Kennywood Park

Parking

Kennywood is somewhat difficult to find from the interstate. The roads are mostly one lane in each direction and filled with stop signs and traffic lights. Yellow Kennywood arrows direct traffic to the park. Once in the parking lot, traffic is pretty much on their own to find where to go. There are signs informing where free or preferred parking is. Once you park in one of the parking levels, the park features bus service, a ski-lift, or escalator to take guests to the main gate. Getting out of the lot at the end of the night can be a nightmare with the traffic lights at the lot exits.

Admission and Park Pricing

Kennywood is a very reasonably priced park. Adult admission is about $34, and parking is free. Preferred parking is available for only $6. Drinks cost about $2.15 which is way below average pricing at other parks. 3 Chicken strips, french fries, and a regular drink cost about $8.50. Snacks are reasonably priced as well with a funnel cake costing about $3.25 and cotton candy costing about $2.50. Gifts are also very reasonable with t-shirts costing about $16. Games of skill are between $1 and $5 depending on the prize.

Cleanliness

The park is mostly clean from the midways to the attractions and buildings. Some of the restrooms had graffiti in them, however the toilets themselves were very clean. The midways are mostly clean due to the large number of garbage cans, but they had a smaller amount of cleaning team members than in the past. Some queue lines had litter in them, but the buildings and attractions in the park were litter and graffiti free. Food service counters were slightly dirty, as were most seating locations. One team member was seen cleaning tables, but would only wipe off half the table, leaving the other half dirty. This is one area that could use some improvement.

Park Layout and Atmosphere

The entrance area to the park features shade, music, fountains, and beautiful architecture. The area is labeled well and is a major improvement over the old entrance area. Kennywood has no pattern to its layout. The park entrance is on one side of Kennywood Boulevard. Guests pass through a tunnel to the other side where they encounter the main midway. The next area is around the lagoon, followed by Kiddyland. Two themed areas are in the other side of the park. The one area is called Lost Kennywood which features architecture from the 1900's through the 1920's. The other themed area is called Volcano Valley and features a tropical theme. Most of the midways have music and are wide enough to handle the crowds. The layout can be confusing for guests, but the park is small enough that guests find their way around. The park has plenty of shade and landscaping. The lagoon area is especially beautiful at night.

Rides and Attractions

Kennywood features several unique rides that are the only surviving ones in the World. Blended in with the older attractions are some state-of-the-art new rides. There are 6 roller coasters, 8 thrill rides, 14 children only rides, 3 water rides, 3 dark rides, 2 extra charge attractions, and 10 family rides. The park has a great variety of rides in the park including a classic Carousel with an awesome band organ, a 251 ft. tall drop ride, and an interactive dark ride. Kennywood currently lacks a Ferris Wheel, which is odd for a classic park to be missing, however the unique attractions make up for it. Ride cycles are an average of 2 minutes which is longer than most parks.

Wooden Track Roller Coasters

Kennywood has 3 wooden roller coasters. All of them are smooth, classic, and provide comfortable seating and restraints.

Thunderbolt is a 70 ft. tall classic terrain wooden coaster. The 1 minute and 48 second ride features 4 drops into a ravine, plus 3 drops in the newer "bowl" section. The final drop of 90 ft. into a ravine reaches speeds of 55 mph. The ride also features a quick drop right out of the station under the Phantom's Revenge coaster. There are 3 seats per car. Sit in the front or middle seat of the cars for a smoother ride. The seats are very comfortable with no seat dividers and a single one position lap bar.
APW RATING: 82.19 / 100

Jack Rabbit is the oldest wooden coaster in the park. The 40 ft. tall terrain coaster opened in 1921. The 1 minute and 15 second ride features a 70 ft. double dip reaching speeds of 45 mph. There are only 4 drops on this coaster, but the double dip features insane airtime. The comfortable seats have so seat dividers and restraints are just a single simple seat belt. There are 3 seats per car. Sit in the front or middle seat of the cars for a smoother ride.
APW RATING: 78.92 / 100

Racer is a 76 ft. tall figure-eight wooden racing roller coaster. The 1 minute and 32 second ride features a 50 ft. 2nd drop at speeds of 40 mph as it races to the finish line. The track is one long continuous loop with the train starting on the left finishing on the right. There are 3 seats per car. Sit in the front or middle seat of the cars for a smoother ride.
APW RATING: 78.27 / 100

*Roller Coaster Ratings are used from the official APW Roller Coaster Fact and Rating Sheet.

