In 2020, I took several trips to Kennywood. It gave me a sense of normalcy in this crazy time. I got to ride almost every major ride that year, including the new version of The Old Mill and the rides that just went defunct. I have also ridden both Steel Curtain and Raging Rapids and I've experienced Noah's Ark, so I am able to talk about those experiences. Today, I wanted to go over my rankings for every major ride I have ridden.
Now, before I get to the list, there are some attractions I won't include. First off, I won't include any attractions from Kiddieland or Thomas Town, as those are meant for toddlers. I also can't include Black Widow, Skycoaster, or the Paddle Boats, since I haven't been on any of those. Finally, I won't include the 4d Theater, since it changes shows, or Gran Prix, since Bumper Cars will often have widely varying experiences.
#26: Musik Express
I need to get back on this ride. I rode it once, and that was almost 2 years ago. Back then, I was terrified of many coasters. I thought back then that I would never ride Phantom's Revenge ever again or ride Steel Curtain ever. Now, though, I think I'll have a different outlook on the ride. I hated it back then because it through me around a lot, but thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure I was experiencing Ejector Airtime and strong Lateral forces. Take this placement with a huge grain of salt.
#25: Raging Rapids
I did not like this ride that much. It was pretty boring, to be honest. It isn't very forceful and barely any water even hit me on that ride. There is basically no theming on this ride, either, which is bad for this kind of ride. The operations were also really bad and I had to wait at least 5 minutes on a block brake. It was not a good experience.
#24: Auto Race
This ride is not meant for thrill seekers, but it is still enjoyable. There is some decent theming and the ride isn't bad. I won't wait in a line for the ride ever, but if there's no line and I want to ride it, I won't have anything against riding it. I'm just not the ride's target audience.
#23: Merry Go Round
I actually enjoy carousels, and this one is great. The ride can almost certainly fit over a hundred people on at once. There are no worries about Loose Articles and there are no restraints, so operations really just consist of turning the ride on. I enjoy this ride, but I can't put it that high up. I have nostalgia for this ride, so I still really enjoy it.
#22: Ghostwood Estate
I used to think this was an amazing ride. In the years before I was a season passholder, my family always made it a point to ride this together. Now, though, the ride doesn't run that well. It isn't very reliable, so it will somewhat frequently break down. The ride also always has long, hardly moving lines. The theming is decent. One problem, though, is that the scoring system has been broken for years, so you can't be very competitive here. In 2020, due to COVID-19, the ride didn't run for the first half of the season and then didn't run blasters. I find that to be kinda dumb, though, since, on all rides, guests must use hand sanitizer immediately after getting to the station or ride platform. This ride has really taken a turn and is no longer that great a ride. The theming is the only reason it is this high.
#21: Old Mill
This is a much better dark ride. I hated Garfield's Nightmare when I rode it in May 2019. I was just waiting for them to finally bring back Old Mill. Finally, though, for the 2020 Season, they brought in a new theme. This was an actually fun theme. I do have an issue with how the ride seems to have been sped up. In many cases, speeding something up is good. In this case, though, it makes it worse, since you don't have enough time to take in everything. Your best bet is to ride it multiple times. This is still much better than Garfield's Nightmare, though.
#20: Pittsburg Plunge
This is a very fun water ride. For what it is, I consider it perfect. It gets you soaked, it builds up anticipation, it looks really good, it has a high capacity, and it is just a great experience. There are basically no restraints, and that makes the ride even better. If you want to get soaked but the ride is either testing or has a long line, you can go to one of the areas in the splash zone. These areas will get you soaked more here than you will on the ride. I was very sad to lose Log Jammer, but riding Pittsburg Plunge a year later made me less upset about the loss of Log Jammer.
#19: Turtle
Turtle is a fun, somewhat scenic, classic ride. When I was very little, I would ride Turtle Chase in Kiddieland before coming over to Turtle at night. I have always enjoyed it. The ride is just good fun.
#18: Noah's Ark
This is a fun walk through attraction. This is a classic attraction with some modern modifications. It sucks that this was closed last year. As of right now, the ride is to be closed until further notice. I completely understand why they are doing this. I hope that we can reach Herd Immunity soon and then be able to open up the indoor attractions.
#17: Pirate
This is an older ride, but it is still quite fun. To be honest, I was expecting this to go next along with Volcano. It is fun, but it is also very unpopular. Most rides I got on it the last 2 years were with just me and my dad. Sometimes, there would be one or two other groups, but not really that many.
#16: Volcano
#15: Wave Swinger
This is a very tame ride, but I really enjoy it. The restraints aren't restricting. The ride gives some good views. The ride is just fun.
#14: Cosmic Chaos
This ride is pretty fun. The ride pulls some decent forces, the controlled spinning is pretty fun, and the ride gives some decent views. There is one issue with the ride, though. The restraints are pretty uncomfortable. There is an easy way around this, though. Doing that will mean that you can just hold on to the grab bars.
#13: Whip
This is a classic ride model. You go in an oval shape. There are 2 sharp turns and 2 straight sections. The turns make the cars spin a bit during the straight section. There are no dull spots on these rides. They have wild laterals between some decent spinning. There is also just one "restraint": a lap bar that only stays on from the laterals. I don't advise doing this (in fact, I would strongly discourage it), but you could, if you wanted, just push the bar off. The bar isn't even locked. It just makes the ride seem more wild.
#12: Paratrooper
This was a very fun ride. These were common models in the past, but most major parks have removed their Paratroopers if they had one in the past. Now, mostly just small chain parks and independent parks have these rides. These rides are pretty tame, but they are classic models. they run smoothly, and I loved the ride's view of the lagoon, midways, and the carousel.
