Park Profile
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Waldameer Park Meeting the 21st Century
Gary Kyriazi revisits the Pennsylvania amusement park after more than 30 years and find that, whilst some of the rides may have changed, the park’s
atmosphere is alive and well
T
he last time I visited the now 115-year-old Waldameer Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, was on a beautiful evening in the summer of 1974. I was taking my first nationwide amusement park trip across the United States, and Waldameer was a much-needed break from the rather hectic visits to the new crop of theme parks that had been proliferating across the US since the late 1960s Six Flags had three parks by that time, whereas the other theme parks (besides Disney, Universal and Busch) were all still singular. The Taft Corporation wouldn't open Kings Dominion until 1975, while the Marriott Corporation wouldn't open its two Great America parks until 1976, the same year Valleyfair would debut. There was still a large number of traditional parks hanging on – over twice what we have left today – and the tallest rollercoasters barely hit 100ft, yet they were causing a sensation. When I walked down the tree-lined midway of
Ravine Flyer II 32
Waldameer Park, I could sense and smell Lake Erie below the cliff, I heard the gentle tinkling of the 1905 carousel, I saw a happy, relaxed, yet stimulated crowd and I said to myself – even as a 24-year-old thrill-seeker – now this is the American amusement park at its best. Waldameer's modest, 40ft high, 1951 Herb Schmeck rollercoaster satisfied my wooden coaster lust, and I was ready to move to Erie, Pennsylvania, and adopt Waldameer as “my park.”
Last summer, thirty-four years later, I revisited
Waldameer Park. Its long-awaited Ravine Flyer II had debuted in 2008 as one of the smoothest and most exciting of the mega wooden coasters in the world. To say that the park had changed since my initial visit is a major understatement. Certainly, the park is still nestled within its tall trees, flowerbeds and shrubbery abound. The 70-year-old 20,000-sq ft Rainbow Gardens Ballroom is lovingly intact, and the picnic groves haven't diminished, allowing 7,300 guests to bring their own food. Parking is still free, and the gate is still open.
Park owner Paul Nelson and president Steve Gorman APRIL 2011
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