Kennywood replaces drop tower with giant discovery ride

[ECG]

Couldn't find this posted anywhere even though it's kind of old news.
As many of you know, Kennywood torn down the Pitt Fall drop tower after the park closed for the 2011 season. What hasn't been mentioned is that they are replacing it with a Zamperla Giant Discovery 40, which is a new version of the popular pendulum spin & swing rides. It's very similar to maXair at Cedar Point or Delirium at Kings Island (both Huss giant frisbee rides). The ride is set to open in May.
I like giant pendulum rides & drop towers, so I wish they could have just added this without tearing down Pitt Fall. What do you all think?

NEW! BLACK WIDOW -Something wicked is coming to Kennywood

The Black Widow experience starts with riders sitting in outward-facing suspended seats that form a giant circle with a total of 40 riders. With legs dangling freely, each rider is secured with a shoulder restraint. Then the thrill begins.

The giant circle begins to swing in a pendulum motion while rotating counterclockwise. At the peak of the swing riders will reach a height of 146 feet above the ground and experience that feeling of weightlessness coveted by thrill seekers.

The counterclockwise rotation and pendulum motion creates a variety of different sensations depending on a rider’s specific position. The combination of both elements results in a unique ride experience every time!

Black Widow will stand at 90 feet tall but will reach a height of 146 feet in full swing with an angle of 120 degrees from the center. The pendulum motion propels riders back and forth at 68 miles per hour.

While riding Black Widow, guests experience a one of a kind perspective of Lost Kennywood.

Black Widow will have a height requirement of 52” tall.

source (pdf file):
http://kennywood.com/site/documents/2011BlackWidowPressRelease.pdf

Manufacturer ride info:
http://www.zamperla.com/en/product/145/giant-discovery.html

SpinSpider at TusenFryd in Norway:

 

[Hyde]

Excited! Giant frisbees are some of my favorites thrill rides out there.

Is this going exactly where Pit Fall stood?

 

[ECG]

^tr.v. re·placed, re·plac·ing, re·plac·es. 1. To put back into a former position or place. 2. To take or fill the place of. :wink:

 

[Hixee]

I like giant pendulum rides & drop towers, so I wish they could have just added this without tearing down Pitt Fall.

I don't love drop towers, they still scare the **** out of me, but I enjoyed Pitt Fall and I thought it gave you a really good view (the side we were on at least) of the valley/river and the rest of Pittsburgh. It's a shame they've removed it for this.

Would have been cool to have both of these attractions at Kennywood, they're both good fun!

 

[Lofty]

It's a shame that they're removing a Drop Tower for this, but, this ride type is actually fantastic, very exhilarating. The bigger the Giant Frisbees, the more intense they are I've found. Although some of the smaller ones are intense, these bigger ones can be **** scary!

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Ahhh I love giant frisbees, my favourite flat rides actually, so I'm happy they're getting this, but don't exactly understand why it has to go in the place of Pitfall. Kennywood isn't that pressed for space and it's not like removing Pitfall opened up a huge footprint. Drop towers scare the crap out of me so I really enjoy them, and even though Pitfall was far from the best one I've been on, it did have amazing views as Hixee said.

I echo the people who said, why can't they have both?

 

[Hixee]

I echo the people who said, why can't they have both?

I'm no expert on Kennywood, but where else would it go? In my opinion they should rip out that inverting swinging ship thing (no idea what the actual name of it is) because it was atrocious, and put this in there.

 

[Snoo]

Well, I hope you guys know that Pitt Fall was a maintenance nightmare and it did actually kinda suck. The spot on the hill isn't exactly tons of space, but can fit the footprint of a Frisbee. Personally, I'd take this over the crap that was Pitt Fall any day of the week.

 

[TP Rich]

From the drop towers I've been on (Detonator, Skyraker 001 and Bounce), I think they are very good rides. It is a shame to tear it down, but the replacement does look hopeful to me.

 

[Pokemaniac]

I can attest that these things are mighty fun. At least by Norwegian standards. The sheer size of the thing might make it less forceful and whatnot (there are some hefty positive Gs, though), but the height you find yourself at more than weighs up for it. Sitting at the very peak and leaning you head backwards, so the surrounding area appears to be some forty metres above you... what a sensation. Similarly, when you find yourself staring straight down, at the apex of the swing...

All in all, it's as fun as you make it. And it will surely be a signature ride.

 

[Mysterious Sue]

It's a shame they couldn't fit both in, but between a drop tower and a frisbee, I'd pick the frisbee any day. There's so much 'airtime' on those things, I've yet to go on a bad one.

 

[Darren B]

So Pit Fall isn't being 'torn down', It's been sold to an unknown park...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11349/11 ... latest.xml

Advertisement:- http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=1494

 

[Tomatron]

The one at Tusenfryd was great, so this will be a good replacement for the Drop Tower.

Intamin freefalls are great, but like any ride if they don't work properly and keep needing to be fixed, then they aren't worth keeping.

 

[ECG]

So Pit Fall isn't being 'torn down', It's been sold to an unknown park...

By torn down I meant taken down. Sometimes my brain doesn't translate my German thoughts correctly. Sorry for giving the impression that Pitt Fall was possibly destroyed, but I think pretty much everyone here knows that it was dismantled & not turned into scrap metal.

 

[Hyde]

I hope they are able to take advantage of the location in the park - directly over the great hillside looking down towards the city. Have a big swing at such a change in elevation would be a pretty good ride I imagine.