The Hidden Treasure of Ligonier - Idlewild Park
Written: Aug 01 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The $5.00 coupon on their website you can get in for less then $14.00
Cons: Some of the paths are not paved - wear shoes, carry strollers
The Bottom Line: Want to get out of the big crowds and relax, bring the little ones and go back in time and see what a fun vacation is all about.
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| larnkat's Full Review: Idlewild Park |
The family and I went on vacation this year and basically tour southern Pennsylvania. You might even call it a four year olds’ “Dream Vacation”, because we went to Hershey, Sesame Place and Idlewild Park. We are from the Cleveland, Ohio area, and have gone to “Cedar Point” and “Six Flags” most of our lives. I guess we really didn’t know what to expect when we decided to go to Idlewild, we just knew that, that was where “Story Book Forest” and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” was. So off we went to try to find Idlewild and I do mean try to find.
Idlewild is located just off Route 30 in Ligonier, PA. Knowing this you might think that it would be easy to find, but Idlewild is not like any other amusement park that I have ever been to. First of all, there is no advertising along the way so I felt like I was lost until you’re just about on top of it. Second, once you find the entrance, it almost seems as if you’re going in the back way as the path you are on goes into the woods and snakes around until you come to the parking ticket booths. Even the ticket booths were a little confusing to this family, because some went to the left and some to the right. Later, we found out, one parking area was closer to the “Story Book Forest” and other closer to “Soak Zone”, the water-park. I should also mention to check the closing times, because some of the attractions close as early as 6:00 p.m.
Some of Idlewild seemed like going to the park or campgrounds, especially “Jumpin’ Jungle”, which is in the middle of the woods. They had some old time, fun things to do that most amusement parks have abandoned over the years. Activities included, climbing ropes, slides, swing from tree to tree, pulley boat races and other activities like these. Other parts of the park are timeless, like “Story Book Forest”, where the fairy tales from when you were a kid come to life. They have about twenty different fairy tales and about half of they have live actors playing the parts. My daughter just could not get enough, of having her picture taken with all of the actors.
After going to “Story Book Forest” we headed the main part of the park. Make sure to bring your shoes or flip-flops to this park, not all of the paths are paved, which can cause problems for strollers. In the “Olde Idlewild” you find your old time amusement rides. This part of the park reminded me of an amusement park. Here you have the rides that turned you and flipped you in all kinds of directions and of course their roller coasters.
After doing a few spin me round until I can not take no more rides with my daughter, we headed to “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood of Make Believe”. Here you ride on a life size trolley that takes you back to make believe where you see life size animated characters from the television show. This is definitely a great photo opportunity, as the conductor tries to get the characters actual prerecorded voice to interact with you on the trolley. It actually did fool the little ones in to believing that they were real and I would recommend this ride to all parents with little ones. There is also a water-park area called “Soak Zone”, but the day we were there, temperatures were only in the low 70’s, so we did not venture in.
To sum up Idlewild Park, it’s an old amusement park that hasn’t lost it favor for fun. I would recommend this park to anyone who want’s to get out of the crowds and mainstream of most amusement parks. And enjoy the laid back favor of what amusement parks used to be all about – relaxed entertaining enjoyment.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
larnkat
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Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 16 members
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