Never been to Kennywood, but Knoebels and Hershey are both really nice. Hershey's getting a little too expensive, but Knoebels is nice because you only pay for the rides you go on.

And of course, every little firehall with their annual carnival featuring questionably safe amusement rides gives you that extra "thrill." A couple years ago, the Jefferson Fire Co.'s fair one of the rides got stuck - good thing they were already at the fire hall!

I grew up around Pittsburgh before moving to Central PA, so I've been to all three parks many times. If I had to rank them it would be Kennywood > Knoebels > Hershey. All three are great though.

Everything west of Centre County was a mistake /s, but I'll have to check out Kennywood! Is there stuff for little (<5) kids to do or is it more like adventure rides?

Is it bad to say I’ve never been to Kennywood or knoebels

I can't speak of Kennywood, but I definitely agree with Hershey on the bottom. Knoebels just has a different feeling to it that I've always gravitated towards.

No time like the present! Well, actually, not today. Knoebels is closed for 60 more days. It's definitely a cool park, and if you camp out you get the whole experience.

Where are you coming from in PA?

Yeah, Hershey Park is cool but it always sort of felt like it was trying to be too many things to too many people. Like, Knoebels is very clearly a family park.

Hershey's great for concerts though, and I will always love chocolate world.

I have to wonder if they have taken into account wait times. If would take two days at a minimum to ride each of Hershey's coasters. Knoebel's is so much better.

Kennywood is old school cool. Reasonable prices, friendly competent employees, delicious food, not over crowded(at least in the ten times I’ve been there).

Pretty much near Altoona. I spent most of my time at delgrossos

I hate amusement parks with a passion. Just not my thing. However, I have two kids. What is a good time to get to each of these, except Hershey (been there). Always heard they were good, just never went.

Uh oh gearing up for even more crazy mobs to descend upon Hershey this summer 😱

Went to Knoebels once, ten years ago now, and I was not impressed. The place seemed kind of derelict.

Never been to Kennywood, Knoebels, or Hersheypark. Waldameer for the win!

Kennywood has a pretty wide variety of attractions ranging from tame kiddie rides up to modern steel coasters. Many of the rides there are classics that really set the park apart from more modern parks. There are some really unique attractions there like an old fashioned walkthrough funhouse modeled after Noah's Ark, some top tier wood coasters like The Jackrabbit, The Thunderbolt, and The Racers. as well as a lot of other really great rides.

Avoid Kennywood on weekdays in May, it's full of students on class trips.

I think Waldameer is comparable to Knoebels.

Idlewild and Waldameer are also very nice parks. I haven't been to Dorney Park in years but remember enjoying it.

There are plenty of reasons to like Knoebel's more than Hershey, but their roller coaster lineups aren't comparable. Of course it takes a long time to ride everything at Hershey.

Pretty much grew up at Knoebels. That place will always hold a special place in my heart. Not to mention the food!

Hershey is getting particularly bad with their food and beverage prices. It used to be “amusement park markup” but now it feels downright predatory.

I went to college with Rick Knoebel. Really nice guy. So happy Knoebel's is getting the recognition it deserves.

Haven't been there in a couple years but I loved it as a kid, has an arcade, a water park, massive roller coaster and a skyline, everything you'd need for a good park, it just sucks that people are garbage and like putting garbage everywhere, I think there are still silly bands on top of the buildings over the skyline XD

I loooove knoebels! Free parking and entry, used to go just for lunch and a few rides on a nice summer day. Pick up a $20 ticket book for $16 at Weis and you're good to go. Haven't been since before the pandemic though.

DelGrosso’s has good food, and it’s cheap! Lakemont’s also nearby, and worth a visit as it has the oldest coaster in the world, Leap the Dips.

Kennywood?!?!

I thought that JsmithOTI just made that place up!

That’s exactly why I like it so much.

Waldameer has a karaoke stage and it's a riot to watch. That Ravine Flyer is a very good roller coaster.

