When it opened in 1997, one ride was visible before you even got across the bridge entering Kennywood. What is it you may ask? Well it’s Pitt Fall of course. During the winter of 1996, the executives at Kennywood went looking for a new ride that would compliment their Steel Phantom roller coaster and provide a new unique thrill for guests. That is when they stumbled upon the line of drop towers marketed by Intamin AG. The Swiss engineers at Intamin AG, a company famous for not only breathtaking coasters, but also for it's wonderful freefall rides, built this mammoth drop tower for Kennywood and positioned it right in the helix of the now defunct Steel Phantom. Pitt Fall would hoist you up, drop you, and most likely scare you silly. Pitt Fall was the Giant Drop version of Intamin’s freefall towers. Giant Drops are famous around the world as being not only some of the best freefalls from Intamin; but some of the best freefalls rides period. Intamin has always strived for excellence in their rides. They have some breath-taking coaster, thrilling water rides, and some flats, but their drop towers will always remain the most popular ride and their claim to fame.

Twelve daring riders would make their way through the Kennywood scenery and into the seats on Pit Fall. Next, they were secured by a standard over the shoulder restraints like used on most coasters. Once fastened in, the cable lift system carried the seats to the summit of the 251-foot tower, the tallest of its kind in the world at the time. As riders were hauled up, they were provided with panoramic views of many signature attractions as the park disappeared beneath them. It would first pass the Jack Rabbit, then the thrilling Thunderbolt. Next you passed the Racer, and finally the 170-foot tall lift of Phantom's Revenge. At this height, you think you can’t go any higher but you just kept on going up. After passing Phantom's Revenge (the second tallest ride in the park), most riders think they are almost there. Wrong! Riders still had eighty-one feet to go. When the seats finally reached the top, you heard the locking of the holding brake. Most drop rides drop on the count of ten, but Pitt Fall was always irregular. The riders sit waiting for the drop, with nerves building every second. Then, when they least expect it, riders dropped. Faster than gravity, passengers plummet 159-feet towards the Pittsburgh ground before sinking into the brakes at an altitude of ninety feet. It's an experience you'll never forget.

And hopefully the experience is something riders never will forget, as the park announced in late 2011 that the ride was being removed from Kennywood at the end of the season. The ride originally appeared up for sale in June 2011, when it appeared on the website of International Ride Management, a company that sells rides for parks. The park confirmed the ride's listing, but would not confirm the future of the ride. In September, all that changed, as Kennywood officials announced the ride had officially been sold and was being removed to make way for a new attraction. It may have been among the first of its kind, and while out-dated and "small" by today's standards, it stood as a giant of its time.