Kennywood 2018: What's New This Year At The Amusement Park

PITTSBURGH, PA - The Log Jammer is gone, but life goes on. Kennywood opens its 120th season on April 28 with a season passholder-exclusive weekend before opening to the general public May 5; daily operations begin May 24.

Bargain hunters should circle May 6 on the calendar as they will be a special admission price of $18.98 to commemorate the year Kennywood was founded. On Memorial Day weekend, the park will launch its first Rib and Blues Festival.

Another special May event is Thunderbolt Week (May 28-June 3) marking the 50th anniversary of Kennywood’s most famous roller coaster. Guests 50 and older that week can enter the park for $19.68 to mark the year the coaster debuted.

Kennywood's much-anticipated new Thomas Town area won't debut when the amusement park opens for the year, but the $8.5 million is on track to open this summer.

Kennywood also is adding a virtual reality component to the Sky Rocket that was tested last fall during Phantom Fright Nights. Riders will have the option of donning virtual reality headsets to enter a world programmed to match sensations produced by the coaster.

“While we put great value on history, tradition and nostalgia here at Kennywood, the ability to innovate and deliver the newest thrills is critical to our continuing success,” Kennywood general manager Jerome Gibas said in a statement. “Both Thomas Town and Sky Rocket VR show ways we look to stay on the cutting edge.”

As for the late, lamented Log Jammer, the site where the popular log flume ride still is being cleared. Kennywood has yet to announce what eventually will go in the Jammer’s space, but rampant speculation has the park planning a new state-of-the-art coaster.

Rendering via Kennywood.