Mini Walda-History Lesson

• National Amusement Park Historical Association states:

Waldameer is the 10th oldest amusement park in the U.S.

Some qualifications to be one of the oldest
1) Must be in operation every season
2) Must be at the same location

• Also, out of over 1,000 original trolley parks in the U.S. ...drumroll...Waldameer is one of the 11 still in operation today.

What is a trolley park? According to Wikipedia:

"In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. These trolley parks were created by the streetcar companies to give people a reason to use their services on weekends. These parks originally consisted of picnic groves and pavilions, and often held events such as dances, concerts and fireworks. Many eventually added features such as swimming pools, carousels, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, sports fields, boats rides, restaurants and other resort facilities to become amusement parks."