Philrad's 2010 (mostly) small park adventures

[Philrad71]

Hi folks,

Here I am again, stuck in the snow and cold of another western New York winter. Being that we got socked with about three feet of snow in the last two weeks, I figured this would be as good a time as any to get caught up on all of my 2010 adventures.

 

This year, we made a goal of trying to hit more of the smaller amusement parts in the North East portion of the US. As a lot of you are big fans of small parks, I dedicate most of this report to you! I'll try and stay away from pics from CP and the big chain parks, but I might have to throw in some I305 shots from KD just because it looks so darn sexy!

 

We'll start this trip out with DelGrosso's Amusement Park in Tipton, PA. It is a nice little family fun park that somewhat reminded me of Waldameer before they got RFII. Lot's of folks on here have said how much nicer it would be if they were to get a terrain woodie in the back of the park - I have to agree with them. Still a nice place for families to take their kids in rural Pennsylvania. The water park looks like it has some room for expansion on the other side of the road.

 

The main reason we stopped here is that we were headed for a family wedding in Virginia and it was almost lunchtime. We had heard good things about their pizza and wanted to try it and also check out the amusement park. While I will say it was pretty good pizza, I can't say that it blew me away. It's just your basic cheese and pepperoni pizza with decent sauce on a thin crust. Perhaps if I would have been able to wash it down with a Yuengling instead of a Mountain Dew it might have rated higher, but alas...no alcohol in this park!

 

We never rode anything as most of the rides were your standard flats along with a mouse and Wacky Worm. We just strolled around the park to check things out. The weather had been on and off rain all morning so the park was pretty dead...we stayed about an hour before heading to Lakemont down the street.

 

Delgrosso's

 

Ride selection: 4/10 for thrill rides (9 out of 10 for the family & kiddy ride selection).

Food: 8/10 - pizza was decent, but all food looked to be very reasonably priced.

Cleanliness: 9/10 - park seemed clean and neat.

Water park: 7/10 - small water park with about five slides and a dumping bucket for families - I would imagine this getting very crowded on a hot sunny weekend.

Beer report: N/A

 

Future expansion possibilities with a terrain wooden coaster and more water attractions might draw more people from greater distances although it is definitely nice to see these old-style family owned parks that cater to little one's and their families!

 

Hope everyone enjoys the updates and has a safe and wonderful holiday season!

The first night of our adventure started with an overnight in Dubois, PA (I believe it is pronounced: Do-Boys). We ate dinner here... at a biker bar where we won $35 on 50/50 tickets! They had amazing steak sandwiches here and advertised that they had the best wings in town. We'll have to try them next time we come through Doo-Bwah (I prefer that pronunciation better). The motel in the back looked rather "interesting", but we opted for the Best Western a little further away.

The next morning, we rolled into Delgrosso's but (believe it or not) it wasn't weenies we were after...

...it was the pizza with the creepiest neon pizza chef you have ever seen!

While Michael and I both thought it was good, we wouldn't say it was the best pizza we ever had.

Close-up for all the pizza lovers out there.

And some prices.

More snack food prices.

With the strange wear marks on the sign, it looks like Buddy Bear and his family must get lots of dirty-haired kids under 42"!!!

For any of you that were hoping to bring your Lasonic boom box blasting Grandmaster Flash on cassette, you might have to take it to a different water park.

Hoagie - you can tell we're in PA!

The credit whore coaster was down for repair.

Intamin cable fail? You be the judge!

I have no idea either, but I was VERY curious to know what was behind the blue curtain, but too intimidated to act on it!

The park's mouse...typical mouse with what looked to be very minimal spinning.

A pair of flats.

Dodgem. I can't do bumper cars anymore unless they are at a place called Knoebels.

Flying Bob.

Batman-looking Paratroopers. Did this ride come from a Six Flags?

Props to the DelGrosso family!

If you're looking for Amish Paradise, look no further than the rough and tough streets of South Central PA! We're talkin' old school Bea!

Time to head out.

There were some defunt rides next to the parking lot. Some planes (Barnstormer?), an old double decker bus and what looked to be coaster track pieces. I believe I read on here that they had a steel that was purchased and sitting on site, but has never been built. Anyone know why?

