I've gotten a few questions about the park's beach and the original Ravine Flyer so I thought I;d address both together.
These are excerpts from "Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania" by Jim Futrell, director and historian of the National Amusement Park Historical Association. He knows his stuff like nobody's business.
BEACH
"During Waldameer's early years, the park consisted of two areas. At the top of the slope, 70 feet above Lake Erie, was a 10-acre picnic grove with swings, hammocks, and athletic fields. But most of the activity was concentrated on the beach at the bottom of the slope. Linked to the picnic grove by a 1,000-foot-long boardwalk, the beach area featured a swimming pool, a 110-foot-long bathhouse, a pier, a water slide, canoes, and rowboats."
RAVINE FLYER
"As the amusement park industry entered its golden age in the 1920s, George Sinclair, who owned Meyer's Lake Park in Canton, Ohio, came to Waldameer Park and built the park's largest roller coaster, the Ravine Flyer. Opened in 1922, the Ravine Flyer made use of the park's topography to create drops of up to 80 feet, and it traveled over the road that ran in front of the park."
If you're interested, pick up Jim's book; it's a good read!
WaldaBlog: The Official Waldameer Blog
I'm also an owner of that book. I catch myself reading the Waldameer section over and over. I must admit that the first things I looked at were the pictures, and thats where I noticed something. It is obvious that the Whacky Shack had a larger dip out front than it does now. After looking at current pictures I noticed how the original dip was reprofiled. I was wondering when and why this was done. I hold nothing against the Whacky Shack for this, but it just seems interesting.
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Yes, you're right. The dip was reduced about 15 years ago because the cars were going too fast.
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