West Mifflin, Pennsylvania –
© Kennywood
Pit Fall: Once the world’s tallest freefall ride, Pitt Fall has now been listed as up for sale.According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kennywood put their Pitt Fall freefall ride up for sale this past Tuesday. International Ride Management, a brokerage company based in Wildwood, NJ which helps parks to list and sell their rides, put up pictures of Kennywood’s Pitt Fall ride last week, and announced its sale on June 16. Kennywood spokesman Jeff Filicko confirmed the sale on Monday when he spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pitt Fall was added to the park back in 1997, opening as the world’s tallest freefall ride at 251 feet tall. Using a series of pulley’s and magnets, the second-generation freefall tower from Intamin plummeted riders at speeds of up to 65 mph, giving them a gut-wrenching 4 seconds of pure airtime before slowing them with a magnetic braking system.

While Filicko did confirm Kennywood was looking to sell the ride, he also said that it is still uncertain whether or not the ride would be operating next season or be removed before then. The ride, which remains popular amongst some fans, has seen a decline in ridership over the past few years and often has a short line. Many thrill seekers and enthusiasts have been disappointed by the news, as it is one of the few pure thrill rides the park has to balance out its family and nostalgiac feel, but there is no denying the rides overall declining ridership.

Vice President of International Ride Management, Sam Shurgott, pointed out to the Post-Gazette that “Kennywood is a tightly packed park, and that unfortunately means some attractions have to be taken out to bring in something new.” Though nothing has been confirmed, and Kennywood spokesman Filicko insists the sale is purely “exploratory” at the moment, speculation of a possible replacement is already running rampant on message boards. Park fans can only hope that if the ride is taken out it is replaced with an equally thrilling attraction.