PHOTOS: The Smashing Success Story of Bumper Cars at Kennywood

By: Mark Frazee | Content Manager

In last week's Throwback Thursday Facebook feature, we took a look at the iconic Potato Patch as it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. Another less conspicuous attraction also celebrated its golden anniversary in 2023: the Gran Prix! Buckle up, we’re frying up a deep dive into one of our most classic amusement rides this week.

While the Prix was not our first bumper car-style ride, it is certainly more unique than the dodgem rides more commonly seen at other parks and previously here at Kennywood. Our OG Dodgem opened in 1922, over 100 years ago, on the site of today’s Sky Rocket. 

The Dodgem lasted a mere 8 seasons, being retired after 1929 to make room for the slightly-spooky yet moreso cheesy Laff-in-the-Dark, which utilized the same building until it was replaced completely by the Turnpike in the 1960s.

The Laff-in-the-Dark utilized the same buildig once used by the Dodgem in the 1920s. The ride and structure were ultimately demolished to make room for the Turnpike in the 1960s.

Thankfully, the park didn’t wait very long until its next dodgem ride, called the Skooter. The Skooter opened in 1935 as a conversion to an existing funhouse building that itself went through several names between 1915 and 1934: Hilarity Hall, Daffy Dilla, Tumble Inn and the Bug House. It was located approximately where you enter Lost Kennywood today.

Interestingly, the park made up for the loss of that funhouse by building a new one across the midway the following year: Noah’s Ark.

The Skooter utilized a building that once housed a variety of funhouses, the last of which was the Bug House. Rest assured, the ride was NOT themed to insects.

A group of children racing around the Skooter in the 1950s.

This view from the top of the Thunderbolt provides a great perspective on where the Skooter was located in the park, right near the Potato Patch. The ride and building were demolished in 1979 to make room for the Laser Loop.

The Skooter during its final years of operation in the 1970s.

The Skooter remained in operation through the end of the 1979 season, after which the ride and building were smashed to make room for the Laser Loop. You’ll notice that the Skooter and Gran Prix’s timelines overlap. The Gran Prix opened in 1973 on a patch of land previously occupied by a bus terminal, and so from 1973 through 1979, the park had two bumper car-style rides.

The Prix was considered the more thrilling, grown-up version of the two. The Skooter quickly lost relevance, so the park decided just the Prix would suffice. Changes to the Gran Prix over the years included new cars in 1974, 1979 and a few in 1981; the elimination of a center island and the addition of the back wall to give separation between the ride and the highway.

Otherwise, the Gran Prix has been the place to go for good old-fashioned bumper car fun for the last 50 years!

The Gran Prix building in thhe 1970s. The largest change you'll notice is the addition of the back wall to give separation from the highway (Route 837).

All smiles in this photo from the mid-2000s. The original single-seater Gran Prix cars were periodically replaced in the ride's earlier years.

A more recent promo photo of the Gran Prix from the early 2020s. Over 100 years later, bumper cars still haven't gone out of style at Kennywood!