Kennywood

Visited: July 28, 2022

Attending: Brian and Doug

I turned 50 in June, and then Doug in July, so we decided we should do a thing to celebrate. Because everybody has busy lives, I managed to carve out a four-day weekend that would take us to three parks, all first-time visits for Doug, as well as some new credits for me. We splurged on Cedar Fair Platinum passes to make the trip easier, and then on FastLane passes to make it even easier. Things went well, if not exactly as planned.

We left my house a little before 7, with hope of arriving at Kennywood right around opening. I chose a rather poor parking spot, which added several minutes to our time, but it was no big deal. The forecast was rather sketchy, but we expected rain to taper off in the morning, and given the rain we drove through on the way, we thought we’d gotten lucky.

Phantom’s Revenge

When we got into the park, we went straight to Steel Curtain, but it was opening late. So we headed over to Phantom’s Revenge as the second highest priority. I’d ridden this one in 2019, but only the once, so I was excited to get back on it. I made sure to leave myself some room in the seat belt, because the buzz bar does nothing. As usual, the ride doesn’t really start until the second drop, and it’s just as crazy fast as I remembered. However, the airtime was just OK, barring the last few bunny hills.

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt is right by Phantom’s Revenge, and it uses the same ravine, so we went there next. The layout is unusual, because of the way it uses the terrain. It drops right out of the station into the ravine, then turns around and does it again before there’s a lift hill. A couple of turns around the station, then it’s back into the ravine again. A very strange layout all told, but the uniqueness works in its favor. I also think there’d be some great interaction with Phantom’s Revenge, if there had been a drop during our ride, but I didn’t see one. Unfortunately, it was raining a bit while we rode, which proved something of a distraction.

Steel Curtain (fail)

After Thunderbolt, we had a nice lunch at the Parkside Cafe, out on the terrace for covid-safety. The rain seemed to be easing up, so we headed out to Steel Curtain again. The ride was running, and I remembered the queue being covered, at least the end portions, so we got in line. As it happened, the rain got steadily heavier, and the coverings I remembered were mesh, so they kept out the sun, but not the rain. At all. We got in line at nearly the point where I’d had to get out, in 2019, and we got nearly to the station, getting wetter and wetter, until they finally shut the ride down. We sought an overhang nearby to wait, but the rain wasn’t getting any lighter, despite the forecasts, so after a while, we decided to just abandon the Kennywood part of the plan and head to Sandusky.