Corporate Team Building Activities & Events at Kennywood Amusement Park

For nearly 120 years, Kennywood has been among the premier places for companies to take their staff as a reward for their hard work. The beautiful setting, one-of-a-kind world-class rides, delicious food, and family memories are worth the experience for all employees. Few places in the Steel City can compare to Pittsburgh's best amusement park.Did you realize that Kennywood can be more than a reward for your employees? You can also use a trip to Kennywood to motivate them by using the outing as a corporate team building day. Some corporate team building activities include group rides, scavenger hunts, and behind the scenes tours. After all, where else in Western Pennsylvania will you find so many  fun things to do in Pittsburgh  crammed into one venue? Read on to get more of our corporate team building event ideas.

A major benefit to holding your team building activity at a place like Kennywood is the fun and relaxed atmosphere. No sitting in a bland conference room listening to a speaker drone on for hours, with a boxed lunch that screams blah. Instead, your crew is within the grounds of America's Finest Traditional Amusement Park, crashing into each other on the bumper cars, screaming down world-class roller coasters, and taking in the beauty of our century-old carousel while enjoying signature snacks and food items. This is one of those corporate team building days your staff will never forget: unwinding together, introducing spouses and kids, and building friendships that extend beyond the confines of the office.

Of course, if you want your visit to Kennywood to be more than a getaway for your crew and truly provide some boost to your bunch, you're going to want to organize some corporate team building games. Here are a few ideas for how to do that at Kennywood.  

It likely doesn't come as a shock that the games stands scattered all over Kennywood are a great place for corporate team building activities. To that end, Kennywood is home to a wide variety of games. Dole out the quarters and send your group into the Penny Arcade to try their hand at any of the multiplayer games there. While many focus on competition, plenty more are built on collaboration. This will also provide a nostalgic opportunity for many Gen Xers and Millennials, who likely grew up playing arcade games like The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which are still available to play in our retro arcade. This will help build connections between coworkers that many not have existed before. You can even play the role of 'cool parent' by purchasing  Kenny Kredits  for your team. Gather a group and descend on Pong Pool, Goblet Pitch, Quarterback Challenge, or any other game stand and let your team compete and compare notes on how to win the biggest plush prize possible! Now that's a corporate team building game they'll never forget. And you'll be the person the bosses come to next time they need corporate team building activity ideas! 

Another great team building activity for companies is a scavenger hunt throughout Kennywood. Split your staff up into groups and have them work together to locate historical markers and memorable spots around the park. Want specific departments to work together to build more cohesive units? Or, would you rather put employees from different areas of your business together to create bonds across the company? Either way, a scavenger hunt around Kennywood can be the centerpiece for a fantastic corporate team building day. Your team will learn interesting facts about Kennywood, and also a lot about how to work together. Ask one of our group outing representatives how to organize your own scavenger hunt! 

If you're a Pittsburgh-based company, odds are most of your staff has grown up in Pittsburgh and visited Kennywood on an annual school, community or company picnic. Many of them may have even taken a bus to get from their hometown to the park. Why not rent a bus and create a drive down memory lane? You'll turn a routine drive into a corporate team building event and summon special memories from the past, which your employees may now also associate with their jobs, in a positive way! Another way to boost your corporate team building days: matching outfits! Friends and family wearing matching clothing is a longstanding Kennywood tradition, and it can boost your team's camaraderie to issue themed shirts for the occasion. You could even ask for design input from your staff on what the shirt ought to look like! 

If when going to Dollywood in Tennessee, your group just has to eat their amazing Dogs N' Taters combo (definitely among the best theme park foods out there) for dinner, maybe that means you'll save some money by making sandwiches and having those for lunch (you'll have to keep them in the car, as Dollywood does not allow guests to bring food into the park). 

Another important consideration is where you will put your food while you're not eating. This goes back to the planning tip. Even parks that allow you to bring food may not have a safe or convenient place to store it. So you may need to rent a locker or carry it with you. In those cases, you have to make sure your cooler or bag will fit in a locker, or that you can/want to lug it all around the park. And if you're not able to store the food in a cooler, then you don't want to bring many items that have to be refrigerated to ensure they do not go bad.

