In the mid-19th century, in the northeastern
region of the United States, there was a new pastime that people could not get enough of. Picnics. While picnics had been a French pastime for
over a century, Americans did not begin to indulge in the practice until the early 1800s,
and then, it was almost exclusively for the upper class. By the mid-19th century, though, people of
all means were packing a basket, finding a picture-esque location, and sitting on a blanket
to enjoy a meal. Maybe somebody would bring a guitar and play
some tunes. Maybe some couples would sneak off for some
alone time. Maybe some guy in a boat would row by to watch. Everybody loves a picnic. And for those living near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
one of the most popular picnic locations was Kennyâs Grove, a beautiful section of a
farm owned by a man named Anthony Kenny. Located southeast of Pittsburgh in the Mifflin
Township, Kennyâs Grove was a popular picnic location with a beautiful view of the Monongahela
River Valley. The area would become so popular in the latter
half of the 19th century, that in 1898 the Monongahela Street Railways Company sought
to create a picnic park at the end of their Mifflin street car line. The company leased land from the Kenny family
and renamed the picnic area to Kennywood Park. This type of trolley park was common throughout
the United States, and they were typically created to increase railway profits, especially
on the weekends. As with many trolley parks, Kennywood Park
would not remain a picnic park forever. In 1898, just a year after leasing the land,
Monogahela added a dance pavilion, the Casino building restaurant, and Kennywoodâs first
ride, a carousel. The following year, a bandstand was constructed,
and the year after that, in 1901, Kennywood built another new ride, named The Old Mill. The Old Mill was not a unique ride to Kennywood,
but rather an entire category of amusement park ride. Old Mills are slow-moving boat rides, with
no steep inclines or declines. The water in many of these rides are moved,
as the name suggests, by a mill. Old Mills were best known for their significant
indoor stretches that were most often in pitch-black darkness. This led many couples to take advantage of
the dark portions for romance-related activity, leading to the Old Mill getting its more recognizable
name, the Tunnel of Love. These seemed to sprout up all over the place
in the late 19th and early 20th century. In Worldâs Fairs, state fairs, trolley parks,
amusement parks, and their reputation soon became a marketing ploy, with more and more
Old Mills receiving branding of a romantic or sexual nature. The Old Mill at Kennywood was one of the first
Old Mill rides, and although it was never branded specifically as a Tunnel of Love,
local couples found that it worked just the same. Kennywoodâs Old Mill would receive several
themes and overlays during its first few years of operation. It was first themed to the Fairyland Floats,
then to the Canals of Venice, and later to the Panama Canal, which at the time, was an
extremely topical theme as the actual Panama Canal had just debuted. After the Panama Canal theme, the Old Mill
became the Rapids Gorge, and then the Fairyland Floats again, before returning to its classic
name, the Old Mill. In 1922, the ride underwent a refurbishment
and received a new facade to appear more like a New England mill and had its ride system
overhauled and enlarged. Arguably, the biggest change to the Old Mill
in its early years would come after the ride caught on fire and burned to the ground, being
rebuilt for the 1926 season and receiving new theming with âcomic supplement characters,â
including Happy Hooligan, The Katzenjammer Kids and Jiggs & Maggie. In 1936, The Old Mill was redecorated again
with eight new theatrically lit pictures. Another major refurbishment to the ride occurred
in 1940. During this season, The Old Mill received
a renovation with new animations. The refurbishment featured seven well-known
characters from comic strips and cartoons, including Blondie, Popeye, The Long Ranger,
the Little King, Tarzan, Gulliver, and Little Henry. In 1957, the Old Mill was themed to A Trip
Around the World. The comic characters were replaced with scenes
of Hawaii, a kangaroo in Australia, a tiger in Asia, an elephant in Africa, and even Santa
Claus in the North Pole. The loading area was also given an animatronic
band of monkeys that would play music for guests in the queue, which as apparently auctioned
off just one month before I started writing this video. Although it sold for $2,300 which is more
than Iâve ever spent on an animatronic monkey band. For the 1974 season, the Old Mill would receive
