10 New Reasons to Visit Waldameer this Summer

Every year there are plenty of new things at Waldameer to excite our Guests and make the park better than ever. Whether its a new ride, an updated midway game, or a delicious treat, there are always reasons to visit Waldameer each and every summer. This year will be no different, and to prove it, here are 10 great reasons to visit Waldameer this summer.

1. The All New Music Express Thrill Ride! This ride spins you backwards and forwards and boasts over 3,000 LED lights and heart-pounding music. Even if you aren't brave enough to ride, you'll still get a thrill watching your friends and family spin round and round!

2. An Updated Scrambler Ride! What's not to love about the Scrambler? We love it too! We love it so much, in fact, we relocated it, painted it, and bought a brand new LED light package for it! The Scrambler is still the same great family classic with a flashy new look.

3. The Ferris Wheel Overhaul! You may have noticed the Ferris Wheel went missing for the winter. Don't worry, its back and better than ever! We gave it some TLC this winter and this summer it will be as good as new! And to celebrate, Dave Belmondo of JET-TV 24 will be riding it opening weekend for 31 hours straight to set a new Guinness World Record!

4. The Ravine Flyer II Flies Smoother and Faster! In the off season, we had a crew visit Waldameer to replace sections of our signature coaster to make it a smoother, faster ride. Those who have rode it for "testing" purposes say it's better than it ever was! See for yourself this summer!

5. Seniors are 60! That's right, turn back time because Waldameer has lowered the age for seniors! That means that anyone 60 and over can enjoy our senior discounts on all our ride passes, including Season Passes. Now that's reason to celebrate!

6. Find Your Lost Children with "Phone Find". No matter how hard you try, every once in awhile, one of your little rugrats goes missing. To help you get reunited quick and easy, Waldameer introduces "Phone Find" wristbands this year. Available at Guest Services, these wristbands allow you to write your name and phone number on the band and place it on your child's wrist. Then, if your kid ever does get "misplaced", a Waldameer staff member can call your number on the band and reunite you quicker than ever!

7. Purchase Your All-Day Locker Online. Now when you plan your family trip to Waldameer, you not only can purchase your Combo Passes in advance in our Online Store, you can also purchase an All-Day Locker before you come as well! Just visit our Online Store, make your purchases, and print out your Combo Pass and Locker tickets. Then hop in the car and drive to Waldameer with your prepaid tickets. You'll save time and money!

8. Shorter Lines at the Comet! If you visited last season, you probably noticed the new braking system that was installed on the Comet. The new brakes make the coaster safer and more efficient and allow two trains to operate at once! That means shorter lines for your favorite classic family woodie!

9. Double the Size of Guest Service. We introduced our Guest Service building last season and it was a hit! We processed Season Passes faster and took care of all your comments and concerns to help make your day at Waldameer the best ever. This season, we decided to add two more windows at Guest Services to help you even more!

10. Spend the Night as close to Waldameer as you can! This fall, Waldameer purchased the Inn at Presque Isle, located at 6th and Peninsula. This means that you can stay overnight at the Inn, get great discounted tickets at the Inn, and stay as close as you possibly can to Waldameer at the Inn! Check out the Inn at Presque Isle's website to learn more!

Learn more at Waldameer.com, or on Waldameer's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Pinterest sites!

Start the 2013 Season with a World Record

Big news from Waldameer Amusement Park yesterday.

When the park opens for it's 117th season, something historic is going to take place and Jet 24 is delighted to be part of it.

That's right, one month from today, May 11th, our very own intrepid reporter David Belmondo will be attempting to break the world record for riding a Ferris Wheel.

Hour after hour, over two days, Dave will be going round and round in the newly refurbished ride, overlooking the shores of Lake Erie.

You're invited to ride along if you want and be part of the fun.
Keep in mind though, Dave is a veteran of breaking world records; he's already in the Guinness book from a stunt back in 1980 where he's listed as "The Worlds Most Durable Disc Jockey."
He earned that title after spinning records for 2,016 hours. (84 days)

Anyone who wants to ride along with Dave on Mothers Day weekend, is invited to make a donation. All proceeds will benefit the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation.

No Coasters, No Problem!

Willowbrook, Illinois, January 19th, 2013. It's cold. There is a forecast of snow. It's the middle of another Northern winter. Sounds like a great place to have a coaster bash right?

It's what the American Coaster Enthusiasts call "No Coaster Con" and the name says it all. These coaster and themepark fanatics love the amusement industry so much, that even when they can't ride, they still want to talk about their passion; coasters. Beginning at 9:00am, this ACE event brings speakers and invitees from parks and manufacturers across the country to give insights and tell stories about their business. Parks such as Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, and Schlitterbahn Waterparks and manufacturers like Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters and Sally Corporation all joined the festivities to give updates. Of course, Waldameer & Water World was excited to be invited again to this awesome event as well.

President Steve Gorman speaking at No Coaster Con 2013

Steve Gorman gave an insider's look into Waldameer's 2012-2013 off season including photos from the installation of Waldameer's new ride, the Music Express, updates on the overhaul of the Ferris Wheel, and the re-tracking process on the Ravine Flyer II. All these juicy details and more were shared, giving the ACER's something to talk about until summer rolls around again.

To learn more about the American Coaster Enthusiasts, visit http://www.aceonline.org/default.aspx

Also, be sure to follow Waldameer on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for even more about Erie's favorite amusement park!

Accessible Family FUN!

