Conneaut Lake Park
Last weekend, Robin and I took a trip to Conneaut Lake Park in Pennsylvania for their Fall Pumpkin Fest. The family-oriented festival was put on by the Conneaut Lake Area Business Association. Along with the usual rides and food, the Park also featured crafts and vendors of all kinds. Admission is only $10 to ride, but they have all kinds of specials during the summer, too, including Grandparents Day, when you can get in for half-price with a grandkid, which virtually assures my grandkids at least one visit to Conneaut next summer.
This was my first visit to Conneaut. So many people have told me how much it reminds them of Idora Park that I just had to check it out. And you know what? They were absolutely right.
Kiddieland at Conneaut Lake Park features rides that are virtually identical to the rides we had at Idora Park – even the entrance is almost the same, with the twin soldiers guarding the entrance. And, as we found out from the Idora Park Memories page, Conneaut also owns the actual firetruck ride from Idora Park’s Kiddieland! It was in for repairs while we were there, so we didn’t get to see it. But we had a great time watching the kids ride the Dune Buggies, G.I. Joe Jeeps and the Little Dipper. Conneaut also has live pony rides, which Idora Park didn’t, but then Conneaut didn’t have a Monkey Island either.
Conneaut’s merry-go-round (which they call a carousel, though strictly speaking, a carousel only has horses while a merry-go-round has all kinds of animals) was installed in its current house in 1910.
Their version of the Jack Rabbit and Wildcat is called the Blue Streak, an Edward Vettel wooden coaster. And they have the usual Paratrooper, Music Express and Tilt-a-Whirl, among others.
If you take in a game of Mini Golf, you’ll see the Bessemer and Lake Erie miniature train pull into the station. We didn’t ride anything, but I was tempted to try the Dodgem cars, and I was very surprised to see a Tumble Bug!
I did play the fastest game of Mini Golf in the history of Mini Golf – thanks to Park Manager Matthew Briggs getting all the leaves swept off before it got too dark to play.
The walk along the Midway was a stroll down Memory Lane, and I was tempted to play some of the games – a temptation I did not resist. I won an inflatable princess baseball bat for my granddaughter and Robin won an alien rubber ducky.
Two of the games operators, Brianna and Vicki, listened to me gab about the good old days of Idora Park, and we compared stories about wacky times on the Midway. Tucked away behind the wall of balloons was an old punk rack! Just between you and me, I'd look for some big changes on the Midway in the next few years. (wink, wink)
So, now I have to admit that everyone was right. Conneaut Lake Park really is a lot like Idora Park used to be, and now that I’ve visited Conneaut, I miss Idora Park more than ever. I’m sorry that our first visit was at the end of the season, but now we have something to look forward to for next summer.
See you on the Midway!