Kennywood is my home park. Now that I have been a coaster enthusiast for over 2 years, I am ready to talk about some changes I would make to my home park.
I do want to keep this somewhat realistic. For this article, there are some basic rules. I am not going to be allowed to add any new rides. Palace Entertainment is making a plan. We don't know what the plan is and we probably won't like their plan, but it is still a plan, so this is going to look at changes that are not based on adding rides. With that being said, let's start going over changes I'd make.
Pre-Season Changes:
First, I'd like to talk about pre-season things. First, I would remove 2 things from the park: the Fountain between Small Fry and Pittsburg Plunge along with the George Washington Statue. In a park that I'd be running, I would want to remove things that promote discrimination of any kind. George Washington owned and abused Enslaved People from the time he was a teenager to when he died. The fountain I mentioned is from Kennywood's pool. There is a lot more to talk about there. I'd recommend checking out this article about racism in Public Pools. As a very brief summary, Pittsburgh Police allowed and often encouraged white swimmers to beat African American swimmers to keep them out of pools. You should 100% read that article. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90213675
The next major change I'd make before the start of the season is to remove the seatbelts on Racer. Racer doesn't need seatbelts. It is a very tame ride. If Phoenix at Knoebels doesn't need a seatbelt, I don't think that Racer at Kennywood needs seatbelts along with the same Buzz Bar type.
The third pre-season change I'd like to mention is that I would have some rides repainted. Jack Rabbit, Racer, Sky Rocket, Phantom's Revenge, and Kiddieland's Rides all need a repaint ASAP. Phantom's Revenge has paint so faded that the old Steel Phantom paint is visible on the turn before the lift. I've heard people in line for Steel Curtain talking about how much Racer needs to be repainted. I think that a full repaint for these rides would do a lot of good.
The final pre-season change I'd like to make is to repave the entrance pathway. The entrance should be beautiful. You see Old Mill, Sky Rocket, Kandy Kaleidoscope, and you get a view of some of the midways. This should be a great view, but the plain concrete ground just doesn't match the rest of the entrance plaza. They should make it a brick pathway like so many other parks.
Now, I want to talk about some changes I'd make for when the season starts.
Security and Park Rules:
First, I would like to mention that I would have the security redone. In this redone Security area, you'd scan your season pass or ticket, but you'd go through an x-ray like security device. Cedar Fair implemented these during the pandemic and they are said to be much more efficient and they do just as much, possibly even more than, the current security systems of Metal Detectors and Bag Checks.
Second, I would lift some specific policies. The main policy I'd like to lift is the Chaperone policy. There were some problems that they tried to fix by putting this in place, but it isn't fixing those problems. The chaperones will just go in with the kids and then just let the kids go do stuff. Even if the policy was enforced, though, it is still flawed. If people want to fight, they will fight. Kids who want to fight won't just fight after 4 PM, they'd fight before then if they wanted. We have seen this happening. The Line Jumping issue is also still occurring. I would argue that 2021 is the worst I've ever seen it. I got line jumped by more than 6 people, mostly kids, at LunaRides when Phantom's Revenge, the ride I was in line for Front Row on, was running 1 train. Only 2 of the more than 8 total people in that group were even punished by security. Also, there is still the problem of adults doing this, too. I've been line jumped by Adults more than kids. The Chaperone Policy isn't doing anything other than punishing guests who do nothing wrong.
Lockers and Loose Articles:
Another thing I'd implement is a new, much stricter Loose Articles policy. My policy would repurpose the Loose Articles bins and impliment a Locker system. You would have to put loose articles in a locker before getting to the station. Lockers would be both at the ride entrance. On all major coasters except for Thunderbolt, lockers would be put right before the station. Thunderbolt's policy would remain the same.
With the new policy, all lockers would be made free. Free Lockers would make things much more secure. People would be less likely to bring unnecessary Loose Articles with them if they can use a locker. The main rule is that each person can use only 1 locker at a time.
Along with the change, things would be made a lot more convenient for people in general. Everyone would be given a wristband. Season Passholders would get a reusable wristband. These wristbands would be used on Lockers for everyone. The reusable ones would be new electronic devices called Kennybands.
Kennybands would encourage people to reuse things. They would come with all season passes and they'd also sell for $15 each for people who don't get a season pass. They would cost $15 up front, but getting them before buying a ticket or season pass would give you a discount on Tickets or new passes. For people that get a season pass that expires who keep the Kennyband, they could get the Ticket discount or a season pass discount. The discount would only be $5 off Tickets or $10 off Season Passes, but it would still be worth it if you get Passes multiple years in a row.
The Kennyband would send and receive signals using RFID. Information would be saved on an SD card and there would be a very small, basic computer in the watch. The watch itself would be a similar size to an Apple Watch.
The goal for the new Loose Articles system is to make the park safer and to improve your experience. If you want a better experience, you want to reduce ways to loose your items. This prevents theft and the ban on Loose Articles in the station would prevent loosing Loose Articles on-ride. You'd also want to reduce lines. This takes away one time consuming part of operations. This allows quicker dispatch times. Quicker dispatch times allow for more dispatches which allow for higher throughput which allows for shorter lines. It is also safer because people won't have loose articles flying off and hitting people, preventing severe injuries or even deaths from that.
Operations:
One thing that would be focused on is efficiency. I would remove VIP Coaster Tours. Everyone should have to wait in line for what they want to ride. There would be a major focus on efficiency, and that would mean improving operations.
I've already mentioned that there would be the removal of Racer's seatbelts and there would be a new Loose Articles system. These would be partially for quicker dispatches. A good experience should involve waiting as little time as possible for the rides you want to ride.
