Dig in With Graver: Deluxe Potato Patch Fries, Big Dippers and a Heaping Helping of Nostalgia at Kennywood

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

As a journalist and Pittsburgh history nerd, I find a Media Day stroll through Kennywood to be just as thrilling as the rides.

This year’s event was especially exciting because I got to tour the park with Brian Butko, director of publications at Heinz History Center in the Strip District.

He literally wrote the book on Kennywood and is a veritable Raging Rapids of knowledge about the place. I’ve admired the West Mifflin native’s work since I was no taller than the top of Jeeters’ hat, so it was nice to finally meet him.

His outfit even matched Kenny Kangaroo’s!

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Now owned by Herschend, the world’s largest family-held themed attractions company, Kennywood opens for its 128th season at 11 a.m. on April 18.

If you’re a nostalgic yinzer with a penchant for The Potato Patch, plan to visit on a Saturday or Sunday between opening day and May 10 for Celebrate Kennywood Weekends. Booths located around the lagoon will sell a variety of spud-themed dishes, including rosemary truffle fries and loaded maple cinnamon sweet potato waffle fries.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KENNYWOOD

As you waddle through the park, you’ll find large, strategically placed canvas photographs offering glimpses into Kennywood’s past. Snap sentimental selfies in your old sailor hat while hoisting a fruit sipper.

I hope Le Cachot, a dark ride that closed in 1998, gets the time-warp treatment.

I asked General Manager Ricky Spicuzza what happened to the skeleton-biker-knights that guarded the fortress and he said they’ve been repurposed as Phantom Fall Fest decorations. If you hurry to Heinz History Center, you can see The Vamp, a green enchantress that lorded over Le Cachot for decades. She’s part of the Hidden History exhibition that runs through April 26. (No doubt Brian had something to do with that.)

When I told Spicuzza that I’d like to purchase the Racer’s original, skull-studded “DON’T STAND UP” sign and repurpose it as a headboard, he informed me that it was auctioned off in 2023 to raise money for Give Kids the World Village, a non-profit organization that provides cost-free vacations and services to children battling life-threatening illnesses.

I’ll sleep better at night knowing that.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

The famous racing coaster (Brian’s favorite) hits 100 in 2027. Near the Thunderbolt, my ride-or-die, there’s a bunch of new branded benches. Kennywood management knows yinz need to sit dahn and swap yarns for a bit after braving those intense G-forces.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

For further fun with physics, there’s a centennial celebration happening over at The Whip, the oldest surviving flat ride in the park. You might want to board it before you eat at the neighboring food stand, a former Primanti Bros. location that now sells Philly cheesesteaks.

Next to Noah’s Ark, an attraction that turns 90 in 2026, a new ice cream stand called Big Dipper will offer hand-dipped ice cream and banana splits. The name is a nod to the Dipper roller coaster that operated from 1948 to 1984.

The Dipper was tame compared to Phantom’s Revenge, a beast that USA Today named the No. 1 roller coaster in America in 2025. It’s on the fast track to take that title again.

For the ride’s 25th anniversary, the station was upgraded, the cars now alternate between green and purple and the Phantom’s voice — first heard in 1991 when the original incarnation of the coaster debuted as Steel Phantom — will once again be played on a (laser) loop to lecture folks in line.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Another talkative Kennywood icon, Kiddieland’s Leo the Paper-Eating Lion, got a makeover during the off-season. So did the lone lion on the Grand Carousel. Charlie Lyons, a ride mechanic Rick Sebak interviewed in his 1988 “Kennywood Memories” documentary, said this about the ever-changing, yet always familiar park:

“Kennywood’s here and it’s probably always going to be here. It’s just something that exists.”

I’m so thankful Kennywood exists — and that I got a chance to ride a wave of nostalgia there with Brian Butko.