When Chartiers-Houston students head to Kennywood Park for their school picnic Saturday, they'll find that the deer are gone and the ghosts are back.

And, of course, those scrumptious Potato Patch fries will be fresh and hot at the refreshment pavilion in front of the Thunderbolt.

Yesterday was opening day at the venerable amusement park in West Mifflin, evoking all sorts of 'Burgh-happy memories, as well as introducing a new, high-tech ride, "Ghostwood Estate."

The new attraction, which replaces another "dark ride," the Gold Rusher, is a first for Kennywood. Guests not only get a tour through the haunted mansion of Lord Kenneth Ghostwood, they get to zap the free-loading ghosts who have declared squatters' rights.

Halloween Productions of St. Louis designed the new ride; it also converted Kennywood's Old Mill ride into Garfield's Nightmare a few seasons back.

"These cars don't need a track, there are wires in the floor and the sensors allow the cars to do a lot of tricks," said Richard Donders, an engineer with Dutch firm ETF, which designed and built the four-passenger vehicles.

Metal bar codes embedded in the concrete floor provide options for the ride operators. They can make the cars stop, spin, turn, or take another route if there's a fork in the road or a dead-end.

The cars equip each guest with a laser gun. Hit one of the 200 or so light-up targets and you get a "trick," as well as points.

The tricks vary. Recently on a bright afternoon, little signs were still taped to some of the targets giving indication of the fun, such as "Drop spider," or "Pop-out trunk."

Word of warning: watch out for one near the big, fancy cake.

For many, the Gold Rusher was a love-it-or-hate-it attraction, but most agree that two of its biggest jolts involved an arachnid attack, and who doesn't like a good spider drop?

The other Gold Rusher surprise involved a charging locomotive, which was later recycled -- along with a good number of ghosts and skeletons -- into Kennywood's autumn Phantom Fright Nights.

Ghostwood Estates features eight large rooms and a nicely decorated foyer area where guests line up at the beginning. Dark red paint resembling wallpaper decorates the walls, with framed portraits of Lord Ghostwood and some others that, of course, are just not quite ... normal.

Ten cars simultaneously can tour the estate, and the ride takes about three minutes, which is generous by dark ride standards.

"A lot of CGI's [computer-generated imagery] make it so different from the plain black walls [of the Gold Rusher]," said project manager Matt Hyatt.

One of the problems with the 26-year-old Gold Rusher was the mine-themed ride's capacity. It could only move about 300 guests per hour, which is about a third of the efficiency for new rides.

The other, according to Internet forum debate, was that some dark ride enthusiasts considered it an uninspired attraction that failed to really frighten or amuse.

"The capacity wasn't that great and the tricks were tired. This ride was built to last 25 years, and it did, but then we had to say 'Where do you go from here?' " said Mary Lou Rosemeyer, Kennywood director of public relations.

Some of The Gold Rusher's advocates, however, called it a classic, and mourned its closing. So, after Kennywood shuttered the ride in late August with little warning, the park offered an olive branch to dark ride lovers by holding a "wake" on Aug. 26.

Fans dressed as miners and cowboys got to take a few last rides, and one even gave a eulogy. To help christen the new attraction, members of DAFE --pronounced "Daffy,'' for Darkride And Funhouse Enthusiasts -- were invited to attend a media day at the park last week.

"I haven't been down there yet, but I saw the concept art for the facade: think 'Addams Family,'" said Rick Davis, president of the Ohio-based organization.

A good dark attraction, he said, makes a strong first impression.

"I think you have a pretty good idea whether you like it the first ride through."

DAFE has named Kennywood its favorite dark attraction park for the past seven years.

Ghostwood Estate might be the glitziest new attraction, but it was comforting to see old favorites spruced up for another season. Kennywood, one of two U.S. amusement parks designated as national landmarks, opened its gates in 1898.

Although the family-owned business and its sister parks have a pending sale with Spain's Parques Reunidos, the deal has not yet gone through.

The park never really shuts down off-season, but there is a quiet time through the end of January where many of the attractions are dismantled or undergoing maintenance. These are the times, said Ms. Rosemeyer, when deer walk the snow-covered paths and the vast parking lots are dotted with just a few cars.

Come February, that slowly begins to change. Bad weather, especially rain, this winter delayed a number of renovation projects, but they'll all be ready for the opening, she said.

The sides of the Carousel Court recently were supporting ladders on all sides as workers fixed the roof, painted, and finished installing new lights. Giant fake roses were being repainted a bright red and plumbers worked on the underground system beneath the Pittsburg Plunge. These scenarios were being carried out en masse throughout the park and no doubt last-minute touches are still underway.

"People will come in and see that it looks like it always did and have no idea that all this went on," Ms. Rosemeyer said.

A new games building graces Kiddieland, and a build-your-own-slushie stand is set up near the entrance to Lost Pittsburg.

A major revamp took place near the Lagoon. Kennywood has replaced a recent high-dive act with a show that has a lumberjack theme.

An old-again-but-new touch also on the Lagoon is a wooden fence built for the upcoming comedy, "Adventureland," which was shot at Kennywood last fall.

Much of the film was shot around the midway and area near the Jack Rabbit and Racer roller coasters. The fence, a faded striped expanse of gray, blue and green, runs along one side of the Lagoon.

"It covers up a very expensive wrought-iron fence but we thought we'd leave it up for a year," Ms. Rosemeyer said, adding that the film's producers said they were so taken with the charm of Kennywood, a lot more of the park will probably be in the movie than originally planned.

"It's supposed to be this real park [in Long Island], but anyone who knows Kennywood will know it's Kennywood."

Chartiers-Houston will be the first picnic among Washington County schools. Others will be Fort Cherry, May 22; Burgettstown Area, May 30; Trinity Area, June 12; Avella Area, June 16, and Peters Township, June 17.

For more, visit www.kennywood.com or call 412-461-0500. For DAFE, visit www.dafe.org.