On November 3rd, 2020, Kennywood announced the removal of Kangaroo, Paratrooper, Bayern Kurve, and Volcano. Due to the removal of these rides. I loved these rides, so it sucked that they would be removed. I want to look forward to what may come next, though. Today, I'll be looking at what may replace these 4 rides.
First, I want to talk about what may replace Paratrooper and Kangaroo. These rides were right next to each other. The combined plot is about 150 feet by 78 feet.
The first idea to what may replace these 2 rides would be an S&S or Vekoma Family Invert. Freedom Flyer at Fun Spot Orlando has a plot of about 300 feet by 142 feet. Merlin's Mayhem at Dutch Wonderland has an approximate plot of 300 feet by 235 feet. The Family Inverts would not be the chosen option, though. Those coasters need a much bigger plot than what is available.
The second idea is a Gravity Group Wooden Coaster. One idea is the Family Coaster. The plot for Roar-o-Saurus is about 115 feet by 262 feet. This would take about double the amount of space, so it wouldn't be that. It could be a Gravity Group Thrill Coaster. Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee has a plot of about 400 feet by about 95 feet, which also wouldn't fit. My last idea is a Gravity Group Shuttle Coaster. Kennywood hasn't had a shuttle coaster since they removed Laser Loop in 1990. Switchback at ZDT's has a plot of about 200 feet at its widest and 350 feet at its longest. This wouldn't fit here, but a more compact layout would. I just don't see a Gravity Group taking this plot, though.
The third idea is an RMC Raptor. Wonder Woman at Six Flags Fiesta Texas has a plot of about 200 feet by 80 feet. If Kennywood had the dive loop and a few other elements going over the midways, I could see a clone of Wonder Woman or RailBlazer coming here.
My final idea is the return of Laser Loop. Kennywood had sold Laser Loop to Ventura Entertainment, who put it at La Feria in Mexico. This park closed in 2019 due to the infamous accident on Quimera, their transportable looping coaster. They removed Raton Loco, the Reverchon Spinning Coaster, they sold Quimera to Indiana Beach, and they are completely removing Montaña Rusa. They put Cascabel, which was Laser Loop, up for sale, and it currently costs $490,000. I think that, if they wanted to get it repaired to make it safer and higher quality, they would spend about $1,000,000 total. Laser Loop takes up a space of 580 feet by 50 feet. If they had the spikes going over the midway, though, it would only take up 430 feet by 50 feet. Based on some of my measurements, though, this would take up way too much space at Kennywood. For it to be put here, they would have to have parts go over the lagoon, meaning that more space would be taken from the paddle boats. I just don't see Kennywood putting Laser Loop here.
To replace Kangaroo and Paratrooper, I could only see them adding either more flat rides or an RMC Raptor. For now, I'm predicting the Raptor since it would fit very well. They will need an inexpensive new addition. We don't know how much an RMC Raptor is selling for now, but they were selling one for only $100,000 at IAAPA Expo 2019, so I would just assume that these rides are very cheap, which is good for a park to use when recovering from a period of time when they couldn't be open for half their planned time.
Next, I want to talk about what may replace Volcano. Volcano has a plot of 70 Feet by 80 feet. Here are some ideas:
First is the Zamperla Endeavour. Kennywood has a great relationship with Zamperla. Parks like Six Flags St. Louis have been replacing their Enterprises with Endeavours. They are similar rides, with the main difference being the restraint system.
The next idea is an S&S Combo Tower. You may think that this won't fit, but the dimensions of this model fit on the same plot as Volcano. Power Tower at Cedar Point has a plot of 50 feet by 50 Feet. They could do a few different types of towers combined, and I think that one of them will be a shot tower. I think that this will be about 200 feet tall and will have 4 towers.
Another idea could be the Zamperla Z-Max. This is a major Drop Tower from Zamperla. Zamperla sells this from heights of 184 feet to 263 feet. The plot appears to be about 95 feet by 95 feet, though, so I don't see this happening.
One more idea is a FunTime Starflyer. New England SkyScreamer has a plot of 80 feet by 80 feet, so it would be a perfect fit. These are pretty cheap, so I could see them adding one here.
Finally, there could be an ARM or Larson Drop Tower. These are more budget towers. It was reported that Power Tower at Valleyfair costed $10,000,000. These Larson and ARM Drop Towers are very cheap. It is unclear how much these cost, and I don't want to reach out to the companies for the price. I can't find the plot of these rides, though, so I can't tell you that, but if an S&S Combo Tower can fit, then I think that multiple of these could fit.
Finally, I want to talk about what might replace Bayern Kurve. This ride takes up a pretty small plot. The plot is about 65 Feet by 65 Feet. I can't think of many similar rides that could replace it. The Musik Express rides are similar, but Kennywood already has one.
The first rides that I can think of coming to this plot would be a Tilt-a-Whirl or a Wipeout. In the past, there was a Wipeout on this exact plot, and I think there was also a Tilt-a-Whirl on this plot in the past, so I can definitely see one of those coming.
There is one more model I do want to also bring up: A Larson Super Loop. The one at Kentucky Kingdom has a plot of 20 feet by 75 feet, so it is almost able to fit. If needed, they could take some land from between Bayern Kurve and the 4d Theater or some of the land between Bayern Kurve and Gran Prix. We could probably expand the plot to 78 Feet Wide or we could have the ride slightly tilted at an angle to make it fit. This ride could probably fit there.
So, in the end, I predict an RMC Raptor, Larson/ARM Drop Tower, and a Larson Super Loop coming to replace these rides.
Commenti