Even the toughest diets usually offer the opportunity for some cheat meals. And what better place to have one that at a theme park?! Not only are there many mouth-watering options to eat, you're probably going to walk and sweat enough to burn many of those calories off. Sometimes you just have to carpe diem and have those deep-fried Oreos. For those whose diets are less restrictive (we're talking about those dang kids and their great metabolism), pack some snacks if you can. Certainly, there's no shortage of theme park snack ideas to find inside your favorite park's gates, but if you need to keep the budget under control (and they just...won't...stop...eating!!!) then include some fun, dessert-like snacks amongst the carrots and celery. Ziploc baggies of candy corn, candied almonds and kettle corn may help to stave off the screams when you decline to purchase that giant bag of cotton candy for your youngest child. 

Another great reason to do your online planning is for savings. Many parks offer deals that enable you to save money by buying online. Some even offer all-you-can-eat type plans for a single day or the whole summer, securing even better savings. You can also save money (and calories) by opting for water over Coke, Pepsi and other caffeinated beverages. However, bottled water will likely cost more than even a super-sized soft drink. Nearly every theme and amusement park (along with many other venues) offers a souvenir cup that allows you to get free or deeply discounted refills. You may find some big savings by purchasing one or two souvenir cups and sharing them among your group, especially if you plan to visit the park again and can use the cup on return visits. While we styled these theme park food ideas specifically for long summer days at places like Kennywood, Idlewild (https://www.idlewild.com/) or  Sandcastle (https://www.sandcastlewaterpark.com/), you'll find many of these tips apply to many of the other fun things to do in Pittsburgh (https://www.kennywood.com/attractions). We hope this advice helps you have a fun and filling time on your next visit!  

Kennywood is America's Finest Traditional Amusement Park! The Pittsburgh-area park offers a unique mix of modern thrills and classic rides, including seven roller coasters, a 14-ride Kiddieland, and several attractions that cannot be found anywhere else. Kennywood, founded in 1898, continues to provide unforgettable fun for all ages.

Sandcastle Waterpark has been providing summer fun for 28 seasons. Sandcastle offers funs for all ages with 15 infamous waterslides, the wild Mon-Tsunami Wave Pool, scenic Mushroom Pool, relaxing Lazy River, pint-sized Tad Pool, and Wet Willie's Waterworks.  

Idlewild & SoakZone, founded in 1878 as a picnic ground along the Ligonier Valley Rail Road, is the longest-operating amusement park in Pennsylvania and third-oldest in America. It has been recognized as the world's best children's park by Amusement Today.

Who doesn't love a good behind the scenes tour, especially when it's a unique, historic location like Kennywood? Your team will bond as they listen to a park ambassador discuss the roller coaster ride we've traveled since our founding in 1898, pun intended! It's a great way to get a corporate team building day started off on the right foot.

While we are throwing out some more complex ideas, we don't want to overshadow the value of one of the simpler corporate team building activities: sitting down as a group and having a meal together. At Kennywood, we offer delicious catered meals for companies of all sizes. Save yourself the work and pick up lunch for your team and their families. Not only will they be able to spend time together outside of the workplace, they can get to know each other better. And the simple act of picking up the tab on a meal can be a corporate team building event in itself, where employers show their staff they are worthy of receiving a complimentary meal. Get more information about one of the best corporate outings in Pittsburgh. 

We saved the best and most obvious corporate team building event for last. While you may have a group too large to all get on a ride at the same time, we recommend arranging some opportunities for your team to ride some of Kennywood's most famous rides together. It doesn't have to be anything formal and heavily structured to be a corporate team building activity. It's just a chance to experience some thrills together. Invite your staff to meet at different rides throughout the day, where everyone can get in line at the same time. Whether it's competing on the Racer, bumping cars on the Gran Prix, or just filling up the horses on the Merry-Go-Round, the laughs and memories will bring your employees closer together. Kennywood has been a place for bonding and togetherness for nearly 120 years. While most initial thoughts may be of childhood trips with friends or family, we've been providing high-quality company picnics for decades and continue to be one of the leading providers of corporate outings in the Pittsburgh area. Our group outing rates provide great discounts for larger companies, and wonderful value no matter the size of the business. We also offer partial-day rates for those that can't shutter the office for a full day. Be sure to check us out and contact one of our Group Sales Representatives to plan your corporate team building event  today!