Amusement Park News

Sandcastle Waterpark, sister park to Kennywood, has celebrated its 35th season this year. The park's big birthday party was held July 17th, replete with cake, a DJ, and fun foam parties, where tiny bubbles create foam ready to run, dance, and play in. Located in West Homestead, Penna., the park is home to a variety of new features created during an upgrade that spread out over multiple years.

The park's charming location overlooks the Monongahela River outside Pittsburgh, and park officials say that the location is a part of its appeal. Sandcastle's 96-acres unfold  along a riverfront, where parkgoers can also observe passing trains that run over a bridge above the park's entrance.  

The 96-acre park added the thrilling Bomb's Away waterslide from manufacturer White Water West in 2023, bringing its total number of rides to more than 20. Like Kennywood, which celebrated its 126th year this season, Sandcastle has also revamped its appeal with new bright paint, a revitalized boardwalk and dining options among a variety of upgrades.

According to the park's assistant general manager Zachary Zapf, “With the completion of the park's massive multi-year enhancement project…guests are in store for a truly elevated waterpark experience.”

Throughout the month of July, the park also held a series of free summer musical concerts for “Jammin' July” evenings on Saturday nights. The concert series was held at the park's Mushroom Pool, providing guests with a lively way to conclude their visit.  Musical offerings from four local bands ranged in genre from reggae to classic rock and blues, soul, and percussive steel.

"It's peak summer in Pittsburgh and we're celebrating with a massive birthday party and free summer concerts," Zapf stressed.

The park had additional celebrations during the summer season too, including a month-long teacher appreciation with free admission for educators along with discounted admission for family and friends; free admission was offered over July 4th for military and first responders.

General manager Rick Spicuzza, who also helms Kennywood Park nearby, says that just about every attraction and locale in Sandcastle was refreshed. “We touched almost everything in the park with bright new colors, including our slides and buildings,” he reports, adding that “…the waterpark now has a new sparkle.”

Sandcastle has 16 water slides plus two large kids' areas, the Tad Pool and Wet Willie's Waterworks. The Tad Pool provides mellow slides in shallow waters for the littlest guests, while Wet Willie's adds thrills for older kids, overseen by lifeguards. Popular with both adults and teens, the two major slides that comprise Cliffhangers, and the fantasy themed Proslide bowl ride Dragon's Den were also brightly refreshed at the park. The park made exciting additional changes to Dragon's Den, including to the iconic dragon located in the center of the bowl. It was enhanced with “special effects [to make] it a little scarier.” These effects include misters and dragon sound effects. In the ride's queue line, a new dragon was created from an existing one which was stripped, redone, and now includes special effects as well.

The park's Mon Tsunami and Mushroom Pool attractions each received major revamps with fresh brick facades, new backdrops, and the addition of a waterfall element. The lengthy Lazy River also has a refreshed look. The park offers single and double inner tubes for guests to enjoy on the attraction, which parallels the park's boardwalk and the Monongahela River itself. Installed last year, the new 305-foot freefall body slide experience of Bombs Away is another part of the park's overall upgrades.



Sandcastle enlisted Safe Slide Restoration to color most of the slides, while Pittsburgh-area-located Almega Company painted the steel elements throughout the park.

Located along the river, The Sandcastle Bridge Bar and Grill now sports an outside turf-covered space with seating and lawn games to accompany its seaside-themed menu, which includes shrimp tacos and frozen margaritas among other treats. Spicuzza notes that local breweries made new beers for the venue, and many adult beverages on the menu are also new.  Parkgoers will also find a new meal: a hot honey chicken wrap created by one of the park supervisors, as well as cheese steak sandwiches, walking tacos, and chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick.

At the Potato Patch, a dining destination popular at both Sandcastle and Kennywood Park for its freshly cut French fries, new signage features a special effect: smoke now rises from the Potato Patch sign.

The celebratory events, completed revamps, fresh food items, and Bombs Away slide addition were all completed over multiple years of upgrades and reimagining, a process which Sandcastle aptly titled this season “Better, Brighter, Fresher Than Ever.” The culmination of these projects came just in time for the waterpark's birthday celebration.

This month, August is still packing in the fun for Sandcastle guests with a new Foam Party every Friday at the Boardwalk entrance, as well as a Passholder Perk Weekend, an event that provides early entrance times to Dragons Den and Mon Tsunami attractions plus 50% discounts on a Sandcastle Bridge entrée and 45% off retail items for passholders.

One day admission to the park is priced at $34.99, while season passes are priced at just $59.99. Passholders also receive a 20% food discount.