Waldameer Park & Water World is an amusement park and water park in Erie, Pennsylvania, located at the base of Presque Isle. Waldameer is the fourth oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, the tenth oldest in the nation, and one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the United States.[1] It is home to several notable rides, including the Ravine Flyer II roller coaster.
The park is admission-free, with many rides, an arcade, and covered picnic facilities. The rides require either the scanning of a paid wristband before riding, or the use of "Wally Points" on the "Wally Card" system. The water park operates an assortment of water slides and pools, and is admission by fee only. The name "Waldameer" can be translated roughly to "woods by the sea" in German.[2]
History
The park began as a picnic area called Hoffman's Grove. The Erie Electric Motor Company leased the park in 1896 and renamed it "Waldameer" to appeal to the area's large German immigrant population. The trolley car company extended service to its new park, making Waldameer a terminus on the line in the hopes of increasing passenger traffic.[3] Early draws of the park included its beaches, a dance hall with live music, its 1905 carousel, and a German beer garden featuring singing waiters.
The park's first roller coaster, Figure Eight, opened in 1902. In 1907, it was renovated and renamed Dip the Dips, and it continued to operate until 1937. A second roller coaster, Scenic Railway, opened in 1915 and operated until 1919. In 1922, the John Miller-designed Ravine Flyer coaster opened, which operated until 1938.[4]
A dance hall called Rainbow Gardens also exists on the property, having been built in 1925. It replaced the original dance hall which burned down in a fire in 1924.
Several iconic rides opened in the 1920s at Waldameer, including the Old Mill water ride, and the Aerial Swings spinning ride. Many other rides operated throughout the first half of the 1900s as well, including a Flying Scooters, a Whip, and a Tumble Bug. In 1951, the Comet roller coaster opened, the first roller coaster to operate at the park since the closure of Ravine Flyer in 1938. Comet has since been designated an ACE Coaster Classic.[5]
The park operates two classic dark attractions: Whacky Shack (built in 1970), a two-story ride, and Pirate's Cove (built in 1972), a walk-through funhouse. Both were designed and built by dark ride specialist Bill Tracy and his company, Amusement Display Associates of Cape May, New Jersey.
In 1986, Waldameer opened a water park named Water World, with two large water slides and a kid's play area known as the Tad Pool.
Waldameer sold its classic carousel at auction in 1988 for more than $1 million. A 10-foot giraffe and a jumping horse from the classic carousel were reserved from the auction. Most of the auction's proceeds were invested in Water World. Four water slides—a speed slide, a free fall slide, and one-man and two-man raft slides—were added in 1989, all built by Molded Fiberglass Company of Union City.[6] The remaining funds from the auction were used to purchase a new carousel with sixty operating horses, built by Chance Rides, which also opened in 1989.
From the 1960s to the 1990s, many rides were added. In 1962, a Flying Coaster ride unofficially known as "The Bump" opened, and it operated until 1994. In 1964, a Scrambler and a Tilt-A-Whirl were added. In 1973, the Paratrooper ride replaced the aging Aerial Swings ride, and in 1977 and 1978, the Spider ride and Sky Ride were added, respectively. The 1990s saw the additions of Sea Dragon, the Ferris Wheel, Wipeout, and Ali Baba. To celebrate Waldameer's 100th operating season in 1996, the Old Mill water ride was removed, and replaced by Thunder River, a Hopkins Rides log flume.[7]
In 2000, a junior coaster built by E&F Miler Industries called Ravine Flyer 3 debuted, despite the fact that Ravine Flyer II would not be completed for another 8 years. In 2004, a spinning coaster manufactured by Maurer AG named Steel Dragon opened.[8] For the 2007 season, Waldameer introduced X-Scream, a 140-foot-tall drop tower and the tallest ride in the park. In 2008, the highly anticipated Ravine Flyer II wooden coaster opened, leading to a 20% increase in attendance, and the busiest season in park history.[9] The coaster won the Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride of 2008.[10] The 2009 season saw the extension of the midway south to coincide with the addition of a Disk-O ride called Mega Vortex. A modern cashless pay system using "Wally Cards" was introduced in 2010. A new family-oriented area called the North End opened in 2011 with three new rides: Flying Swings, SS Wally, and Wendy's Tea Party, all built by Zamperla. In 2012, another Zamperla ride, Happy Swing, was added to the park's Kiddieland section.