its most significant thematic overhaul to date, becoming Hardheaded Haroldâs Horrendously
Humorous Haunted Hideaway. This retheme sent riders through an Old West
ghost town, with comical and frightening scenes of skeletons placed throughout the ride. Some of these figures were animated, and sound
effects were added to a few sections. This is the first version of the attraction
that has been well documented, and it showcases the creative placement of the show scenes
throughout the ride track. The Old Millâs middle section consists of
three circles. In the center of these, outdoor show scenes
were constructed, with parts of the tunnel being removed and replaced with fencing so
guests could look outside. There are also four show buildings where dark
ride scenes have been placed. Despite the creative theming of Hardheaded
Haroldâs Horrendously Humorous Haunted Hideaway, the Old Mill continued to be known for one
thing. Kennywoodâs Director of Community and Government
Relations put it best, explaining âIt didnât matter what the theme was. Anyone who rode that ride in the sixties,
seventies, eighties, they were not on that ride to look at the scenes.â âItâs a place for cuddling and to sort
of make-out, canoodle. Youâre a little bit nervous about getting
on The Old Mill with a girl the first time because you might end up getting slapped but
you might also end up getting, you know, a snuggle.â In 1984, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette did a
feature on the rideâs reputation of romance. When interviewed, fifteen-year-old Missy Stash,
said âEveryone goes in there and really goes at it. You should see. Some of the boats come out and thereâs nobody
in them.â 61-year-old Ellen Ammon, recalling her Old
Mill trips from the 1930s, remembered that the boys would bring string onto the ride. In the dark portions, they would brush the
string along the necks of girls to convince them that there were spiders and watersnakes
in the tunnels, in an effort to hold them close through their terror. Another common occurrence was seeing couples
buttoning up their shirts while exiting the attraction. An uptick in romantic activity in the Old
Mill was met with an increase in supervision from the park. Kennywood employees would be stationed at
various points throughout the ride, armed with a flashlight and a disapproving stare. They would rarely intervene if the activity
was nothing more than a kiss, but for anything more than that, the young couples would be
told to knock it off. At one point in the 1960s, Kennywood employees
were given a plastic bat, and instructed that if they saw the naked buttocks of any riders
they were to smack them with the bat. This was very effective, and almost always
prompted the embarrassed couples to quickly redress themselves for the remainder of the
journey. This solution was quite popular in Old Mills,
as this photo of a different tunnel of love proves. Kennywood would later install cameras and
a PA system so that employees could tell riders to stop their behavior without having to assault
them in the dark. Hardheaded Haroldâs Horrendously Humorous
Haunted Hideaway understandably dropped the alliterative name in 1992, reverting back
to the Old Mill but keeping the rest of the theming. As the Old Mill entered the 2000s, officially
celebrating its 100th birthday, Kennywood was weighing the pros and cons of the ride. Due to its age and design, the attraction
required a lot of maintenance and it took up a significant amount of land at the park. Kennywood is well known for constantly building
new attractions and creating new experiences to push locals to come back each season, so
it was not out of the question to tear down the Old Mill and replace it with something
more modern and thrilling. However, the management at Kennywood also
cares deeply for the history of its park, and few, if any, wanted to see the parkâs
oldest attraction torn down. So 100 years after its opening and 30 years
after its last major refurbishment, a refresh of the Old Mill was on everyoneâs minds. Kennywood wanted to find a way to keep the
historic ride in the park, but update it to appeal to modern audiences, and the answer
to this would come in the form of a powerful cat, named Garfield. Garfield is a comic strip written by cartoonist
Jim Davis that debuted in 1976. The eponymous orange tabby cat needs no introduction. The general public is well aware of his love
of lasagna, hatred of Mondays, and his trademark laziness. Garfield, along with his dorky owner Jon,
Jonâs naive dog Odie, and a cast of other recurring characters, quickly found their
ways into the comic sections of newspapers across the country. By 1982, the strip was appearing in over 1000
newspapers. Over the next two decades as the comic and
