2012Jarrett Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 So for my big trip for 2015, I decided it was time to hit up the great state of Pennsylvania east of Ohio. I'd always seen it as a state full of industry history (Hey! I'm a poet and didn't know it!), nice non-chain parks, and home of Skyrush, which has been towards the top of my bucket list since it opened. And being the only state I haven't driven into from Ohio yet, I thought it was time to cross that border alone and knock those parks out. My plan for this state evolved through different forms involving Kennywood, Lakemont, Knoebels, Hershey, Idlewild, and Dorney. However, the final selection was Kennywood, Hershey, Dorney, Knoebels, Lakemont, and Delgrosso's. I also decided to stay with my grandparents the nights before and after to cut an hour off the offensively long, lonesome drives. Coaster Crew, one of my other clubs, was also set to hold an event on the 15th that I wanted to do at Hershey, so I structured the trip around that. Finally, after all kinds of waiting and enduring insanity at work, the trip rolled around and I left for my grandparents'! Day 0 After waking up and getting stuff to survive the trip, it was off to my grandparents' in Columbus! The drive there wasn't that bad since I'd done it before and I knew how to get there without a GPS. I always loved the view from their house. Not enough to open the blinds to get this picture, but I like it. This afternoon I also joined them in my grandpa's daily ritual of sitting down, turning the TV on, and watching bad court shows for hours on end. Judge Judy, Divorce Court, People's Court, you name it, we watched it. Introducing my grandparents to the selfie stick! After a nice dinner of grilled steak, freshly made fries, and Stella Artois, it was bed time. For I had to wake up to get to Enterprise the next day! However, it was during dinner that I found out about the Raptor incident at Cedar Point and told my grandparents. I thought this would have been stupidity, but it might have been a bad omen to my upcoming coaster trip... Day 1 So the day didn't start so well. I got to Enterprise completely prepared to get on 270 and hit Pittsburgh that morning. WRONG!!!! I didn't know you needed a credit card or utility bill to rent the car, and if it wasn't in my name, they wouldn't let me rent it. As much as this irritated me (considering how I needed to change the oil in my personal car to begin with) I just brushed it off and got on the road with my own Focus, knowing that if it blew up, I could take a dump on it, scratch it, and I wouldn't owe anybody anything and instead just have to deal with my parents. But I had a car, and I had a chance! So I got on the road to Kennywood! Pittsburgh has earned the new nickname "ArmPitt of the Rust Belt" from me. Of every city I've seen in this region in which I live, I've NEVER seen anything as awful as Pittsburgh. This is easily the red, flaky buckle of the rust belt. It's literally rusting away, the roads were crumbling, the streets were laid out ridiculously, Luckily driving wasn't that hard, and before I knew it, I was at Kennywood, and was able to use the preferred parking pass that my friend Jamie gave me at Rougarou Hullabaloo to get in quicker. Here we go! +6 here I come! Thought I'd try to start the trip on a good note with Sky Rocket. I expected it to ride like Full Throttle did, smooth, full of airtime, and some nice force throughout. C'mon, Sky Rocket, you let me down! I was expecting way more insanity out of this than I got. The trim at the top kills any airtime you might get, the inversions were nice and intense (though nowhere near as insane as anything on YOLO), and the MCBR completely ruins anything after it. Good coaster, a solid addition to the park, but not at all what I expected. Up next was Phantom's Revenge, an old Arrow turned Morgan that people around those parts still call Steel Phantom after all these years. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by this one but it looked fun. Luckily, I was wrong. Some of the airtime on this thing is insane! The first two drops aren't much to write home about but the bunny hops and terrain portion following easily makes this the best ride in the park! Morgan should've done this to Vortex at Kings Island because it's awesome! Once I photoshop the station roof out of this picture... Going up! Waited an hour for Exterminator next. And it proved to be another surprising cred! The theming on this is awesome and it spins like crazy, way better than that piece of garbage at Beech Bend! Up next was a cred with sentimental value that I hadn't even ridden! My parents lived in the Pittsburgh area when they were younger and they went to Kennywood as a younger couple way before I was even born and rode Thunderbolt. Now, over 21 years later, here I am riding it! It had National Amusement Devices trains. <3 <3 <3 And it proved to be fab as well! I loved how they had it dive off that hillside to start the ride, and then put the lift hill in the middle. This is easily my new favorite classic coaster. The rider they paired me with (you need a buddy to ride) tried to hit on me during the ride which was a bit annoying but she was still pretty nice and the ride was great fun. There's a double down or double up (I think it was a double up) that has a nice headchopper with a tree combined with a spot of airtime which is easily the best part of the ride. I loved how it was classic but still really unique with the terrain action and the two separate parts of the layout. I give it a golf clap. Didn't get any Jack Rabbit pics but it was also good fun. Long wait, but I liked how it didn't have lap bars, just a thick grab bar and seat belts like an older shoot the chutes. Not as good as Thunderbolt, but the double down off the drop with no lap bar is terrifying with just the seatbelt holding you in! And then began the most vile, offensive part of the day. The line for Racer was out the switchbacks. For a moebius loop. So I had to endure that twice in the blazing sun. The cred left much to be desired but it has a beautiful 1920's station...that's really hard to photograph nicely. But it's still beautiful. Sadly, the cred did nothing. As much as I wanted to do Noah's Ark and Black Widow, I was out of time and still had a huge drive to Hershey ahead of me, so I did some tat shopping and booked it. After a casual lunch of a sandwich my grandma packed me and hot Mountain Dew that had been in my car all day, I left the park. Final thoughts on Kennywood? It's the perfect metaphor for the whole state of Pennsylvania. A third is really nice and modern, a third is classic and nostalgic, and a third is just ghetto and disgusting. You can tell it's old, it has some charm to it, but the location in which it is is just awful. I was originally going to take smaller highways to Hershey but after texting my mom asking if the Turnpike toll was worth it and realizing it would cut an hour off my drive, I decided to go for it. So I left and hit the Turnpike. I learned that their toll roads are nothing like the ones we have out in the southern Midwest and southern Appalachian states where I'd driven in the past, but I learned that it was way easier. Just take a card, go, give it to the guy at the end, and give him cash. So much easier! Not to mention the sunset drive across Pennsylvania as the sun set behind me and turned the sky pretty colors behind the mountain was gorgeous. The turnpike is almost entirely straight, there was hardly anybody on it once rush hour passed, and while I didn't stop at them they had rest areas similar to the ones in Canada that had food and gas and the like, not just a bathroom and pamphlets like most of them. This thing has to be the best bit of infrastructure I've seen anywhere. Once I got to the hotel, woke the sleeping night clerk, and checked in, I crashed in my room with some Ramen noodles and a casual Stella while calling my parents. I laid out my clothes for the next day with my car keys and Coaster Crew lanyard, because I knew it would be a big day with the featured coaster of the trip literally on the horizon! UP NEXT: A Milestone Credit (according to some), Behind the Scenes at Hersheypark, Breaking Skyrush, Inversions with Airtime, and plenty of pictures at Hersheypark! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calakapepe Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 I made my first (finally) visit to Kennywood earlier this year too. I pretty much have the same reactions as you with the rides. Except I knew Phantom would be a heck of a time, and it was! I was mostly surprised at how much fun Thunderbolt ended up being, even though I almost didnt get to ride because my friend refused to ride it because it was scary for her, and the ride requires you have a partner. No single riders line either. I held my hand up in the air with one finger up hoping to find another single rider. Sounds like you had a pleasant time at Kennywood though, hopefully you had a great time at Hershey Park! Thats one that I still need to visit. (Also, "inversions with airtime" to me, I've always called hangtime) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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