One of the oldest amusement park dark rides, the OLD MILL at Kennywood Park just outside of Pittsburgh, is back in operation this season. And 119 years after it first opened it has a brand-new look and feel that draws upon the history of Kennywood and this storied attraction itself.
The new design and humorous story were developed, built and installed by the creative team at SCAREHOUSE – Pittsburgh’s legendary haunted-house attraction, which is regularly ranked as one of the best haunted attractions in the country.
After 15 years as “Garfield’s Nightmare,” the OLD MILL returns to its classic roots as the oldest operating version of a chute-style, water-based dark ride, but with a twist. Through its 119-year history, the ride has operated under many names, but many of the park’s most devoted fans knew it best as “Hard Headed Harold’s Horrendously Humorous Haunted Hideway,” the name it used from 1974 to 1991. For the first time, the OLD MILL now features Hard Headed Harold himself … a blue-eyed skeleton who lives in the Wild West and has a penchant for mischief-making.
Through a series of black-lit scenes that include the return of a train “gag” last seen in Kennywood’s Gold Rusher, OLD MILL riders will enjoy a new twist on this classic, five-minute attraction that floats along 1,000 feet of a water-filled trough.
The OLD MILL is the biggest project SCAREHOUSE has taken on outside of its own massively popular haunted attraction. SCAREHOUSE also recently opened its first escape room location – called Bold Escape Rooms – in Pittsburgh, which is operating with unique safety precautions.