Steel Track Roller Coasters

Kennywood has 3 steel roller coasters. They are all unique and 2 are for adults, with the 3rd being for kids and their parents only.

The Phantom's Revenge is a steel Hyper-Coaster featuring a 160 ft. first drop followed by a 232 ft. second drop into a ravine through the Thunderbolt. The 1 minute and 45 second ride reaches a top speed of 85 mph as it travels up and down 9 hills. The extremely smooth ride packs quite a punch and the comfortable seats make it even more enjoyable. The lift hill, and first 2 drops are from the previous steel coaster called the Steel Phantom.
APW Rating: 88.38 / 100

Exterminator is an enclosed spinning "crazy mouse" coaster with decent theming. The ride is 42 ft. tall with a 35 ft. 2nd drop. The 1 minute and 40 second ride features hairpin turns, a few drops, and a spinning 2nd half at speeds up to 30 mph. The very popular ride is different every time because of the spinning cars.
APW RATING: 73.57 / 100

Lil' Phantom is a steel kiddie coaster with a top speed of 12 mph. Must be able to walk on your own to ride. Guests over 52 in. must ride with a child. The seats do not offer much leg room for adults.
APW RATING: 46.50 / 100

*Roller Coaster Ratings are used from the official APW Roller Coaster Fact and Rating Sheet.

Operations

Operations are pretty average at Kennywood. Most of the ticket booths were open, and all the entrance gates were open. The park is smoke-free except in designated areas, and the park has many well marked areas with benches for smokers to use. The park is also alcohol free, allowing for a comfortable family atmosphere. Only the Phantom's Revenge had an operator checking height at the queue entrance. All of the attractions were open during our visit with no downtime. Several attractions had effects that were not working properly. Noah's Ark was missing sound in half the ride, as well as the finale being broken down. The fog strobe lights, and sound effects were not working on the Volcano.

One noticeable change this year is that some rides, gift shops, food stands, and games opened as late as 2 pm. Another change was the fact that several food stands and gift shops, and even some rides closed up to an hour before park close. Food stands serving snacks should not close early, especially when guests were still looking to purchase them. One improvement could be keeping gift shops and food stands near the entrance and main midway open 30 minutes after park close. They even had the park photo booth close an hour before the park! Isn't park closing the appropriate time to purchase your photos?! Most queue lines were closed early to allow enough time for the lines to be empty at closing time.

Safety

Kennywood takes safety very seriously. Security cameras and officers patrol the parking lots. The entrance gates have metal detectors and the security officers check bags and picnic baskets. Operators enforce height and other rules, checking restraints, and making sure everyone is safe on the rides. One negative safety factor is that Kennywood does not have safety gates on the loading platforms of the coasters.

Children's Area(s)

Kennywood has one area devoted to the little riders in your family. Kiddyland features 14 rides that the little ones can ride. The area is not themed too much, but does feature games just for kids, as well as places for adults to sit and relax.

Ride/Attraction Capacity

Kennywood is average when it comes to capacity. Dispatch times on most of the roller coasters were between 30 and 60 seconds. However, dispatch times on the racer were about 4 minutes! The coasters could use more than 2 bar checkers to allow for quicker dispatch times. The waits during our visit were less than 30 minutes. On busy days, the wooden roller coasters can have waits of 40 minutes or less and the steel coasters (except the Lil' Phantom) can have waits up to 90 minutes.
Wait times for most flat rides were less than 20 minutes, with longer waits on Pitt Fall, Swing Shot, Aero 360, Ghostwood Estate, Garfield's Nightmare, Raging Rapids, Cosmic Chaos, Noah's Ark, Turnpike, Paratrooper, and Log Jammer. Most flat rides kept lines moving, but some attractions like the Swing Shot and Aero 360 could have more efficient crews and actually use the seat assignment system. All of the roller coasters were running all possible trains to keep lines moving, even though the 2nd trains were not added to some until after 2 p.m.

