When I was planning my tour, I wanted to avoid parks on weekends.  I know they can be extremely crowded with long wait times, especially on Saturdays.  However, I looked at my route and realized it came close to Kennywood, a historic park with several highly rated coasters.  I knew it was also a smaller park, so maybe I could squeeze that in.  The fast passes were excessively expensive compared to most Six Flags parks, so I was just hoping for a ride on each coaster, maybe two or three on the biggest ones.

I had been keeping my eyes on the weather forecast for each park daily for the last week or so.  There were thunderstorms in the forecast for today, and it looked more and more grim each day.  I wouldn’t let it deter me, though.  When I got up, the storms were forecast to hit around 5.  If I got there by 2, that would give me 3 hours.  Hopefully they wouldn’t close early.

I got 7 great hours of sleep after my long day at Cedar Point, woke up just before 9, hit the road before 10, and drove 3 1/2 hours to Kennywood.

I loved the old midway feel as you exit the tunnel and walk into the main park.  The old decor and music are great!  It let my mind walk back in time.

I got in line for Jackrabbit, but a thunderstorm popped up nearby and they shut down all the rides.  The only coaster that was listed as being open was Thunderbolt, so I headed there.  Some attendants informed me of the no solo rider policy but they told me not to worry.  They’d find a ride partner.  Sure enough, there was an odd numbered party and one of them rode with me.  I love how this coaster used the terrain.  I haven’t been on many (or maybe not any) wooden terrain coasters, just steel.  It was a little rough and I wanted to give my riding partner some space, so I was fighting the ride the whole way.  I don’t get the hype (Top 25 Wood?).  Maybe if I had ridden in the second row of a car with someone I know, my opinion would change.  I didn’t re-ride it because I felt uncomfortable being paired with someone I don’t know on a ride like that.

After Thunderbolt, I rode Phantom’s Revenge.  I ended up in the second row.  I loved the second drop into the ravine, taller than the first.  It was a great start to the ride, but the rest was incredibly rough.  Again, I don’t get the hype (Top 15 steel?).

The storm hit early, at about 2:30.  Everyone was asked to take shelter.  I grabbed lunch at sat under a covered area to eat and wait it out.  The radar showed it clearing out by 4, which would still give me 4-5 hours in the park.  This also ended up being a game changer, as most of the people left for the day.  Lines were at most 15 minutes after that!

I was sheltered next to Exterminator, so I immediately went there to wait for it to reopen.  An indoor, themed, spinning Wild Mouse with large portions in the dark?  This was such a quirky but incredibly fun ride!

I took a ride on The Whip next.  I’m starting to really appreciate these unique, historic rides.  This one turns 100 years old this year!  I could imagine people riding this while wearing their best clothes during the Roaring 20’s.

Phantom’s Revenge was a walk on, so I gave it a second go, this time in the front seat.  It was a completely different experience!  Much smoother overall and much more enjoyable.  I still don’t agree with its ranking, but it’s a solid steel hyper terrain coaster.

Next, I went to Steel Curtain.  It was acting up and they only had one train, which was waiting in the station empty for 10-15 minutes until they finally sent it twice with a single rider in the front row.  He wasn’t staff, so I don’t know what that was about.  They announced they were going to pause it to add a second train, and then they line flew.  I rode towards the back and it was also incredibly rough!  Why so many rough coasters?  I know this one had problems initially with its supports or braces, so they added more.  But I’m afraid it’s going to shake itself to death in a few years.

I decided to give Steel Curtain a chance to redeem itself and rode front row.  This time, it was magnitudes smoother.  I enjoyed it, but not enough to make me say that I have to come back sometime to ride it again.

Next, I rode Racer.  I gave it two laps, starting from each side of the station.  Wow, this turns 100 next year?  It felt smoother than all of the other coasters I had ridden today.  It also felt smoother than all of the woodies at my home park, Six Flags St Louis.  The old seats were also extremely comfortable.  This was my favorite coaster in the park.  It might be my favorite wooden racer for its history, look, and overall ride experience.

I went to Jackrabbit next.  This was the third coaster I rode today that made great use of the terrain.  It’s also a few years older than Racer and used the same beautiful, comfortable seats.  The second half of the coaster was better than the first half and I loved the double dip!  Again, I’m not sure that I agree with the ratings, but this is a fun, enjoyable, and very historic wooden coaster.

I got my last new credit on Sky Rocket.  I really enjoyed the acceleration into the top hat and the rest of the ride was okay, albeit a bit rough again.

I’ve decided that I have to try out the bumper cars at each park I visit, so I gave Potato Smash a go.  It’s hard to judge a ride when there are only a handful of riders and half the cars are empty obstacles.  But the design was unique.

It was 7, I had all of my credits, so I decided to get a few more re-rides and leave an hour early.  I rode the next to last row on Phantom’s Revenge.  It was rough but not as rough as the first ride in the second row.  It definitely makes a huge difference between the front and back row on each car of that train.  I also got two more rides on Jackrabbit, both times in the second row of a car.  I had to get more double dip action!  That last ride was on the second row of the last car and I got some big air!  The last row would’ve been crazy but I didn’t want to risk it being to rough and hurting my opinion of the ride.

Overall thoughts, Kennywood is a beautiful and fun park if it’s on your way.  It’s not a destination park.  Take time to enjoy its history and heritage.  However, I am now convinced of what many people have claimed.  The Golden Ticket Awards rankings are not accurate and are heavily influenced by the parks’ advertising.  Some parks advertise a lot in that publication and their rides are worthy of the ranking (ahem Voyage).  Kennywood also advertises a lot in that publication, and the rankings appear to be influenced by that as I disagree with how highly the coasters are rated.  I wasn’t disappointed by my visit.  I expected a fun, small, historic park and that’s what I got.  I also realize that I now need to take any of the Golden Ticket Award rankings with a grain of salt.

4 days of parks in the bag.  I’ve reached the halfway point of my trip.  Now for a day of rest and travel before 4 more busy days of parks!

Great Coaster Tour - Day 4 [Kennywood]