the character rose in popularity, Garfield would spawn an unprecedented amount of merchandise
and media, including toys, books, video games, tv specials, and much more. Despite Garfield being a household name and
his face being on everything from tea kettles to lava lamps, he was noticeably absent in
amusement parks. It seemed that every major park chain had
a classic cartoon characters as a mascot. Disney had Mickey Mouse and Friends, Universal
had Woody Woodpecker, Cedar Fair had the Peanuts gang, and Six Flags had the Looney Tunes. Garfieldâs omission from the medium was
not lost on his creator. In 1988, when asked if Garfield would enter
the theme park business, Davis said quote, âI wouldnât touch it. Never.â And thatâs the history of Garfield and theme
parks. Wait, eight years later he changed his mind. Wonder why? In 1996, plans were announced for a 535 acre
theme park to be located in Davisâs home state of Indiana, near Indianapolis in Hendricks
County. The project was named the Heartland Festival
Entertainment Complex, and at the heart of the park would be Garfieldâs Universe, a
land dedicated to the character. This would include a character carousel, Arbuckleâs
Picnic Coaster, a ride called Garfieldâs Extreme Adventure, an Odie tongue slide, Ermaâs
Diner, and Mama Leoneâs restaurant, which would serve, of course, lasagna. The park was planned to open in 1997, and
was a joint effort between a Michigan development company and Davisâs company, Paws Inc. The cost of the project was estimated to be
$120 million. By all accounts, Davis was significantly involved
in the parkâs design, even going so far as to have a special Garfield theme park planning
room and even conceptualizing the more mundane aspects of the project such as the garbage
cans and restrooms. On top of the design contractors, Davis reached
out to other amusement park operators to consult on the project during its early stages. This was when Davis first reached out to the
Kennywood Entertainment Company, which owned five small parks in and around Pennsylvania,
including, of course, Kennywood in West Mifflin. A year after the announcement, the opening
date was pushed back to 1998. Despite significant utilities and groundwork
being completed, the project struggled to find the remainder of its funding. The following year the park rebranded to Garfieldâs
Adventure America and scaled back on its plans, opting to construct and debut the Garfield
area first, with the opening now planned for 1999. By this point, a significant number of Hendricks
County residents opposed the project, even forming a group called Citizens Opposing Amusement
Park or COAP. The theme park was pushed back another year
with a projected opening of 2000. In December of 1999, Kennywood officials attended
the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Convention and Trade
Show. It is here that they learned that Garfield
was available to license. It seemed that while Garfieldâs Adventure
America was in a state of limbo, Davis was looking to integrate the character elsewhere,
at least temporarily, and Kennywood Entertainment was reportedly one of his top choices, specifically
the historic Kennywood Park as well as Lake Compounce in Connecticut. Kim Campbell, a spokesperson for Paws Inc.,
explained âJim liked the long histories of both parks, the family-friendly atmosphere,
and the fact that they were picnic areas. Jim said the parks were a perfect fit for
Garfield, who ânever met a picnic he didnât like.â You didnât think that picnic stuff was going
to come back, did you? An agreement was made between Kennywood and
Paws Inc for a one year licensing deal to have Garfield and Odie become the mascots
of both Kennywood and Lake Compounce. This is, despite the fact, that Kennywood
and Lake Compounce already had mascots. Kennywood had Kenny the Kangaroo, and Lake
Compounce had Cyle the Crocodile. Both parks assured fans that Garfield and
Odie would stand alongside the legacy characters and would not be replacing them. This integration in the northeastern parks
seemed to conflict with the appeal of Garfieldâs Adventure America in Indiana. However, it was revealed that the developers
of the Indiana park only had the exclusive rights to the character within a 150-mile
radius, and that Jim Davis and Paws Inc. had never financially invested in the park. The developers assured the public and their
investors that Garfieldâs integration at Kennywood and Lake Compounce would not detract
from the appeal of Garfieldâs Adventure America, but at this point, many were convinced
that the park would never be built. Meanwhile at the Kennywood Parks, Garfield
and Odie were fitting right in, taking photos with guests, selling merchandise, and appearing
in advertisements. The integration was successful enough that
