I saw Mister Roger's Trolley! No, really. I did.
Written: Aug 28 '01 (Updated Aug 29 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Affordable, several family oriented themeparks in one, even the food's good!
Cons: That pool in the Soak Zone could be skimmed more often!
The Bottom Line: For 18.95 you get several parks in one, including a first class water park! You simply can't go wrong.
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| kevlog's Full Review: Idlewild Park |
Well, I read in this morning's paper that Fred Rogers, a.k.a. Mr. Roger's of neighborhood fame, is retiring from PBS this week, so I figured it would be appropriate to share my 'trolley sighting' with you all. Yes, it's true, I actually saw the trolley last week in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania! Where, you may be asking, did I see this classic piece of Americana (ok, it was a life size replica!) ? Idlewild Park, in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, is the third oldest amusement park in America, and it was here, in a section of the park known as "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood", that I spotted that famous trolley which whisks visitors off to the land of King Friday and Lady Elaine and friends. I had also seen one of Mr. Roger's sweaters in the Smithsonian earlier in the week so it was shaping up to be a "'very Rogers' vacation."
Idlewild has been around since 1878 (albeit in a different form) and has evolved into a truly great family amusement park in the hilly and scenic Pennslvania highlands. For $18.95 per person (yes even my six year old was charged this!) you get a wristband and you can now spend the day enjoying both the traditional amusement park (broken into several sections) and the first class water park known as Soak Zone. We arrived at noon, after visiting Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater thirty miles to the south. Idlewild is approximately 12 miles north of Turnpike Exit 9 (Donegal) via route 711 and 30. We honestly didn't know what to expect from Idlewild, since their brochure is fairly low key and had us worried that there wouldn't be a whole lot to the park. In my humble opinion their brochure doesn't do this place justice. Ample parking, a decent price, great rides (including an impressive area dedicated to just kids' rides,) and a fantastic water park made our six hours seem inadequate to cover it all! I'll try to cover highlights of our visit here but for detailed info check out their homepage at http://www.idlewild.com/home.html.
From the parking lot you can see, off to the right, Storybook Land. This is the place where your kids' favorite childhood stories, like that Old Lady in the Shoe and Little Boy Blue, come to life. Walk into the lifesize shoe, check out the look on Humpty Dumpty's face (Ok, that one gave me the chills to be honest!), and see (and smell) the real Three Little Pigs. The lady working at the giant shoe reminded me of my grandmother and seemed strangely psychic as she blurted out my kids' ages and the grades they were entering in the fall. I have visions of her, after the park closes, lighting her neon sign that says "Psychic Old Woman" and doing readings for all the other fairytale characters well into the witching hour. Anyway, this area is very hilly so get ready for some exercise. You'll also find a pirate ship here (set in a lovely pond which seemed to have some nice sunfish living in it) and a gift shop, which you're actually forced to walk through in order to exit this land of merriment. "Dad, can't I get a lifesized Humpty Dumpty for 99 dollars!?"Those obnoxious marketing people! Wait a minute, I work in marketing.
Jumpin' Jungle, also close to the entrance, is another kid focused area not unlike a huge version of McDonald's Play Place. There's a huge ball pit here (let's not think about how often they clean them, ok?), fun Tarzan swings and slides (also huge), and good times to be had by all. The natural surroundings make this area much more pleasant than a McDonald's Play Place and there's no scary statue of Ronald McDonald. If you need a scary statue go back to Storybook Land and look at Humpty Dumpty again.
Olde Idlewild is the traditional amusement park portion of the park. You'll find a great wooden coaster, the always popular paratrooper, a tilt-a-whirl, and if you have just eaten and want to lose your lunch, the Round Up. I view the Round Up now with a mix of nostalgia and horror. How did I stand it as a kid, riding it again and again? Just looking at it now makes me feel ill. Time to change the subject.
