Then it was off to Kennywood, we pull of Exit 9 of I-376, and the traffic to Kennywood, plus the road construction has things backed up pretty much all the way to I-376. We pull into the parking lot, and note that Kenny's Skyway does not appear to be running, so we opt for the Preffered Parking. $4 is a totally reasonable parking fee, and hey you get a neat rearview mirror tag. We make our way to the ticket counter, and overhear the following conversation in front of us .
Customer: 2 Adults and 2 Children
Ticket Seller: Would you like the Ride All Day or General Admission
Customer: How long is the ride all day good for?
Ticket Seller: Until close
Customer: Why don't i get any rides with the General Adission?
some people need to read the numerous signs out front and figure this out before getting to the ticket booths. So we buy our RAD's, and head to the front gate, where I am issued a RAD hanstamp and a lime green piece of Tyvek Jewlery. Thanks its just the style I need today :). We then head through the metal detector and thruigh the tunnel, then head directly for The Exterminator.
Well the line was completely inside the Exterminator building, and after about a 15 minute wait in a cleverly themed queue area, I was off on a Wild Mouse ride that wouldn't look out of place at IOA. We were paired with another couple sat down, opted to not wear the seatbelts, lowered the overhead lap bar, which is chained to the other couples overhead lap bar, and proceeded on a Wild Mouse meets Tilt A Whirl meets dark ride adventure. Very well done great theming, good job Kennywood!!!. and the spinning was out of control, I mean we were still spinning like a top when we hit the unload area. We then rode the Whip since it was right there. I like Whips, and you won't find them any larger than this one.
We then headed down to Pitt Fall, a walk on, and we walked right on TWICE in a row. We played fool the ride operator, and threw a curveball question, even though we had wristbands we asked how much a ride ticket costs. The operator couldn't tell us! She said I know there are sold in $5 books, but I don't know how many are in a book. I think 16.
Anyway I really like Pitt Fall, better than the Turbo Drops, better than Gyro Drop, better than most Giant Drops. It is just awesome! And they had all 4 sides running. After two rides on it, we headed to Noah's Ark (I'm up to 21 Ride Ticket Equivilants) Into Noah's Ark, make that 26.
Noah's is different, it starts out with the now overplayed "Fake Elevator illusion, then you alk over the catacombs on wooden planks and then stepping stones. Yeah I know there is a clear floor, but some folks just coulnd't make that connection. Fun to watch, and remember to not go all the way on the stepping stones, then I noticed that Noah's has a lot of dead space where nothing happens, you just osrt of meandere through featureless hallways, then you come up to the gangplank, and enter the slowly rocking ark, and see Noah and the animals, then try to clomb down two flights of moving stiairway, while the ark is rocking back and forth, and then the vibrating moving floors, then the rocking boat illsuion, then down a ramp past the mirros and a sign that says to wait here. Except that most people bail out the fire door and do not wait to see the final illision. the flooding room. The door opening in back of me was a surpise though, I thought we would exit out the other side. I give Noah's Ark a good, not great review.
Then it was over to the Thunderbolt. a half full queue area, and then we were on in the back seat. Two train operation rules. Thunderbolt was giving a superb ride today,great air, great laterals, what else can I say? (Up to 31 R.T.E's)
then it was over to Steel Phantom. A near walk on, and two trains ahead of me somebody has to go and have a food containment spill all over the back car. Steel Phantom was then closed for cleanup, so we decided to walk through the train and exit. We then headed to Wipeout, another food containment problem had this ride sidelined. So we caught some show at the Kennyville stage, then toured Kiddieland. Then we headed for a cookie and pop, then a ride on Aero 360, which had a 3 cycle wait. They were actually running both sides of Aero 360, and seemed to have an efficnet loading porcedure in place, and soon I was being enjoyably looped at Kennywood. A fine ride. (37 R.T.E's)
Then we headed over to Racer, a full queue area, but it dsid not spill over. It was fun hearing parents trying to explain why the trains swithced colors very ride. The usual story was "They have two sets of trains on, dear" they were running the blue and the green, We were not among the lucky first few, so we grabbed a seat about midway back in the green train. And is that Gary Baker up in the control booth? "Please raise you hands up in the air while your lapbar is checked oy one of our certified lap bar checkers. Today we only have 1 certified lap bar checker, say Hi to Ryan, Ryan went to Lap Bar Checking School. And he finishedhis spiel just as Ryan finsihed checking Lap Bars. Then ryan reached up and pushed a hidden button behind the "Exit out the sides" sign. I wonder if this bell is similar to the glass pounding seen on Magnum.
If that was Gary, then I would assume he has a rahter witty personality. Then it was off tro ride Racer, where no one was into handslapping, but hey even mid train I felt that good airtime pop on the final dip. Then we pull into the station and you should have seen parents trying to explain why they came back on the other side. :) (42 RTE's)
We went past Pastimes, and looked att the Paratrooper, but then headed over to the Jack Rabbit, Jack Rabbit line was full, all the way down the path and back up the other side. Hey at least we got two triains on. And every train "Welcome to the Jack Rabbit, please enter and move to the furthest available row., Please fill the trian from back to front, there is no waiting for any seat on the Jack Rabbit" I'm not a huge Jack Rabbit fan, and just wanted a ride on it since I'm here.
