Kennywood: A Pittsburgh summer classic

Kennywood: A Pittsburgh summer classic


http://pittnews.com/newsstory/kennywood-a-pittsburgh-summer-classic/

Kennywood

4800 Kennywood Boulevard

West Mifflin, PA 15122

412-461-0500 or kennywood.com

When Pitt student Mike Cherpak heads to work every day, he can look forward to a calming day of work, even if everyone around him is screaming.

After working at Kennywood for six years, Cherpak — a Pittsburgh local and Pitt junior — has a good idea about how Kennywood works, at least in terms of park maintenance. He supervises the amusement park-clean up. He said his department offers a laid-back work environment and that the daily similar clean-up routine is also “very calming.”

But wait: what is Kennywood? Put simply, it’s something all Pittsburgh locals know about. It’s actually a bit like the Steelers – if you live here, you better love it.

Entering its 113th season of operation, Kennywood has been around since 1898.

While the park doesn’t release specific attendance figures, 2.1 million people total visit Kennywood or one of its local sister parks, Idlewild and Sandcastle annually, according to public relations spokesperson Jeff Filicko.

According to their website, the Pittsburgh Kennywood amusement park was founded by a railway company, in essence giving the transportation system extra income — trolleys would take people to the amusement park and the company overall would make extra money.

But by 1902 the company was tired of operating Kennywood.

They sold Kennywood to new owners, and over the last century the park changed hands and expanded to include new rides for all ages.

Today it still stands as a “traditional amusement park” even as it adapts to the 21st century, according to the Kennywood website.

“We’re not your mega-plastic, metal-everywhere park,” Filicko said, explaining that Kennywood visitors can ride the “best blend of rides” from metal and wooden coasters to water rides, down to a very slow historical train ride.

Visitors can also bring picnic baskets and eat at picnic tables in parts of the park, or they can purchase typical amusement park foods.

Kennywood recently underwent another ownership change, but Filicko does not feel this has affected the park.

“The main difference is the new ownership structure tends to be on the business aspect,” Filicko said. “The main reason they bought us was they liked the park and the way we ran, so they’re more content to let us run as usual and make changes to the business aspect of things.”

Safety is also a priority at Kennywood.

Filicko said every ride goes through a saftey inspection and has to be signed off before it’s open to the public.

The safety inspection process seems to work; Kennywood’s last publicized accident was caused by bad weather in 2002, when the roof of a ride called The Whip collapsed. One woman was killed. No rides with found problems open, meaning the most harm that comes to guests is frustration when a favorite ride closes for a day.

Cherpak supervises the crew that runs trash pick-up, as well as maintaining the picnic grounds.

He begins his work shift around 11:30 a.m. and, depending on how late the crowds stay, does not go home until 10 or 11 p.m.

The shifts are very similar and not very exciting, he said.

When he’s not on the clock, he can ride whatever he wants in the park, and he definitely recommends certain things to all first-time visiting students.

“The obvious answer for what [Pitt students] should eat is the Potato Patch Fries,” Cherpak said.

He also recommended the Phantom’s Revenge coaster ride as a must; but he added that the new Kennywood coaster might be better. He hasn’t had the chance to ride it yet.

The Sky Rocket is “ little bit different” from a traditional coaster, Filicko said.

Instead of the coaster “clicking” its way up a hill on a chain, Sky Rocket is literally launched up a hill from its station and up a starting hill

The ride is “about 65 seconds long, which seems short, but is every bit as long as the Phantom,” Filicko said.

Cherpak will continue to work at Kennywood during the fall, when the park hosts its annual Phantom Fright Nights. Deals directed at college students are easiest to find during the fall, but Kennywood bargain tickets are available now, too.

“Typically at any given time there are multiple discounts for Kennywood,” Filicko said. “Our college discounts tend to appear toward Fright Nights, as it’s more conducive to when students are around.”

With a new ride in its fleet, Kennywood Park might not have anything new occurring right away — but if history says anything, there will be more changes soon enough at the park.

“There’s nothing definite yet for future plans, but consistently we tend to open new rides or bring back a classic ride,” Filicko said.

Top Ten Disney Films

Top 10 Disney Movies

Disney is just one of those companies – you say the name, and it’s recognized instantly as a classic old company with animated classics as well as some decent live action films (and admittedly, many failures). My childhood memories are heavily dominated by Disney memories. But what films stand out the most over the years and through my childhood?

Well, it took some thought to come up with this list. I immediately had to rule out Disney Pixar, otherwise all ten spaces would have been filled immediately. As I’ve stated before, I consider that company superior and separate – Disney is a financial supporter only. There are some older films on this list, but mostly, these are newer films. This isn’t to say I don’t adore and respect older classics from Disney, just that they all didn’t make my personal top ten countdown.