Kennywood and Paws Inc extended their agreement, further cementing Garfieldâs presence in
the parks. Kennywoodâs Kiddieland would receive more
Garfield theming and in 2002, the first Garfield ride opened at Kennywood, named Garfieldâs
Pounce Bounce, a kiddie bounce tower made to look like a block of cheese, covered in
mice, and adorned with a Garfield statue. As Garfield continued to increase his presence
at Kennywood, the park in Indiana was finally canceled. The developer had been sued by one of its
contractors for lack of payment, and not long after this, it was revealed that the park
owed $166,000 in back taxes. The park was soon foreclosed on and the development
company filed for bankruptcy. By 2003, the project was dead and the county
was redistricting the land where the park would have sat. Despite the failure of the park, Davis was
still passionate about Garfieldâs presence in theme parks, and since he and his company
already had a successful relationship with Kennywood, it only made sense to go all-in
on the Pennsylvania park. It was time for Garfield to get his own dark
ride. It was at this point that the history of the
Old Mill and the history of Garfield collided. Davis and Paws Inc. wanted a Garfield dark
ride, and Kennywood wanted to retheme the Old Mill. The timing was perfect, and even better, Kennywood
already had a designer in mind. Larry Kirchner, the owner of the Haunted House
design firm Halloween Productions, had recently installed an attraction at Kennywood, telling
park management that if there ever came an opportunity to design a dark ride, Kirchner
and Halloween Productions wanted in. Kirchner recalled wanting to design a dark
ride so bad that he would almost do it for free. When the Garfield/Old Mill retheme was discussed,
Kennywood reached out to Kirchner, who happily accepted the job. Kirchnerâs plans for the attraction included
animatronics and 3D effects, and his background in haunted houses would lead him to pitch
a Garfield ride with horror and comedy aspects, not dissimilar to the Old Millâs Hardheaded
Harold theming. However, Kirchnerâs plans were too ambitious. He recalled, âWe wanted to make it look
like a billboard smashes open and thereâs a Frankenstein food character, and then we
squirt them all with water. I wanted to do other CGI effects so it wasnât
so static and so the characters were interacting with them.â Obviously, big effects like this were difficult
to achieve in the rethemeâs limited budget, but the team ran into another issue entirely. Kennywood officials explained to Kirchner
and Halloween Productions that âwe canât make it too great because too many people
would want to ride it. It has a pretty limited capacity since itâs
a boat ride.â Pete McAneny, the General Manager of Kennywood
Entertainment, remembered âOne of the things we had to do is not make it too spectacular
because it doesnât have a high capacity.â So with a small budget and an explicit directive
to make the ride no better than good, the team marched forward. Kirchner imagined guests riding through the
Old Mill as though they were riding through a Garfield book. The premise for the ride was that Garfield
was having a nightmare, which would give the team an excuse to incorporate horror elements
and retain some of the dark portions. One point of contention in the rideâs history
was the involvement of Jim Davis and Paws Inc. While Davis certainly wanted the ride to be
built and approved it, there is a dispute as to how involved he was in the creative
process. McAneny recalled that Davis wrote the script
for the ride and drew the concept art, but Kirchner recalled, âWe did 20 or 30 drawings. He didnât do anything. I never talked to Jim Davis. The biggest thing was he, or someone, gave
us some Garfield books and then we had to figure out which story we wanted to tell.â Despite the obstacles, Kirchner and Halloween
Productions were able to pull off a substantial retheme to the Old Mill, resulting in the
most elaborate overlay in the rideâs 103-year-old history. How this version would be received by the
public, though, was still uncertain. On May 1, 2004, Kennywood opened for the season
with a brand new attraction, Garfieldâs Nightmare. The retheme to the Old Mill was dedicated
with a small ceremony, at which Garfield and Odie took their first ride. Kenny the Kangaroo was also in attendance,
although he could not fit into the boat with the other characters. <Sad music> Guests entered the attraction under the large
signage, twisting around an outdoor queue, with the familiar Old Mill show building intact,
with a small adjustment. In the window of the mill house, a frightened
Garfield could be seen inside as the shutters opened and closed. While waiting in line, riders viewed tv screens