Well luck would put us in row 4.and off we go, mid train no problem you still get to feel the air, even if it is reduced. (47 RTE's)
We then headed over to the Flying Carpet. We get in line, only a 1 cycle wait, Where some poor riders entire creidt card collection comes flying out of the train and is scatrered about the platform There way a delay loading our ride since they had to retreive the poor suckers stuff, and of course it wasn't all there, and the family insisted ins earching the entire ride, even looking UNDER the ride carriage. Geesh! What happend to "Loose articles will be retrieved at the end of the day" flying Carpet was running wicked, and a rhater nice ride, excpet for we got stuck in a section of the ride whith people with bad body odor problems. Gag. I still like the Flying Carpet thought, but i would suggest tearing out the seatbelts here, they do nothing but slow down loading. We then noticed that Enterprise and Pirat would both be DDM all day, per the signs out front. (50 RTE's)
We then sortof meandered, and headed back to Steel Phantom, and gave it another try, hey two traisn on now!, and the line was back to being over the minigolf. Still a rahter short wait,,We headed for the back row. and had a decent Steel Phantom ride. Then were going to ride Pittsburg Plunge, but had to ditch camera etc. So we headed to the Parkside Terrace for a very good, very reasonable cafeteria style meal. Came out of Parkside, and hmm I don't feel water rides hot now. Instead I headed for The Kangaroo, and Eric decided to check out the Penny Aracde. Kangaroo was alright, though the bar stapled me in, where I could feel the ride should have airtime , I coulde see the other riders while in line getting airtime, etc. a 4 cycle wait. (53 RTEs). Then it was over to the Penny Aracde to meet up with Eric, where I found an old Gottlieb pinball, Hit Time, some baseball themed pinball, where the ball gets shot from the outlane. A fairly easy game, prices at 2 for a quarter, I left it with numeous credits stil on the machine. (Hey i got all three available replays one game , and was only two thousand short of flipping over the old fashinoed style score reels.
Then it was back out on the riding circcuit, back to our good freind, Steel Phantom. Farewell Steel Phantom, this will be the last time I will be getting my head banged in on you. Another backseat ride, and YEOUCH. I got my final rides in. (59 RTE's)
Then we went into Lost Kennywood, becuase from Steel Phantom';s lift hill we could see no line for Exterminator. Well thats cause Exterminaotr was DDM. We camped out awhile, the operator said it would reopen at 6:30, we milled about LK, I went up to the Roll-O-Plane, which was having food containment issues. DDM. So we walked back to Exterminaotr, still closed, another lap about LK, we ride Wipeout.
Wipeout is a Trbbant on serious serious bad drugs. They run this thing WAY to fast, and it is so demented II have a love/hate relationship with it. (i think I am up near 64 RTE's?)
Back to check on Exterminator, still no progress, head over to watch another act on the Kennyville stage. Not too bad, then over for a Thunderbolt ride. For once got to enter the train first. (Hey I was on the outside on the Wipeout, I deserve the inside on the Thunderbolt) I really like Thunderbolt. Its got everything. (69 RTEs) Then we head back to check on Exterminator. not only is it open but it has a full outside queue area. Well we enter the outdoor quees and notice they aren't admitting people to the indoor queues. We mill about the outdoor ques for 10-20 minutes, and the line moves forwards, and is cut when we are the first people in the next group to enter. But I guess they misjudged becuase soon we were waved on in. Okay about a 40 minute wait toal. The indoor queu area has a fancy control board looking thing all along the back wall. At one point is a button, high up, but within guests reach, Sort of a "I dare you press this" button. Well when it is pressed a loud annyoing buzzer sounds for like 10 seconds, and some red sirens light up. Unfortunately just ahead of us in line was a guy who was determined to press said button as much as possible, even after the ride attendat asked that he please refrain from doing so. They either need to loose the sound effect, or build osme time delay into it. Put then we were off on another excellent Exterminaotr ride. WOW, Reverchon finally came up with a winner! (75 RTE's)
We then proceeded to do quite a bit of souvinner shopping, and noticed the park sells West View Park books. Talk about the ultimate Kick you when your down, slap in the face. We also bought some souvinners, I priced a Kennywood road sign ($59.95) decided my pool room does not need it that bad, and bought a final year of steel phantom shirt.
A real nice blue, with Steel Phantom in a font similar tothe classic Star Trek font. And a SRM-esque poen on the back:
<begin quote>
2000
The last year of the
haunting scream!!!
A shriek that echoes
its decade worth of
terrified victims!!!
Merciless curves
and unforgiving speed,
forces one to question
his own mortality!!!
Its time was cut short
though its record thrills
are legend.
STEEL PHANTOM
1991-2000
- Kennywood.
<End quote>
After some souviner shopping, restrooming etc, we headed out of the park around 6:45, and arrived back at Coasterville around midnight. An odometer check reveals that Coasterville is EXACTLY 300 miles from the preffered parking area at Kennywood.
Oh and one last note, it was neat how all the PA annoucements start "This is the Voice of Kennywood!"
We breezed thorugh columbus around 10:15, and I bet Althoff was not in Columbus at the time, probably at a park somewhere.,