Kennywood announces sale, Ghostwood Estate

Kennywood Park outside of Pittsburgh has annouced that it is planning to build a new $2 million dark ride, scheduled to open next May. Ghostwood Estate, as the ride will be known, will feature an eight-room haunted house and targeted characters. Kennywood General manager Jerome Gibas said the ride is "clearly an indication of Kennywood's commitment to dark rides. It combines the newest technology available -- a trackless conveyance system with cars programmed and monitored by a computer and includes over 200 interactive targets and numerous CGIs (computer generated images)."

Strangely, only a day after the Ghostwood Estate announcement, it has been revealed that Kennywood Entertainment, which own Kennywood Park, is being sold to Parques Reunidos of Mardrid, which plans to leave day-to-day operation of the park in local hands. Kennywood Entertainment did not disclose details of the sale, but amusement park historian Jim Futrell has estimated that the deal would top $200 million based on previous park sales, including Cedar Fair's purchase of Geauga Lake in 2004 for $145 million. Kennywood Park is not the only park involved in the transaction, as ownership of Idlewild Park & SoakZone in Ligonier, Sandcastle Waterpark in West Homestead, Lake Compounce theme park in Bristol, Conn., and Story Land in Glen, N.H. will change hands as well. Parques Reunidos is the third-largest European operator of amusement parks and entered the U.S. market this year by purchasing water parks.