Yes, it was definitely getting criticized for its decisions by the locals. And, bottom line, 95% of Kennywood's attendance is locals. The park is very well balanced attractions wise, better than almost all regional coaster heavy parks, and quite attractive for an amusement park. Management had lost peoples' trust. They were making Six Flags types of decisions and belt tightening, and not being honest about their intentions ( recent example: they didn't announce their turkey new coaster would be closed for all of 2024, again, until the day after annual pass ticket programs ended, even though they knew that in advance) . Kennywood is unique among today's parks. It still has large picnic groves and tons of local cultural/ethnic events and participation. And a plethora of attractions that don't exist anywhere else. The locals don't really want new coasters, that rarely work and are nearly always broke down, to replace the beloved attractions they grew up with. Nostalgia is a heavy important factor in the park. They have three classic wooden coasters and an excellent steel coaster besides the two almost always broken new coasters, so they don't really need more. Kennywood has always been a park, that in the past, had late closing hours. They had cut them, but the new Prez is bringing late closing back. That's a popular move. I'm sure he probably understands the local mindset better than an outsider. A business needs to cater to their customer base, and Kennywood is basically local with very few tourists. And be honest, don't b.s. your customers.
