In 2020, Palace Entertainment announced some ride removals in their parks. Rides are being removed at Kennywood, Idlewild, and Lake Compounce. However, some of the ride removal choices make me think that Palace has some major plans coming. Today, I wanted to go over it.
First off, I want to talk about the rides being removed. Lake compounce is removing Wipeout. Idlewild is removing their Ferris Wheel and their kiddie ferris wheel. Kennywood is removing Kangaroo, Paratrooper, Bayern Kurve, and Volcano. Now, I want to get all the information out here. Here is what I know:
-Wipeout was originally at Kennywood
-The last version of Volcano was originally at Lake Compounce
-There is a Paratrooper at Idlewild
-One of Kennywood's competitors is getting a Bayern Kurve
-One of Kennywood's old coasters is up for sale right now
-People have been asking for the return of Enterprise at Lake Compounce
-Lake Compounce replaced Enterprise with a Skyrocket II
-Kennywood isn't scrapping Paratrooper or Kangaroo (according to Nick Paradise)
Now, I think that this plan dates back to June of 2020. During this year, Palace Entertainment got a new president. In June of 2020, La Feria Chapultapec Magico put up Cascabel for sale. This operated at Kennywood from 1980 to 1990 as Laser Loop. At this time, I don't know if it was sold yet.
It was originally covered often that Laser Loop was put up for sale, but it isn't very clear what happened to it. I think that they either have already or plan on buying the ride.
I think that they were trying to find out where they could move the ride, but they had no idea what they'd have to remove. Then, we fast forward to October. In October, we found out that Knoebels bought a Bayern Kurve.
Now, we also need to give you some more information. Let's now go over Wipeout. Wipeout at Lake Compounce was originally at Kennywood. In the early 2000s, the park had to restore Volcano, so they purchased a Transportable Chance Rides Wipeout to make up for the capacity loss. They also had to move Wave Swinger. The next year, they were moving Wave Swinger to Lost Kennywood. They also removed Bayern Kurve, so they put Wipeout where Bayern Kurve was. After Wave Swinger reopened and they returned Bayern Kurve, they moved Wipeout to Lake Compounce.
Next, I want to talk about Volcano. There were 2 Huss Enterprises that we need to know about. Those were one at Lake Compounce and one at Kennywood. They were both called Enterprise originally, but Kennywood's was later renamed to Volcano. In 2016, Volcano fell into a state of disrepair. Enterprise at Lake Compounce was being removed for Phobia Phear Coaster, so they sent Enterprise to Kennywood. It reopened and just closed in 2020.
Now, I want to talk about what I think that some of the plans here are. I think that the main goal here is to keep as many popular attractions open for a long time. There are many similar ride models at several different parks, so I think that they will want to focus on many of these rides.
I think that one of the family/kiddie parks will receive Kangaroo.
Also, I want to talk about some things that I have seen on their social media pages. When Lake Compounce announced the removal off Wipeout, people had basically just said that they should return Enterprise. This makes me think that they may bring over Enterprise. This also makes some sense because Wipeout closed the week after Volcano.
Finally, I think that Paratrooper will be sent over to Idlewild. Idlewild already has a Paratrooper, but it doesn't appear to be in that great of shape. I think that they may need some new parts, so I think that they will put in Kennywood's Paratrooper and use their paratrooper's parts to keep it operating.
Now, I want to talk about what may be in the master plan. I think that Kennywood will use some of Volcano's plot of land and some land over the midways to add an S&S Air Launch Coaster. I think that they will put an RMC Raptor in place of Paratrooper and Kangaroo.
Because of why they are moving and removing rides, I think that Kennywood will remove Raging Rapids and send their parts to Lake Compounce.
In the end, I think that Palace Entertainment has some major plans, and I can't wait. With them moving to Pittsburgh, I could see Kennywood and Idlewild getting some more attention over time.
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