
As for the Volcano, the old Huss Enterprise that was previously located here was removed after the 2020 season along with three other classic rides: Kangaroo, Paratrooper and the Bayern Curve. Fortunately the Kangaroo was updated, saved and returned for the 2022 season, but I believe all three of the other rides are gone for good, so there is no telling just what may be on the way.
|
