Rocket Blast Water Coaster Opens at Waldameer Park

© Walameer Amusement Park

A brand new water roller coaster, aptly named Rocket Blast, has opened at Waldameer Park's water area, Water World.  Seen above, the ride is totally interwoven into the existing slides and attractions that Water World offers, making the addition an especially impressive thing.  The attraction is said to have cost the park around $7 or $8 million, so this is a very big investment for the family-owned park and water park!

© Waldameer Park

Rocket Blast has also changed colors slightly since it was originally announced, now featuring mostly yellow and blue on the slides, with some pops or orange on the Flying Saucer turns.  The water coaster is rather large in size, standing around 67 feet tall and featuring over 830 feet of slide.  There are several uphill sections, a large drop in the middle of the ride, the aforementioned Fling Saucer turns and plenty of twisting enclosed trough as well.

Since the ride just opened a week ago there isn't much available yet as far as videos and photos go, but for an look at how the ride is you can check out the below video from Waldameer!

Waldameer Amusement Park Building Large Water Coaster for 2023

© Waldameer

Waldameer Amusement Park and Water World water park is having what they describe as the "best year" they've ever had, thanks to a lot of sunshine and pent up demand for their tradition park offerings.  To celebrate, the park is moving forward with plans for a large water roller coaster addition to Water World, set to open in 2023.

A drawing of the new water roller coaster, which doesn't have a final name or final colors just yet, can be seen up top.  The park announced their plans in a news story today that goes over how the park has been doing this year - which is pretty great.  After a rough 2020, like at all parks, 2021 was better but suffered from extreme lack of staffing, now 2022 has returned mostly to normal and the crowds have returned in full force.

© Waldameer

That gives the park the confidence to build the water roller coaster, which is costing them between $7 and $8 million.  The above schematic, also from the park, shows that the coaster will be going over and under several existing water park slides and attractions.  The article states that the slide will be around 50 feet tall and stretch 450 feet in length.  The attraction will feature several "saucer" turn elements that ProSlide are now famous for, and a couple upward and downward dips.

The park is planning to start work on the new slide as soon as the park closes for the season, and are anxious to see it open in 2023!

Waldameer Park to Open, Rye Playland to Stay Closed, and Hurricane Harbor Phoenix Closes

© Waldameer

Pennsylvania's Waldameer Park and Water World will open to visitors on July 3rd, marking the start of their 2020 season.  The park will not able able to open all of their rides in order to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions, but the vast majority of the park's attractions will be available.

Guests visiting the park will be required to wear a face mask, at least for those age 3 and up.  Pennsylvania has continued to have face masks required at all businesses, regardless of type, during the pandemic and Waldameer will be no exception to that rule.

In order to monitor attendance levels guests will have to purchase their tickets online ahead of time and select the date they want to visit.  The park will not be selling any tickets at their entrance gates.  This also means that non-rider free admission will not be available in 2020 but the park plans to bring it back in 2021.

© Playland

New York's Rye Playland amusement park has made the tough decision to stay closed for the 2020 season.  The park is part of the Westchester County parks system, and that general area was one of the first in the country to be heavily hit with COVID-19 cases.  In order to continue to keep the public and employees safe the decision to not open the amusement park this year was made.

From the park's website it looks like other amenities surrounding the park, such as the beach and mini-golf, are currently operating on limited schedules with plenty of precautions in place.

© Hurricane Harbor Phoenix

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix was already open for the 2020 season, however due to the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in Arizona the park has announced that they will be closing for 30 days.

The state's Governor has ordered all water parks and tubing enterprises to stay shuttered until at least July 27th - calling that date and "aspirational" goal.  To me that means it could easily go longer depending on what the number of cases do.

It's a mixed bag of good news with bad so far this summer, everyone keep safe!

Waldameer & Water World Building New Slide + Spinning Family Coaster for 2020

Waldameer and Water World, located in Erie, PA, has announced that they will be adding a large mat racing water slide and family spinning roller coaster for the park's 2020 season.

