only backgroundI'm a wife, mother and grandmother. I'm opinionated. I contradict myself frequently. Most of all, I love my kids. I believe in them. I fight for them. They're weird and wonderful. If you want to know more, here's a bunch of other stuff from my old site.
My heart is breaking. I’m sure I’m getting way too emotional about this and I need to step back and wait to see what happens. After all, this is business. Okay, deep breath.
I just read that the family that has owned Kennywood Park in West Miflin, PA near Pittsburgh for over 100 years has sold the park as well as its other amusement park holdings. Harry Henniger, a direct descendent of one of the original owners, F A Henniger, announced that Parques Reunidos, based in Madrid, Spain has purchased the park holdings of Kennywood Entertainment. Apparently, Henniger and family are comfortable with Parques Reunidos and their plans for the future of Kennywood.
“The Kennywood experience—as visitors have come to love and expect—will continue. Nothing will seem different, even to the folks working at the parks. Existing management and staff will remain in place,” said Harry Henninger, Chairman of Kennywood Entertainment. “In recent years, we’ve had talks with other operators wishing to acquire us, but Parques Reunidos is the first one to share our vision and philosophy.”
Maybe I’m overreacting. It’s just that Kennywood is a tradition. It’s special. It’s this wonderful amusement park nestled in the valley where people are encouraged to bring picnic baskets rather than buy overpriced food. It’s where every single school kid in the Pittsburgh area, including those in surrounding West Virginia and Ohio, visits on class trips at the end of the school year.
There is something both exciting and comforting about Kennywood. It isn’t “someone else’s” park; it’s ours. By the time a kid is 10, he knows the lay of Kennywood as well as he knows his own neighborhood. Yet, there’s always a few new rides side by side with the old favorites. This past summer I rode through Garfield’s Nightmare with Kendyll; 33 years ago I rode through with a boyfriend but it was called the Old Mill then. Think Tunnel of Love.
Kennywood isn’t as famous as Disney; it isn’t as flashy as a Vegas hotel or the neon signs of Broadway. Kennywood park is a family tradition where the “family” is anyone who grew up within 70 or so miles from the park. Let’s just hope that in 30 years, my granddaughter is able to share the magic of Kennywood Park with her children, and they with theirs. Anything less would be tragic.
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My mom was just telling me they sold The Meadows race track too. She was saying there was something on the news about the Kennywood deal and back taxes …
Kennywood for sale seems so impossible in my mind.
I know. Kennywood is forever. It’s like everyone’s favorite, fun aunt. It’s a connection that we all have because everyone around here has a childhood memory of it.
why do I get so emotional over these things?