On that note, let’s see which films are nostalgic and touching even to this day.

10. Treasure Planet: This 2002 release turned the ‘Treasure Island’ story into an animated sci-fi adventure. It was nominated for an Academy Award, but it did poorly at the box office. I’ve never understood this, because I love this movie – and according to most reviews, so did the majority of critics. While not the best film out there, it really was and remains to me a very good, fun adventure. Young boy and delinquent Jim Hawkins travels with a crew after discovering a map to the treasure of a pirate who terrorized the galaxy in the past. On his journey he learns about himself, makes friends, and, well, the usual shenanigans in an adventure. The designs of the galaxies and creatures (remember: it’s sci-fi) were pretty decent, the voice acting was memorable, the characters were interesting even if there were clichés. I wouldn’t consider the animation the best, but it certainly wasn’t bad. Now, I admittedly have not read the novel this was loosely based on – but believe me, this adventure has a wonderful energy whether you’re a fan of the novel or not.

9. Pocahontas: I really do like this movie by Disney. It’s historically inaccurate, but then again, so are most films – I can’t yell at Disney for that. As a little girl I remember loving the main character – free spirited, with simple beauty and strength abound, Pocahontas went through quite the adventure with her animal friends in this movie after meeting John Smith and interacting with the settlers coming to the New World. The animation is beautiful, the voice acting well done, and even if there are inaccuracies, I think I can appreciate this movie even now. It stirs my emotions every time.
But here’s my complaint: why in the world did the re-release change the words in parts to be more PC? Trust me, your children will not be affected by some harsh words in a G rated film (reality has a far stronger impact), and if anything, the fact that the settlers were so racist against the Native American people was one of the few accurate things I remember as a kid. Don’t cushion the truth to make people feel better, please; we learn more that way. (I really am bitter for the company ruining a very powerful song with their edits. Luckily I own the original soundtrack!)

8. Rescuers Down Under: I know a lot of people may not agree with me, but I actually think this is one of about two Disney sequels that improved when compared to its original. I love the first film, but this sequel…just, wow. The original was about two mice rescuing a little girl from the middle of nowhere. The sequel is about the two mice rescuing a boy who is protecting an endangered eagle in a land filled with dangerous animals and people, with a possible love triangle in the mix. The animation is incredible (I ran around as the fantastic looking eagle from this movie on Halloween several years in a row), the villain is a bit more intimidating than the original’s, and there’s just so much more action to appreciate. I think this film is pretty under appreciated, especially for a Disney film. Give it a viewing.

7. Brave Little Toaster: OK, I have to admit, it shouldn’t be surprising that I like this film – a lot of the people on this project went on to become a part of the Pixar team (and I’m not biased at all!). This film turned ordinary house appliances into lonely living beings determined to make it home to their original owner – who is no longer the little boy they remember, but a young man getting ready to go to college. The main characters travel to find him and meet a large variety of other characters, some nice, most of them not. With pretty good animation and a ton of imagination, I still appreciate this movie today.

6. Mulan: Surprise surprise. ‘Mulan’ is one of the newer Disney films, turning the Disney princess into a warrior princess who pretends to be a man to join the army in her father’s place. She and fellow soldiers must train hard to protect their people from the incoming Huns. While there are some things I can criticize in it, let’s be honest: there always are. But honestly, my personal pet peeves don’t change the fact that this movie truly is fun to watch – the animation is lovely, the voice acting very good, and the music and storyline exciting and fun.

5. Beauty and the Beast: This fairy tale about a girl and a beast falling in love quickly became a Disney classic. It was received with incredible positive response, and I don’t blame anyone for it. Honestly, I don’t feel like there’s much I can say about this one. With Belle and the Beast as opposing and yet very appealing main characters, fantastic animation and some of the best composed music I’ve ever heard, this movie is easily one of Disney’s best.

4. Miracle of the White Stallions: Now here’s an oldie that I bet almost no one has even heard of. This movie is from 1963, and tells the tale of how the Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna were saved during World War II. It’s based on a true story, and has some fantastic camera work and old actors in it. The horses are the focus and yet are not – the people tell the story, and the horses are a constant presence even when not on camera. Seeing this film makes me want to see these horses on tour again – there are actually two real performances made by the stallions in this film, directed by the original hero from this very story. I was relieved that this film made it to DVD, because even though Disney didn’t give it any respect and didn’t attempt to clean it up at all, I was very happy to see it again.

3. The Lion King: This is another one of those ‘90s classics that I feel doesn’t need any explanation. This fantastic Disney original about a lion cub earning his throne contributed a lot, from more fantastic music to one of the most recognized deaths in cinema. I personally get a kick out of seeing footage of a lion from the zoo being brought to the studio so the artists have a reference for the drawings – and the effort really shows and paid off.