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It's been cool to see Hershey Park evolve over the years, but I feel like it's lost what made it great - it used to be affordable and manageable. In the 90s, my parents could give me 20$ and drop me off with my friends for the day and I'd be good. One year we even got season passes and I think they were $60/person. I also worked there one summer and met my now husband. You could easily get on every ride in one visit. Now it feels like Hershey is trying to be the Disney of PA and it's just so expensive. The season passes have tiers now! We get discounted tickets through church or our kids' schools' fundraisers and go during the week to try and maximize our time, but it still feels over-crowded and the long waits make it difficult to get on many rides. I get that the park has expanded and improved a lot, and I understand why prices would increase, but I miss being able to just go to Hershey and not have to worry about spending an arm and a leg or feel pressured to try and ride everything to get our money's worth - it now costs 25$ just to park! That place has a lot of great memories for me and it makes me sad that my kids probably won't experience similarly. sigh Sorry, rant over lol I'll go yell at some clouds now.

Hersheypark is a premier American amusement park with some of the finest coasters in the world.

Not to take anything away from Knoebels, it’s a great park, but I don’t think it’s getting the kind of clientele as Hershey.

I love that Knoebels has so many trees. I think it's part of what gives it that different feel. Honestly, the little nature train might even be my favorite ride in the park. Riding through the trees and smelling the forest and feeling the breeze on a warm day is one of my favorite Knoebels memories.

My fiancé and I are planning a trip to Hershey & Knoebels this July! We'll be coming from Oregon. I remember going to both parks growing up, so I can't wait to get back. Phoenix was my first ever roller coaster.

Knoebels is also run by a family, and Hershey is run by a megacorporation. So there's a huge difference in available capital.

I used to enjoy going to Hershey when I was a kid. But it's so overcrowded now. The relaxed atmosphere at Knoebels is totally worth the extra hour drive. That's saying nothing of the food.

Well, what is it that you hate about amusement parks? If we know that, we can give you ideas for times to go that mitigate those problems.

For example, if wandering around in the heat is a problem, then we could tell you to visit around opening day of the season, or during Halloween or Christmas events the park night have. Or, if crowds are the problem, we can suggest going on weekdays. If price is the problem, we can suggest lower admission days or discounts (not to mention, Knoebels is free to enter, and works on a wristband/ticket system). You get the idea.

So what headaches are you trying to minimize?

Same here! I love the train. The chair lift is also relaxing, unless you're not a fan of heights.

> never been to Kennywood or knoebels

Sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to leave the sub. Mods?

>Hershey's getting a little too expensive

It blew my mind one day several years ago when I was comparing ticket prices and Hersheypark was more expensive than Cedar Point; a top tier amusement park if you like coasters.

Ofc a trip to Cedar Point would be more expensive for me in the end since I'd have to do lodging, but if I lived a few hours closer to Cedar Point (so if I move to Pittsburgh lol) I know which park I'd do for a day trip.

What I love about Knoebels is that so much of the park that was there when I was in high school is still there with little to no change. They never embraced $15 hot dogs or in-your-face advertising. It's just a chill and cheap place to relax and grab some amazing food.

Knoebels is significantly cheaper for a day, with free parking and reasonable ride ticket pricing. But they don’t offer a season pass, so if you’re visiting more than a few times over the season then Hershey is actually cheaper.

Hershey has one of the best coaster lineups in the country but it’s a typical corporate amusement park.

Knoebels is a more unique experience, it’s family owned with a lot of charm and they take really good care of their wooden coasters.

So it really comes down to what kind of experience you prefer.

If you dislike amusement parks because of the lines / pricing / feeling like cattle, you'll probably enjoy Knoebels. It's the only amusement park I know of where you can ride a coaster, watch someone carve a tree, play some mini golf, take a train ride (without any "edgy" animatronics trying to force a hamfisted story in your face), watch a metalsmith do their thing, catch a ring on a merry go round, and eat the world's most amazing food for about $20.

Their banana split at the watermill is to die for. The thing weighs about 20 pounds and it's, I dunno, a dollar. Probably two now due to inflation.

Pickle on a stick!

Knoebels is great for families with kids. You have the option to only pay for the rides they get on, which is great when you've got small kids who tend to be unpredictable. They have award winning food that doesn't break the bank. And they are dog friendly, which is a huge bonus for some.

They have specials for a lot of weekends and half off wristbands Wednesday nights. It's almost always busy but a comfortable busy, lots of room for everyone to spread out so you don't feel claustrophobic.

I successfully rode every coaster twice (except laugh track because that line is dumb long) in 1 day a few summers ago.