Water park from the parking lot. Looks like there is some definite room for expansion. Anyone ever been on the beige slide on the bottom? Looks like there could be an amazing amount of airtime on that second hill!

Sorry for a lot of the darker colored shots. It was quite the dark, overcast morning but the clouds cleared when we got to Lakemont (which is coming next). Thanks for reading!

Edited March 20, 2011 by Philrad71

[beatle11]

Thanks for sharing these photos. Food prices definitely looked very reasonable.

[The SETGO Guys]

Great Report!

Is your shirt from SFGAd?

[eddie200330]

This park is awesome for a quick summer fling for families with kids. We always drag coolers and everyone and head up the road each summer. I don't really know how much room they have towards the back of the park for a coaster though, and yes that piece of steel you seen in the lot across the road is the old Libertyland Revolution. It has been there for about 4 or 5 years and I sent them an email asking about it and was told they were "hopeful". Alas that has been 3 years since....

 

In reference to the waterslide with airtime, no not really. If you and your partner can't keep your ass off the slide to reduce friction you barely make it over and into the pool. Two summers ago we were waiting to get up the tower and the steps go right beside the drop. Two young boys didn't make it and "rolled back". The idiot lifeguard jumped into the slide at the same time the idiot guard at the top sent another raft without looking. The second raft wiped out the lifeguard and slammed the boys stuck in the dip. No one was seriously hurt, but the girl was flipped off her feet and landed on her head with a loud thud and seemed to have a slight concussion. But anyway, yeah they have lots of room to expand the waterpark in the field, and it does get really crowded on hot days, which means more time for the cool spin and pukes they have!!!!

[chadster]

Fantastic! Looking forward to the rest!

[Philrad71]

Thanks for the nice comments...it's nice to be able to look at all of these pictures now that it is winter and be able to reflect on all the fun we had! There will be more to come, I promise!

 

Is your shirt from SFGAd?

 

Yep, that would be an El Toro shirt!

 

 

In reference to the waterslide with airtime, no not really. If you and your partner can't keep your A$$ off the slide to reduce friction you barely make it over and into the pool. Two summers ago we were waiting to get up the tower and the steps go right beside the drop. Two young boys didn't make it and "rolled back". The idiot lifeguard jumped into the slide at the same time the idiot guard at the top sent another raft without looking. The second raft wiped out the lifeguard and slammed the boys stuck in the dip. No one was seriously hurt, but the girl was flipped off her feet and landed on her head with a loud thud and seemed to have a slight concussion. But anyway, yeah they have lots of room to expand the waterpark in the field, and it does get really crowded on hot days, which means more time for the cool spin and pukes they have!!!!

 

That's too bad to hear about the waterslide and injury - it certainly looked like it had the potential to be an amazing slide. If two boys valleyed on it, then my partner and I would have definitely not made it over the hump!

 

They definitely had some spin & pukes and I now wished that I would have at least gone on the Tilt-A-Whirl as that is one my favorites. Even though I did get on the one at Lakemont, I kinda felt bad that we did not ride more of the rides there and pump a little more money into the park.

 

For the coaster, I was thinking Libertyland or one of the other now defunct parks, but couldn't remember which one the coaster came from. Anyone know if the planes in the photos are from the old Barnstormer ride? Wasn't that also an old Libertyland ride?

[sspaz1000]

I was at Delgrosso's this summer and had the Sloppy Joe, which happened to be one of the best I've ever eaten.

 

I was also quite fond of their pasta sauce too. Bought a jar to take home with me and had it gone in a week.

 

Can't wait to see the rest of your reports

[larrygator]

I recall hearing that Revolution just won't fit anywhere on the property.

 

I loved the pizza at DelGrosso's. I'll have to try it again next time I'm in the area to see if I still like it.

[Philrad71]

^ & ^^ I did not see the Sloppy Joe at the park, but I might have had to try it if I would have seen the stand as I am a big SJ fan myself! I did think that it was cool that they had a little stand at the entrance to the park with little old ladies selling the pizza sauce, jams and other goodies!