#11: Aero 360
The ranking of this ride actually made me rethink the entire list. This ride does feel a little controlled, but that doesn't matter too much. The restraints are also pretty uncomfortable, but that doesn't really take away from the experience too much. You flip upside down several times and even go into a stall for a few seconds. That stall literally stops you upside down for what feels like forever. This ride also is beautiful. The light package for this ride is one of the best. There are 6000 Light Bulbs on Aero 360's front side. If you are by Jack Rabbit and look over to Aero 360, it is just an amazing view. The OTS Restraints do hurt a little, but they don't take away from the hangtime much and, to be honest, these restraints were almost certainly the safest bet for Kennywood.
#10: Kangaroo
This was a tough one. The Zamperla inverting flat ride with strong positives and sustained hangtime or the classic, one of a kind ride from the 1960s that I have ridden since I was 4, was a fan favorite attraction, had some wild airtime, had great restraints, and, despite being jerky in some areas, was never really painful and was always good, wild fun. Kangaroo had some big redeeming factors. I wish they never lost that wheel and closed the ride.
#9: Swing Shot
This is an S&S Screamin' Swing Model. I see why Cedar Point, Valleyfair, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg added these ride models. The ride has some amazing restraints with those non-restrictive lap bars. Those lap bars are almost as good as the ones on Phantom's Revenge, but they might be better since they have a handle bar and there are no seatbelts on the ride. There are strong positive Gs and the ride has some floater airtime. I'm not a big fan of Floater Airtime, but it is better than no airtime. The ride also practically launches you. In fact, it uses very similar technology to the S&S Air Launch Coasters and the S&S Space Shot Towers. It uses Cables and Compressed Air to propel you. According to a former Kennywood Spokesperson, the ride isn't even gravity driven. It is completely powered. The way it is powered is just so forceful. While the ride is short, it is definitely one of my favorite rides in the park.
#8: Thunderbolt
This is Kennywood's most overrated coaster. I agree that it is a fun classic, but it is nowhere near as good as the other 2 wooden coasters. The laterals are good, but there are no forces outside of the laterals. They also will barely ever run 2 trains on this ride. On First Responder Day, 2019, when there weren't as many capacity restrictions and the park was packed, Thunderbolt had a line somewhere around an hour long. Why was it so long? They ran one train. The park was basically at capacity, since it was the end of the season, first responders got free entry, and families went to see the First Responders there. I love the ride and don't want to see it go any time soon, but it is a very overrated ride.
#7: Exterminator
This may be a controversial opinion. Exterminator, in my opinion, is better than Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt has airtime hills with no airtime and has strong lateral moments. Exterminator is an indoor ride that has lateral moments, airtime, and it also spins. I've also ridden this ride in absolute darkness during Phantom Fright Nights, and that was one of the most terrifying experiences on any coaster I've experienced. It was more terrifying that Night Rides on Phantom's Revenge and Steel Curtain that same day. I only rode it once last year due to COVID-19, but I may ride it more in 2021.
#6: Bayern Kurve
To me, this was the second worst loss of Kennywood's ride removals. This was my favorite flat ride at Kennywood in 2020. The ride was very forceful and had very comfortable restraints. The only real restraint here was a seatbelt, so you had plenty of room when riding. From what I can tell, this was one of the fastest Bayern Kurves in the world. Now, there won't be a Bayern Kurve at Kennywood, but one is currently in the Knoebels Parking Lot, though, and that may run even faster and with an original ride system, I'm guessing.
#5: Jack Rabbit
This is the oldest roller coaster at Kennywood, but it is still in my top 5 at Kennywood. If you ride in the back, every drop provides some mild floater airtime. The Double Dip, however, provides wild ejector in all rows. I honestly think that this would be in my top 3 if they never added the seatbelts back in the 1980s.
#4: Sky Rocket
This is hard to place above Jack Rabbit, but there are some good reasons. The launch is so forceful that I can't even put my hands up on the launch without me feeling like my arms are about to fall off. Then, you go up the Top-Hat and get wild ejector airtime, as of 2020. The Cutback is pretty forceful. The Zero-G-Roll provides hangtime. The trims slow the ride down a lot, but the drop off the mid course provides ejector airtime. The turns are pretty fun, in my opinion. The corkscrew provides better hangtime than the Zero-G-Roll. The High-Up twists are a little uncomfortable, but I think it was just meant to compete with the ones on Intamin Blitz Coasters (like the ones on Cheetah Hunt). The ending airtime hills provide quick floater pops. It's a great ride, overall.
#3: Racer
This ride is packed with floater airtime with an ending ejector airtime pop. The valleys are somewhat forceful. There are plenty of lateral G moments. There is also great interaction with the other train. This was also my 3rd credit ever. I first rode this a little before I was 7. Back then, I preferred it over Phantom's Revenge. Now, based on what you can probably tell, this is no longer the case.
#2: The Phantom's Revenge
This is a close one, but The Phantom's Revenge is currently my #2 at the park. The ride has an intense drop, amazing head choppers, and it ends with some of the most intense ejector airtime. One moment that I hear nobody talking about is the second area under Thunderbolt. There is an Ejector Airtime moment when under the wooden structure. I feel like I'm going to die any time that I ride it. This ride is an amazing ride, 10/10, but not my #1.
#1: Steel Curtain
This does everything that Phantom's Revenge does well, but better (except for the airtime). There is tons of floater airtime on the ride. There is also tons of hangtime high above the ground. That just makes hangtime more terrifying. I love this ride. I argue that it is probably better rounded than any B&M, Intamin, or most RMC rides. There's a steep, terrifying lift hill that honestly makes me feel more than 500 feet high thanks to the ravine right by Steel Curtain. The lift hill is slow and makes you question your life choices. Overall, this is an amazing ride, and I can't wait to get back on it. I hope to ride it next month.
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