2. Hunchback of Notre Dame: I love this movie – I love the villain, I love the beautiful and caring Esmeralda, and I love Quasimodo and his growth and role in the film as he comes to terms with his looks, learns about his past, and helps the gypsy girl his master hunts. This film actually has a director and a producer from ‘The Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Lion King,’ so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that I adore it as much as I adore those. I know some people may actually wonder how this beat ‘Lion King’ – and truthfully, even though this movie was based on a classic tragic tale, I do think in some ways ‘Lion King’ may have a slightly better story, and in some ways, the other films have better animation sequences. So it still beat ‘Lion King’? Well, honestly, I am a theater lover, and anything that hires a professional choir and Broadway singer to do the music gets instant brownie points – not to mention, there’s Latin in this movie, and that language just screams with power to me. This soundtrack is one of the most stunning, with only one song that I can’t stand – and every other song gives me chills every time I hear it. Nostalgia Critic even granted Frollo’s “Hellfire” the top villain song. Put simply: I cheer when these play on my iPod, and I will always enjoy watching this movie.

So what tops ‘Hunchback’?

1. Fox and the Hound: An oldie but goodie, this movie was actually the last Disney film to favor some old styles in the credits before the ‘Renaissance of Disney’ began. This film tells the simple, beautiful tale of friendship between a fox (my favorite animal – I’m so not biased!) and a hound. Critics said that the film approached an old Disney magic, and I have to agree. The film just feels older and slower paced as it examines how the fox cub and hound pup grow up and how they move through their lives, and sometimes it has the old style animation as well, even if it was released in ’81 – long after a lot of other animated Disney classics. But to this day, I adore this movie. It makes me cry, and that is why this beats ‘Hunchback’ – because while ‘Hunchback’ gives me chills, this Disney film actually manages to bring tears to my eyes as much as its ending warms my heart.

And there’s my top 10 Disney movies. Feel free to agree or disagree, but as always, give each movie a fair chance and at least one viewing.

My Top 11 Films: Nostalgia Critic Style

I think it’s time to post something here, so why not begin with a personal favorite list? (And don’t tell me why not, please. I’m doing it.)

Anyone who has met me probably managed to find out, I love the Nostalgia Critic. One of the acts on thatguywiththeglasses.com, this weekly Internet review host mocks bad movies from before 2000 – generally, movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s. There are jokes and swear words galore as he summarizes his movie of choice. But just as fun is when the host presents top 11 lists of his favorite villains, films, ect. (“Why top 11? Because I like to go one step beyond.”)

So, in the spirit of one of my favorite Internet sites, here’s my top 11 – my favorite movies (as of 2010).

My Top 11:

11. “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” – I have to add this to the end of the list as a tribute of sorts. This is the movie that contributed to who I became in more ways than I can even begin to recall. It inspired me to begin to write, and it introduced me to five wonderful friends (and through them, other people). But the movie itself really is worth checking out when you’re in the mood for a cuter story. It’s a very safe movie for children. But it makes the interesting point of telling a story about a mustang captured and separated from his herd without the animals talking. The main characters are horses, so while there’s dialogue, much of the story is told through body language and facial expressions. Believe me – these animators did a very good job. I still find scenes from this movie impressive, and hand drawing and animating a horse is no easy feat. This may not be a favorite for many people, but it certainly is special to me.

10. “The Wizard of Oz” – An older classic that today contributed to the making of my favorite musical and one of my favorite novels (“Wicked”). “The Wizard of Oz” is such a mainstream item that it’s very hard to go through a month without a reference to it of some sort. Dorothy’s adventure to make it home and the companions she picks up along the way has fascinated viewers and readers for decades now – and while it wasn’t an immediate hit when this film was released, today it has earned its classic stance. (But seriously, people: there is no munchkin hanging from the background. It’s a bird they released on set.)

9. “The Prince of Egypt” – A film that did very well when it was released but isn’t well recognized in retrospect. But honestly, I believe it should be. Even though the story focuses on Moses and mentions Christianity many times (so yes, I understand it’s a touchy subject), the story told is honestly an epic one of brothers who become enemies and of standing by what one believes is right – no matter how difficult the stance becomes to take. The animation is beautiful, the music is awe inspiring, and the voice acting is incredibly moving. Give this movie a chance – it’s well worth it.

8. “Dead Poet’s Society” – An earlier film with Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard, the movie follows Williams (who plays a teacher) and the impact he has on his students. The setting is a conservative, competitive private school in the late 1950s. Needless to say, there are clashes between students and parents, as well as with teachers. Trust me when I say that I find this story powerful and emotional, especially Sean Leonard’s character. The setting is also beautiful, which probably contributes to why a story about teenagers is such a wonderful experience. Give this underrated film a shot, and you, too, will probably be saying, “Carpe diem.”

