Lakemont Park

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

Hello,

 

I looked on the Lakemont Park web-site and it didn't have Leap the Dips as one of there attractions. I wanted to know (before planning a trip out-there) if anybody has been to Lakemont Park last year or knows if this attraction is still running. (or if its worth the 6+ hour drive)

 

Thank you.

[Coaster Palooza]

It was operating when we were out there in July in the rain! And it is worth it to us.

 

Here is a link that might help with Lakemont Park. I agree their website doesn't give much.

 

http://www.rcdb.com/pd61.htm

This is what one...the only...car looks like. No seatbelts, no restraints, nothing!!!

Woohoo

See the clouds behind us? It started to pour within the hour.

Up the lift hill.

Ready to ride.

We're here!

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

Oh, that was your TR that I saw when I did a site search. Sorry, I think I had a brain fart b/c I thought your report was from '06.

 

RCDB had some pics from like 1972 and shots from before a refurbish...a shame since it is has history.

 

Thank you for the info...

[Coaster Palooza]

I did go there in '06 and '07. It is a really small park, but the coasters were fun. You can probably get through it in a couple of hours or less.

 

Make sure to hit DelGrosso's in Tipton and Idlewild in Ligonier!

 

If you would like any other information, just ask! We stayed at a hotel near Kennywood and they had a deal for tickets at the park. We also stayed at a hotel near Idlewild and they had discount tickets for the park too.

[larrygator]

and if possible go to DelGrosso's on a Wednesday for their All You Can Eat pasta meals. The food at DelGrosso's is incredible.

 

The pizza at DelGrosso's is for superior to any amusement park and on par with the best pizza places in NYC. I bought 4 jars of their tomato sauce and was upset that I didn't buy more.

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

and if possible go to DelGrosso's on a Wednesday for their All You Can Eat pasta meals. The food at DelGrosso's is incredible.

 

The pizza at DelGrosso's is for superior to any amusement park and on par with the best pizza places in NYC. I bought 4 jars of their tomato sauce and was upset that I didn't buy more.

 

MMMMM...all you can eat pasta??!!! As for the pizza, I dunno...Knoebels has a pretty mean slice.

 

Thank you for the advice...its always nice to know what the best things to do in a place that one has never been to.

[larrygator]

I've lived in New York all my life and I'd eat DelGrosso's pizza any day of the week, but I really did not enjoy Cesari's at Knoebels.

 

One time I had a soup of cheese and sauce on top of 3/4 cooked dough at Cesari's. The other time it was too doughy for me. Overall, it was just no where near the typical pizza I eat.

[Carnage]

Leap the Dips was operating in August when I was there.

 

Are you going as a group or by yourself? Just be aware that due to the lack of upstop wheels they need a certain amount of weight in the car. So they typically need three people riding.

 

If you showed up alone, and the park was empty you could have a problem getting on it.

 

Also keep in mind that Idlewild, Lakemont, and DelGrosso's aren't as close as they seem. They're close distance wise, but the drive in between them is fairly slow. Quite a bit of smaller roads with lots of stop lights,etc. So you'll probably need about half a day or so to hit all three.

[larrygator]

Just to be clear since Carnage writes in Canadian. Lakemont and DelGrosso's are very close to each either. Travelwise Idlewild is further away from the other two than it looks due to slow moving on the roads.

[BeemerBoy]

Just to be clear since Carnage writes in Canadian.

 

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

Are you going as a group or by yourself? Just be aware that due to the lack of upstop wheels they need a certain amount of weight in the car. So they typically need three people riding.

 

If you showed up alone, and the park was empty you could have a problem getting on it.

 

 

So...would I be okay if I ride with one ACEer then?

[Yankee cannonball]

^you'd break it 0___o

[Carnage]

Just to be clear since Carnage writes in Canadian. Lakemont and DelGrosso's are very close to each either. Travelwise Idlewild is further away from the other two than it looks due to slow moving on the roads.

 

I write in Canabian.

 

True, those two parks are like minutes apart. But getting to that area from say Pittsburgh isn't as close as you'd think. When I first planned on going out that way, I originally looked at the map and thought "hey, I could hit all 3 parks in like a couple hours before Kennywood". I was quite mistaken.

 

So...would I be okay if I ride with one ACEer then?

 

Well, maybe one very, very large ACEer. You pretty much need three average sized people, or two really large people.

 

If it's a summer day then you shouldn't have too much problem finding someone.

[larrygator]

I hear you Paul.

 

I did Kennywood and then Idlewild in the same day and couldn't get everything done at Idlewild.

 

Then I went to Lakemont, DelGrosso's and Williams Grove the next day.

 

I can read a map.

[Carnage]

^ That's exactly how I did it. (minus Williams Grove).

 

Last year after meeting up with TPR at Kennywood I did Idlewild in the evening. Then the next day hit Lakemont and Delgrosso's on my way home.

[Coaster Palooza]

Both times I went, we did Idlewild in the AM, then hit Lakemont and finished it up with DelGrosso's. We didn't miss anything!!! Just keep an eye on the closing times for Lakemont and DelGrosso's.

