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The Kangaroo has been a beloved ride at Kennywood since 1962.  It was designed by John Norman Bartlett, who also came up with the Flying Turns bobsled coasters for classic parks like Chicago's Riverview Park, St. Louis' Forrest Park Highlands, and was later recreated at Knoebels Amusement Resort.  The Kangaroo is a circular ride that sends cars up a ramp where they jump off as the ride circles around.  It gives riders a wonderful blast of airtime that gets better and better as the ride speeds up.  This is the last ride of its kind and Kennywood wanting to keep it thrilling guests into the future removed the ride in 2020 only to bring it back in 2022 after Premier Rides did a complete refurbishment of it.



Being a park fill of beloved classics of course Kennywood has a hand carved classic wooden carousel.



Kennywood's Merry Go Round dates back to 1927 and was the parks third carousel.



Kennywood's Merry Go Round was designed and carved by the William H Dentzel Company.  The outside row of horses do not jump because this used to be a ring carousel where riders could lean out and grab rings in hopes of getting the brass ring.  The phrase "reaching for the brass ring" comes from ring carousels like this one where if you got the brass ring you were awarded with a coupon for a free ride.  Sadly there are only three remaining brass ring carousels.  One is at Knoebels Amusement Resort, one is at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and the final one is in Logansport, Indiana and is the centerpiece of one of that cities public parks.



If you are visiting a park with a classic hand carved wooden carousel it is a must that you take it for a ride.  These rides are living works of art that really need to be ridden to be fully appreciated.



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Paul B. Drabek