If you want to meet King Friday or Henrietta that "meow meow" pussycat, head over to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood . Here's where you'll s and ride the full size trolley replicas and the ringing of the trolley may trigger memories of sick days in elementary school when you analyzed that 'Speedy Delivery' guy to death. We actually didn't have time for this area and my nine year son is way too cool for it anyway but maybe next time!
Racoon Lagoon is simply the best if you have kids. It's a mini-amusement park, full of really cool kids' rides. There are mini racecars and mini trains ,a mini ferriswheel and mini boats, even mini biplanes. This is the stuff I absolutely loved as a kid and my kids clearly love it now! My favorite ride here was this little train ride where an adult, seated in the larger of two seats, turns a crank to move the car around the track while the child just sits there like royalty enjoying the views. This area is a blast. My son was anxious to get to Soak Zone but when we wandered through Racoon Lagoon he kept saying "wait, just one more ride!"
Hootin' Holler is an area we kind of skirted by, but it's a sort of a mining town themed area where you can hop on the traditional train ride around the park (which we did), take a tour of Confusion Hill (some bizarre slanted building full of, I'm guessing , optical illusions and other weird stuff), or chat with a character in the jail who goes by the name of Filthy McNasty. Frankly, I didn't let my kids get near Filthy McNasty, but I won't tell you how to parent.
We actually had an impressive lunch here, at a place where they grill chicken on a big open flame and serve sandwiches or complete meal platters. You can also get burgers or jumbo hot dogs with all the fixings. The chicken struck me as especially tasty for amusement park fare! No dried out aging burgers in silver foil wrap here; this food was fresh and yummy. We probably dropped around twenty bucks for two adults and two kids for lunch.
Our grand finale at Idlewild was a couple hours spent at Soak Zone, the water park portion of the park. Here you can rent a locker for a couple dollars (or an oversized locker for a bit more) and head into a huge changing area to put your suit on. There are also showers in here. My son was shocked by all the naked men and he chose to wait to change in a bathroom stall. Luckily I already had my suit on and didn't have to put all the other men to shame by flashing my hot bod for all to see. I will commence the epinion when the laughter stops. This could be a while. I found out from my wife that the women all had personal changing areas with curtains. What's up with that?
You'll find creative ways to get wet in the Soak Zone. There's a giant bucket that slowly fills up with water as excited people gather underneath it waiting for it to tip and drench them. There are water canons you can fire at unsuspecting passersby,( or at your spouse as I chose to do). The traditional waterslides, big and small, can be found here, and my son and I enjoyed several tube rides down one of the tamer but thrilling slides, while my wife and daughter headed for the pool. I daresay the pool is much larger than Olympic sized, and due to the heat, the crowds, and the oddities floating in the water, I avoided it. My daughter did enjoying swimming practice in the two foot section and I think chemical levels must've kept her safe since she apparently didn't catch anything! She also enjoyed the kids water play area, much like the one she'd enjoyed at 'Water Wizz' weeks earlier. (see previous epinion!).
So what we thought would be a pretty lame amusement park turned out to be a highlight of our vacation, especially for the kids! Considering the amount of entertainment here, the price was certainly right. I would pay 18.95 simply for the Soak Zone alone, so that amount for several parks in one was a great deal. Be careful driving in from the south, as you have to loop around and cross a couple lanes of busy traffic. Different areas of the park open and close at different times so check the website for specifics. You can rent strollers and wheelchairs and there is one ATM machine in the Idlewilde Clothing Company store located in Olde Idlewilde. If you need more cash for the creepy Humpty Dumpty sweatshirt, this is the place to go!
Thanks for reading, as always, and enjoy what's left of this fading summer! I for one, plan to catch some nice bass today, especially since it's my birthday. Woohooo.
Kevlog in Boston
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kevlog
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Member: Kevin
Location: Southeastern Massachusetts
Reviews written: 233
Trusted by: 283 members
About Me:
I am constantly overwhelmed with the richness of life.
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