 

The pizza was definitely better than a lot that I have experienced at parks, but personally ranked it just a tad below what I had at the Pizza Patio at CP last summer and the slices I had at Knoebels. But I did manage to luck out and get it fresh out of the oven at both PP and DelGrosso's so that made a huge difference. The one thing that would have completed the pizza at both places would have been if I could have doused it with Red Hot and garlic powder!

 

 

Sorry for the delay with the updates...this whole Christmas thing is starting to interfere with my TPR reports!!!

[jynx242]

^ Damned holidays

 

Thanks for taking the time to post these (although snowbound might make that more probable than possible.)

 

David

[Philrad71]

Hi folks! I'm back from the Christmas break and ready to roll on with the report. This next stop takes us to Lakemont Park, which is just down the interstate from DelGrosso's. Luckily, the weather cleared up, but it did get quite hot and muggy. We thought about doing the water park, but it looked ummmm...just a tad on the ghetto side.

 

Obviously, the big draw here was to ride the classic Leap Teh Dips coaster that is still operating after like 1,000 years. I have to say that with no restraints, there are some nice pops of airtime to be had!

 

The rest of the park was interesting in that it had a sort of county fair type of feel to it. The rides were just kind of plopped down here and there...kind of a run down place, but still fun!

Hey, another small amusement park...let's check it out!

Ooooh...the wing-off's are tonight - with beer! Interesting sounding bands...looks like they all like to play together.

Woo-hoo...we finally found the entrance gate! It was a little confusing getting to the park with the construction. I think we actually parked in a law firm parking lot.

What would be the best option? I'll save you the math and tell you that the all day ride and slide is probably the better deal, unless it's Wednesday

Park map.

Trivia question: which Southern rock group recorded the song 'Train, Train' back in 1979?

Oooh...look at what's coming in 2011. Not sure if this has been added to Larry's list of what's new for 2011? Note the ride height - I guess you have to be as tall as the coming soon sign to ride. Or if you're tall enough to walk on your own two feet.

Looks like they still have some work to do.

Okay, maybe a LOT of work to do! Another trivia question: Anyone know what park this came from?

I originally wanted to say Dollywood, but the boobs aren't big enough.

Disco balls, strobe lights, Christmas theme with Dolly Parton's lesbian looking sister....this is going to kick some serious booty when it is built. Move over Texas Giant - this could be the feel good hit of next summer!

Love the Skydiver, but Michael won't ride because it spins in too many directions at once. Damn!

If you want to utilize the slide portion of your admission, this is what you get. I think there might also be a small wave pool, but we never made it over that way.

Next stop was the nostalgic train.

This train has been retired. I tried to contact Kat to see if she would buy it and restore it, but all I got was a "teh number you have dialed is no longer in service, please hang up and try again."

 

Part II of Lakemont with coaster shots, flats of death and a failed wing-off...all coming soon! Thanks for reading!

[larrygator]

I'll wait for an official announcement before I add Lakemont's new ride to the What's New list. LOL

[eddie200330]

That would be Blackfoot with the song Train, Train. Unless you count the version Warrant put out on their Cherry Pie album. Any idea where the new ride is going. It looks like they might have gotten rid of the Monster ride by the looks of that flat piece of concrete you had a pic of. The waterslides might look ghetto, but they never send people at a distance. We just jump in and shoot down together trying to stay on those damn rubber mats!!!! They also have a nice childrens play area, not quite as good as DelGrosso's, but pretty neat none the less.

[Philrad71]

^Ding ding...we have a winner! Unfortunately, I cannot send you a bag-o-crap, but you do have a good knowledge of music trivia. Good job!

 

The Musik Express looks to be going in near the Skydiver. I have some pictures of the Spider cars and pieces that I will post in part two that were in a fenced in area by Leap Teh Dips. I thought maybe that was another new used ride that would eventually be built, but was surprised in that they already have a similar Octopus ride.

 

I have to say that I wish that more parks had the Octopus over the Spider. The spinning on the Octopus is ten times more insane and you sometimes will get major air when the arms suddenly drop. Definitely one of my favorite flat rides!

