Welcome back to my Kennywood 20 Year Predictions series. This article is the Part 2, where we are going over 2026-2030.
In the last article, we left off with Stage 1 of Kamp Kenny, a new Family area, being build. Now, let's start with 2026.
2026:
On Opening Day 2026, the rest of Kamp Kenny will open. This will include 2 coasters, the rest of the shops, and the restaurants.
After this, there will be no visible progress for new rides for the next year.
In September 2026, after 4 months of Kamp Kenny generating the park tons of revenue, the park will announce that Racer will "Go Back to Its Roots". The point is to get people speculating. News stations will cover this, which will spark interest in Kennywood. People may be interested in returning to Kennywood to find clues. The park will eventually give encrypted codes. Clues will be hidden in codes, and the first 100 people to solve the codes will get these rewards:
-An exclusive souvenir cup
-A "100 Years of Racer" shirt, hoodie, and hat
-$19.27 to spend in the park
-A free pass upgrade (2 levels added)
-A behind-the-scenes coaster tour
-Access to some new events
2027:
In March of 2027, the announcements will be made. Here are the events:
-100 Year Marathon Celebration
-Another "100 Memories" contest
-Promoting Ride Reviews of Racer
Also, there will be some modifications to the rides. I predict that there will be a retrack and repaint of the ride, too.
I think that the park may also add a new show or parade. However, there won't be a new ride for 2027.
In July, though, there will be some construction on the long abandoned plot of Raging Rapids. The ride hadn't operated since 2019, but it is finally time for a new ride: Lightning Strike. This will be an RMC Hybrid Coaster. This will be the smallest hybrid at 90 feet tall, but it will really pack a punch. This will include tons of Airtime hills and a few inversions. It will have a similar layout to Medusa Steel Coaster at Six Flags Mexico. This will have to be a pretty compact layout, but it can definitely happen.
Lightning Strike will not interact with or lead to any modifications to Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is staying as-is, but there will be some views of Lightning Strike from the lift on Thunderbolt. The new coaster may be the best ride in the park.
There will be nothing new at Happy Hauntings, Phantom Fright Nights, or Holiday Lights in 2027.
2028:
In Spring, Lightning Strike will open. It will open Memorial Day Weekend. This will really draw the crowds. It will be packed with airtime, some hangtime, and it will be pretty intense. This will be an overall crowd favorite. Unlike non-enthusiasts in other cities, a lot of Pittsburghers love intense thrill rides, so Lightning Strike will be a massive success.
Later in the year, there will be no construction on new rides. 2029 will not see a new ride.
In August, there will be an announcement. Considering the massive investments in the park, they will need a break. 2029 will focus on improving rides. Rides will get new paint, new plants will be planted, paths will be improved, and things like that.
The main thing that will come is a refurbishment of Exterminator. The ride will get new theming, some new track, return of a pre-show, a new AC system, new trains, and maybe some new track. The ride turns 30 in 2029, so they may need new track, though the ride being indoors may help against the elements.
Lightning Strike will likely be open for Phantom Fright Nights and Holiday Lights. This will become the main attraction of Holiday Lights.
2029:
Since there will be no new rides, the main thing to impress people will be the new appearance of the park. New Brick pathways will be built. The park will look a lot better.
Early in the year, people will notice footers in the front of the park and at the entrance. Eventually, a new tunnel will be noticed, too. Soon enough, we'll see what is coming.
We will start seeing B&M Track in the parking lot. Kennywood will be seeing its new entrance coaster: The Eagle. The Eagle will be Kennywood's First B&M Coaster. It will be a B&M Hyper, and it will cost around $20 Million. Kennywood currently has no floater airtime other than a couple quick pops. This should provide sustained floater airtime. This will be a fun ride, people will say. It won't be very intense, but it will have airtime and it will be pretty popular.
The entrance to The Eagle will be by Sky Rocket. The entrance will wrap around Sky Rocket and the station. The station will go behind Sky Rocket. The 215 foot lift will go over Sky Rocket. The drop will lead to a speed hill in the tunnel, and that will lead to turns and camelbacks in the parking lot and the entrance plaza. There will be a helix over the entrance fountain. The ride will go back through the tunnel and will go through some airtime hills before a final helix into the brake run.
The ride will start construction in May of 2029. The ride will start testing in Fall and even during Holiday Lights.
2030:
On Opening Day 2030, we will se The Eagle operational. It will be known for Sustained Floater Airtime and even some Ejector airtime. It will have no Seatbelts, but there will be the traditional Clamshell restraints.
In the end of the year, there will be no new ride announcements. There will be an announcement of some new park improvements. Those will be further announced in 2031.
I hope you enjoyed this, and stay tuned for the next article where we talk about 2031-2035.
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