7. “V For Vendetta”/”Inception” – A tie!

“V For Vendetta” – Yes, I tend to like serious movies much more than I do comedies. I fell in love with this action packed sci-fi story the moment it was released – it was emotional and political, perhaps more touchy at the time it was released in some ways than it would be today. But certainly I wouldn’t call it less meaningful. I personally find many dystopian type stories hold important messages and warnings, always. I went on to read the comic this film was based on, and found the comics even more complex. But in both cases, this movie makes the interesting point that its main character is, in fact, a terrorist. Who’s side will you be on? Give it a try and decide for yourself.

“Inception” – There isn’t much I feel comfortable saying, since this film is still relatively new (especially compared to my other choices). All I will say is – Nolan, you did it again. Everything was suburb.


6. “The Dark Knight” – I doubt this is a surprise, either. While I was never a Batman fan as a child (I certainly recognized the character and why people loved him, but the Batman series did not have a place in my household due to a parent’s dislike for him), Christopher Nolan’s movies changed my feelings towards this hero quickly. But where ‘Batman Begins’ was a very fun action flick, the sequel had me on the edge of my seat, questioning morals and ethics, and oh yes: terrified of Heath Ledger. I was very jumpy when I left my late night screening. I thought his performance was phenomenal. By now, I would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard something about this film, and all I can say is: it captures and puts me in awe every time.

5. “The Prestige” – Also a Christopher Nolan film (I’m not biased at all!), this movie fascinated me from day one. It tells the story about two competing magicians and how far they go to surpass the other and stay in business. Truthfully, I’ll say up front neither man (played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) is a good man, but neither is an outright villain. While this story is science fiction, the characters truly feel human and honest – and you as the viewer decide whom you agree with, what you’re comfortable with. The movie, though, is definitely like a magic trick. The first time through, you won’t really be looking. But once you know the secret? It becomes incredibly obvious. (Yes, I just semi-quoted the movie.) But the acting is suburb, the screenplay is very good, and I always found the visuals stunning. Give this movie a go. It shouldn’t disappoint.

4. “The Lord of the Rings” – Really, do I NEED to explain this? I love Tolkien’s novel(s), and I love Jackson’s screen adaptation. I love the acting, I adore the land it was filmed in. The effort put into this film astounds me. The tale is an epic adventure, and every character faces trials that are fascinating. I can always watch this trilogy and find and notice something new. Even the commentaries entertain me more than some other films. And honestly, as we go on ten years following their release, I can look back and say they left a lasting impression and gave my childhood a fantastic nostalgic trilogy.

3. “Freedom Writers” – By now you can tell I like a serious movie; I also like activism related stories given my own involvement in some organizations. I consider this one of the better-made serious, human-story films. Based on diaries kept by the real people involved, “Freedom Writers” explains how one teacher struggles to reach and teach her students – all of them from different backgrounds and gangs in the early ‘90s. This story will have you questioning the education system as well as how you look at people themselves. It’s inspiring, emotional, and just a fantastic and deep story about people from a time not that long ago.

2. “How To Train Your Dragon” – As much as I love serious films, I often adore younger audience/family films just as much – I truly believe that since they cannot sell with sex and violence, they tend to try to put a bit more effort into the story. And while this doesn’t always make the movie good, it certainly contributes a lot to the ones I adore.
Ironically, after this rant I remembered this film HAD battle scenes. Whoops?
Anyway, this one gets the number two spot because, FINALLY, we got to see decent looking dragons that weren’t flat out evil on the screen. This movie had me leaving the theater pouting because I couldn’t go out to find my own Toothless to train. The main character is adorable (never thought I would say that about a Viking), but the dragons steal the show. Just give this film a shot. It’s incredibly entertaining.

So wait: what could possibly top dragons and Vikings?


I’ll tell you.

1. Every Pixar film ever made.


Honestly, it’s impossible to pick a single favorite when it comes to Disney Pixar (which, honestly, I always consider it’s own separate department with talent surpassing ordinary Disney. Seriously, guys: quit making direct to DVD sequels. They’re no good). Every single film has something that makes me love it as much as the others. The very early films like “Toy Story” invoke pure nostalgia since I was a child when they were released, while later films like “Wall-E” bring both fantastic fun and an element of seriousness to the big screen. The very first ten minutes of “Up” never fail to make me misty eyed. All of the films, though, have the same things that make them classics to be: fantastic animation, wonderful casting and acting, and just flat out enjoyable stories. I’m especially looking forward to their 2012 epic tale “Brave.”

There’s my list of favorite movies. Agree, disagree – but be fair and give them each a viewing first