Lost Kennywood

The amazing and gorgeous weather that Pittsburgh has had these past few weeks has really gotten me in The Mood. You all know what Mood I mean. The I Need to Go to Kennywood Right Now Mood.

I can practically taste the Potato Patch Fries smothered with way too much cheese

       (sidenote: is there really a thing as too much cheese? I think not.)

As I was getting all excited about the prospect of setting up a Kennywood date with Ford and perhaps some friends, I remembered: a lot of my very favorite, sentimental, and beloved rides will no longer be there.

Can we all take a moment?

The Pittfall

(1997–2011) 

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The Pittfall is near and dear to my heart for one big reason: Back in 1996, a little curly-haired girl and her dad entered a contest on KDKA. The contest was to submit a list of names for the new ride that was coming to Kennywood park in the upcoming summer. This ride was to be a black and gold tower,  251 feet in the air, that dropped you until you were mere inches hovering above ground. It would be the world's tallest drop tower upon opening. The name that was chosen would be the official name of the ride, and the author of that would get free tickets to Kennywood, bragging rights, and a whole bunch of other swag that is super-duper important to eleven-year olds in the nineties. That curly-haired girl and her dad WON. Along with a few others,  my entry, PITTFALL, was chosen.

A moment of silence, for the strong tower of black and gold, named by the people of Pittsburgh, who has probably been sold for parts.

A crucial part of the Kennywood skyline and representative of the city itself, Pittfall, you will be missed.

The Turnpike
(1966–2009)   

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Okay, Kennywood Administration, what did the Turnpike ever do to you?! It was so nice to walk through the (random) tunnel, and on the other side: sunlight, the beginning of the park, and the TURNPIKE ON YOUR RIGHT. Always. A long line, filled with young families and small children just waiting to be able to "drive" for the first time. The Turnpike had been there since the sixties and still brought the hits. I have a very vivid memory of riding the Turnpike with my younger brother, as he got to "drive" for his first time. He kept looking back at my parents and sister (who were in the car behind us) so excited and proud!

And what Pittsburgher could forget the cost of gas on the Turnpike? No matter what kind you got, the price was FUN. Literally. FUN.  I wish the cost of gas was still FUN. I guess the kiddos of Pittsburgh will just have to wait until they have their learners permit before experiencing the thrill of driving. 

Turnpike, a staple of the entrance of Kennywood and the reminder of simpler times, you will be missed.

and perhaps the ride I'm most bitter and all resentment-filled about....

The Old Mill

1901- 2004

Over. One Hundred. Years. And it gets taken down for some Garfield Nightmare ride that better resembles a bad acid trip through the Sunday comics? No, thank you. I'll take the older-than-dirt wooden boats, dark corners to sneak a kiss to your sweetie, and the comfort of the familiar skeletal faces and features. I bet if I polled a group of 100 native Pittsburghers, at least half of them had their first kiss on the Old Mill. 

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It was an institution, having been built in 1899 and open for business at the turn of the 20th century in 1901. I can't say much else about the Old Mill, except for it was a ride I never missed when I went to Kennywood, from the time I was a toddler until my late teens when it was abruptly taken away from me us. It was a part of history and part of Pittsburgh tradition, and if you know anything about Pittsburgh and its inhabitants - you don't mess with their traditions. The fact that it was replaced by the worst ride ever of Garfield's Latest LCD Adventure or whatever the crap it's called now, is a slap in the face. Commercialization, in the most blatant sense of the word. 

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Old Mill, you will be missed by all Pittsburghers who innately understood that a trip to you was simply a "must" during every visit to Kennywood Park.

*moment of silence*

I know there are others I'm missing. La Cachot, for example, among others. Are there other rides that you, beloved Pittsburghers, miss?  Which have I forgotten? Tell me about them, and we'll all have a moment of silence for each one.