Kennywood to drop Garfield, restore Old Mill ride
At long last, Kennywood’s Nightmare is over.
The park revealed Monday that after 16 seasons, the park will be ditching Garfield’s Nightmare and restoring the ride to the iconic Old Mill theme.
In a video posted to the park’s Facebook page, Kennywood spokesman Nick Paradise broke the news.
Paradise said the move was done out of popular demand.
He said they would be “restoring the ride to the retro western theme that’s been remembered by so many over the years, but with plenty of new twists for a whole new generation to enjoy.”
The Old Mill is the oldest ride still standing at Kennywood. The wooden boat ride opened in 1901 and has gone through many themes over the years.
The original burned down in the mid-1920s, but was quickly rebuilt and reopened for the 1926 season. Over the years the ride changed names from The Old Mill to Fairyland Floats, Panama Canal and Rapids Gorge.
In the 1970s, it was called Haunted Hideaway, and then back to The Old Mill in the 1990s. It became Garfield’s Nightmare in 2004.
Kennywood will open April 25 for a Season Passholder Private Event, and then to the public on May 2.
Chris Pastrick is a TribLive digital producer. An Allegheny County native, he began working for the Valley News Dispatch in 1993 and joined the Trib in 1997. He can be reached at cpastrick@triblive.com.
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