homestar92 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I'm putting links, rather than embeds, so that those on limited bandwidth aren't too bombarded. I've been going to a lot of parks this year, and I decided I needed to go to Kennywood. So I called up Kevin, my college roommate, who is working on-campus this summer, to see if he wanted to go to Kennywood (his home park) on a Saturday. We chose a day, and so after work on Friday, I made the drive from Loveland all the way to New Concord, Ohio. While on the beautiful campus of Muskingum University, I had to stop and get my beloved Wally's Pizza (If you're ever in the Cambridge, OH area, I really can't recommend Wally's enough). I met up with Kevin around 8:00, and we hopped into his car to head for Pittsburgh. His brother lives in Pittsburgh, has two extra bedrooms, and needed a housesitter for a weekend, which worked out really nicely. He also talked to a friend who works at Kennywood and got us vouchers for $16 entry. Free lodging and $16 entry is not too shabby at all. Almost makes me forget the $80 in gas that we combined to spend driving there... At any rate, we crashed at his place Friday night and headed to Kennywood on Saturday morning, arriving just in time to be greeted by rain. https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1072622_638554932828824_460078012_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1077015_638555102828807_443463627_o.jpg At the beginning of the day, the rain was light enough to not be terrible, but crowds were light. First stop was the Grandprix (Kennywood's bumer cars). I like these cars because the arena is totally open, not a circle like KI or a square with a barricade in the middle like Coney. Total chaos . We WERE heading straight for Exterminator after this, as it is low capacity and lines get pretty long, but we noticed that Phantom's Revenge was a walk-on, so we made a slight detour and rode it first. https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1077317_638555332828784_1096828241_o.jpg I have to say, as much as it breaks my heart to see an Arrow looper destroyed, Revenge is a great coaster. Though I don't like the lap bars much. They leave a lot of wiggle room for a skinny guy like me, and there are a couple of pretty crazy airtime hills on this thing. But it barely edged out Maggie as my favorite hypercoaster. All-in-all, it is the most enjoyable b******ization of an Arrow Dynamics coaster I've ever experienced. I'm sure you know which word was used there After getting off Phantom, we then headed back to Exterminator. Again, we walked on. Twice. Coincidentally, this was coaster number 50 for me, which is kind of a big deal. https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1073174_638558209495163_142515312_o.jpg After the obligatory Dalek impersonations on Exterminator, we decided to ride the Whip. I'd only ever ridden the kiddie one at Stricker's (which, coincidentally was the exact moment when I lost my last shred of dignity, as I was 21 at the time) and I decided that a full-size one would be cool. https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1085049_638557212828596_1778880194_o.jpg Alas, the platform was too wet, and despite the operator's best efforts, it just wouldn't go. Not to worry, though, as it opened later for our riding enjoyment. Around this time, the rain had really started to pick up, so we found a bench that was under a roof and waited out the storm. I stopped by the Potato Patch to kill the time, and let me tell you, those were good fries. Are they as good as Rivertown Potato Works... Not sure I can give an unbiased opinion there. But they are VERY good. Being that we were already soaked, we figured it was as good a time as any to ride the Raging Rapids. We were paired with a very nice family who rode at the request of their Young'uns. They very clearly did not want to get wet. It gruntled me to no end when their side of the boat went directly under the waterfall. After we got off, I changed my socks and took this priceless gem of a picture: https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1077055_638556106162040_591350915_o.jpg Being wet, the best way to dry off is a coaster, of course. So we headed for The Racer, one of only three Möbius Loop coasters remaining in the world. For those who don't know, a Möbius loop is a seemingly twin-tracked coaster, but is actually one really long, continuous track. On this one, if you board on the left, you return to the station on the right, and vice-versa. THis pic is from later in the day, but it is a nice one, and it really shows off the great look of this classic coaster. https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1094682_638559179495066_1012552946_o.jpg This beat out Blue Streak at Cedar Point for the title of oldest coaster I'd ever ridden, as it opened in 1927. This title wasn't going to last long, though, as next stop was the Jack Rabbit (which opened in 1920 or 1921. I don't remember the exact year). https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1079100_638555409495443_1714847727_o.jpg The Jack Rabbit is a true terrain coaster. It follows the hillside nearly perfectly and has some great airtime. It also has bench seats, no seatbelt, and a literal one-position lapbar. As in, the bar doesn't move. It is locked in the "down" position, and you have to maneuver yourself in. It leaves lots of room for people to stand up and become victims of Natural Selection. And in my book, that is A-OK (but only if they bring it upon themselves by acting stupidly). Sadly, I lack train pictures Next stop was Thunderbolt, and boy, what a crazy coaster. It has literally THE BEST lateral G's of any coaster I've ever been on. In fact, due to the extreme lateral forces, single riders are not permitted, and the larger person in the party is required to board first and sit on the right. https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/965172_638556082828709_1724337501_o.jpg We had to leave at two to return to Kevin's brother's place and let his dog out. Small price to pay for free lodging, though. But on the way, we hit up the Sky Rocket, which was a blast (pun not intended). I don't think the ride itself is as good as Maverick, but I like the experience better, as the restraints are not Chinese Torture devices. https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1077017_638556796161971_1533809662_o.jpg Upon returning to the park, we decided to ride some flats, having already hit the coasters. My personal favorite was the Noah's Ark walk-through attraction. It is basically like a ride meets a carnival funhouse. It is very classic, VERY unique, and highly recommended. Alas, I have no pictures of it The rest of the day was all flats and re-rides of coasters, so I'll spare the details for the most part. I did enjoy a ride on the Kangaroo, the very last surviving Flying Coaster (which is a flat ride, not a roller coaster) in the whole world. And it's a shame there aren't more, because it's great fun. https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1074650_638559166161734_97884274_o.jpg And my favorite highlights came