The additions come after the park's 2019 expansion, which was centered around Chaos, a spinning pendulum ride that inverts passengers at up to 60 feet in the sky.  The park also renovated their hot tub relaxation pool in Water World this season to accommodate more visitors.

© Waldameer Park

The mat racing slide will be one of Proslide's RallyRacer models, featuring bright colors and both open and enclosed sections.  It will have a total of 6 lanes and stand around 50 feet tall, with each lane stretching more than 400 feet in length.  Riders will race down their lane against one another, zooming through the enclosed sections as they race toward the finish line.  To conserve space, the slide will turn in on itself halfway through, with the finish line located under the middle of the slide's layout.  The addition will replace the Free Fall and Speed Slides, which have been at the park for many years.

Also new in 2020 will be a compact spinning roller coaster, which will replace the park's Showtime Theater and water wars game.  It will be manufactured by SBF Visa, and according to RCDB be named Whirlwind.  These spinning coasters are aimed at families and while smaller in size, are known to pack quite a punch and are a lot of fun.

This local news article states that the slide tower will cost around $3 million, and the new coaster between $500,000 and $700,000.

Waldameer Continues Water World Expansion in 2018 + New Family Ride

© Waldameer Park

Shortly after opening their new-for-2017 attraction, Waldammer Park has spilled the beans on their planned expansion for 2018.  The park will build a new water slide in their water park, Water World, along with a family ride in the amusement area.

The expansion will cost the park around $1 million, which is on top of the $2.5 million they spent on additions this year.

Water World will open a new bowl style water slide, popular in water parks for many years now.  The slide will be one of Proslide's Cannonball 30 slides and will depart from one of the park's existing water slide towers.  Passengers will ride in two person tubes down a curving drop and into a large bowl where they spin around and round before existing in the center.

Coming to the amusement park will be a Zamperla manufactured Samba Balloon Ride, in which kids and their parents can both ride together in fanciful hot air balloon baskets.  The balloons rise and fall as they rotate, providing an exciting but gentle ride.  The attraction will be placed near Kiddieland.

© Waldameer Park

Also the park just recently opened their new for 2017 attraction, a giant water play structure named The Battle of Lake Erie.  Filled with small slides, different levels and tons of interactive water features, guests are already loving the addition.  Waldameer has spent several seasons expanding Water World, starting with the addition of a wave pool a couple years back.

Waldameer Expanding with New Aqua Play Structure for Water World's 2017 Season

Erie's Waldameer and Water World will once again expand their steadily-growing water park in 2017, building a fun new aqua play structure to entertain visitors.  The classic amusement park has answered the demand for a bigger selection of water park offerings, adding a giant wave pool in 2015 and then a kid spray area with mini water slides in 2016.

© Waldameer

Now coming in 2017 is The Battle for Lake Erie, an interactive water play structure with 103 different elements.  Spread throughout the multiple towers are seven new water slides and a large tipping bucket that will splash those waiting below.  The addition will go next to the recently added splash area, creating a rather large zone aimed at keeping kids busy.

As the name might imply, the expansion will also have a historical and education component, with "walkways featuring historical locations and references to the Battle of Lake Erie and Erie’s role in the War of 1812. The design will also feature Erie’s tall ship, the U.S. Brig Niagra, atop the 40-foot-high structure!"

Water World will also feature additional cabana and umbrella rentals, new lockers and more lounge chairs when it opens in 2017.

Waldameer Hard at Work on 2nd Phase of Water World Expansion

© Waldameer & Water World

Even after a large expansion in 2015 that saw the addition of an expansive wave pool, Waldameer isn't resting on its laurels in 2016.  The park will expand Water World once again next year - this time adding more attractions for kids and their families.  The changes will help build overall capacity and compliment the already popular children's section of Water World.

Above is a construction photo from the amusement park showing the early foundation work for eight new children's water slides, which will empty into a zero-depth entry pool.