For some rides, like Steel Curtain and Sky Rocket, I would have the park work with the ride manufacturers and impliment a Rolling Block system in the station. B&M has done this to maximize efficiency on their coasters and it has worked out well. This would save only a few seconds, but that is still worth it since it could prevent stacking and allow for more trains to be sent out.
Ride Removals:
There are some rides at Kennywood that shouldn't be there. There are some rides, like Musik Express, that I just hate the experience of, but there is another ride that has no reason to stay at Kennywood. This ride is Raging Rapids. Raging Rapids is a boring, bumpy Intamin River Rapids Ride. This is a ride of an outdated model that is losing popularity and has a poor safety record. This ride is expensive to run and, considering that it is an old Intamin, is probably very expensive to maintain.
Furthermore, I would have the entire Thomas Town area removed. Licensing for the Thomas the Tank Engine IP is likely very expensive. It also doesn't fit Kennywood very well and the addition of Thomas Town involved completely redoing a popular, classic attraction. Thomas Town seems to be an absolute failure for the park, considering that it is expensive and not that popular. People go there to ride Journey with Thomas, but it would be better going back to Old Kennywood Railroad. For those reasons, Thomas Town is an important removal.
Entrance Price:
Palace Entertainment has been raising the price to get into Kennywood. Something they did recently really irritates me. They had lowered the entrance price for the 2020 season due to not selling enough tickets. Tickets were around $25 in 2020 despite them being around $50 before. This is already a pretty noticeable markup compared to when Kennywood Entertainment Company owned the park. If we were just looking at inflation, Kennywood tickets would be $40. After the 2020 season ended, the park removed, with no notice, 4 very popular, classic flat rides. After that, they raised the price to $60 for admission.
$60 is WAY too much for a small amusement park like Kennywood. For that price, you could get a Cedar Point ticket AND parking for a day at Cedar Point. It is insane that Kennywood charges that much.
I would lower the price down to $45. This accounts for the Lockers Included and the inflation since Kennywood Entertainment Company's ownership.
I would also lower the price for Preferred Parking. I would keep Free Parking, but Preferred would go down to just $10 Year Round.
Everything New Included with Tickets:
Kennywood shouldn't try to be much of a Destination Park. It can't compete with Hersheypark or Cedar Point, both just a few hours away. It should instead become the local, family friendly, affordable amusement park with a great value. That is why I would have free Sunscreen available around the park and I would have Soda become free for anyone that brings their own cup or bottle.
I think that, if these were made free, Kennywood would be a great value. Having world class modern thrill rides, vintage rides more than 100 years old, a kids area, free drinks, free sunscreen, and free parking all for $45 for an adult and $20 for those under 48 Inches is probably a fantastic deal.
Memberships:
I would completely replace the Season Pass with the Monthly Membership. The Monthly Membership would include all Holiday Events and Special Events in the month. Memberships would be pretty cheap. The most expensive, the Emerald Membership, would be $10 per month. The Dining Plan would be $10 per month for all passes.
The monthly membership system would go Copper, Silver, Gold, Emerald. Copper would be the cheapest at $5 per month. Silver would be $6.50 per month. Gold would be $8 per month. Emerald would be $10 per month.
To make up for the cheap price, there would be advertisements at the entrance/exit ramp and in the tunnel. Advertisements would also be put on fences in the parking lot. The goal would be to sell tons of memberships and get a lot in advertising revenue.
Year-Round Operations:
With a Monthly Membership system, you should offer something year-round. In the winter, Members will be allowed into the Indoor areas of the park, including the Arcade, Parkside Cafe, End Zone Cafe, Steelers Experience, and Exterminator. There would also be a few smaller rides running. People would be allowed in for only $15.
From January to March, Pittsburgh tends to be way too cold to operate most Kennywood rides. During those months, there would be laser shows along with midway games, the arcade, and the Merry-Go-Round operating and the indoor restaurants serving food. These laser shows would be cheap entertainment that families could go to. A Family Laser Show and Carousel pass would be only $15 for up to 5 people. That is cheap enough that large crowds could probably be coming.
In all other months, there would be some sort of major event. In April, Kennywood's Spring Break would operate. This would include every major ride (weather permitting).
In May, the park would open for the main season, with no events occurring.
In June, we would see a return of the Bites and Pints Festival. This would be more affordable so that more people would want to go to the festival. Entry to the park would include 1 free item from the event, though Alcohol would obviously require ID showing that you are at least 21.
In July, there would be a lot of events spread out. This would just be every small event that Kennywood has in July, but extended. On days where no major event takes place, there would be Laser Shows to draw in more people.
In August, Fall Fantasy Parades would occur. These have existed at the park for a very long time and they are popular.
In September, there would be no major events. The only extra draw would be the laser shows, but the park would be getting ready for Phantom Fright Nights and Happy Hauntings. Certain areas would temporarily close off when getting them ready for Fright Nights.
In October, there would be Phantom Fright Nights and Happy Hauntings, like the park has had in previous years.
In November, the park would operate for a new event called Kenny's Fall Fest. This event would include operating most of the non-water rides. Thunderbolt would be closed for the event so that it could get its seasonal maintenance done on the ride, but that's about all that would be closed. If the weather permits, all of the other rides would operate.
In December, Kenny's Winterfest would be a new event replacing Holiday Lights. When the US is now majority Atheist, I don't think that a semi-religious Christmas event would be the best Winter event. I think that it would be better to run some rides and have some non-religious winter traditions. There would be things like Snowmen around the park. The characters would dress up for the winter. Rides that would include both thrill rides and family rides would operate for this event meant for everyone.
Conclusion:
To conclude this article, I'd like to say that I think that my home park needs a lot of improvements. I think that, if all of these things I mentioned would happen, Kennywood could become a much better park.
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