that explained the history of the ride and featured clips of Garfield. As guests entered the loading area, they were,
surprisingly, handed 3D glasses to wear on the attraction. After riders loaded into their boat, they
would take a left turn, passing a guard station revealing that the ride was covered in cameras. Reportedly, this was intentionally put in
plain sight as another deterrent for romantic activity. As guests climbed a short lift hill, they
heard a mysterious booming voice. âThis is the most frightening adventure
you will ever be on. Unless you have cheese. I like cheese. So give me some cheese and Iâll⌠Uhh, hi there. Enjoy your ride. After a right turn, guests went down a passageway
covered in glowing advertisements for PepsiCo products, which was unsurprisingly Kennywoodâs
food and drink vendor. This was also the first of many blacklight
scenes, and the walls were splattered with ââfluorescent material, which was definitely
added by Halloween Productions during the refurbishment and was not the result of 103
years of bad aim. This is also where the 3D glasses came into
play. Rather than being a stereoscopic 3D effect
in which two images are made into one to simulate depth, Garfieldâs nightmare used ChromaDepth,
which diffracts color through a holographic film. This results in certain colors popping into
the foreground while others are pushed into the background. The warm colors, red, orange, and yellow,
are the ones pulled forward while blue, indigo, and violet are pushed back. The effect works best with bright primary
and secondary colors, which inadvertently gave the ride a distinct color scheme. The ChromaDepth effect is commonly used in
haunted houses, and Kirchner and his team are industry leaders in the style. A benefit of the style is that, unlike stereoscopic
3D, riders could view the ride without glasses, and would not see the ghosting effect seen
when watching a polarized or anaglyph 3D setup without glasses. A nice, possible coincidence was that Garfield
was famously orange, so the character would always pop to the foreground, while the backgrounds
and other characters in the ride would be painted with green or blue colors. If youâd like to try this out for yourself,
you can find cheap ChromaDepth glasses online and watch a POV of the ride with the brightness
turned all the way up. Itâs just like the real thing. After the product placement tunnel, guests
encounter their first Garfield strip, which depicts Garfield falling asleep after a big
meal, thus beginning his nightmare. The strips appearing in the ride were previously
released Garfield strips and not created specifically for the attraction. After this, guests enter the first scene,
in which Garfieldâs messy house begins to come alive, with the door swinging open and
shut. Garfieldâs voice plays overhead, repeating
âI never met an ice cream truck I didnât like.â Another strip depicted Garfield depressed
that he couldnât catch the ice cream truck. In the next scene, the ice cream truck finally
appears, but in a twist, the truck, driven by ice cream cones, is chasing after Garfield. Another strip depicted Garfield scaring the
mailman, a running gag in the comics. The next scene shows the mailman, smiling
as an angry dog opens and closes its jaws. The next strip features another running gag
from the comics, in which Garfield torments spiders. Predictably, the next scene is of a large
spider tormenting Garfield. This pattern continues with another running
gag, Garfield eating a fish in a fishbowl, followed by a scene of a fish eating Garfield. The most terrifying part of the ride thus
far is arguably this chair. While not explicitly referenced in the ride,
another running gag from the comic strip is Garfield using Jonâs chair as a scratching
post, and it appears that this chair, despite not getting direct revenge on Garfield, is
having a great time watching. The next scene shows Garfieldâs vet Liz
holding a giant needle, with Garfield tied up by a rope, held by an Igor-type character. The needle would blow a puff of air onto riders. Another strip depicts Garfield attacking the
pizza delivery man, and the next scene shows the pizza delivery man and evil pizza boxes
attacking Garfield. The next strip and scene is a break from form. The strip depicts Garfield mentioning heâs
going to the Kitchen with a depressed-looking Jon saying nothing. The next scene is one of the most difficult
to decipher. On the right side of the boat, the appliances
in the kitchen have come to life in menacing fashion, while boxes of lasagna have formed
a kick line on the table. On the left side of the boat, a terrified
Garfield is surrounded by an evil-looking Jon and a monstrous Odie, who appears to have
