Published Friday, September 27, 2002
By Erin Remai
Herald Staff Writer
Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin, Pa., used to lock its gates the night of Labor Day and remain closed until April.
Not this year.
Friday the 13th was the premiere of Kennywood's Phantom Fright Nights, which transform the picturesque park into a scene of terror.
Phantom Fright Nights continue from 6 p.m. to midnight every Friday and Saturday until Oct. 19. Tickets are $17.50 at the gate. Discounted tickets for $14.50 are available at Blockbuster Video stores.
Kennywood follows the trend of other area amusement parks, such as Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, and Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in Aurora, Ohio, by extending the regular amusement park season into October and offering Halloween-themed attractions.
"We typically always looked at Labor Day as the end of the season," said Kennywood General Manager Pete McAney, explaining that much of Kennywood's personnel are college students who must return to class at the end of summer.
Local college students and high schoolers will don the creepy costumes and operate the rides and attractions for Phantom Fright Nights, McAney said.
Ten rides -- including the Old Mill, the Jack Rabbit, the Racer and the Phantom's Revenge -- will be open during Phantom Fright Nights, along with several haunted walk-through attractions.
During the summer, the Penny Arcade on the midway near the Jack Rabbit is alive with the sounds of video games and skee-ball. Now it's Creeper's Crypt, a haunted maze with ghouls lurking around every corner.
Just down the midway, near the Log Jammer, is Terror Vision in 3-D. In the summer, it's a harmless picnic pavilion. Now, willing participants put on 3-D glasses to take a peek at a creepy circus sideshow, complete with scary clowns and eerie big-top music.
The Kennyville Cemetery, located behind the park's candy store near the entrance tunnel, has everything a cemetery should, including fog, gravestones and the walking undead, played by Kennywood team members.
Added touches contribute to the haunted feeling of the park, including heavy fog and a strobe light at the entrance tunnel, scary music and the Phantom himself, who greets guests as they get off the rides or come out of the walk-through attractions. Skeletons sit at the picnic tables and in the paddle-boats in the Kennywood lagoon.
Even the food has a spooky theme, with such fare as Fright Fries, Monster Dogs, Cotton Cobwebs, Brain Freezes, Grave Yard Pizza and Cemetery Sausage.
For those who come to the park to try their skill at games, 12 game stands will also be open.
Because of the graphic nature of the attractions, Phantom Fright Nights is not recommended for children under 13.
Offering Phantom Fright Nights was the perfect excuse to extend Kennywood's season into the fall, when the weather is still pleasant, and to show off the park's setting and natural beauty, McAney said.
"We have a beautiful park. We're all about fun at Kennywood," McAney said.
Kennywood is located on state Route 837 in West Mifflin, about 10 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. For more information about Kennywood call (412) 461-0500 or visit www.kennywood.com.