© Waldameer & Water World

2016's changes are part of a previously announced, multi-year growth project for Water World - the coming phase will cost a cool $1.5 million to complete.  This graphic was released back when the plan was first announced, and shows the area of focus next year.  The children's slides will share a pool that will have 30+ spray and interactive water features that will keep kids busy for hours.  An additional amenity will also be added to the water park next year, in the form of rentable cabanas adjacent to the wave pool.

Even with so many changes underway there is still more to come - the original Water World expansion plans also included a water fun house structure near the kiddie slides, and a large bowl-style water slide coming off of one of the existing towers.

Waldameer's Massive Water Park Expansion Coming Along

It won't be long before the huge piles of dirt, partially poured concrete, and nearly completed buildings open at Waldameer as Water World's huge 2015 expansion.  Sure, it may look like a mess right now, but that's what it takes to turn a huge part of the park's former parking lot into a Summer paradise.

Above is a map of the expansion area, which will feature a giant wave pool - the largest in the tri-state area - as its focus.  The wave pool will be accompanied by a large lounging area, complete with private cabanas that will be available to rent.

© Waldameer Park

Here's a look at some of that dirt I mentioned, along with the service building for the wave pool.  As you can see the floor of the wave pool was just about ready to be poured, which will really make things come together!  The park will also build a new food location, Waveside Grill, in the expanded Water World.  Amenities such as expanded changing rooms, new lockers, and all new ticket booths are also going up right now.

You may have noticed in the map up top that the park has plenty more planned for the future, as well.  A kiddie spray ground, water play structure and a thrilling new bowl slide are all planned to be added in the coming seasons as well.

The park's WaldaBlog has a great off-season look at all these construction projects, be sure to click over and read more here.

Waldameer Showing Off Future Expansion Plans

Waldameer Park & Water World has had a significant water park expansion planned for several years now, with the first stage opening next summer.

The park released the above image, showing the master plan for Water World's growth, which is focused around a large family wave pool.  The wave pool will be the main addition for Waldameer's 2015 season as previously announced, but the plans show other additions in the pipeline.

Obviously the expansion will see ProSlide heavily involved, as they're name is all over the concept.  A large new children's area will eventually be built, complete with several sets of small slides and a water fortress.  The area adjacent to the wave pool will feature two sets of cabanas, and there's a new bowl slide to be added to an existing slide tower.  The new area will offer other guest amenities such as changing rooms and food service outlets.

For comparison purposes, here's the expansion area right now - most of the growth will replace parking spaces.  To allow for the park to still have a home for its visitor's vehicles, land that was purchased adjacent to the park in 2012 will be used.  Some has already been cleared and turned into parking, while plans are set - pending a final date - to demolish the Inn at Presque Isle to free even more space.

In anticipation of more crowds, Waldameer will no longer be closed on Mondays and switch to a seven day a week operating schedule next year.

This expansion will mean so much for Waldameer and Water World, especially considering the popular of water parks in general these days.  Hopefully the additional attendance and revenues will translate into even bigger expansions down the road!

Waldameer Amusement Park Plans Large Expansion in 2015

Waldameer Amusement Park and Water World, located in Erie Pennsylvania, is planning a $10 million expansion for the 2015 season, centered around the construction of a giant wave pool.

The park had previously said they would like to build a wave pool to increase the capacity at their Water World water park, and this addition will do exactly that - the wave pool will accommodate around 1,000 people at any given time.

As previously planned, the wave pool will be located in a section of the current parking lot, seen above, adjacent to the slides in Water World.  The work will also get the ground (plumbing, etc) ready for future additions the park plans, such as a multi-level water play structure.

Along with the wave pool will be a new food location, restrooms, lounging areas, and ten more ticket booths to help the park on busy days.

Waldameer was able to purchase more land in 2012 that is making this water park expansion possible.  The loss of the parking lot will be replaced by new space gained in the purchase, increasing the overall footprint of the property.

And don't worry ride fans, it sounds like after the water park expansion is done, and people are flooding the park, they have plenty of ride plans on the horizon, too.