from their two dark rides. While boarding Ghostwood Estate (A shooting dark ride a la Boo Blasters), a fellow in line yelled up at us up top, "Have fun in Escalator Land!" I of course replied, asking "when do we get to the ride?" As expected, his reply was, "This IS the ride!" We both cheered, and he became my favorite random line stranger ever. I'm sure he didn't expect someone to catch his admittedly esoteric reference, though it would have been more appropriate on a Fairly Odd sort of ride rather than a standard dark ride. Finally, we rode Garfield's Nightmare. What a disappointment. I don't even think a young child could find ANY appeal to it, unless they REALLY like the Garfield comics. But it did give me an opportunity to snap this picture. I will preface this picture with a story. It's called, "The Boring Ride." Once upon a time, there was a boring ride. It was SO BORING that everybody died... The end. https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1072654_638046909546293_1695481722_o.jpg I'm in the back, by the way, in my snazzy Cedar Point T-Shirt. And that was the whole day. I really enjoyed the park and will DEFINITELY go back at some point. I'm going to link the rest of my pictures here that I didn't feel like explaining in the story. https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1074848_638558489495135_1652683082_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1075529_638558992828418_521766484_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1077699_638559486161702_1743908191_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/1072571_638558406161810_504262637_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1079096_638558189495165_703461974_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1072086_638558232828494_1736179907_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1094070_638558472828470_2021930858_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1091208_638557259495258_1775390078_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1072540_638556956161955_473655894_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1073091_638557042828613_1385315631_o.jpg 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vortexfan Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Were the seat belts being used on Exterminator? I remember the ride ops instructing us not to buckle them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 The seat belts were not in use, they told us that the seat belts are only for smaller children who aren't secured tightly by the lap-bar/OTSR/Thingy that it uses as a restraint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Well, that solves the mystery of who the seemingly random person was that friended me on Facebook tonight. Nice report! I like how you summarized Kennywood on Facebook: "Stricker's Grove meets Cedar Point." That only reinforces the fact that I need to find a way to get to Kennywood soon. I've never been there. Sounds like a really nice park. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 . Finally, we rode Garfield's Nightmare. What a disappointment. I don't even think a young child could find ANY appeal to it, unless they REALLY like the Garfield comics. But it did give me an opportunity to snap this picture. I will preface this picture with a story. It's called, "The Boring Ride." Once upon a time, there was a boring ride. It was SO BORING that everybody died... The end Once upon a time there was a dark ride known as The Old Mill, it was a fantastic little ride which embraced the nostalgic dark ride experience. Then came a remodel to improve it, the result was a putrid display of cheap scenery and attempt to use 3-D. The only thing keeping the ride remotely relevant is its classic ride system which remains mostly untouched. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 I have heard good things about the Old Mill. Just like I've heard good things about Phantom Theater. The difference being that the ride that replaced Phantom Theater is actually mildly amusing. Garfield's Nightmare is not. It makes it even sadder since there is a plaque in the queue that talks about the history of the Old Mill. It really makes me wonder what they were thinking... EDIT: Just realized based on your user name, the absence of Phantom Theater MIGHT be a touchy subject... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 ...I liked Garfield's Nightmare... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuskin Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Great Report. They did a good Entrance for Black Widow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stashua123 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Really need to go to Kennywood next year. Heard a lot of good things about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Glad you enjoyed your time at Kennywood. We went for the first time last year, and I can't wait to go back (especially since I only rode one side of Racer, so I'm sitting here with a 0.5 coaster credit on it... GRR!!! Mrs. Gator & GatorGirl didn't want to wait in line again for the other side). We all felt the same about Garfield's Nightmare. GatorGirl's exact words after the ride... and keep in mind she was only 7 at the time... were "I'm not impressed." Everything else about the park was terrific! Well, except for that long wait for Exterminator, which didn't live up to the 60 minute wait in line... We're heading to PA this weekend, and I am so tempted to go to Kennywood again. But with the uncertain future of Conneaut Lake Park, we've decided to go there instead for GatorGirl's and my first visit. Have to get there while we can. Thanks for the TR! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Thanks for sharing! I love Kennywood! I noticed you had pictures of Black Widow. What where your thoughts? Did you like it better than maXair or Delirium? And Gator, just a reminder I have the .5 credit you don't 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 Thanks for sharing! I love Kennywood! I noticed you had pictures of Black Widow. What where your thoughts? Did you like it better than maXair or Delirium? And Gator, just a reminder I have the .5 credit you don't Didn't ride Black Widow. The waits were long, and the crew inefficient, leading to very long waits. Instead, I walked onto Swing Shot, which was fun because when I was at Cedar Point in May, Skyhawk was closed and I didn't get to ride it. I've heard that 40-passenger frisbees offer a better ride than the 50-passenger variants, so I am a bit upset that I didn't get to ride. Oh well, there are more in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I personally thought it was worth the wait! Sorry that you couldn't experience. I liked it much more than I like maXair and Delirium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveTheSmurfRide Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Nice report. I went out there for the first time a couple years ago and loved it. The Whip is my favorite flat ever now. Can't wait to go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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