Providing affordable family fun for everyone is a tradition that Waldameer & Water World prides itself in. Enjoying a day at the park with family and friends is what Waldameer is all about! To make sure every Guest that comes through our gates is able to enjoy our park, we have always made sure to do everything we can to make all aspects of the park accessible, especially for our Guests with disabilities. Providing special entrances to our attractions, building ramps, clearing pathways, and offering special wristbands for Guests who cannot wait in lines are only a few of the things we make available to make sure all our Guests enjoy everything Waldameer has to offer.

This coming March, the ADA (American's with Disabilities Act) will revise and update it's codes and laws pertaining to water attractions and accessibility in water facilities. These new rules update codes on ramps, pool lifts, and many other aspects of water facilities.

To make sure Water World continues to be accessible to all our Guests, Waldameer has made many changes in the past few years. The largest addition was the construction of the over 100' ramp to allow access to Water World's kiddie pools and Giant Body Slides. Another change was the Endless river bump steps allowing Guests in wheelchairs to "bump" down into the pool.

An example of a pool lift that will be installed at the Heated Relaxing Pool and the Inn's pool.

To make Water World's kiddie pool more accessible, the installation of a ramp was added to the pool. This will allow water wheelchairs and Guests unable to negotiate steps to enjoy the kiddie pools as well. Still to come for 2013 is the addition of two pool lifts to allow access to Water World's Heated Relaxing Pool as well as the Inn at Presque Isle's swimming pool. These lifts will be able to pick up a Guest and raise them into each pool so they can enjoy the water. These changes will cost over $15,000.00, but are well worth it in Waldameer's eyes. The more accessible Waldameer becomes, the more smiles and memories we can be a part of!

Waldameer Turns Up the Volume for 2013

First and foremost, apologies to all who follow the WaldaBlog and were disappointed to find no recent posts for almost six months. Thanks for not losing faith! More regularly scheduled post to come!

Now that we are back in the swing of things, how about an update on the main attraction for 2013?

The Music Express

Here is a photo of what our Music Express will look like. Hopefully they spelled "music" right!

Arriving on Friday, December 14th, the first two containers for the new Music Express were carefully unloaded and the parts were spread out all over the parking lot. Checker plate decking, fiberglass "gingerbread", light fixtures,  and plenty of steel structure were sorted, ready to be put together.

We Need a Leader!

9,000 lbs! (Don't strain your neck looking at the photo!)

Saturday, December 15th saw the arrival of Bertazzon's installer, Loris, who got right to work placing the first, and most important piece to the ride: the 9,000 lb. center. Once that important piece was in place, all of the base structure was put in place.

Raise the Roof!

So many colors!

Monday, December 17th was the day to raise the roof! The roof structure was assembled at ground level and then hoisted up using pulleys. Most of the fiberglass and lighting were put up before the roof was raised.

Party Planning
Today, December 18th looks like most of the track, decking, and cars will be put together. There are still many pieces of this puzzle to be put in place and the steady rain shower is not helping any. But never fear! The Music Express will be ready to go for it's Grand Opening on Saturday, December 22nd from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Any one wishing to brave the predicted cold weather this Saturday can ride the new Music Express. All you need is you 2013 Season Pass card and you get two free tickets to ride as well as two tickets for hot cocoa! How's that for a Holiday Gift! Learn more by visiting Waldameer's web page and be sure to check out the Event Details on Waldameer's Facebook Page.

Fun for All

Waldameer has been around for 116 years, providing fun and entertainment to plenty of families over the years. As the park has grown, it has always tried to make as much available to all of its Guests, including those with a disability. When constructing new rides or extending the midway, it is standard procedure to follow all of the rules and guidelines to make Waldameer accessible to all Guests. Waldameer loves to see families enjoying the park together and by making the park accessible, more families can do just that.

With new regulations and guidelines that went into effect in March of this year, Waldameer made some changes again in order to make the water park more accessible and more enjoyable to more of its Guests. You may have seen a photo or two of the new bridge that spans the Endless River, allowing strollers, wheelchairs, and wagons to cross over into the Kiddie Pool area.

Another project that will be completed before Water World opens for the season will be a special set of steps to allow Guests in wheelchairs to get into the Endless River. These bump steps, as they are called, will be located in the Kiddie Pool area and will make the Endless River more accessible.

These projects are big jobs but will provide big improvements to the water park. The more Guests can enjoy Waldameer's family fun atmosphere, the better!

Roller Coaster Physics: The Best Kind of Science!

We all remember parts of our school days, learning about all sorts of things that make the world go round. Some things were more interesting than others. Most of the time, recess and lunch topped the "Favorite Subjects" list. But not for the Fourth Graders at Fairview Elementary School. Yesterday, they would all say their favorite subject was physics! Potential energy, friction, and gravitational forces... sounds like a blast, right? Not really? How about when the President of Waldameer comes and teaches you about physics and how it relates to roller coasters! Now we are taking!

Learning all about kinetic energy and the effects of friction.

To bring a real cool, real world example of physics to the students, Steve Gorman visited the school for an hour of fun taking about everything dealing with roller coasters. With a background in mechanical engineering and over 16 years of experience of amusement parks, Mr. Gorman kept the fourth graders on the edge of their seats while they learned about air time, centripetal forces, and how roller coasters stay on the tracks.


Up close and personal with parts of Waldameer's roller coasters.

Seeing some parts from Waldameer's coasters and learning all about how roller coaster designers use physics to make coasters safe made everyone excited for the upcoming season at Waldameer. With a new appreciating of how roller coasters work, maybe the students will ride the Ravine Flyer II this summer and pay more attention to the moments of greatest potential and kinetic energy and when the most friction occurs between the screams and laughter... then again, maybe not!