Kennywood Rides, Ranked

Kennywood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (sister park to Idlewild and Sandcastle Waterpark) is a fantastic smaller amusement park with a lot of history! Opened as a trolly park in 1899 on a bluff above the Monongahela River, it used to be a break from the city. Today, industrial creep has caught up, and the park feels like it’s pretty much downtown. In fact, it’s right on the side of the highway, with parking lots and the entrance on one side with a tunnel leading under the highway to the park on the other.

Once inside, I wouldn’t say it’s a theme park, per se. There are a few themed areas: Kiddieland, Steelers Country (consisting of one ride and one Steelers exhibit/shop), Lost Kennywood, and a Thomas the Tank Engine-themed kid’s area. But overall, there’s not much overt theming, not like some other parks. Really, you mostly get a “history” vibe. So let’s talk about it as a whole as opposed to taking it by lands.

Kennywood

Kennywood isn’t like Idlewild – there are a lot of thrills here for all ages. All the same, they don’t boast any really stupendous coasters, but there are a couple of real classics that are fun to ride.

Roller Coasters

Kennywood has eight roller coasters – let’s take a look at them from worst to best.

#8 – Lil’ Phantom

This is a kid’s coaster, a slight oval themed to its bigger cousin, Phantom’s Revenge. This one is tucked into the corner of Kiddieland. I confess I didn’t ride it.

#7 – Exterminator

I can’t say that the indoor Exterminator coaster is a terrible ride, but it’s pretty gross in there. First of all, you stand in an outdoor queue, which is pretty shaded and not too bad. Then you’re let into a long tunnel and MORE LINE inside, up a ramp in a crowded room. There’s one side door they keep open, but during Covid, this room really wigged me out. The ride also seemed to break down pretty frequently, so I was stuck in this room for quite a bit.

Once you finally make it onto the ride platform, you find it’s a spinning wild mouse coaster themed to – exterminating mice? A science project? I can’t really tell or maybe I’ve blocked out the experience. It’s not too fun mainly based on the ick factor.

#6 – Jack Rabbit

The Jack Rabbit from 1920 is one of the oldest operating coasters in the world! And it’s still fun, with a simple double-oval layout built into the hillside. The double-drop into the ravine is still thrilling after 100 years, and the tunnel at the far end (that you go through before you even get to the lift hill) is a nice touch.

#5 – Thunderbolt

The Thunderbolt classic wooden coaster might be reasonably fun – but I wouldn’t know! They don’t allow single riders so I didn’t get to ride it. My bitterness alone makes me want to rate it low. Plus, the fact that it has a lift hill about halfway through stopping the momentum. While there is a drop right away out of the station, it’s not a big one and neither are the rest of them. So maybe I’m not missing too much.

Still, they could put in a single-rider line to fill in any empty spots…<grump>

#4 – Sky Rocket

The Sky Rocket is a fun launched coaster with short trains. I think it’s the smoothest ride in the park, and does really feel like you’re riding a rocket. It can be slow at times, but it’s definitely a fun ride.

I don’t like that the line is full in the sun, but I was strangely taken by the garbage “tubes.” Along an elevated section of the line, there are garbage cans down on the ground with huge PVC tubes leading from the line down to the can. This is some creative, common-sense problem-solving right there. Bravo!

#3 -Racer

The Racer is another classic wooden coaster built in 1927, with a nice long layout. And it’s so fun to race! People really get into it, and the ride can swallow a lot of people at once. And when you ride it, YOU RETURN TO THE OPPOSITE STATION! I was not prepared for that Mobius loop craziness, so my mind was a little blown!

#2 – Steel Curtain

Steel Curtain is Kennywood’s newest coaster, 220 feet tall and with nine inversions, one of which is right off the lift hill. It’s not my favorite type of coaster – all those inversions slow down the momentum. It’s more intent on turning you upside down than anything else. It gets up to 75 mph, but my primary impression was not one of speed.

#1 -Phantom’s Revenge

By far, the best roller coaster at Kennywood is Phantom’s Revenge. It even has an interesting line, an elevated walkway above the Lost Kennywood section of the park. Then after passing through the phantom himself (itself?) you’re loaded onto either a purple or green train, up a 160-foot lift hill. The first drop is fun, but the second drop is longer than the first, at 280 feet long and down into the ravine. The speed doesn’t let up and it’s a really great ride! It makes great use of the terrain and weaves in and out of the Thunderbolt track as well. It’s the only coaster in the park I rode twice.

And in a general sense, Kennywood does a good job running two coasters at a time on each of their rides to keep the lines moving.

Other Rides

Besides roller coasters, Kennywood has several flat rides, dark rides, and water rides that give just as much thrill. Or not – several of the flat rides are just middling. Again, let’s go from least to most exciting (or at least interesting.)

#16 – Gran Prix

Gran Prix is a bumper cars attraction, and thus, doesn’t hold a lot of value for a solo traveler. There are some bathrooms located on one side, which I found helpful.

#15 -Auto Race

I wish I had noticed the Auto Race, or knew of its history before my visit. It’s a car track ride from 1930 and the last of its kind in the world. While it doesn’t look exactly exciting, it would have been interesting to ride it – you’re boxed in as opposed to on top of a metal rail. As it was, I don’t even think I noticed it! Whoops.