[eddie200330]

If the Octopus ride you are referring to is the one with white arms and red cars, that is my favorite ride there. Getting the weight offset just a bit really helps the crazy spinning. The one I never understood up there was the Twister ride. It never does anything but rock back and forth.

[beatle11]

Nice to see these pics from small parks. Keep em coming.

[chadster]

I will need to run by the storage lot, but the Himalaya looks EXACTLY like the one from Bell's Amusement park, and considering that the alley between the storage buildings where the cars sat is empty now, and the model was a trailer model it may be a good bet. The lady, the disco ball, and coupon sign ALL match. I'll see if I can find some pics to verify as well.

Edited December 29, 2010 by chadster

[cal1br3tto]

I hope to check out Lakemont someday, and I wouldn't mind stopping in at DelGrosso's as well. They both look charming, if a bit more run-down than I had expected. (Hey, doesn't bother me!) Looks like there's a good selection of fun and classic rides among the two parks. Looking forward to more photos!

[chadster]

Looks like both the Himalaya AND the 4x4 rides have both come from the Bell's Amusement park collection of rotting rides. Some of you may remember a report I put together in the summer of the deconstructioin and "where the stuff is" today. I noticed then the 4x4 attraction was missing as well as other things. It all makes sense now! Sorry, I looked thru over 1k pictures tonight, nothing that's a clear shot of the rides, but the "Himalya Requires 5 Coupons" was the dead giveaway. At least they have found a good home. The Himalaya was an original model and very few are still around.

 

*Edit* Managed to get a few pics off the employee facebook page and LoneStarThrills

4x4 ride

himalaya jumpers, ahh, the good ol days!

Notice cutie from Philrad's pic at the top of the ride? My baby lives again!!! That's it, adding days on to NE trip to visit my beloved ride!!!!! Thanks Philrad!!

Edited December 29, 2010 by chadster

[Philrad71]

^ Awesome!!! I really like the look of that Himalaya theming....I certainly hope that they can get it all put together and have it running in 2011.

 

Thanks for digging out and sharing the photos!

[Philrad71]

Happy 2011 everyone! Now that my brain and liver are back to a somewhat functioning mode and the holidays are now behind us, I will forge on with Part Two of Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA.

 

After seeing the sign for the wing event, we REALLY wanted to find a campground nearby so we could set up camp and come back later for the festivities. But fate somehow intervened (this may have been a good thing) and when we found a campground in the GPS that only led us to some narrow street in downtown Altoona (with no campground, of course), we ended up going to the next closest one which turned out to be about twenty to thirty miles away!

 

Needless to say, we did not get back to the wing event and even though we were a bit bummed, we did find an awesome campground that we would consider going back to in the future. Raystown Lake Resort was where we ended up that evening where we (just in time) were able to catch an evening cocktail cruise which floated us up and down the lake. It was interesting that there looked to be very little (if any) development on this beautiful lake, with the exception of the resort and what looked to be a Boy Scout camp.

 

They also had a water park attached to the resort and while it was nothing spectacular, it was still quite nice. Overall, a very impressive resort which I would highly recommend for anyone looking to stay in that area!

 

Anywho, onward with the more of Lakemont...

Along with the conducter, there were only four of us on the train ride. He looked like he was bored silly just waiting for someone to come and ride his train.

Getting things set up for the wing-off. I would seriously like to come back and check this out next year, if they have it again. Anything that ends with "-off" has got to be fun, right?

Yueng's and wings...what a lovely combination!

The train ride gives some nice back-door opportunities for shots of the Skyliner.

Not on par with Phoenix or Silver Comet, but not as bad as Hurler or WildBeast. How's that for a comparison?

This would be Sh%t Creek. Have you ever been up it minus the paddle?

The train ride at Lakemont was like the riverboat adventure at Disney, minus the boat, the witty narrator and of course....the faux animals.

 

It would have been awesome if this giant mechanical anaconda popped up out of the water, or came slithering down from the trees! Call it Anaconda: The Ride and have Ice Cube come over the speaker system and say " Deys snakes out dehr dis big?" and this park would have instant success and be a family destination for years to come.

 

Sheeesh! Disclaimer (just in case): This is meant to be funny and not a racial thing or me making fun of the way people talk. PLEASE don't take it that way...I love me some Ice Cube and loved that part in the movie!!!

