Six Flags Great America is quite similar to Kennywood. They are very comparable.
After talking with Airtime Productions for several months, we agreed to do a collaboration on the Pittsburgh Thrills site. Since I mainly just write articles on this site, we agreed to write an article.
We decided to do Home Park vs. Home Park. After talking a bit about this, we agreed to do Great America vs. Kennywood.
To keep everything fair, we only matched up rides that were similar in some way. Also, since I haven't been to Six Flags Great America and Airtime Productions hasn't been to Kennywood, we are going to go off of what each other say about the ride experiences.
I will also just say now that, since Great America has 7 more coasters than Kennywood, we can compare Kennywood's flat rides to Great America's coasters if there is a fair comparison.
Also, matchups can not include clones. We also won't look at rides just meant for kids.
Here are the matchups:
-Racer vs. American Eagle
-Jackrabbit vs. Goliath
-Thunderbolt vs. Viper
-Phantom's Revenge vs. Raging Bull
-Exterminator vs. Dark Knight
-Skyrocket vs. Maxx Force
-Steel Curtain vs X-Flight
-Aero 360 vs. Joker
-Black Widow vs. Revolution
-Black Widow vs. Revolution
Racer vs. American Eagle:
Racer at Kennywood provides a good, classic ride experience. In most rows, it provides a tame, fun, family friendly ride experience. It is smooth, and there is good interaction with the other trains. In the back, it provides good airtime on some spots. This is all with just a buzz bar and a seatbelt. The trains are always dueling. The trains also race better than some other coasters, as one train will be ahead sometimes and other times it will be behind. The ride is a vintage classic.
American Eagle is an Intamin wooden dueling roller coaster that never really duels which I think takes away a lot from the ride experience. Plus, the ride has gained quite a bite due to its age. But putting all of those negatives aside, it's a pretty good ride. American Eagle contains multiple airtime moments--some of them being ejector-- and insane laterals. I found myself out of my seat with the extra room I got from the PTC lapbars, and the laterals had me holding on tight.
Jackrabbit vs. Goliath
Jackrabbit at Kennywood is a classic. It is mostly family friendly, but then there is the one moment of sustained ejector airtime. No matter where you sit, you will be thrown out of your seat. In the back, there is some floater airtime off of every drop. The lap bar is very unrestrictive, as it is an unmoving grab bar that is about half the length of a buzz bar. Really, all that keeps you in is the seatbelt. The ride is mostly smooth, with just a small rough spot right after the amazing Double Dip.
Goliath is quite intimidating as it dominates over the midway. As you build up courage to finally concur it, you realize it's as good as it looks. The pacing is phenomenal and the airtime is solid. The highlight of the ride is easily the colossal first drop. It would have been my number one, but I rode something else (which I will reveal later) that I thought was better....
Thunderbolt vs. Viper
Thunderbolt is another example of a vintage, classic wooden coaster. This original ride interacts with the terrain. The only airtime is just a little bit of mild floater airtime on one hill. There are very strong laterals, though, throughout the ride. The strongest lateral moment is directly after drop.
Like American Eagle, Viper is a classic woodie that supplies strong moments of airtime. Most people claim it has strong ejector, but I found it to have more floater. It has many turns, and weaves in and out of its own structure during the long ride. It has its crowd, but it didn't live up to that hype for me.
Phantom's Revenge vs. Raging Bull
Phantom's Revenge is often considered one of the best coasters by D.H. Morgan. Using the best of an old Arrow Looper's layout mixed with some of the most intense airtime in the world and some strong positives, they made this masterpiece. With some track work in 2009, there are no rough patches of the ride. The only uncomfortable moment is the first turn, but it is no big deal, and this ride is my #2 coaster as of now.
Raging Bull is the first of its kind. It's unique and different compared to other hypers. It has its floater airtime moments, its powerful turns, and even its ejector airtime all mixed in. Out of the coasters I have ridden, it is the most balanced. It takes the number one spot for me...
Exterminator vs Dark Knight
Exterminator is just underrated by enthusiasts. The line usually is pretty long (it has pretty bad capacity). The General Public seem to really like this ride. My grandfather even enjoyed it, and he doesn't ride coasters that often. The theming is well executed. The theming isn't as good as it used to be, from what I've heard, but I enjoy it.
Dark Knight isn't well-liked by enthusiasts, but the general public loves it. This dark ride/wild mouse will gain very long lines. Once I finally got on it, I thought it was mediocre. The ride was good, but the theme felt cheesy. It's definitely a weaker roller coaster in their line up.
Skyrocket vs. Maxx Force
Skyrocket is a severely underrated coaster with some strong ejector airtime in some areas, but it just seems to do nothing in some spots. There are 2 moments of airtime and 2 moments of hangtime. It isn't very well paced, though, so the bunny hills have barely noticeable airtime.
Maxx Force is an S&S launched roller coaster. It broke many records, and drew in large amounts of crowds. In fact, it was so popular that I myself didn't get the chance to ride it because of its long lines. But those who get off claim it is a short ride. It only contains a few elements, however they pack a punch.
Steel Curtain vs. X-Flight
Steel Curtain was the first S&S Hyper in the US. It breaks 2 inversion records (Most Inversions in North America and World's Highest Inversion).
A coaster I did get a chance to ride was X-Flight. This B&M wing coaster contains tons of inversions. Many claim it is force-less, but I surprisingly found it forceful. The highlight of the ride was the wing-over drop and the heart line roll through the control tower. If you sit on the outside seat, you will find yourself pulling your limbs back throughout the entirety of the ride.