[BarryH]

Are you going as a group or by yourself? Just be aware that due to the lack of upstop wheels they need a certain amount of weight in the car. So they typically need three people riding.

 

If you showed up alone, and the park was empty you could have a problem getting on it.

 

 

So...would I be okay if I ride with one ACEer then?

 

I've rode Leap the Dips alone and it was OK. Of course, I am rather heavy too.

[niiicolaaah]

I think it also probably depends on the ride op you get. For example, we weren't allowed to ride Little Leaper or whatever the kiddy coaster is called, but Derek had been on it on a previous trip.

 

I liked Leap the Dips. It wasn't the most exciting or thrilling coaster out there obviously, but it had its own charm (especially the creaking and "airtime") and I think as the oldest coaster on the planet it deserves a ride especially if you are within driving distance of it.

[sixflagsguy5]

I'm doing a big east coast/ PA trip in 2008 and we're planning on doing Kennywood, Lakemont, and Del Grosso's in the same day. I hope that we can fit it all in. We're thinking about doing Idlewild if we're ahead of schedule after kennywood.

 

Does anybody know if Del Grosso's sells their sauce in grocery stores?

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

Sorry for the ACE'er comment...just trying to be funny. And failed.

 

Delgrosso's, Idlewide, and Kennywood are somewhat close? Does anybody know of a site where you can see where these parks are per state and which ones are actually open? I tried using rcdb's...but it seems to use "as the crow flies" way of estimating milage.

[Coaster Palooza]

I hope this helps:

 

This was our itinerary for the PONY World Series. I will include links to our TR for the PONY World Series in 2006 and for our trip in 2007.

 

Idlewild SUNDAY (8/15/06) 10am-9pm? Route 30 e., Ligonier PA 15658

Lakemont SUNDAY 11am 700 Park Ave. Altoona, PA 16602

Delgrosso's SUNDAY 11am Route 220 Tipton,PA 16684

Kennywood MONDAY 11am-10pm 4800 Kennywood Blvd. West Mifflin,PA 15122

 

 

The times are when the park opens because they say they close at different times depending on the crowds and weather. Make sure you have their phone numbers. You should be able to plot the addresses out on a map in Yahoo or Google. I prefer Yahoo.

 

You really can't get a good address for Idlewild, just use the zip code for a rough estimate. If you drive on Route 220 heading east from Pittsburgh area, you will run into Idlewild on your right.

 

Here are the TRs.

 

2007 -

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37356

 

2006 -

Idlewild, DelGrosso’s, Lakemont Park

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28232

 

Kennywood

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28234

 

PONY World Series TR

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28236

 

By the way, Coaster Fanatics is a great website for where parks are located.

 

www.coasterfanatics.com

 

click on "parks" on the left and look up the parks. Here is DelGrosso's webpage on Coaster Fanatics. Scroll to the bottom and you'll find nearby parks and distances.

 

http://www.coasterfanatics.com/sec_coasters/coaster_parkdetail.asp?id=27

 

http://www.coasterfanatics.com/sec_coasters/coaster_nearbyparks.asp?id=27

[Guest]

^^^I hope you realize that Kennywood is a two hour drive from Lakemont and Delgrossos. If you haven't been to either of the three parks, I would suggest doing KW for a day and then Delgrossos and Lakemont the next. You would really be pushing if you did all three in one day, you would be running your self ragged.

[sixflagsguy5]

Well this is where it gets interesting. I've been to Kennywood and about half of the parks on the entire trip, but my friends haven't been to many of the parks. So I really want to go to the smaller parks and tey want to do the bigger parks, so we're doing both.

 

I went to Kennywood last summer and was able to get on everything multiple times in about 3 hours. We've cut Idlewild and here is our plan:

-Leave Chicago very early

-Get to Kennywood at noon or 1-ish (stay 3:30)

-Lakemont (5:30-7)

-Delgrosso's (7:30-9)

 

We're not really the type to spend a lot of time at smaller parks and "take in the park experience." We just like riding the coasters, taking pictures/ video, buying souvineers, and going off to the next park. The first day of our trip has to be crammed in like that just because everyone has different parks that they want to do and we can't add on another day to the trip.

 

I know this isn't even my topic, but thanks for all of the advice anyways.

[Carnage]

I went to Kennywood last summer and was able to get on everything multiple times in about 3 hours. We've cut Idlewild and here is our plan:

-Leave Chicago very early

-Get to Kennywood at noon or 1-ish (stay 3:30)

-Lakemont (5:30-7)

-Delgrosso's (7:30-9)

 

We're not really the type to spend a lot of time at smaller parks and "take in the park experience." We just like riding the coasters, taking pictures/ video, buying souvineers, and going off to the next park. The first day of our trip has to be crammed in like that just because everyone has different parks that they want to do and we can't add on another day to the trip.

 

An hour and a half at DelGrosso's is really pushing it. If you're just getting credits, taking pictures and leaving, then it'll maybe take you 30 minutes. I was in and out in about 30 minutes last year, and that included getting something to eat. There's really not much to the park.

[larrygator]

The day I went to DelGrosso's it was a 30 minute wait for the Crazy Mouse and the Wacky Worm wait was expected to be 45 minutes (I did not ride the Wacky Worm).