#14 – Merry Go Round

In the middle of the park is a really lovely park with a carousel at the center of it. The Merry Go Round is a 1927 original with a 1916 band organ and hundreds of lights. They even decorate it for Halloween and Christmas. Also in the park are shade trees, benches, and a fountain with a stage. It’s a really pretty area, and much quieter.

#13 – Musik Express

The Musik Express is arguably more thrilling than the carousel, but I confess I passed this one by on my visit. I’ve been on so many lately. This one has a ’60s/’70s rock theme, which they switch out for Halloween music during Phantom Fright Nights, which is fun.

#12 – Wave Swinger

I’m always a fan of a swings ride, even though this one is next to the highway and not particularly scenic.

#11 – Pirate

Another middling flat ride, the Pirate swinging ship is themed well and pretty fun.

#10 -Whip

I really would have liked to ride the Whip, one of the few adult-sized versions in existence and the only 16-car version left. I’m sure it’s not the craziest ride, but it is the oldest flat ride in the park (from 1926), and it would have been fun to try. But sadly, it wasn’t operating during my visit.

#9 – Turtle

Another classic ride I did get to experience is the Turtle, built in 1927 and the only one of its kind left in the world. It’s a simple enough ride, six turtles on an undulating track (and with a damned annoying soundtrack!) It sits on the side of the ravine, so it’s one of the few places to see a view of the river. It’s definitely a fun piece of history, and fun to ride with a group as you slide around and bump into one another.

#8 – Cosmic Chaos

A properly thrilling ride (sort of), Cosmic Chaos is a bit like riding a spirograph design. Riders sit motorcycle-style at the edge of a spinning disc that slides back and forth on a curved U-shaped track. It’s pretty cool when you are on the high edge of the disc when it reaches the top of an arm. And the alien theme to it is silly and fun.

#7 – Swing Shot

I really love these giant swings rides, but this one is awfully short, and with a short ride time too. Several rides aren’t open all day (or weren’t on the day that I visited), and this included the Swing Shot. on my first pass it was closed, but I found it open later in the day. So make sure to check back around when rides are closed. They might be on some sort of rotation.

#6 – Pittsburg Plunge & Raging Rapids

I’ll put Kennywood’s two water rides into the same slot, though I rode neither. The day wasn’t hot, and I didn’t feel like getting wet! Pittsburg Plunge (using the older spelling of Pittsburgh) is a straightforward Shoot the Chute raft ride, meant to get you soaking wet. The nicest thing about this version is that it splashes down into a beautiful fountain area in the middle of Lost Kennywood.

Raging Rapids doesn’t look like much to me from the entrance, just a concrete trench. They took out a waterfall feature so getting totally soaked doesn’t happen as much anymore. Most of the fun of those rides is seeing who gets soaked and who is spared. It’s hard to get excited about some of these rides when you’ve been on better versions.

#5 – Ghostwood Estate

Ghostwood Estate is a reasonably high-tech haunted house ride. As it stands when I rode, it mostly relies on spooky atmosphere than jump scares. Reading up on it now, it looks like there used to be a pre-show and you caught ghosts with a laser blaster. All of that was gone during my visit, so maybe it’s scaled back due to Covid. Another 4D ride nearby is still completely shut due to the virus.

#4 – Noah’s Ark

I really love Noah’s Ark! This funhouse-style walkthrough attraction from 1936 is the last of its kind left in the world. You enter through the whale’s mouth, walking up the spongy red tongue before entering a warehouse and a spiral walk up a cliff. Animatronic animals can be found in rooms along the way, then you enter Noah’s Ark itself, a three-story rocking boat! You start at the top and make your way down past silly gags and through a rotating tunnel before exiting out the back.

#3 – Old Mill

I also really enjoyed the Old Mill, the oldest ride at Kennywood, built originally in 1901. It’s a haunted western silent movie dark ride, where you ride a boxy boat past several show scenes depicting a skeleton’s hapless adventure with a skunk sidekick.

The boat ride has been many other things in the past, like a haunted mine, “gorgeous grottos,” even “Garfield’s Nightmare,” for which I can only picture the giant orange cat. It’s a fun ride, dark and cool, and in really good shape for its age. (I think it’s been substantially rebuilt over the years.)

#2 – Black Widow

Black Widow is a large swinging pendulum-style ride that’s always fun. It’s got great height and a decently long ride time. There’s even a little spider cave to walk through at the entrance. The ride eats 40 people at a time, but loading time is slow. You can’t pull the restraint down until they tell you to, so one person can delay the ride for several minutes. They also go around making sure you aren’t carrying any loose items. The whole process can take quite a while. The ride operators on my visit were pretty over it.

#1 – Aero 360

The best non-coaster ride at the park is the Aero 360 – two swinging Kennywood signs that take you up and over several times and in both directions! Most seats face each other, but I like best the seats on each end so you can see the view (and not some people you don’t know.) It’s luck of the draw, however, you can’t wait for those seats.

