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| - Kennywood does a good job of balancing the new with the old, the cutting edge with the historic landmarks. It doesn't compete head on with the shiny mega-corp amusement parks and it doesn't need to. It feels much more laid back than the visits I've had to Six Flags in Atlanta, Ga.
The landmark classics: The Thunderbolt, The Racers, The Jack Rabbit, the Merry-Go-Round. These are must-see rides. They're oldies but appear well-maintained and are still fun.
The new(er): Sky Rocket, Phantom's Revenge (one of fastest at 85 mph!)
Everything seemed pretty clean. Lines at the restrooms weren't too bad. As with any amusement park, I recommend starting early and avoiding the crowds at peak times.
It's not all roses, mind you. Some rides just need to be gotten rid of: yeah, you Garfield's Nightmare... LAME. And what is up with the skylift between the economy parking lot and the park. It's almost an insult to follow it down into the park looming above (I can't really recall it ever being operational); use it or lose it. Some of the exhibits on the train are the same now as 30 years ago; Change it up! And whose idea was it to add a railing around the Merry Go Round! Well, maybe that cannot be helped to prevent injuries from people jumping on while it is running (I remember doing that and getting yelled at) as well as crowd management. And as with any amusement park, the lines at the rides, ugh.
I will admit that Kennywood has a special place in my heart being a part of my early formative life. How much so dawned on me during a recent visit this summer with my kids, my cousin and his family. I told my kids how I used to come here when I was little. I used to come with my parents, my cousins and my friends. I remember when the first steel coaster was erected (The Lazer Loop).
And both of my parents often told me of how they visited here when they were younger. They used to come with their parents, their siblings, and their friends. To my parents, the highlights were the wooden coasters like The Thunderbolt.
And my maternal Grandmother used to tell me how she visited here when she was younger. She came with her "fresh off the boat" from England parents, her siblings, and her friends. By today's standards, it was more a park than amusement park but my Grandmother did talk about the Merry Go Round.
That's four generations now.
Granted, Kennywood has changed a lot from what my Grandmother had described, what my my parents had told me, and even what I described to my kids. And I look forward to taking my kids to this park with my summer visits back to Pittsburgh so they can develop their own memories.
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