Aero 360 vs. Joker
Aero 360 was the first Zamperla Hawk. This may be a flat ride, but it seems comparable to Joker.
Joker is a cloned coaster- meaning you can find the same model at many different parks. It is an S&S 4D free-spin. Personally I wasn't the biggest fan. But, it did provide an out of control feeling that will not disappoint.
Black Widow vs. Revolution
Personally, I have never ridden Black Widow. Being so massive, I was too scared to ride it in 2018 and early 2019. It was closed the rest of 2019 and through all of 2020. Based on what I've heard, it's a solid, thrilling flat ride. Usually, lines aren't that long. You just have to wait a couple cycles. The tunnel at the entrance provides some theming, but I just can't appreciate it because of my arachnophobia.
Revolution is a forgotten ride at the park. It gains little to no lines so you can find yourself on the ride in little to no time. I myself only rode it once, but it was still fun. If I return to the park this year, I will definitely ride it more...
Which Rides Are Better?
To make these comparisons fair, here are the categories and the amount of points given to the winner. Whichever park has the most points will win. If there is a tie, then neither will get the point.
-Hyper Coaster = 5 Points
-Looping Coaster - 5 Points
-Wooden Coasters - 3 Points Each
-Launch Coaster - 3 Points
-Flip-Based Ride - 2 Points
-Frisbee Swing - 2 Points
-Wild Mouse Coaster - 2 Points
I'll also give 3 points per Thrill ride, 2 points per Family ride, 2 points per transport or scenic ride, 2 points per Dark ride, and 1 point per Kiddie ride. If the exact same ride is at both parks, that will be removed from the point count.
First, let's talk about the Racer vs. American Eagle matchup.
Racer is always dueling. American Eagle is known to not frequently duel. American Eagle is also known to be quite rough. Racer also only has Buzz Bars. American Eagle may be a longer ride, but Racer appears to be a much longer ride. Racer wins this matchup.
The second matchup is Jack Rabbit vs. Goliath
When coming up with the matchups, I wanted to include all of Kennywood's wooden coasters and I wanted to include some of the highest ranked Great America coasters. That led to this matchup being pretty obvious: Goliath takes this. Goliath is basically a modern version of something like Jack Rabbit. Jack Rabbit only would win in trains, but Goliath needs more restrictive trains, so it doesn't matter much. We both agree that Goliath seems better, though.
Third, let's talk about the Thunderbolt vs. Viper matchup.
Viper appears to be a better rounded ride. It has Airtime moments, lateral moments, and sometimes even runs backwards. Both Thunderbolt and Viper are pretty rough rides, but Viper is known to have more forces. Viper wins this matchup.
4th, let's go over the Phantom's Revenge vs. Raging Bull matchup.
Raging Bull is a longer ride, but it only has a few airtime moments. It mostly appears to be a worse ride than Phantom. Phantom is a better rounded ride. It has better restraints, more airtime, and it even has lateral moments and many moments of ejector airtime. Phantom Wins this.
5th, we have the matchup of Exterminator vs. Dark Knight
Exterminator has better theming and is also spinning. That is enough to get it this point. Dark Knight has a slightly longer ride experience but is a shorter ride, which likely means that it has better pacing. The ride seems better overall. Exterminator gets this point.
6th is Sky Rocket vs. Maxx Force
This one is fairly obvious: Maxx Force. Sky Rocket has more track, but more of that track is boring. Maxx Force appears to have more hangtime and actual positive g's. It doesn't appear to have airtime, but the ride doesn't seem to need that. We both agree that Maxx Force appears better.
7th is Steel Curtain vs. X-Flight.
Steel Curtain is one of the best rounded coasters in the world. It may not be themed much, but the ride experience is packed with strong, sustained floater airtime, hangtime, and positive Gs. The ride has great pacing, and it is my current #1 coaster. Steel Curtain gets this point.
8th is Aero 360 vs. Joker.
Joker will easily get this point. Aero 360 feels controlled, but it has good hangtime. Joker, on the other hand, is pretty much out-of-control and has better restraints. Joker seems like a much better ride.
Finally is Black Widow vs. Revolution.
Black Widow seems to get this point. It is known to be a forceful model, though the restraints are crap. The ride is known to be intense. Revolution doesn't seem to be as intense, but it likely has hangtime. The Giant or Giga Discoveries seem to be preferred over the smaller frisbees.
Additional Ride Tallies:
In Kiddieland, Kennywood has 12 Kids rides. In Thomas Town, there are another 4 Kids rides. That gives them 16 points. They have 3 dark rides, too, which gets them 6 points. The 2 scenic rides will give them 4 points. There are 6 family rides, which gets Kennywood 12 points. There are also 4 more Thrill rides that weren't in a matchup. That gives them 12 points. Combining them all gets them an additional 53 points.
Six Flags Great America has 11 kids rides. That gives them 11 points. Six Flags Great America also has 1 dark ride, so that gets them 2 points. I'm going to say they have 2 transport or scenic rides, since I'm going to include the Go-Karts. That adds 4 points. They have 17 Family rides, which gets them 34 points. There are an additional 8 thrill rides, too, so that gets them 21 more points. In total, that gets them 92 points added.
In the end, Six Flags Great America wins. Great America gets 103 points, Kennywood gets 70. Both seem to be great parks. Kennywood also doesn't have things like advertising and uses modern characters plus local sports teams, but Great America has more rides that people really like. They are both great.
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