Parks are quietly adding opening dates.

Amusement parks are quietly adding opening dates and times online.  

While most amusement parks don't rate the attention Disney and Universal collect, you would still expect some kind of notice about them reopening after COVID19. However, you'd be wrong.

 It seems amusement and theme parks across the east coast are quietly updating their websites to show opening dates and hours without a big to-do. We've been keeping an eye on things and it seems this week, dates and times are appearing on websites with little or no fanfare.

Just today we discovered the following have opening dates:

Busch Gardens Williamsburg: June 25th.
Kennywood: July 1st.
Idlewild Park: July 3rd.
Waldameer Park: June 22nd.
Dollywood: June 15th
Knoebels: July 3rd.


Ceder Fair parks still show no opening dates, but it has been discussed about Carowinds reopening soon (July 27th) according to various news articles. This would put Cedar Fair behind the eight ball of collecting what is left of the 2020 season.

Seaworld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa have also dropped opening dates in the last few days, with both parks set to open to the public again on June 11th.

Please note, all these parks will have limited capacity and various ticket rules. Plan accordingly by seeing what rules each park has and if they require a reservation system, ticket sales rules and modified hours.

Waldameer's Water Park Expansion Construction Update

Well, it might be cold and snowy in Western Pennsylvania right now, but the folks at Waldameer are thinking ahead to summer. Construction on their massive wave pool and water park expansion is well under way and thanks to a recent post from the park, we've got some pictures of the project so far.

For those that may have missed the announcement last year, the $10 million dollar expansion will include, in addition to the wave pool;  a new food concession building, a new restroom facility (including family restrooms), more ticket booths, new lockers for the water park and even the purchase of 1,000+ lounge chairs for the wave pool and eating areas. That's a lot going on here for the first part of a multi-year expansion they have in the works.

We really enjoyed our quick visit last year to review the park, and get some awesome time on Ravine Flyer II and The Comet as well as their classic dark attractions too. We'll definitely be making another trip back this summer and can't wait to see how the improvements look first hand and for a proper review of things as

Anyway, let's get on with the photos from the latest WaldaBlog post, might not look like much, but it's getting there and I'm sure soon we'll see even more progress. That said, they are doing quite a lot to the area that was once a parking lot.

Wave Pool Progress!

Expansion Plans Revealed as Waldameer's 2015 Wave Pool Project Gets One Step Closer

In article from GoErie.com, the details behind the anticipated 2015 expansion of Waldameer Water World's water park are finally out there.

We knew that they were working on the wave pool for next year, but now we have the location and other information surrounding this massive project as well!

The $10 million expansion will include a new food concession building, a new restroom facility (including family restrooms), more ticket booths, new lockers for the water park and even the purchase of 1,000+ lounge chairs for the wave pool and eating areas.

So, where's this all going and what else is planned? Well, as you can see by the image on the left, there's quite a bit of change that's coming. For starters, the parking lot will be expanded to include a former cottage area and mobile home park to the Southeast. This is necessary due to the placement of the wave pool, restrooms and new restaurant.

Also pictured where 8 of the 16 new ticket booths will be located. Part of the plan is for a brand new entrance to the park to be constructed as well. The other 8 will go at the West parking lot entrance.

Additionally, further expansion will be made possible by the laying of new water lines and there's the hint a kids play structure in the park's future as well. Interestingly enough, they also announced that the park will be open 7 days a week in 2015, instead of it's current Tuesday-Sunday operation schedule.

So, while construction hasn't started yet, the process is sure to be approved by the Millcreek supervisors as the Millcreek Planning Commission has recommended the approval for the expansion.

"It's the first step in the process of getting approval to begin our water park expansion, so we're very excited," said Steve Gorman, the park's president, referring to the planning commission recommendation. "We're excited and pleased that they agree with our plan," he said.

Here's to hoping that things go smoothly in the next phase for Waldameer and that construction goes off without a hitch as well! We recently visited Waldameer as part of our Pennsylvania Small Parks Tour in July, if you're curious of what we thought, check out our review of the park here!

Park Review- Waldameer Park

Park Review- Waldameer Park


Over the last year or so we've been working on a project, one which will bring the smaller and more local amusement parks into the limelight. Often these small parks surpass the service of the larger ones, leaving them a true hidden gem.

As part of this project, we've been touring smaller parks and giving them the attention they so rightfully deserve.

We've heard about Waldameer, we knew it was up in Erie and that they had a world-class coaster.. but that was it. What we walked into was a happy surprise!

Day: Sunday
Date: July 6th, 2014
Weather: Warm and Windy
Overall Rating: Very Good
Rides Rating: Very Good
Overall Opinion:  Totally Worth It!
Website: www.waldameer.com
Review Team: Carrie, Kitsune and Alex

**NOTE: We where invited by Waldameer to do a park review, this has in no way altered or changed our opinions of the park. All opinions are our own.**

Like many small parks, Waldameer started life as a picnic and scenic spot at the end of a trolly line. The name is German and means "wood by the sea" and needless to say, the park still follows that with plenty of shade and lots of beauty from the lake.

Over the years, the park grew and added attractions to keep guests coming long after the trolleys had ended service.



Along with the amusement park and rides, they also boast a large water park called "Water World" and are currently adding in the largest wave pool in the tri-state area for 2015.

Today, it's what I'd consider a 'hidden gem' park. Meaning it's known but not widely outside of the Western Pennsylvania, North-East Ohio and Western New York areas. While small, it's enchanting and has it's own kind of life. That isn't to say you won't find some classic rides as well as plenty of thrills to keep yourself busy... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Our visit to Waldameer was packed into an already over-full week of driving and park reviewing. Since it was small we figured we would likely only need a few hours, WRONG.  We arrived around 4pm and easily spent the rest of the night, right up till 10pm in the park and wished for more time. We're also already making plans to go back and visit again, easily spending an entire day or possibly two between the amusement park and the water park.