Waldameer Spruces Up Water Park Before Big Expansion

© Waldameer Park

Ahead of a major expansion that is planned for the 2015 season, Waldameer's Water World water park is giving fresh new looks to its assortment of water slides.  Several of the park's slide towers now feature bright colors like the ones seen above, giving a much more 'alive' feel to the water park.

The park's WaldaBlog also reports that the painting also used a new gel coat that should make the slides even more fun when the park opens again this Summer.  Other new additions at the park in 2014 include new LED lights on the park's freefall, X-Scream, and a new restroom facility under the park's Thunder River log flume.

Back in 2012 Waldameer was able to purchase additional land surrounding the park which will allow them to expand significantly over the next decade.  One of the first parts of that expansion sounds like it will come online in 2015, a brand new wave pool.  The post on the WaldaBlog hints about the addition, even showing the area in which it will be located.

Between the freshening up in 2014 and that major addition in 2015, Water World will be even more popular during the hot summer months, no doubt!

Scott And Carol Present - A Chance to Ride Waldameer's New Music Express December 22nd 2012

Just days after Waldameer Park & Water World's 2012 season ended, the park began dismantling their Scrambler. Fear not it's only be moved to make room for a new $1.5 million mega-ride, a caterpillar-style Music Express which will thrill up to 60 passengers at a time beginning in spring.

But wait, if  you are  a current  2013 Waldameer Season Pass holder or if you plan on becoming a 2013 Waldameer Season Pass holder, Santa Paul Nelson has an early Christmas present for you! On Saturday December 22nd, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm 2013 Waldameer Season Pass holders and one guest  (all riders must be at least 52 inches tall) can ride the new Music Express.  The weather forecast is calling for temperatures to be in the low 30s, so the generous folks at Waldameer will be serving hot chocolate to help keep riders warm.

Thank you to the generous folks at Waldameer, we wish them Happy Holidays and a successful 2013 season!

Waldameer Welcomes Their Musik Express

© Waldameer Park

Waldameer's $2 million expansion for 2013 has seen a very special arrival this past week, with the arrival of the park's new Musik Express ride from its overseas manufacturer.

The park has already constructed the ride's concrete pad, and will quickly work to assemble the new ride.  The park actually would like to open the new ride soon for guests who come to the park to purchase their season passes, and will be offering hot chocolate as well.

The Musik Express will be set in the former home of the park's Scrambler, which has been moved and updated.  The new area will feature additional gardens, a fountain, and a new bronze statue, continuing the theme at the park.

The park has shared some new photos of the ride's arrival on their Facebook page.  To check those out, click here.

Exciting Expansions in Waldameer's Future

We just reported on Waldameer Amusement Park's 2013 expansion plans recently, but now we have even more exciting news to cover about the future of the Erie, PA park.

A local news story has detailed the park's plan to spend $20 million expanding over the next ten years, something they will be able to do due to the purchase of more than seven acres of land surrounding the current property.

Waldameer has been a bit blocked in their desire to grow by the need to conserve all current parking areas.  But now all that has changed.  Here's a map to help see what they've gained:

First, the red section is a large area that the park has purchased.  It consists of The Inn at Presque Isle, which the park will operate for now, a small trailer park which sounds like it will eventually go, and some cabins that will immediately go.

The larger red area with green lines is slated for possible purchase in the future by the park.

The orientation of the new land is great, it would allow the park to push the parking lots outward and expand the park proper into the current parking area.

An item that the park has already outlined their desire to build is in blue, and that's a wave pool.  I know the park has wanted one for ages, but the space was the issue.  I totally guessed at the orientation, but from the article it sounds like it'll go in the general area I placed it.  A children's water play are will also be added there.

The yellow square is property the park already owns, which is down a steep hill and is lakefront property, and will use an inclined railway to connect to the park proper.  The area will include "among other attractions, the incline railway, another water ride, a family ride, a restaurant and a picnic area."  Swimming probably won't be included in the area, but it is going to be quite beautiful, no doubt!

Though it has been a few years since I visited Waldameer, it was a great traditional park.  I can only imagine what other rides and attractions the owners will add as time goes by.  Exciting news!