I love Idewild, particularly in the off season. We always go for the Highland Games and Hallaboo. It's the 3rd oldest amusement park in the country and it retains more charm, human scale, and.. not wildness, but less of a sense of every square inch being meticulously controlled for maximum profit, than many newer parks with bigger budgets on higher-priced property.

How old are your kids? If you're in the Pittsburgh area, Idewild is cheaper, less hectic, and has more stuff geared towards smaller children.

knoebels rules

Defunctland is a Youtube channel that does highly interesting documentaries on, among other things, amusement parks and attractions. A few months ago, he did one on Kennywood's biggest mistake. It was amusing how a guy whose career is talking about amusement parks and the relationships that locals have with them, was clearly a bit weirded out by how strongly Pittsburghers feel about Kennywood. Still, of the 10 oldest roller coasters in the country, 5 are in PA and 3 are at Kennywood. Whatever the park's current faults, I still find it really cool that my 5yo daughter can enjoy the same attractions that her great grandparents rode at her age.

(All in all, though, I prefer Idewild.)

EDIT: I totally forgot that the Old Mill that is the focus of the video dates all the way back to 1901, a generation older than the roller coasters. My daughter's great great grandparents may have ridden it as small children.

I'm southeast outside of Reading. Kids are 3 and 14.

>We always go for the Highland Games

We've probably crossed paths, my son used to be a competitive bagpiper. Idlewild is a great park if you have younger children. As you mentioned, it's on a human scale. It also has a European feel to it. I was surprised how much my children enjoyed the story book forest.

Ah, yeah. 14yo would definitely prefer Kennywood. My 6 yo loves Idewilde, but it only has a couple larger coasters. Good waterpark, though.

What I love about Waldameer is it’s easily doable in a few hours if you go on a weekday. And as a parent, I appreciate that they have things available for every age range. And of course the free parking and free admission.

They closed down lakemont a few years back. I have yet to know if they reopened since

Hey now I live like 20 minutes away from horseshoe curve if that accounts for anything lol

It’s open, but with fewer rides. Basically just Skyliner, Leap the Dips, Little Leaper, Go-Karts, and a few other small things.

It's okay, I kid.

They didn't close they were changing it, removing some rides adding stuff like Mini Golf and Batting cages and more green space. Rollercoasters still there. They still do Lights On The Lake for Christmas.

Probably for the best, from what I remember when was last there 10 years ago it was not in a good state and I doubt it got any better til they finally commited to updating it.

https://lakemontparkfun.com/

Knoebels May-June would be your best bet. It's only about an hour, hour and a half from Reading. Variety enough for both ages. Inexpensive. Best food of the bunch too.

I used to visit Hershey Park yearly with my grandma and the other grandkids like 25 years ago…. I was there for the launch of the WildCat coaster, fun times.

Well, I will tell you this, the premium at Hershey is the price and the service is not worth it.

Last summer my wife had two tickets from work and took the daughter (pretty sure they are over $50 if not $60 per person). It cost $25 to park (free at Knoebel's). They were there five hours and got to ride four rides. They also spent about $40 on food and drinks.

We also took the daughter, two granddaughters with us to Knoebel's. We got a free pavilion where we cooked out. The kids are small so it was kiddie rides (cost me $40.00 for the two of them). Wife and daughter did a few rides for about $20.

Other miscellaneous stuff was probable another $40.00, but five of us spent the day there.

So I guess the clientele at Knoebel's is smarter.

Putting Hersheypark and Knoebels in the same league always seemed pretty laughable to me.

Hersheypark wins in exactly one category: Number of top tier coasters. That's it. It's more expensive not only in the up front cost but the ridiculous in park mark-ups. The lines are outrageous. The parking is outrageous. The food as expensive as it is, is terrible. The value proposition for non-riders is infinitely bad. It feels like it's trying to be Disney-lite in the worst possible way, using your affection for the brand to steam roll you with a bad park experience.

Everything else about Knoebel's is better because it has to be. Long lines help no-one and maybe even hurt them because you spend less money. It also helps you, if you end up there on a day when it's slammed and the lines are long, you spend less money. You can bring in outside food so the food stalls have to be competitive which means not only are they far more reasonably priced but mostly just straight up tasty. It's practically gourmet cuisine compared to the shit they serve at Hersheypark. If you're non-rider it doesn't cost you anything just to walk through the door. There is usually at least passable live music to kill time out of line with. The parking is free. Knoebel's isn't built in an up-jumped parking lot - it's not hard to find a shady spot because basically everywhere is a shady spot.