In 2015, Waldameer began a water park expansion with the opening of the largest wave pool in the tri-state area.[11] The 2016 season saw the addition of several small slides and a splash pad for younger children, known as Kidz Zone.[12] A water playground, dubbed Battle of Lake Erie, was introduced for the 2017 season.[13] New additions for the 2018 season included a bowl slide from ProSlide Technology called CannonBOWL, and a Zamperla Samba Balloon Ride named Balloon Race.[14] In 2019, the park unveiled a Zamperla Discovery pendulum ride called Chaos.[15] Although Waldameer opened later than usual in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park still added a compact spinning coaster from Italian manufacturer SBF Visa Group and named it Whirlwind. It was the park's first new coaster since the addition of Ravine Flyer II in 2008. On May 22, 2023, it was announced that Paul Nelson, the owner of the park for several decades, had passed away at the age of 89.[16] In 2024, Nelson was honored posthumously at the Golden Ticket Awards for his service to Waldameer.[17] Also in 2024, the Spider ride was retired after 47 years of operation. It will be replaced in 2025 by Time Twister, a Zamperla NebulaZ ride.[18] Additional improvements for 2025 include a redone entrance to Water World and the relocation of the Paratrooper ride, the latter of which will not operate for the 2025 season.
The park also houses a Kiddieland section, which has several smaller rides intended for small children. The oldest operating ride at the park, Pony Cart, is located in Kiddieland.
Merry-Go-Round Grove picnic pavilionWhacky Shack & Pirate's CoveWaldameer's Ferris Wheel and Ravine Flyer 3Mega VortexAli Baba and Whirlwind
Awards
In 2008, Ravine Flyer II was named "Best New Ride" in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards and was ranked the 11th best wooden coaster in the world. That same year, Paul Nelson was named "Person of the Year" by Amusement Today.[19] In 2024, Nelson posthumously received the Legend award in the Golden Ticket Awards.[17] Ravine Flyer II has remained in the top 10 best wooden coasters in the world every year since 2009, peaking at number five in 2016.[20]
In addition, Waldameer’s two Bill Tracy dark rides, Whacky Shack and Pirate's Cove, have won numerous dark ride awards from DAFE.org. Both attractions have consistently ranked in the top 10 for their respective categories (Classic Dark Ride and Walkthrough).[21]
From left to right: Rally Racer, Liquid Lightning, Cannon Bowl, Awesome Twosome, Bermuda Triangle, Raging River, and Wild RiverRally Racer from above
Water World is a water park located in Waldameer. Established in 1986, Water World contains 12 major slides, an Endless River, a Heated Relaxing Pool, and two kids' zones. In June 2015, Waldameer opened a wave pool that can accommodate 1,000 people, making it one of the largest wave pools on the East coast. The water park has continued to expand with new attractions every few years. In 2023, the Rocket Blast water coaster slide won Best New Water Park Ride of 2023 in the Golden Ticket Awards.[22]
Hofbrau German Beer Garden (Unknown–1919, 1933–1941)
Bathhouse (1900s–1946)
Boardwalk (1900s–1946)
Original swimming pools, canoes, and waterslide into Lake Erie (1900s–1946)
Clamshell theater (1910s)
Bluebeard's Castle Funhouse (1920s–1930s)
Monkey Island (1930s–1950s)
Tricky Golf Course (1950s)
Moon Walk tent (1979–1982)
Showtime Theater (1990s–2019)
Snake Pit
Pony rides and donkey rides
Original penny arcade
Bowling alley
Various small stores, game stands, pavilions, and refreshment buildings
Incidents at Waldameer Park
Ravine Flyer
During the late evening hours of August 8, 1938, the Ravine Flyer coaster failed to clear the hill following the bridge crossing Peninsula Drive. As the train continued to travel back and forth over Peninsula Drive, passenger Mary Sersch became hysterical. Her brother, 19-year-old Clarence Sersch then rose out of his seat in an attempt to calm her. He lost his balance, which resulted in the fall to his death in the middle of Peninsula Drive.[23][24] Ravine Flyer was shut down for further investigation. An investigation into the coaster determined that a locked wheel had caused the train to lose speed over Peninsula Drive. It was dismantled at the request of then-park owner Alex Moeller's wife, who was distraught over the incident. Ravine Flyer was replaced 70 years later in 2008 by Ravine Flyer II, in which Peninsula Drive was spanned again.[9]
Chaos
On June 28, 2019, the Chaos ride was going through its usual cycle. At around 1:30 p.m., the ride became stuck upside-down for about two minutes. There were no injuries reported during this incident. The ride was closed for the rest of the day and reopened the following day with the upside-down feature removed. On July 3, the cause of the malfunction was stated to be because of loose wires. The ride was opened to its full ride cycle on July 4 without further issues.[25]
Flying Swings
In the evening of August 17, 2024, the Flying Swings ride failed to slow down as it was brought back to the ground, causing several riders to hit their legs on the fence surrounding the ride. The ride reopened several days later.[26]
In popular culture
In 1996, a documentary entitled "Waldameer: 100 Years of Fun" was released by WQLN to celebrate the park's 100th operating season.[7]
Six children's books featuring fictional characters who solve mysteries at Waldameer have been released from 2017 onwards, titled Waldameer Mystery Files. The books were written by David Gorman, son of Steve Gorman, president and general manager. David Gorman is also the grandson of the late Paul Nelson, who owned and operated the park from 1961 to 2023.[27]
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