Honorable Mentions

Because they’re extra-pay, I don’t really rank these. But there is also one of those “sky coaster” rides where you swing through the air. For that experience, be prepared to pay $18-23 per person, with 2-3 participants required per ride.

And there are paddle boats on the central lagoon! These only cost $5 for 30 minutes.

Kids Rides

There are two areas with kid-only rides or ones they can do with their parents. The above-mentioned Auto Race is one of those, in a whole section called Kiddieland. It’s cute with a big fountain and miniature versions of the whip, turtle, swings, the Lil’ Phantom roller coaster, and lots of go-in-a-circle-type rides.

Another kid’s section is basically right next door – Thomas Town featuring Thomas the Tank Engine. You can meet all the trains, take a relaxing train ride or a thrilling (kid-sized) drop tower, or learn to put out fires in an interactive game-like ride.

Loose Articles Policy

You can generally keep your stuff with you at Kennywood. Most, if not all, rides have cubbies to put your things in while you ride. You leave it at your own risk, like any place, but I’ve never had anyone try to fool with my stuff.

There are lockers, if you prefer, for $6 per day. You can find them above the candy store near the entrance to the park.

Food

There are a lot of great food choices at Kennywood. The Parkside Cafe in the center is a quick-service restaurant with a full menu, open since 1898, with indoor seating and air-conditioning. There’s also a Johnny Rockets, the End Zone Cafe (in Steelers Country), and several stands serving fresh French fries, hot dogs, hamburgers, funnel cakes, cheesesteaks, ice cream, chicken tenders, pizza, popcorn, pretzels, and all the junk food you could want. There’s even a place for deep-fried Oreos if that’s something you want to try!

Take note of the architecture of the food stands – Parkside Cafe is charming, and there’s an Asian-style pagoda serving sausages and chicken tenders on one side and ice cream on the other. A pink art deco building serves funnel cakes and corn dogs. An octagonal building at the entrance is a candy and fudge shop. (Careful, it gets absolutely mobbed at the end of the day!)

I tried to get a corn dog at the Lucky art deco stand but their fryer wasn’t working right. Instead, I ended up at Pedro’s Tacos & Nachos with a fresh burrito bowl that was much better! The staff at that location next to Black Widow are amazing too! Later, I picked up an amazing lemon custard ice cream at Millie’s Homemade stand, again with fantastic employees.

A note about water fountains – there aren’t that many! There are a few historic/cute ones, particularly around the central park area where the carousel is. But there don’t tend to be any at the bathrooms, FYI.

Events

Usually, Kennywood hosts several events throughout the year. This may have been a little curtailed due to Covid, but they still have a Halloween-themed Phantom Fall Fest during the month of October. (“Play all day, fright all night”) And there was a Pierogi Festival last weekend!

Getting into November and December, there are special Holiday Lights at Kennywood on select nights – generally the weekend evenings and the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Make sure to check their events page for what will be happening during your visit.

Hours

In fact, I’m impressed that they are open that late in the year, even to the first weekends in January! Regularly, they seem to open for the season in May, though their current calendar doesn’t go back that far. The current hours are 11 am – 7 pm, with the gates opening at 10:30 (though I remember them opening a bit later than that.) And that’s about what it was in July during my visit. I’m not sure if their hours are usually that short, or if it’s a staffing concern this year.

Kennywood App/Wifi

There’s no official Kennywood map & ticketing phone app, nor is there guest wifi available in the park. While I see that as a huge oversight in a park of this size, it does cement it as a small-time player in the game of amusement parks.

Parking

Parking is across the highway, accessible by a tunnel, in parking lots that run wide along the road. Lot A is free parking if you don’t care to walk a little farther. Paid parking is through gate/lot B, $12 per car. Lot C is handicapped/accessible parking, free with a placard. You can also pick up and drop off at loc C, plus there’s limited complimentary motorcycle parking in lot D.

I was a little confused when I first pulled in – I wasn’t sure where to go! I ended up in Lot A, mainly because it was the first one I came to. It’s all a little more obvious once you find the front gate.

Tickets

Full-price tickets at the gate cost $60. Right now, you can get a regular ticket online for $55 for adults, $40 for kids under 46″, and $25 for seniors 60 and over. There’s also a “pay kid’s price” promotion where all adults can get in for $40. When I bought my ticket in July, I paid $74 for a combo ticket for Kennywood and Idlewild, or I could have gone to Sandcastle Waterpark instead.

Tickets for any time during October’s Phantom Fall Fest is $50 at the gate, or $35 online. Kids under 48″ (yes, it’s a different height than regular tickets) are $25, and seniors 60+ are $20. I imagine the holiday lights are a lower price since they are only open in the evenings by that point. Season passes for 2022 are in the $80-180 price range. Cheaper options have some blackout dates, while more expensive passes include special events, the sister parks, parking, and discounts.

Conclusion

Overall, I really enjoyed Kennywood! It may not have the best coasters I’ve ever ridden but I really enjoyed the history of the park and that there are so many historic spots and attractions still open and operating. I was mostly impressed by their staff, and they certainly know how to keep lines moving. I’d go again in a heartbeat.