Idlewild & SoakZone — Attraction in Ligonier Township

Let me tell you about my trip I took yesterday with my family.

Let's start off by saying that absolutely NONE of the food stalls, refreshment stands, etc., had any straws, claiming they "ran out." Secondly, food stalls also stating that they ran out of things, like straws, condiments, trays, etc. Food stalls only having one order window open, with a line wrapped around the building, with staff inside just standing around, then to top it all off, standing in line in the hot sun only to have a staff members (life guards) not once, but on two occasions while we're in line, cut in front of the entire line to get food. Highly unacceptable and unprofessional. More on the life guards later.

Secondly, the rides. While we genuinely had fun and enjoyed our riding experience. My daughter and wife get in-line near the end of the night to ride one last ride. While waiting in-line for 20-30 minutes and to be the next ones on the ride, only to hear the ride attendant call over the phone and state "it's 5 minutes to close, can I shut down?" then shut down the ride and leave everyone, including my wife and daughter that was waiting in line angry, and when confronted by other people in line, the ride attendant states "it's not my problem, I don't have to put up with it, go to guest services." While this issue was rectified because on the way to guest services, we spoke to the Manager of Ride Operations. He escorted us to the front of the line of another ride in hopes to fix the issue.

Lastly, and honestly the worst. My family and I were in the pool area at the entrance of the lazy river. There were 6 lifeguards on duty just at this small pool, plus more along the route of the lazy river. This girl, who had to be about 7-8 years old, with floaties on went head first into a tube to put it around her. Her floatiest caused her to be stuck in the tube, head first in the water, actively drowning. She was visibily kicking her legs and shaking to try to become unstuck. Thankfully, I work in EMS and was able to act fast, but as I do not work for Idlewild, I took a backseat role for about 25-30 seconds awaiting the life guards to jump into action. They did not and instead were talking about Phil Kessel eating hot dogs while a girl was actively drowning about 3-5 feet away from them. I flipped up the tube and initiated life-saving measures to the child, while the life guards stood idly by not even noticing what was happening within feet of where they were.

While the child never lost consciousness and did not suck in any water, if I would've waited 10 more seconds, it would've been all over local news outlets that a young child drowned at Idlewild.

To say I am displeased at my and my family's time at Idlewild this past weekend would be an understatement. This is supposed to be a park for families and children of all ages, and instead of having fun, it was one setback after another. The child almost drowning was the nail in the coffin for me and I felt the need to say something. When I spoke to the Manager of Ride Operations about the earlier stated issue, I mentioned the issue with the life guards, and he stated he would bring that to attention to whoever is in charge of that.

My thought process is this. As someone in the first aid/first responder field, you are supposed to be proactive, and these "kids" were more interested in closing down rides and getting ready to go home, or talking about Phil Kessel ordering hot dogs and cutting in lines of patrons that have been waiting in the hot sun for food and/or drinks for the family for 30+ minutes.

This will be the last time I go to Idlewild, and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if this park ends up on the news because the staff...

As a child, I began visiting Idlewild. As an adult and a mother, I couldn’t wait to start taking my own children. We made such great memories. I am now a grandma and yesterday was my grandson’s first time visiting the park. I hadn’t been in about 10 years. I was so excited to take him! That excitement was quickly shattered upon entering the park. I was shocked to see how the park had declined. I was struck by the fact that there were no new additions to the park at all since I had been there last. However, several rides and attractions were missing. The whip and caterpillar are gone and nothing replaced them. There were only a handful of rides in the kiddieland Racoon Lagoon. I was dumbfounded. While in line for the Daniel Tiger Neighborhood trolly ride, I noticed old bumper cars and other trash in the field behind the children’s area. It was terrible. Daniel’s Neighborhood was a giant let down. The animatronic characters of Mr Roger’s Neighborhood have been replaced with cardboard cutouts. I felt betrayed. Be prepared to step on the scale publicly prior to getting in line for any of the water slides. I cannot imagine a more humiliating experience. We packed a picnic but went in search of something to munch about 6pm. We found that several of the food stalls were already closed. My family opted for the infamous potato patch fries. These were not potato patch fries but instead some very overcooked, highly salted, thin fries. The cheese was horrible. My husband got chicken tenders and the same fries. It was not tenders but hardly edible paper thin breaded pieces of chicken. I grabbed a corn dog and fry combo. The breading on the corn dog was gross and the fries were inedible because of over salting. 4 orders of potato patch, 4 orders of chicken tenders and 1 corn dog fry combo ended up costing us nearly $70 and most of the food ended up in the trash. The park closed at 8pm so there is no longer the nostalgia associated with a much adored amusement park lit up at night. We got tickets on Groupon but I did notice when entering the park that the cost at the gate is $65.99. For what??????? I am angry that I spent $37 for this terrible experience. The park is geared towards families and young children. I am not entirely certain how families are supposed to afford this OR have a good time. I am grateful for the memories that I have of times spent at Idlewild but all my family and I did yesterday was comment on how terrible and disappointing the park is now. I would rate them zero stars if I could and will not recommend any of my friends or family waste...

When it comes to visiting Idlewild you need to keep your expectations in check...this place opened in the late 1800s so some stuff is old. It's not Disney World. Most of the rides you've seen somewhere before. But for some families that's the appeal! I can honestly say I'm a crowd-hating introvert but I love bringing my kids to Idlewild. I leave worn out but relaxed!

This park is great because it is so unlike most theme parks. It's a good size but you can cover most of it in a day. Part of the reason why is because it's never packed during the week. Most of the time the kids get off a ride and can get right back on with little to no wait. So you're not spending the day waiting in lines.

It's also unusual because it's treed and along the Loyalhanna so it feels like an actual park. Except for the water park, you can find shade pretty much anywhere in the park. There are also pavilions you can use to eat food you bring so you can avoid the expensive stuff. That said, at least get a funnel cake or fries. They are both legit.

The rides are classic; not much new, huge and thrilling. So if your crew craves those rides, you're better off at Kennywood. But for us, it's got everything the kids enjoy (scrambler, bumper cars, carousel).There's a main ride section, a kiddie land section (mini bumper cars, Daniel Tiger trolley ride, etc.) and the water park. There's also fun climbing structures in jumping jungle and storybook forest where you walk past classic characters houses.

The water park has a wave pool, a wading pool for littles, a bigger pirate ship slide structure for the slightly less littles, a lazy river and a variety of tube and open water slides. Chairs are everywhere throughout and are first come first claimed but you can also rent private cabanas.

Parking is free and is located super close to the park. So bringing a cooler for meals or dumping your swim stuff after the water park is a breeze.

Single day admission is pricey but, if you're close enough, getting season passes around Black Friday and the holidays is the best deal. Last year our family of five got basic passes for $250 which is way less than a summer pool membership would have cost.

Only issue we've run into on our many visits here is that some rides will be closed at random. I believe they do not bring on a huge staff so different days they staff different rides. Most of the most popular rides are usually open but it can be hit or miss, at least during the week. This could be a big deal if you only go once. We've always found plenty of other rides open to keep...