Waldameer Details 2013 Plans

Waldameer is reporting that they've had another very successful season, with 2012 possibly being the best on the books once the final numbers are in.  And that's with four less operating days than last year, which was the previous best year.

This past summer the park added a second train to both the park's railroad and Comet roller coaster, helping capacity on the two popular attractions.

A Musik Express at Morey's Piers © Morey Piers

Work has already started for the 2013 season, just days after finishing up this year.  The park will build a $1.5 million Musik Express ride, which will seat 60 passengers per cycle.  The park's Scrambler will be moved slightly to help make room for the new ride, which will be able to travel both forwards and backwards.

Waldameer will also complete a thorough renovation of their Ferris wheel, shipping it to Kansas for full inspection.  The park still plans to add a large restaurant in the future, but not for the park's 2013 season.

Love to see an independent, family park not only thriving but continuing to expand!

Weekly Rewind 7.28.12

Not really good news coming out of Rye Playland, so far this Summer season attendance and revenues are both down again from last year.  The park is still being evaluated for possible changes to its future use.

Universal Studios Hollywood has announced three big name mazes for this year's Halloween Horror Nights.  Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3-D, Silent Hill (based on the video game), and the Walking Dead (based on the AMC tv show) will scare guests this fall.

Still no official word on the projects going on at Universal Studios Florida, but this update gives us some new views of the work.  Looks like they're digging downward at the non-Potter site, giving more credibility to the Transformers rumor.

Hawaiian Falls Roanoke, Texas, has opened SplashTacular's new Double BowlsEye slide, which sends two sets of riders down at the same time into the same bowl finale.  Looks wild!  Check out a video of the slide here.

Tomorrow is the last day for everyone to take a spin on Disaster Transport at Cedar Point before the ride closes forever.  There's still time to donate to one of the riders who are raising money for Give Kids the World, as of right now an astonishing $16,000 has already been pledged!

Also in the great state of Ohio, the Beach Water Park has announced that they will reopen next season as The Beach at Adventure Landing.  A new operator will take over, add new slides, kiddie area, and revamp the wave pool. 

Six Flags New Orleans has momentarily come back to life to be used as a set for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, a new movie due out next Summer.  It's weird to see the park look so alive (although creepy still) but know that it's deader than dead.

There's a lot of numbers in this story covering Six Flags' 2nd quarter earnings, but what can be taken away is that the company did well, really well, actually, during the period.  Looks like the new management is continuing to show how capable they are.

I missed this one a while back, but Waldameer Park has announced plans to bring a Musik Express to the park for the 2013 season, and possibly a large family restaurant in 2014.

Weekly Rewind 11.26.11

WhiteWater was bestowed IAAPA's Image Award, given out for the most outstanding presence at the trade show.  The company's booth focused on Innovation, something the manufacturer is quite proud of with new slides like the Family Python, transparent flumes, AquaCourse, and the AquaPlay Giant RainFortress.

Speaking of the 2011 IAAPA show, this year has been deemed a success with over 25,800 registered attendees, up 3 percent from last year.  The event also raised $81,000 for Give Kids the World through various special events.

Curious to see the color scheme of PortAventura's new Bolliger and Mabillard mega coaster?  Check them out at this link - the ride will feature dual color track, and some nice contrasting supports.  This is going to look great!


Fans of Waldameer Park's pair of classic dark rides will love this new DVD, just released by Laff In The Dark.  The DVD takes a guided tour of both of the rides, a preview of the film is above.  Check out more about the title here.

It took this update from Westcoaster for me to finally be able to understand how the layout of SeaWorld San Diego's new Manta coaster will fit in the park.  If you go and take a look, you'll also see that a big station for the coaster has been set in place as well.

The ever excellent Amusing the Zillion has an exclusive look at what's new on the Coney Island boardwalk in 2012 - including Zamperla's new Speed Zone development.  Check out the details on what's coming.

With track now complete, the Swarm at Thorpe Park is starting to have its elaborate theming put in place.  The ride's Developer Diary is following this for us quite nicely, showing off some recent clearance tests.

