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Park News - (1/27/10) According to the local news today a lawsuit has been settled for close to $2 million over the collapse of a pavilion structure over The Whip ride at Kennywood that resulted in the death of a woman. The structure collapsed during a freak storm in 2002 that saw sudden 100 mph winds whip through the area.
    (1/18/10) Kennywood has finally caught up with the times and will offer a season pass for the 2010 season. However… the park reports that the number of passes up for sale will be limited, so it’s a first come basis, so if you want one, buy it as soon as they go on sale in March.
    (1/4/10) A reader sent in a couple of new pictures (see sidebar) showing off the re-tracking being done to Phantom’s second hill. From what they could see, the site for the new Sky Rocket coaster, while cleared, seems to have no activity going on as well right now.
    (12/21/09) I’ve been told that Kennywood is working to fix up the track on Phantom’s Revenge around the second hill, as it seems the transition between the old and new track added previously was a bit on the rough side.

2010 - Sky Rocket - (2/1/10) A reader has sent in a bunch of new pictures of the Sky Rocket track sitting in the parking lot. (See sidebar.)
    (1/27/10) Good news for Kennywood fans… I’ve been sent verification that blue Sky Rocket track is indeed now on site at the park as of yesterday. You can see more at Kennywood Connection.
    (1/25/10) As we are quickly approaching the end of January, many have started to wonder just why there has yet to be any sign of vertical progress (or even track pieces) on the new Sky Rocket coaster. Anyone know any details about the construction timetable and when the park is hoping to get this ride open?
    (12/11/09) According to the local news, Kennywood has confirmed that the name for their new coaster will indeed be Sky Rocket, as was uncovered a few weeks ago by one of our readers.
    (11/25/09) Scroll down through the CoastersAndMore coverage of the EAS show and you’ll find artwork showing off the entire layout of Kennywood’s new Premier coaster.
    (11/9/09) According to this report, an image showing off a logo and name for Kennywood’s new steel coaster has been found hidden inside the Palace Entertainment website if you click here.  The name in the logo is Sky Rocket. It’s hard to say if this is the official name of the ride, or if it was just a temporary name that was voted down at the last second until they could come up with something better.
    (8/17/09) NewsPlusNotes has posted an update on the Kennywood 2010 launched coaster project after talking with the park. They even have a couple of raw artwork pieces that show off the basic layout and location of the new coaster. The good news is that they were told that the trains would only have lap bar restraints. In other news you can watch video of the big announcement posted to YouTube in two parks. Part 1 and Part 2.
    (8/13/09) Kennywood announced a brand new steel coaster yesterday, but so far have declined to give it an official name. The new steel coaster is actually quite interesting, since at first glance you may think it is a Gerstlauer, but it is really a Premier Rides creation. The coaster will kick things off with a 3-second 0 to 50mph LSM launch that will take you right into a 95 foot vertical climb up a Top Hat tower. You’ll drop down the other side at 90º and head into a series of three inversions as well as a second vertical drop track section.
    The new coaster will be placed in the current location of the Turnpike, but as the press release says, you will only be saying, “See you later” to the Turkpike as the park already has plans in the works to bring the ride back to life in a new location in the future. Turnpike’s final day will be August 16th, 2009.
    Now the stats: 2,100 feet long, max speed: 50mph, ride time: 65 sec, 2 trains made up of 2 cars and able to hold 12 riders per train. I’m kind of surprised by that last bit considering how Hypersonic was criticized so much for only holding 8 riders per train.
    (8/12/09) I’ve got nothing to base this on, but I pulled out an interesting but short e-mail out of my spam folder tonight. It simply read “Goodbye Turnpike, Hello Eurofighter”. A clue as to the big announcement in a few hours? We’ll find out soon enough.

2011/2012 - Old Mill / Garfield’s Nightmare Renovation - Planned - (9/8/09) According to an update at NewsPlusNotes, Kennywood has confirmed that within the next two years we will see the former Old Mill ride, currently known as Garfield’s Nightmare, rethemed into yet another new experience, likely returning it to something more in tune with it’s roots and history as the Old Mill, which incidently is about 108 years old at this point. Not too many rides can say that!