torn off his long tongue and wrapped it around his body like a coat. There is also a zombie hot dog monster strapped
to a table wearing sunglasses. The final strip and scene shows Jon asking
Garfield to catch mice, which Garfield refuses to do. In comic strip, Garfield will eat just about
anything besides mice, despite this, in Garfieldâs Nightmare, the mice still want revenge on
him, cooking up a cat stew. As the ride nears its end, the characters
that were tormenting Garfield moments ago are now lined up, smiling as the boat passes. Garfieldâs voice instructs guests that a
photo op is coming up. âOh yeah. And a photo opportunity coming up. Doesnât get any better than that.â The mouse from the beginning of the ride instructs
guests to smile, as a large camera is clearly placed so that guests may pose for the picture. As guests reach the end of the ride, a final
strip appears on the wall. Garfield says âwhat a great ride! It was kinda scary, but itâs over now,â
while the creatures from the ride follow close behind. This appears to be the only Garfield strip
created specifically for the ride. Garfieldâs Nightmare was drastically different
than the Old Mill Kennywood regulars were used to, and any significant change would
have its detractors. However, Garfieldâs Nightmare almost immediately
developed a cult of hatred among park-goers, with many citing its cheap effects, product
placement, and overall bizarre nature. It was too scary for many children, and too
Garfield for many adults. For longtime Kennywood fans, it felt like
a betrayal of the historic Old Mill, but in all fairness, they probably just werenât
around for the 1920s version that featured Jiggs & Maggie, the Garfield, and Odie of
the 20s. As far as a Garfield ride goes, it successfully
featured many classic characters and famous scenarios from the comics, and the original
art that Kirchner and his team created for the ride looked like it was pulled straight
out of a Garfield strip. Despite the low budget, the attraction featured
solid gags and some terrifying imagery. But who cares what Kennywood regulars, Garfield
fans, or even children think? The real demographic that matters is the one
that gave the Old Mill its century-long reputation. Young couples. In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report before
the rideâs opening, Kennywood officials assured fans that âWe havenât messed with
what made the Old Mill the Old Millâ which the gazette took to mean that âCouples will
still be able to find a suitable spot along the way to, ahem, exchange pleasantries.â This persistent mentioning in official media
of the rideâs reputation as a love tunnel sent me down a rabbit hole that I could not
have anticipated. Full disclosure for anyone that is not aware,
but every amusement park ride you have ever been on or will ever go one has been the setting
for some funny business. Whether itâs at your local amusement park
or at Walt Disney World, if you can be seated within arms reach of another person, someone
has found a way to do something on that ride. I talk about amusement park rides all the
time, and I never mention this, because itâs never notable. Itâs just a given. However, in all of my research, I have never
come across a ride in which major publications, journalists, have reported, consistently,
constantly, on a rideâs reputation like the Old Mill at Kennywood. I found a newspaper article from 1934 talking
about how the ride is a great spot for couples, and the 1984 article in which couples were
interviewed about their romantic activity pushed me over the edge. Not what I meant. After hearing mention that sometimes boats
would pull into the station with no one inside, I knew that I had to go deeper. Dang it. Look if youâre just interested in the physical
history of amusement park rides and you donât care about the culture attached to the Old
Mill, Iâd recommend skipping to this timecode. For those remaining⌠There was a significant amount of documentation
as to how Kennywood attempted to police young lovers on the ride, but little was known on
how these riders were able to accomplish some of the feats that they were boasting about. Were these legends true, or were they fiction? In the name of research, I tweeted the following,
âHave you or someone you know ever made out or made love in the Old Mill dark ride
at Kennywood amusement park? If so, please email your story to imadeloveintheoldmill@defunctland.comâ
I followed up this tweet clarifying that I didnât want details of the activity I wanted
to know where in the ride people jumped out, and either no one saw this reply or they didnât
care, because I did receive many, many emails, and most of them contained graphic detailing
