Photo: Bill Linkenheimer III. View full-sized image.
Sandcastle refers to itself as “Pittsburgh’s Hometown Waterpark,” but many Pittsburghers think of it as Kennywood’s waterpark as well. Kennywood is in West Mifflin and Sandcastle is in West Homestead, around five and a half miles apart along the Monongahela River, and efforts have been made over the years to better connect the parks, even though they are separated geographically. In 2024, ACE Western Pennsylvania had a similar idea and held its first regional event at Sandcastle, SplashBash! on the Mon, the day after KennyKon XXXV.
The Boardwalk leads to most of Sandcastle’s slides and food options.
Photo: April Lucas. View full-sized image.
In a repeat of 2024, 26 attendees met at Sandcastle the day after KennyKon XXXVII on August 9, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. for the second SplashBash! on the Mon. The park didn’t open to the public until 11, but as attendees waited to receive their event wristbands, they were surprised to see a contingent of customers in bathing suits at the entrance, as eager to enter the park as they were. It turns out these were regulars who had favorite seats by the wave pool and were perhaps not happy to see a group who might beat them to the seats!
The slides were popular on this hot, sunny Sunday.
Photo: April Williams. View full-sized image.
After entering the park, ACE attendees were more interested in finding their two exclusive slide time (EST) rides, Blue Tubaluba and Bombs Away, than they were in saving a seat by the wave pool. Blue Tubaluba consists of two 450-foot slides, both of which wind through enclosed dark tubes; are broken up by small, surprise waterfalls and misters; and at the end dump riders into the same pool. Bombs Away is a 305-foot-long freefall flight down into a twisting loop through a closed tube six stories high before a final splashdown (hint: hold your nose at the end).
Attendees wanted to be first to ride Dragon’s Den when it opened.
Photo: Debby Milburn. View full-sized image.
Before Sandcastle opened at 11, attendees lined up to be first on Dragon’s Den, a four-story, two-person bowl slide ride overseen by a dragon that squirts water every minute or so. The ride begins in a tunnel, after which riders circle a bowl full of mist several times and are then dumped into another tunnel that ends in a pool. As an unexpected thrill, sometimes riders enter the pool backward!
With 16 slides, four pools and a lazy river, attendees had plenty of choices for fun at Sandcastle. An informal meetup was scheduled for noon at Crab Apple Jack’s, which is a covered pavilion near the food stands overlooking the Mon. Attendees exchanged recommendations for various food choices and argued over whether the Potato Patch fries were better at Kennywood or Sandcastle.
By this time, the park was getting crowded and lines for the slides were lengthening. Fortunately, an informal takeover time was scheduled for after lunch at 1 p.m. on the park’s very long Lazy River. Attendees lost no time finding an empty tube and floating through the river under slides and bridges, dodging other tubes and waterfalls. The Lazy River runs alongside the Monongahela, which meant that riders could see the boats on the “real” river while floating the quarter mile or so in their tubes.
The ITOT was the last official event scheduled for the day, so attendees were free to stay in the Lazy River, return to the other slides and pools or just chill on a beach chair by the wave pool. All in all, it was a delightful last-month-of-summer day, and attendees were grateful to the regional rep team and staff at Sandcastle who made it possible.
— Lee Ann Draud, ACE News Editor
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