There are eight companies that have submitted proposals for what to do with the former Six Flags New Orleans site.  The plans range from a theme park, water park, movie backlot, and even to a power station. 

The future of Lo-Q and Six Flags is bright - the contract for the skip-the-line access program to stay at the theme parks has been extended for another six years.  Also, the use of the bots in water park, which started this past year, will quickly be rolled out to additional parks.

Thankful For... New Park Additions!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hopefully you have plenty to be thankful for on this day, I know I do.  In light of this blog however, let's be thankful for some recent park announcements!

Waldameer Park is advertising "plenty of new things" for next season, coming off of this year's large North End expansion which contained three new rides.

Next year the Happy Swing will take up residence in Kiddie Land, near the Ravine Flyer 3.  This kid-friendly ride has been popping up in many parks, namely the Planet Snoopy expansions seen this past summer at several Cedar Fair parks. 

Waldameer's relaxing train ride, the L. Ruth Express, will also welcome a second train in 2012 to reduce wait times and add capacity to the popular attraction.  For a sneak peak at the train, check out the park's recent blog post on it.

Dark Ride fans will also be happy to hear that the park's Wacky Shack will have a redesigned loading area that will provide better and faster loading, a big plus.  The park will also move to being cashless in 2012, using Wally Cards for transactions that take place inside the park.

Dixie Landing and Blue Bayou water park is known as the Land of the Giants, as they have a penchant for building only the biggest models of popular slides.

Next year will be no different when the park builds a brand new Aqua Loop water slide.  The park shared a photo of a 4 slide version on their Facebook, but mention the ride singularly on their website, so I'm not sure how large this instillation is. 

Either way, Aqua Loop slides have become quite popular as a high level water park thrill slide.  I have a feeling this will fit in rather well with the park's existing mega-slides.

Other enhancements will also take place, such as renovations to the park's existing lazy river and an updated Bathhouse.

Waldameer, Alabama Adventure Inch Closer to Opening Day

Editor's Note: I'd like to welcome Jerry Stoffl to the NewsPlusNotes team! Jerry will contributing to the site in several ways, including occasional news updates like the one below.  Keep your eyes out for a new column from Jerry in the future as well. ~Mike

© 2011 Waldameer

As the snow melts on the Lake Erie shore, two of Waldameer Park's three new family rides appear. Construction is nearly finished on the SS Wally (Zamperla Rockin' Tug), and the cups for Wendy's Tea Cups arrived on site days ago. The Flying Swings are scheduled to be delivered next week.

All three attractions are located between Ravine Flyer 2 and the Sea Dragon in the new "North End" area. The North End will also feature gardens, an eight-foot tall water fountain, and a 20 foot entry arch, continuing Waladmeer's tradition of keeping the park well landscaped. Waldameer opens on May 7.

© 2011 Alabama Adventure

In the south, ground work continues on Buzzsaw Falls. The five-story shoot-the-chutes will be Alabama Adventure's first major addition in over five years. Vertical construction should start soon, if it hasn't already. More photos found on Alabama Adventure's Facebook page. Buzzsaw Falls opens this spring.

Waldameer Park Announces 2011 Expansion

Waldameer Park has fully announced three new rides in an entire new section of the park, all scheduled to open in 2011.  The new "North End" section will be located between the lift hill of the Ravine Flyer II and the park's Sea Dragon ride.  Guests will enter under a 20' metal archway into the area, which will also contain a 8' fountain, gardens, and the park's trademark bronze statues.

As expected, the biggest of the three rides will be the Flying Swings, which stands 41' tall.  The ride will take guests up swinging around in chair swing style seats - giving great views of the Ravine Flyer II and Lake Erie. 

The North End will also have two rides that cater to the whole family.  Wendy's Tea Party will be a small spinning tea cup ride.  Kids will have control over whether their cup spins a lot or just a little.  The SS Wally will be a Rockin' Tug, where a boat sways and rotates up and down.

More details and some current shots of the construction of the new North End can be found on the Waldablog.