Volume 1, No. 14. August 10, 2001
PHOTO of Don Perrucci and Scott Laird in the Bombs Away game at Kennywood.
Target Audience
Amid the muted hoopla of its Steel Phantom-cum-Phantom's Revenge
renovation this year, Kennywood in West Miflin, Pennsylvania, launched a concerted
effort to spruce up its redemption games. Some of that effort is cosmetic: replacing
dull, brown and black paint with nursery room blues, reds and yellows; building
an art deco shell for the Bob's Space Racer Aqua Race in place of a drab '60s
structure; and installing new counter carpets for the first time in more than
20 years.
"Our games were all dark colors," said Richard Kimak, the park's director of
resale. "I visited other parks and appreciated how bright everything was."
Kennywood also put in six new games (the park has a total of 40), most notably
Bombs Away, a peach basket game using toilets as targets. Kimak said the idea
came from Dan Hanchulak, the park's manager of games and retail. "We didn't
want to put in the same old peach baskets or tubs. We wanted to do something
different," Kimak said. "We happened to be at a Home Depot one day and were
walking through the bathroom section and said, 'Hey, what about toilet seats?'"
Not just any toilet seats, which come in several shapes. The targets needed
to be round, and though Hanchulak and Kimak would have liked different color
targets, basic white had the best shape and price ($46 per seat at Home Depot).
"To get one in color cost something like $300," Kimak said. "We'd really get
shouted at if we spent $300 on game targets."
General Manager Pete McAneny was already antsy about the image the game might
portray, Kimak said, especially when the games staff started joking about what
objects patrons would get to toss into the targets. But in the end, they used
traditional whiffle balls, which are best aimed just inside the front lip of
the toilet for a proper bounce that will keep the ball in the bowl. Kennywood
utilizes bathroom humor throughout the booth: the counter and prize shelves
are made up of faux shower tiles, and the toilet seat tanks hold plush prizes.
Kimak estimates Bombs Away is one of Kennywood's top 15 games. Not only does
it snag the attention of passersby, it is a fun game to work, said Scott Laird,
Bombs Away's lead. "It actually makes my day go quicker," he said. "People come
by and say, 'Wow! Toilets!' It's pretty funny. I can joke with people and make
them feel better." Unlike other redemption games, this one generates plenty
of joking among players. "We hear a lot of puns," said attendant Don Perrucci.
"Some are pretty funny. Some aren't."