Kennywood Bringing Back Whale Mouth Entrance To Noah's Ark

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Kennywood is closed for the winter, but the park is packed with activity.

Kennywood doesn't open until May 7, but there's really no off-season for the crews.

Right now, they are hard at work making sure that every inch of the park is ready to go for opening day.

One of the biggest projects is the makeover for Noah's Ark.

Built in 1936, it's been a favorite at Kennywood for decades.

This year, to mark its 80th anniversary, crews are restoring that classic, fun house feel.

"People have been, I think in a lot of ways, clamoring for the whale mouth to return since it went away about 20 years ago. So, when we sat down to look at making changes, that was the first thing that was a no-brainer, that we were going to bring that back," Kennywood's Nick Paradise said.

The whale mouth entrance will be the biggest change. Crews with Dimensional Environments based out of Donegal are doing the work.

"It's like drawing with rebar and then you put chicken wire over top of that and then I spray concrete about 2 inches thick on top of that," Donald Thomas, of Dimensional Environments, said.

The spongy tongue will return and there will be a new feature - a blow hole that may end up spraying or misting guests.

Inside, the elevator and flooding chamber are gone and there will be lots of other changes.

Nearby in the park, another popular spot is getting some upgrades - the Potato Patch.

"It of course gets a lot of traffic, a lot of use, a lot of fries are made in there. You're talking about 500,000 servings a year, so it was just definitely in need of kind of some structural work just to make it a better atmosphere, hopefully more efficient," Paradise said.

Don't worry, one thing that isn't changing is the recipe.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter