I recently drove  5-hours across the state to Pittsburgh for a meeting,  and had a chance to experience Kennywood’s “Phantom Fright Nights.”  For those who have never heard of it, Kennywood is a National Historic Landmark amusement park founded in 1898  in West Mifflin, PA.  The park has grown from a suburban-Pittsburgh trolley stop and  picnic grove, into the large complex that it is today featuring rides both modern and old.

To make Kennywood, you would need to mix half of  Knoebels Grove’s old-fashioned charm, and half of attractions similar to those found in newer theme parks.  It’s the perfect combination of the two ingredients!  The staff was friendly, the food was reasonably priced, and the park was clean.  Unseasonably warm temperatures brought out the crowds, and I only wish we had more time to experience more of the place.

“Phantom Fright Nights” gets excellent reviews, and I must say they certainly do put a lot of work into their Halloween event.  The entire park is filled with “fog” which makes it difficult to see who (are “what”) is around you.  We visited 3 walkthroughs – Mortem Manor, Noah’s Arc, and Voodoo Bayou.  Mortem Manor is a spooky-mansion style walkthrough that is very elaborately decorated with cobwebs and narrow corridors.  Noah’s Arc – what I thought was more of a children’s attraction – turns out to be by far one of the scariest (and funnest) walkthrough’s I have ever been in!   The “boat” rocks back and forth as you navigate floors and hallways filled with effects and surprises.  Finally, Voodoo Bayou takes on a New-Orlean’s style theme as you walk inside the channel used for Raging Rapids.  This was probably our least-favorite of the three, as there were not as many startling occurrences (perhaps the actors were getting tired?).  All of the walkthroughs were almost 10 minutes long.

If you ever get a chance to visit – Kennywood offers an excellent value-packed product.  Just in time for Halloween – some pictures below:

Advertisement