It's not even close.

They took out the Wildcat last year.

When they’re even open. Place is half closed everytime I’m there and never open past 9

Idlewild & SoakZone (724) 238-3666 https://maps.app.goo.gl/hhhkDnZCtLeqbUtp9?g_st=ic

Is great for little kids. Also lots of trees and about an hour east of Pittsburgh.

And they have great food! Real food not just freezer dump crap.

Yeah I fell out of touch after Covid. I’ve actually been to that part of Altoona maybe once or twice last year.

>So I guess the clientele at Knoebel's is smarter.

How do you draw this conclusion, when you, personally, are the clientele of both parks?

I was not, and the tickets to Hershey were on her company. So she did not pay for them. After that debacle she said she is never going back since it is a ripoff.

No love for Dorney

I remember reading about that. Likely due to it being mostly a wooden track? Reading that made me feel sad, and also, very old lol.

Where’s blands park :(

I used to go to kennywood as a kid for the rides and fun. As an adult I go for the food. My god potato patch fries, the taco stand tacos, and the funnel cakes. I think last time I went I gained like 8lbs and that was even with walking the park the whole day.

They are building Wildcat's Revenge and I believe it is opening up this year.

Who needs Knoebels when you have Lakemont 😭

Tri Taters are my go to

God, remember when coke cans were good for free admission to Dorney Park? That was so much fun

Hell yeah, they got to bring that back! Lol

Deep fried bacon slab on a stick, dipped in chocolate. Fried alligator nuggets. Fish and chips basket. Smoked Turkey legs. Tri-taters. Mac and cheese bites. Candy apple. So many kinds of fudge. Salt water taffy. Fresh squeezed lemonade slushies. If I could live there, I would. Probably in the fudge cottage by the gift shops.

Edit: and the bucket of boardwalk fries with salt and malt vinegar!!! 🤤

Damn you really spoke to my soul with this comment 🥲

I like Waldameer the best. Can bring your own food and it's small enough to where you can get a good look at everything and not be completely worn out. It feels like it's actually made for people instead of a bunch of long, winding, hot paths between massive rides.

And when they are open the rides aren't

Some people might say that the quality of rides in an amusement park is by far the most significant metric to judge them by. You’re not convincing many people to spend the time or money to visit any of these places by appealing to the non-riders.

Pierogies! I think it's the only amusement park I've been that has pierogies.

Obligatory reminder that Hershey uses slavery in it's supply chain

Yes! And they’re really good.

Those people would be wrong.

Loads of people go to amusement parks with no intention of getting on roller coasters. The aged, the very young, the car sickened, the pregnant, the spinally challenged, the vertically challenged, people who just flat out don't like it.

They go to be with family, friends; to play the carnival games; to watch the shows; to enjoy indulgent food. Trying to reduce the whole experience to the single element of coasters, even for the people who ride them, is absurd.

I went to Hershey this year and lines were longer than Disney. Fast pass is more expensive too.

Some good coasters though, and it has a special place in my wives heart.

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Similarly, I think that going to a derelict, glorified campground to enjoy the snacks and trees is absurd. But please continue to enjoy Knoebels.

I've been to all three a number of times and agree that each has it's own unique charms. Hershey is the closest and I started going there from about age ten when it was still a picnic grove and you bought tickets for the rides. The funhouse was truly fun with the barrel walk through, spinning disc, and spinning bowl that sadly became too expensive to insure for liability. Dorney Park was pretty good too with the old original rides but some were removed or revamped and the soul of the place was lost.

My gf and I tried to go to Hershey Park last summer. I've been going to Hershey since I was a kid, but I haven't been in maybe six years. It was absolutely packed. We mostly meandered around, trying to find rides with relatively short lines. In about six hours, we rode only four rides. We left early and went to Troegs.

Man I loved Kennywood growing up. I remember riding the bus with my grandma and my older sister to get there and had so much fun on Gold Rusher.

The Waldemeer disrespect is real.

Idlewild is actually pretty great! Love the location and the small crowds. And Daniel Tigers Neighborhood was a huge hit for my kiddo.

