So far, I've already written several articles. This is by far going to be my largest of these articles.
I'm a big fan of Kennywood (as you can tell from most of my articles). I've talked a bit about some of my future predictions, but I am still yet to make an article all about my predictions over a certain amount of time. Today, I am going to give my 20 year predictions for Kennywood.
Just for reference, this is being written in Mid February, 2021, so I am yet to know of any announcements so far. I have no idea how bad this will be. I will try making everything realistic, though, so that nothing is too embarrassing.
For this list, I am going to include everything as I predict it will happen. This means that I won't just say some thing like "I predict that they will add x this year.". I want to go through the year completely. For example, here is how I would do it: "In 2018, I think Kennywood will try opening Thomas Town early in the summer. Later in the summer, they will announce the opening of a new coaster to replace Log Jammer, as they are overdue for a new coaster. They may even add a new area there."
Now, let's get to the list.
2021:
For 2021, there have been no new ride announcements.
The park is set to open May 8th right now, and that plan is likely to stay in place (unless a major outbreak hits).
At the beginning of the season, I think that the land of Kangaroo and Paratrooper will be mostly cleared. Parts to the some of the rides may even be seen behind Racer (at their older storage).
There will probably be some benches put at Bayern Kurve's former plot. There may also be some new ads put over there, too, to help the park make more money.
Throughout the year, I think that they will put more ads around the park. They used to have some ads for Ride and Slide passes throughout the park, but they are in bad condition and they also no longer sell those passes. Those ads will probably be replaced by new ads from sponsors.
I could see ads going in some queues, at the entrance ramp, at Bayern Kurve's former plot, at the Penny Arcade, at Johnny Rockets, and in Steelers Country. These can help Kennywood afford more additions.
The entrance ramp may also have a new painting put there. In the past several years, there was a painting of a roller coaster there, but that was replaced by some new brown paint. It used to look great, but now it is pretty bland. There should be a replacement of it soon.
I think that, when the park reopens, they will have Black Widow and Steel Curtain back open. Raging Rapids will remain closed, though, due to Social Distancing reasons. Sky Rocket will go back to 2 train operations.
At the beginning of the year, Steelers Experience will likely be open. This has been under construction since 2018, so it will be good to see it finally open. I also think that End Zone Cafe will be open at the beginning of the season.
In July of 2021, I think that a new ride will be announced. This will be an RMC Raptor. These are cheap, low footprint roller coasters. These are also quite popular and are generally well received. These only cost a couple million dollars, it seems, too. This ride will bring in more visitors. Considering that we are likely to reach Herd Immunity by Spring 2022, they can market it more easily and it will be able to make up for the past 2 years. Most years, they get a new ride, anyways, and a Raptor will be around the cost of those rides.
The RMC Raptor, which I would like to call Kenny's Revenge, will be a clone of Stunt Pilot at Silverwood. This version may also go through some trenches, though. The ride will be a replacement for Kangaroo and Paratrooper. I like the theme concept of Kenny Kangaroo taking his revenge on Kennywood for removing his ride.
Later in the year, I think that they will have Phantom Fright Nights, Happy Hauntings, and Holiday Lights will operate.
Due to the removal of 2 of the main rides from Holiday Lights, I think that they will make it up to us by opening a few more rides for the event. I think that they will open up rides that may include Turtle, Whip, Exterminator, or maybe even Sky Rocket. It will really depend on what rides can operate in what conditions.
During Holiday Lights, we will see some construction over at the Kenny's Revenge site. You will notice the dive loop that goes over a path. There will also be some elements over the seating at Midway (the food stand across from Jackrabbit).
2022:
In 2022, we should expect the park to be cutting unnecessary costs when possible. This only makes sense, since they are recovering from at least 1 year of low profits. Some ways they may do that could include the following:
-Use fewer metal detectors
-Work with more companies for sponsorship deals
-Stop selling unpopular drinks
-Not paint their coasters unless necessary
-Stop doing shows for the year
-Lay off employees when necessary
-Close rides that are similar to other rides in the park
-Not operate unpopular midway games
-Temporarily close shops that aren't very profitable
-Temporarily close restaurants/food stands that aren't very profitable
-Work with other companies to supply merchandise
-Work with other companies to supply midway prizes
-Not run the rocking effect on Noah's Ark
-Completely close down at least 1 more ride
To make something very clear here, I do think that at least 1 ride will be removed for more space.
One ride I see going is Pirate. The ride is a Huss ride, and we know that they are pretty unreliable. Pirate also never has a line. On days at Holiday Lights, Phantom Fright Nights, and First Responder Day, I have been able to walk on this ride. I have never waited even 10 minutes for this ride. There are also 3 other pendulum rides in the park, so we can see this go.
Another ride I see going is Raging Rapids. This ride is an Intamin water ride from the 1980s. That should make you realize that this ride is very costly for the park. Intamin is known to charge a lot for new ride parts. This ride is also rarely ever open. On hot days when it would be popular, the ride is often closed because it is too hot to operate the ride. You also can't socially distance on this ride at all, which makes it bad to ride during the pandemic.
