raptor Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Interview with GM of Lakemont Park Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Lakemont is a wonderful park...and that's a fantastic interview. Thanks for posting it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellohello Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I mentioned in another thread that I work at DelGrosso's, and I have to say that based on things I've heard, if it weren't for the baseball stadium, the Wing-Offs, and the Lights on the Lake (which is pretty cool), Lakemont would be in screwed financially. I haven't been there in a couple of years, but I hear lots of stuff from customers and coworkers. It's dirty, the rides aren't kept-up well, the food is all shipped in and reheated, the whole no-trees thing, etc. I know that my parents were always reluctant to take us there simply because of memories of how much nicer the park was before the whole Boyertown fiasco. I went to a baseball game last year on a Friday evening in August. The parking lot was full, but everyone was in the stadium. The park was closed on a night when DAP would have been open past 9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Nice interview. I said in another post that Lakemont is on my list of possible parks to visit this summer (as is DelGrosso's) and that interview was great. I'll take Terpy's word about the park long before I take a n00b's (no offense meant to hellohello, but Terpy has proven, at least to me, to be a pretty reliable source). Now the question I have, since my Parks of Pennsylvania Tour list has grown quite lengthy, could DelGrosso's and Lakemont reasonably be done in one day? Both look fairly small, but I've made the mistake of not allowing enough time at a small park (Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk) before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Yes, I did them both in one day, if you can go on a Wednesday. That way you can experience spaghetti Wed. at DelGrosso. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Wednesday is probably a bad day for Lakemont, I believe admission is only 3 dollars which means crowded. I'm going on a Sunday when I do my PA tour that will include Lakemont if time allows on Travel day Saturday night, Delgrosso's and Lakemont on Sunday (probably about 90 minutes, 2 hours max at Delgrosso's) and the rest of the day at Lakemont, Monday Knoebel's, Tuesday Kennywood, and Wednesday Idlewild for half a day then head home. Studying them over they can be done in one day but unless you have young kids, I definately would say only a couple of hours at Delgrosso's and the rest of the day at Lakemont, I'm looking forward to riding the Twister which is an all but defunct ride, it may be the last one left, and I have never seen one before, so it should be interesting. Still Delgrosso's looks like somewhat of a charming place, but I believe there is much more to do ridewise at Lakemont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 If its hot, i sugest Del Grosso's water park. Also, dont miss the Go-Karts at either location, they are excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XGatorHead 8904 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I do have a young kid, but looking at the map of DelGrosso's again, I think we can do it! Two more questions: What's Boyertown, and what's Twister? Thanks for all the input so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Lakemont Park was bought in the 80's and a project to transform it into a theme park called Boyerstown USA began, it was however a failed project. I read about this in Jim Futrell's Amusement Parks of PA (excellent book) with lots of info on PA parks. There probably is info on this on Lakemont Park's website under History. The twister is a ride that use to be at amusement parks probably in 30's or 40's I've seen it on video's of amusement park history of places such as Cedar Point, they have been long gone I think, there may still be one somewhere, but I am unaware of any one other than Lakemont that currently has it. It looks kind of neat, but I've never seen one in person so I can't elaborate on what it's like. photo of this ride can be seen here: Twister At Lakemont Park Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Skyliner is the other coaster at Lakemont, it is in right center field. Boyertown was the previous ownership. My bad for stupidly swicthing coaster names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Twister was the name of a former coaster there I believe, but it also a classic flat ride there now. See picture above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I would avoid Wednesdays at Lakemont like the plague. If you think Bring A Friend Free Days at Kings Island were delightful, you will love Wednesdays at Lakemont. The place can be a real zoo. Other days are far less crowded, and far more enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 no way I'd go there on Wednesday, it's worth the extra money, and ten dollars isn't that much, to go on a less crowded day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 And the Twister wood coaster at Lakemont was a Schmeck, but it closed after 1935...as it was badly damaged in a flood. I'd have given anything to have ridden it, but even I am not that old! It stood by Leap-The-Dips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellohello Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Boyer is a small candy company based in Altoona that itself has had all kinds of management/money/labor problems. They bought the park in the mid 80s and attempted to turn it into something more like Hershey Park and spent lots of money making lots of changes. I didn't start visiting the park until the early 90s so I really can't elaborate on what all changed, but the big thing that locals remember is that all of the trees were chopped down. After a couple of years, Boyer sold the park and the name changed back. The main thing I remember about Lakemont as a kid was that the little kiddie coaster there used to scare the crap out of me was responsible for a ride operator losing his leg when it ran him over shortly after I rode it. The story made it to Rescue 911. I remember the Twister ride being one of their better ones. It's sort of a Tilt-a-Whirl type ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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