I've only been to Knoebels once, loved it wasn't crowded & I had the best tasting ice cream I ever had since being a kid

My dad and I are a little obsessed with Knoebels. We go multiple times a year. Now that we're older, we don't even ride rides. We go to walk around and eat food. And maybe play mini golf.

agreeI don't like amusement parks but liked Konebels, small laid back in the country but fun , think I am going to.plan a trip this summer with the kids

Their food maps don't help much either, we took lunch at a food court we found, but later walked by a smokehouse tucked behind a hill and some trees near the train, and we strongly regretted not going there instead. By then it was near closing and we weren't planning on buying more than one overpriced meal there anyway (plus we'd bought those absurd milkshakes, delicious but probably the single most unhealthy thing I've consumed in years), we were just looking to do our fairwell trainride before we left.

How do you feel ripped off by free tickets? 😂

$25 for parking is a ripoff. So are the food prices.

I think Hershey is more specifically trying to draw the same crowd as Cedar Point, not Disney. Compared to Cedar Point, Hershey has much more similar operating seasons, ride offerings, and some people (e.g. Pittsburghers) are easily within driving distance of either one. During the Coaster Wars of the 80's-'00s, Hershey was heavily involved, trying to keep up with Cedar Point. That's how it got everything from Lightning Racer to even Wildcat's Revenge opening later this year.

So think of it more like Cedar Point than Disney, and you'll probably find a fairer comparison.

I agree with you! They have a soft serve blueberry ice cream that is my absolute favorite.

Knoebels consistently wins Golden Ticket awards for its food, including this past year in 2022. It's a high honor, and Knoebels takes it very seriously.

They also have the best wooden coaster of 2022: Phoenix. That one also consistently wins awards.

Kennywood has really gone downhill

Knoebels is literally old-school cool though, probably more than Kennywood. I like Kwood's historic rides, but that's literally everything at Knoebels. Their whole deal is refurbishing historic rides, or rides that would otherwise go SBNO. They have rides there that you can count on one hand how many exist in the country, or even the world. Sometimes the only remaining model is at Knoebels.

And Knoebels is free to enter, free to park. It runs on a ticket/wristband system. It totally feels like an old school theme park.

I can't possibly over-exaggerate how good the food is there. You've got plenty of basics like pizza and chicken fingers, which is great if you have picky eaters (especially kids). But name one other amusement park where you can get kielbasa, pizza, pierogies, fried alligator, fries, a banana split, and literally-made-just-that-second kettle corn all within 100' of each other.

Dang, now I'm hungry.

Knoebels really stepped up their landscaping recently. I worked there through HS, and have been there countless times, but last year I was really impressed with some of the landscaping they installed, especially around their ticket amusements (Phoenix, Twister etc). The wooden coasters are my favorite.

I remember when they were $1.75 for 3. Now I think it’s like $5, but they are so good.

Ask him to stop paying his employees like trash. Other than that, the park is great.

The Phoenix is incredible. Can’t decide if I like that or the Twister more, though.

I think Six Flags Great Adventure used to have the same promo in the '00s.

Yup! It's scheduled to open this summer, though a firm opening date is yet to be announced.

I got Haluski there this summer, too. The pizza place is gone, now (the one by the haunted house).

Wildcat was famously rough. Wooden megacoasters like that tend to have lots of maintenance and structural issues that impact longevity.

RMC, the firm behind Wildcat's Revenge, is well known for their wooden to hybrid coaster conversions, that use a good chunk of the structure from the previous ride. For some examples of exactly this happening, check out these coasters:

• Iron Gwazi, Busch Gardens Tampa (formerly Gwazi, a GCI dueling coaster, similar to Lightning Racer at Hershey)

• Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point (formerly Mean Streak)

• Iron Rattler, Six Flags Fiesta Texas (formerly Rattler)

• New Texas Giant, Six Flags Over Texas (formerly Texas Giant)

And plenty more.

But don't feel old. It's partly a trend running right now among amusement parks to get an RMC coaster, and partly correction for an old trend of huge wooden coasters that didn't last.

Dorney is ok but it just gets crazy busy. We get season passes because we are close and the new silver tier is worth it if nearby. We love it in the fall when it's less crowded and cooler.

The water park though...we have young get kids and every time we went the one year the wave pool and kid pool area were always closed due to poop. I'll do water slides but count me out for the wave pool.