of activities that took place on the Old Mill. To borrow a bit of Pittsburgh-ease, yinz are
nasty. Of the 56 messages I received, only three
were obviously fake, and the vast majority contained details far too specific to be made
up, mentioning school trips or special events that I verified were accurate. Iâm not going to share any of these and
assert that they are 100% true, but here are a few of the more interesting submissions
with redacted bits for anonymity and appropriateness... Feel free to pause and read at your own pace. In the end, the email submissions did provide
a few interesting insights. First, smart couples would come in packs,
try to space out their boat departures as best they could from other riders, and then
run their hands on either side of the boat to slow their motion, thus extending the ride
and their time in the dark. Second, there are at least two people who
claim to know someone that was conceived on this ride, maybe itâs you. Third, most surprising, the Garfield overlay
did not deter many people from treating the Old Mill as the same tunnel of love previous
generations had enjoyed. In fact, the majority of my emails were about
acts of passion that took place in the neon-lit tunnels of Garfieldâs Nightmare. Some people noted that the Garfield theming
diminished the aura of romance, while others admitted that they believe it added to it,
some even purposefully sought it out, maybe ironically, maybe not. As one emailer so eloquently put it, âGarfield
knows all of our sins.â Perhaps the greatest sin though was the lack
of upkeep and proper maintenance that Garfieldâs Nightmare experienced. Within just a few years, the screens in the
queue were removed, and many of the effects in the ride stopped working. The audio cues were off or missing, and the
video of the mouse at the beginning sometimes wouldnât play. The neon paint started to fade, diminishing
any effect the 3D glasses had. The 3D glasses themselves would often not
be handed to guests, and it seems they were eventually phased out altogether, although
they would reappear infrequently. When guests were given 3D glasses, the often
rambunctious riders would make a game out of throwing them onto the ride, trying to
land them in the mouth of the dog or hit certain objects. Oddly, the upkeep of the ride was so poor
that the whites of the eyes of the characters in the blown up comic strips were either faded
or removed, resulting in them appearing permanently blackened. All of this somewhat added to the uneasy nature
of the ride, but it really just showed the attractionâs lack of upkeep. Other than this, the ride lived a quaint,
quiet existence, with no major changes or updates. Year after year, Kennywood would open for
the season, and Garfieldâs Nightmare would open with it. In 2007, a Nintendo DS platformer named âGarfieldâs
Nightmareâ was released, but besides the title, the game is in no way connected to
the ride. In 2011, the Garfield comic strip featured
Garfield, Odie, and Jon going to an amusement park named Kittywood, which appeared to be
a parody of Kennywood. After 2008, Garfield and Odie were phased
out as Kennywood mascots and stopped appearing in advertisements. Kenny the Kangaroo reclaimed his throne in
West Mifflin, and even got a sidekick. Does he look familiar? No? Itâs the sign. Itâs the Kennywood sign. You can meet the sign! Kennywood would eventually integrate Thomas
the Tank Engine and the Pittsburgh Steelers into attractions at the park, and the new
properties fit into Kennywood much more effortlessly than Garfield ever did. Despite Garfield and Odie no longer appearing
in the park, Garfieldâs Nightmare continued to operate, year after year, with no end in
sight. This was until 2019, when news broke that
Paws Inc was being acquired by Viacom, and the rights to Garfield would be utilized by
Viacom subsidiary Nickelodeon. This also put Viacom in charge of the characterâs
licensing. Viacom immediately began tightening the brandâs
image, and the company told Kennywood that if they wished to continue to operate Garfieldâs
Nightmare, the licensing fee would be increased significantly. This pressured Kennywood into removing the
Garfieldâs Nightmare theming from the Old Mill, and no one at the park put up much of
a fight to save the ride. Garfieldâs Nightmare had operated for 16
seasons, and for many, that was 16 too many. This is not to say that the attraction had
no fans, as in those sixteen years of operation, an entire generation of Kennywood visitors
had experienced the ride as their one and only version of the Old Mill. In March of 2020, Kennywoodâs YouTube account
posted a video titled The History of the Old Mill at Kennywood. The video started as a Ken Burns-style theme
park documentary in a similar vein to other YouTube channels that Iâm completely blanking