Queue Lines

The queue lines at Kennywood are average compared to other parks. Only 2 attractions have estimated queue wait times, and only 7 have roofs or sun screens to shade guests. 7 attractions have music or "Kenny TV" to keep guests entertained while they wait, however most TV's were not working during our trip.
Most attractions do have natural shade at most times of the day, however some attractions are in the sun all day. Those hot attractions are the Wave Swinger, Swing Shot, Aero 360, Bayern Kurve, Turnpike, Whip, Auto Race, and Volcano. The Exterminator has bottled water machines in line, but no other attraction has beverages in the queue lines. The queue lines are designed well so they do not back up on midways with only two exceptions; Racer and Jack Rabbit.

Counter Service Food/Seating Areas

The food at Kennywood is quite good. Portions are above average, served at the proper temperature, and taste good. The "Potato Patch" french fries are a highlight in the parks varied food lineup. The price is a good value for the amount and quality of the food you receive. Almost all food stands have condiment stations and most locations have an adequate amount of seating. Some of the condiment stations were not stocked during our trip. During peak times it can be difficult to find a table at some locations. Some seating areas are mostly under umbrellas with only one location with indoor seating.(non air-conditioned) Food lines were long, but moved quickly. Kennywood is decent at providing quick food service, with most guests receiving their food in less than 90 seconds from when they ordered it.

Table Service Restaruants

There is no table service restaurants at Kennywood.

Rest Rooms

Kennywood is average when it comes to rest rooms. Several locations had graffiti and were not as clean as they were in past seasons. Most locations have an adequate amount of stalls, but they do not offer protective seat covers. Some locations do have automatic flush and automatic washers. Most locations have automatic hand dryers. None of the rest rooms have background music, and they do not have family rest rooms. All locations were stocked with enough toilet paper.

Games

The games at Kennywood are located throughout the park. There is a very large arcade on the main midway, and the park features classic games of basketball, guess your weight, skeeball, and racing games. Prizes are average and employees do not pester guests walking by to play. The games are popular and have a wide variety of names and required skills.

Shows and Entertainment

Kennywood features two stages in the park. There was a juggler show and a biking stunt show.This is one area that the park needs to improve drastically. An indoor theater with live music, or even more than two entertainment options would really help entertain guests who don't ride attractions.

Employees

Kennywood has some great "team members" but also some average employees that take away from the experience. The admission staff and security officers are efficient, polite, and friendly. Ride operators do what is required of them, but do not go above and beyond to make guests feel special. Some ride operators were very inefficient and guests could tell they didn't care. The food staff, gift store employees, and other employees are very efficient and for the most part friendly and polite.

Gifts and Gift Shops

Gifts and Gift shops are the same as other traditional amusement parks. Most of the indoor shops do feature air-conditioning and some good quality items. Out of the roller coasters, only the Jack Rabbit has on-ride photos, as well as the Turnpike, Garfield's Nightmare, and Log Jammer.

Nighttime at the Park

Kennywood is a very magical and romantic park after the sun goes down. All of the midways and rides are lit well, as are the wooden roller coasters. There isn't any special computerized lighting, but the light bulbs are all working and the park keeps up with making the nighttime experience extra special. New LED lighting is featured on the Bayern Kurve as well as the Volcano. The buildings are also neatly illuminated in many forms including mini-white lights and colored neon. One improvement would be spot lights on the Pitt Fall, and the Phantom's Revenge lift hill.

Guest Experience

Kennywood is a great place for those who wish to ride or eat. We recommend it to those who wish to experience some unique attractions and a park filled with history and memories. The park blends the new with the old, which has been the way the park has operated for decades.