I also see Elephant Parade and Red Baron going. These are older versions of rides like Harold's Helicopter Tour. These rides never have lines. Red Baron never operated anymore, and Elephant Parade was SBNO for half of 2020, so it is safe to say that these rides are unreliable. Kids would rather ride the version based on characters from their favorite TV show. Also, parents can't ride Red Baron or Elephant Parade, since they have a strict height limit. Parents are allowed to ride on Harold's Helicopter Tour.
The final ride I see going is Steel City Choppers. This ride isn't popular at all, it isn't open that often, and parents can't ride it. This ride also just goes in a circle. Kennywood has issues with Staffing, so they can just cut this out of their lineup and better disperse the staff.
I see Kenny's Revenge opening on Memorial Day. The park would probably prefer opening it later in the season to ensure that they can maximize profits from the new ride. The ride would probably be pretty quick to put together, so testing might actually start in the fall of 2021 to get enough cycles before Memorial Day.
I see Kenny's Revenge having 3 trains, a moving loading station, and 10 rows per train. This will lead to it being the highest capacity of the Prototype Raptor Model. I also think that Kennywood will request a new Lap Bar design based on what Intamin uses nowadays. It will be the first Raptor with lap bars. It will help RMC compete more with the Intamin Hot Racer, as people complain about bruises from the straps, and this will make parks more inclined to buy a Raptor with the new restraints over a Hot Racer.
Later in the year, the rides I already mentioned will probably be removed. To make up for the removal of Pirate, Kennywood will probably return a classic ride removed recently: Kangaroo. Kangaroo will be added back for the 2023 Season. The break will allow for them to do maintenance on the ride, including replacing the loose bolts and the missing wheels. This will also make more people want to come back, since they are fixing their mistakes from the past.
The Kiddieland Rides and some parts for Raging Rapids will be put up for sale. These will be put up at a price cheaper than what Intamin will sell them for. This will make other parks more likely buy the parts. Each raft would also be put up for sale. They can probably make a lot of money from those sales.
I think that Kenny's Revenge will be open for Holiday Lights. It will be the only thrill ride open at Holiday Lights. This is one of only 2 events meant for kids, and Steel Curtain operates at the other, so it does make some sense that, if weather permits, they may have this coaster open.
2023:
I think that, in 2023, they will open in April instead of May to get more visitors. Kangaroo will reopen with the park that year on Pirate's plot. Pirate will be moved to another Palace Entertainment park during that time. It appears to be a good fit for a park like Idlewild, Dutch Wonderland, or Story Land.
Later in 2023, I think that we will start seeing footers by Phantom's Revenge. These footers will be in a former picnic area that is now being used for storing tables. Wooden Supports will start popping up here. A station will be built. This will be used for a new ride.
In July 2023, I think that Kennywood will announce their newest coaster: Parker's Arrow Coaster. This will be a Gravity Group family coaster themed to Parker, one of Kennywood's mascots. This will lead to 2 major attractions being themed to Kennywood's mascots. The ride is meant for 2024, which will mark 5 years since Steel Curtain (their last multi-million dollar attraction).
2024:
Parker's Arrow Coaster will officially open on Memorial Day. The ride will be a massive success. Kids will love it because it is a fun, not extreme ride. The average adult visitor and the average coaster enthusiast will like it because it will be somewhat forceful, airtime packed, comfortable ride. Hardcore Kennywood fans will like it because it continues the tradition of Kennywood being known for wooden coasters.
At the beginning of the season, people will notice the park moving the Pavillions that were by Kiddieland. Some will be put over Kids rides. Some will be moved to the Jackrabbit picnic groves. There will be a decent sized (135x350 foot) area here.
In July, there will be a massive announcement for a new area. This will start opening over the course of 2 years: Kamp Kenny. I don't want to spoil one of my upcoming articles, so keep an eye out for an article called "What Kennywood Needs". Basically, though, this will be a Family area.
In September, the season will be slightly longer. Phantom Fright Nights will have some major changes, though. With Kamp Kenny being added, the haunts located at the Kiddieland Picnic Groves will be moved to the Jackrabbit Picnic Groves. The haunt at Parkside Cafe will be removed. To make up for it, there will be a new haunt in The Old Mill's buildings. More haunts will be opened at the Jackrabbit Picnic Groves, too.
At Happy Hauntings, Parker's Arrow Coaster will be open. Also, Racer and Exterminator will open for the event, since they will be operating later in the days anyway. This allows for more testing and it will allow for more rides to run, which should shorten lines.
2025:
On Opening Day, the first phase of Kamp Kenny will start. This will include the flat rides and some shops.
Throughout the year, there will be some progress on the coasters, and they may even start testing the coasters.
The 2025 season will be pretty uneventful, though. There won't be any real changes other than opening Kamp Kenny. The park will have Kamp Kenny open for their events, but that is the only real change.
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