on. However, halfway through the video, it was
revealed that this was not just a retrospective of the Old Mill, but it was also an announcement. âWeâre going to be bringing back The Old
Mill as so many of you have requested, and restoring the ride to the retro-western theme.â The news was celebrated by fans who cheered,
the nightmare is over, and the Pittsburgh CityPaperâs headline read âI hope they
serve lasagna in heaven.â During the offseason, the ride was gutted
and completely rethemed. Unfortunately, all of the props from Garfieldâs
Nightmare with a direct tie to the Garfield brand were destroyed at the demand of Viacom,
in order to prevent them from being sold or ending up on the black market. To ensure compliance, Kennywood had to film
employees completely destroying the Garfield props. The opening of the ride would be delayed due
to the Covid-19 pandemic, but when it debuted for guests in July of 2020 when Kennywood
opened for a shortened summer season, it was met with positive reviews. The familiar old west ghost town theme was
welcomed back into the historic ride. Despite the massive overhaul, the new theming
utilized multiple props and effects from Garfieldâs Nightmare. The new Old Mill also has multiple tributes
to Kennywood history, including references to previous Old Mill iterations. For instance, the appearance of a character
named Harold, referencing the Hardheaded Haroldâs Horrendously Humorous Haunted Hideaway. The scenes also featured multiple orange tabby
cats throughout the ride, and a tombstone in a graveyard read G. Nightmare, I hope there
is lasagna. The Old Mill at Kennywood is the worldâs
oldest operating old mill attraction, and this is not by coincidence. Kennywood is a historic park whose employees
and visitors care deeply for its history. While Garfieldâs Nightmare was not necessarily
a beloved attraction, the retheme played an important part in extending the life of this
historic ride. While some might remember Garfieldâs Nightmare
for neon paint and surreal visuals, like any Old Mill retheme, most Kennywood guests will
remember the attraction for something else. While most of the emails I received detailed
explicit and often disgusting acts of passion that took place on the Old Mill, my takeaway
was not that the ride should be burned to the ground for the good of the general public. In fact, quite the opposite. The romantic activities that happened within
the walls of the Old Mill, as humorous and crass as they could be, reminded me of something
that Iâve always believed. Theme and amusement parks are special environments,
where some of our strongest memories are formed. Whether thatâs thrill, imagination, or even
young love. Hearing people of many different generations
share how this one ride impacted them was surprisingly moving. To hear stories of young angst, the nerves
of going on the ride with someone they had a crush on, the scariness of having your first
kiss, and even missed opportunities, lost loves. For one rider who grew up in a small town,
the dark tunnels of the attraction were the first place he felt safe kissing his boyfriend. For a married couple, a trip on the Old Mill
made them laugh and feel like they were in high school again. When the messages werenât overtly erotic,
they were actually beautiful, and a good reminder of why I love talking about these parks. They are memorable and exciting places where
itâs as much about riding the attractions as it is who you are riding with. And sometimes the most memorable experience
one can have is getting a kiss while riding a boat through a dark tunnel, and sometimes
it's getting a kiss while riding a boat in front of a neon Garfield
My favorite part hands down was him going through the emails it was hilarious lol
Many questions
1: Who designed the urinal concept where you piss into Garfeld's mouth?
2: Why did they add a photo op to the ride that is infamous for people copulating on it?
3: Who took a shit in Garfield's Nightmare?
4: How did Kevin make such a sweet, heartwarming ending from the ride with a literal century of debauchary?
5: YOU CAN MEET THE SIGN?!
The fact that this video about a Garfield themed amusement park ride opens with the line âin the mid 19th centuryâŚâ is exactly why I love this channel
âAnd the 1934 article in which couples were interviewed about their romantic activity pushed me over the edgeâŚ.
not what I meantâŚâ
LMFAOOOO this has to be the most out of pocket thing heâs ever said.
Garfield knows all of our sins
"Yinz are nasty"
Which is better: homosexual fast dancing or homosexual Garfield kissing?
This episode was so fun to watch. Slightly unhinged Kevin might be my favorite Kevin.
This vid was a blast. Heartwarming ending too