Oldiesmann

I'm waiting until after I visit Cedar Point in a couple of weeks, just in case the 2025 all-season addons don't work at other parks after renewal.

Weather was definitely a factor - even BGW was dead when I went in late June (granted, during the middle of the week, but still) - but I doubt it was the only factor. It'll be interesting to see what attendance figures look like for the rest of the year - especially once the weather stays cool for more than a week.

It is, and I already saw one person on Facebook who claimed that the statement from the park is them "admitting to their mistakes" even though we don't have all the details about what happened.

Image from the park's Facebook page. More info: https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2025/07/25/hersheypark-death-what-we-know-about-child-drowning-at-boardwalk/85370065007/

If it remains an amusement park, how much would Six Flags see it as competition with KD being two hours away and Dorney being three? I don't see United buying it at all since BGW is two and a half hours away. Herschend would be nice but I doubt they're looking to acquire any more parks at the moment given that they just picked up Kennywood, Idlewild, etc. earlier this year.

Interesting development. I wonder how many rides Six Flags will want to relocate, and of course there's the issue with having to re-theme everything, but there's a chance the park could be saved. https://attractionsmagazine.com/six-flags-america-for-sale-2025-washington-dc-largo-redevelopment/

I was out at Riverbend for the Cincinnati Pops concert on the 4th. It was weird not driving through Coney to get to the lot and not seeing any rides.

I used my KI pass for parking but had the pass added to the Six Flags app to use for entrance. I've heard others saying they had no problem using their pass from a legacy CF park to get in and my sister and husband didn't have any problems when they used theirs at Great America earlier this year.

This past Sunday I made my first (and very likely last - because of distance) trip to Six Flags America. I had considered adding it to this trip since it's only two hours from KD but decided I wouldn't have time since I wanted to do two days at each of the Virginia parks and allow a day of free time. However, with the news coming Saturday that KD wouldn't be open on Sunday and it being too late for me to change hotel reservations to allow for an impromptu return to Carowinds instead (because Carowinds is closer to Beckley, WV than SFA is), I decided to make the trip, especially since SFA's 8pm closing time meant I'd have plenty of time to get back to the next hotel in Ashland, VA before it got too late. I left Beckley around 8:30am and headed north. The drive there wasn't too bad, though I will say that DC traffic was an adventure (tolled express lanes for instance). After stopping at a rest area and stopping for gas (I managed to find the one Speedway in northern Virginia so my extra discount that was set to expire before I got back to Cincinnati didn't go to waste), I rolled into the park at around 2:30. I grabbed lunch at the food court near the front of the park and hit the various rides as I came to them, also meeting up with a fellow coaster enthusiast who lives in the area. Likely due to the extreme heat, the park was dead and I managed to get all the coasters plus a few flat rides and dinner all by 8pm. There are some interesting coasters at the park: Firebird - the original B&M. Originally a standup coaster but converted to floorless and given its current name in 2019. Originally at Six Flags Great America from 1990 to 2011. Quite a wild ride. Batwing - a clone of Firehawk. Joker's Jinx - outdoor version of Flight of Fear but with no MCBR at all and no separate unload area Wild One - an old PTC woodie that originally opened at Paragon Park in Hull, Massachusetts in 1917. Moved to SFA after Paragon closed in 1985. Professor Screamore's SkyWinder - an intense Vekoma SLC originally known as Mind Eraser. Quite a thrilling ride, aided by the new trains that were added last year. Ragin' Cajun - a spinning wild mouse coaster from Reverchon that originally operated at Six Flags Great America Roar - a wild and somewhat rough woodie Superman Ride of Steel - Intamin hyper coaster Great Chase - a kids' coaster. Didn't ride this because I didn't know about it and never made it to that part of the park. There are some good flat rides there as well - a carousel, antique cars, a Zamperla NebulaZ, two different swing rides (one like Zephyr and a StarFlyer), an older Intamin Drop Tower (like the one that used to be at Carowinds), a train ride that's apparently only open on weekends and an assortment of kids' rides Overall I thought it was a nice park despite its reputation. With some investment it could be even better, especially since there isn't any competition really. It's a shame that SF chose to close the park instead of holding on and investing in it in the future.

An indoor coaster would be fun, but I don't see that happening. They've already added 2 family coasters in the past 6 years (Dragonflier in 2019 and Big Bear Mountain in 2023) and I think we'd already see evidence at this point. At KI footers have shown up for coasters a year before opening. Of course that's for larger coasters, but even so, you'd think we would see something this time.

I'm not too surprised given that park's reputation. I'm sure there are other factors in that decision as well - most likely annual revenue vs cost of operation. I do feel sorry for the residents of Baltimore and surrounding areas who are losing their local park though.

I'm not a big fan of modern country music - I like the stuff from the 50s and 60s more, though there was some good stuff in the 70s as well. I'd welcome a decades show back in place of a country show, or at least in addition to it. They could also bring back that show they had in Rivertown a few years ago (I forget what it was called but they had a similar show at Carowinds in 2019).

The "artist-in-residence" thing works at CP because that's the biggest entertainment destination in that part of the state. KI is within 2 hours of Cincinnati, Columbus, Indy, Lexington and Louisville (and probably other big cities as well) and there's a lot to do in this area during the summer months - including free live concerts by local/regional acts.

I think this will be a good move. Several Kennywood locals who I'm friends with on FB are happy about this.

Great to see Herschend working their magic with the park. KK has been all but ignored for years, with the exception of Storm/Wind Chaser, Lightning Run and Kentucky Flyer. Scout's Squirrel Race is basically the same as Snoopy's Space Buggies so I'm sure that'll be a big hit with the younger ones.