Did anyone know that Lakemont is home to one of the only 'Dualing Benches: The Ride'?

Surprise! They actually have an indoor version too!

 

Believe it or not, I actually have a lot more Lakemont pictures to post, including Leap Teh Dips, flats, Starliner and a couple bonus photos from Raystown Lake. Thanks for reading!

[eddie200330]

LMAO at the dueling bench comments!!!! Raystown is about 30 minutes up the road from where we live, never made it there though, sounds like a good idea for the weekend with the kids. I really enjoy other peoples comments on these "small" parks in PA as with the little ones we frequent them quite often through the summer. If I am not mistaken, they do the wing-offs a few times a year, and if anyone can make it to DelGrosso's on the 4th of July, they have one of the best firework shows anywhere in the area.

[Philrad71]

Thanks! I will have to check the website for the wing-off's in 2011.

 

I give very high marks to Lake Raystown Resort, but they did tell us that reservations were highly recommended on weekends (we stayed on a Thursday). While it is a little pricy the resort is clean and nice and the water park looks like it would be a blast for families. In addition to tent camping, they have cabins, a lodge, banquet hall and TONS of other amenities.

 

The cruise we went on was labeled as a cocktail cruise, but there were lot's of families with kids on board. I think it was about $15 and it said on the brochure that appetizers were provided. I was amazed that they consisted of deli cold meats and chicken breasts with bulky rolls, potato salad, cole slaw, chips, various cookies and stuff for the kids. We ended up not needing to eat dinner at the campsite when we got back!

 

I will enlose a few pics of the resort & water park before getting back to Lakemont.

Our boat at Raystown: Proud Mary. Ike & Tina Turner represent! Unless you prefer the CCR version of course...I've always preferred the Turner's version.

As I mentioned, the "appetizers" turned into an easy dinner for us. Plus the Yuengling draft was about $8 a pitcher - epic win for $15!

Ooops...forgot to post the exterior of Proud Mary earlier!

Here is just one portion of the resort & beach. I believe this might be the only resort on the entire lake and I did not see any private housing or condos during the cruise. Believe me...this resort is HUGE!

This is mostly what we saw on the cruise, but it sure was beautiful and serene!

Wait...are we being set up for an ambush?

No, but there were crazy teens diving off the rocks. Ahhh...I remember those crazy days doing stuff like this as a teen!

This is the water park...

A decent looking slide tower.

This way to the Cemetary Sluice, Atomic Blaster and the Intertube slides. How many spelling errors can you find and do you think this was intentional?

This was the "Intertube" slide. It was in the morning when I took this and the park hadn't yet officially opened to the public. They were cool enough to let me walk around and take pictures though!

Take the tunnel! Yeah, I know....that is so early 2010.

They also had a nice looking mini-golf course, although it was soaked from the rain showers we got the night before.

If you take that tunnel, this is where you'll end up.

The same slide tower & swimming pool.

Okay...I won't even say it.

If you're ever in the area, I would highly recommend this resort!

 

I promise...more Lakemont pics coming soon including Leap Teh Dips!

 

Thanks for reading...

[eddie200330]

Nice pics, and the cruise looks very interesting. As far as the spelling errors on the slide list, yeah, I can see it being real, I know a lot of people from up that way and it would be fitting!!!! Not many places you can go and find that kind of atmosphere without some big corporate affair ruining some part of it. Nice to see there is somewhere relaxing left to spend some quality time and "get away" from everything.

 

If you ever come back this way and are looking for more of the same, check out Western Maryland, Deep Creek Lake, and Rocky Gap Lodge. Although not as exciting as the big metro areas elsewhere, we can kinda compete with The Raystown area somewhat. And the Wisp at Deep Creek does have a Mountain Coaster!!!!!

[Philrad71]

We were so impressed, we were talking to my Dad and sisters about a future trip in the near future. I am sure that you could spend at least a week there (as long as the weather was good) and never run out of things to do. And if you had a boat, it would be a great place to spend summers if you lived close.

 

It really is one of those "hidden gems" that not that many people know about!