Kennywood, Sandcastle, Idlewild are going cashless
You can leave your cash at home if you’re heading for Idlewild & SoakZone and its sister parks this summer.
The parks will accept credit, debit and prepaid cards or secure mobile payments including MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover only starting next week. Guests can also use Apple Pay and Google Pay.
“By transitioning to solely accepting cards or secure mobile payments, we can provide a better, more efficient experience to our guests,” says Kennywood and Sandcastle General Manager Mark Pauls in a statement. “We expect to see wait times decrease for food and retail stores, and have added several cash to card kiosks throughout each park to provide guests a simple and easy way to convert their cash onto a card.”
Those cash to card kiosks will be able to convert up to $500 cash onto a prepaid card. The cards can be used to purchase admission tickets, as well as at stores and stands throughout any of the three parks. They can also be used outside the park anywhere cards are accepted. There is no charge for cash to card conversion.
Cashless transactions begin Tuesday at Kennywood and Sandcastle and June 29 for Idlewild.
This system has been installed at other parks owned and managed by Palace Entertainment, parks spokesman Nick Paradise said.
“It’s working very well,” Paradise said. “It creates a more efficient experience. Cash transactions take extra time and that adds up over the course of a day.”
This new system will allow the parks to reallocate employees to other jobs from food and beverage to ride operations, Paradise said.
Paradise said the majority of transactions are by card.
“Cash is in the minority,” Paradise said. “Most people who come to the park feel comfortable paying by card. It is the preferred choice.”
There will be six kiosks at Kennywood in West Mifflin, four at Idlewild in Ligonier Township and three at Sandcastle in West Homestead.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.