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World Waterpark Magazine december 2015
With 120 years under its belt, Waldameer & Water World continues
to combine its historic feel with new, exciting attractions.
By Brian Gorman
A
s large theme
parks dominate the amusement industry, the historic Waldameer Park continues to grow and
add new attractions to carry on its tradition of offering affordable family fun to all who
come through its gates.
After debuting its new “Giant Wave Pool” on June 9th, 2015,
Waldameer & Water World shows no signs of slowing down, as
it begins the second phase of the largest expansion in its history.
From its humble beginnings as a trolley park on the shores of
Lake Erie, Waldameer has grown into a regional attraction, finding success by offering an affordable option to today’s mega theme
parks. The 120 year old amusement park and waterpark located
in Erie, Pennsylvania continues to excite families with modernday attractions while still staying true to its historical roots and
family values.
A History of Family Fun
As the 8th oldest continuously operated amusement park in the
United States, Waldameer & Water World has a long history of
providing family fun to millions of guests that have come through
its gates. Beginning in 1896 as a serene picnic spot called Hoffman’s Grove, located at the end of the Erie Electric Motor Co.’s
trolley line, the park allowed the residents of Erie to escape the
hustle and bustle of the city. Young couples and families would
enjoy the warm beaches of Lake Erie and picnic underneath the
canopy of mature trees before returning to their daily lives. A 100
foot long bathhouse, wooden pier and paddle boats in a lagoon
were all a part of Hoffman’s Grove’s summer spot.
As the popularity of the park grew, more attractions were added.
Rides such as a hand-carved carousel, kiddie rides and a figure
eight roller coaster were a few of the first amusements added to
the growing park. During the early 1920s, ownership of the park
changed hands multiple times before a German immigrant, Alex
Moeller, took over operation of the park, renaming it “Waldameer,” a German word meaning “woods by the sea”. Moeller continued to grow the park through the 1970s until he died, giving
ownership of the park to his adopted son, Paul Nelson. Nelson had
worked at Waldameer since he was 11 years old, holding almost
every job in the park, from serving food to cleaning restrooms.
Once Nelson took over park operations, he realized in order to
grow the small amusement park into a regional attraction, he had
to invest significantly into the park’s future.
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Making the hard decision to sell Waldameer’s original carousel
in order to raise funds for expansion, Nelson began construction
of Waldameer’s new waterpark, Water World, in 1986. Complete
with an endless river, a kiddie pool area and a few giant body
slides, the waterpark was one of the first of its kind to be attached
to an amusement park. Water World was a huge success, encouraging Nelson that he was on the right path. Through the rest of the
‘90s, Nelson continued to add attractions to Water World including three additional body slides, four tube slides, a heated relaxing
pool and another children’s pool.
Today, Waldameer & Water World boasts over 100 rides, slides
and attractions on approximately 50 acres of land. The park offers
free parking, free admission into the amusement park and free live
musical shows to keep its park affordable and family friendly. To
keep the park running smoothly, Nelson has his wife Lane Nelson,
daughter and son-in-law Nancy and Steve Gorman, and grandson Brian Gorman to help operate the amusement and waterpark.
Waldameer is, in its truest sense, for family by family.
Welcome to the Modern Age
While park-goers are some of the best customers to have, they
also expect to be entertained in new ways every time they visit a
park. This makes it imperative for a park to invest constantly in
new attractions, games, food items and merchandise if it wants
to succeed. Waldameer is no different, and since the new millennium, the park has added new attractions to its amusement park
almost every season. But since the early ‘90s, Waldameer’s waterpark had not seen a new attraction or addition at all. While the aging water attractions were still popular with guests, Water World
needed a shot of energy to bring the waterpark into the modern
age. So in the fall of 2013, planning began for the first phase of
Waldameer’s largest and most expensive expansion in its history:
the addition of a giant wave pool.
Built to Last
Planning for Water World’s new wave pool was extensive. Not
only was a 26,000-square-foot pool being added, but also a new
restroom facility and food building were planned for the new
three acre area. Drawings and permitting were completed by the
end of the summer and ground was broken the day after the park
closed for the 2014 season. With a master plan drawn by ProSlide
Technology Inc. and the pool design from Aquatic Development
Group, crews from USA Inc. began excavating the 20,000 cubic
yards of earth for the new pool.
Besides being large, Water World’s wave pool has a unique design layout. The pool features a peninsula that juts out into the
center from the back wall, separating the pool into essentially two
pools. This design was intentional in order to allow each side of
the wave pool to be operated independently, providing the option
to operate only one side of the pool on a less crowded day.
“This saves labor, electricity and wear on the wave generation
equipment,” says Steve Gorman, president of Waldameer & Water
World. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness were important in the design and application of the wave pool.
Besides the dual operation of the pool, other aspects of Waldameer’s wave pool help reduce costs, waste and maintenance as
well. Using two large Defender DE filters from Neptune-Benson,
the need for backwashing is greatly reduced, which conserves water and lessens the amount of chemicals needed to treat the water.
Waldameer uses liquid sodium hypochlorite, or chlorine, as the
sanitizing agent, and CO2 as its pH stabilizer. Using CO2 as the
CONTINUED on PAGE 28
SUPPLIERS
Development/Design: ProSlide Technology
Construction: USA Inc.
Waterslides: ProSlide Technology
Wave pool: Aquatic Development Group
Wave generator: Aquatic Development Group
Raft/Tubes/Mats: Zebec
Children’s interactive play structure:
ProSlide Technology
Children’s equipment: Rain Drop
Waldameer & Water World
Furniture: Taylor and Associates
Lockers: American Locker Security Systems
220 Peninsula Drive, Erie, PA 16505
www.waldameer.com
877-817-1009
Filtration equipment: Neptune-Benson
Owners: Paul Nelson
Pumps: G ranite State Spa
Admission prices: All Day Waldameer and Water
World Wristband - $35.99
Chemical: Chataqua Metal Finishing Supplies;
Matheson Tri-Gas
Dates open: May 7th – September 5th
Chemical controllers:
Mainline Commercial Pools/BECs
Size/Acres: 45 acres
Number of employees: Year-round: 20; Seasonal: 500
Unique park programs: Free parking, free
admission and free live musical shows
Pool and/or deck coatings: Sherwin-Williams
Shade system: USA Shade
Admission system: CORE Cashless
Food/Equipment: Curtze Company
Uniforms: The Lifeguard Store
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Waldameer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26
pH stabilizer was a new change for the park. In all of Water World’s other attractions, muriatic acid was used for pH control.
“In addition to reducing costs when choosing the equipment for our new pool, we wanted to improve safety as well,” said Gorman. Using CO2 instead of muriatic acid limits the
potential for acid exposure as well as the potential for the creation of chlorine gas, which is
created when chlorine and muriatic acid combine.
Another new feature that Waldameer’s wave pool chemical system uses are venturi style
chemical injectors. These injectors allow for faster and more complete introduction of treatment
chemicals into the pool water. Using a small ½ HP booster pump, a pressure differential is created in the circulation piping, causing the treatment chemicals to be pulled into the system via
vacuum. While this type of injection system requires more planning and piping, the quick response of the chemical system allows for very little fluctuation from the ppm and pH set points.
“Overall, we are very happy with the first season of operation. It is always a little nerveracking when trying new equipment you are not used to, but everything performed as
promised,” said Gorman.
Planning for the Future
Even though Waldameer’s new wave pool didn’t open until June 9th, the new expansion
area was a huge success, drawing more guests than ever before. And even the best laid plans
are always dependent on the weather. The months of May and June were some of the wettest months in recent history.
“Even though June was a wash out, the poor weather allowed us
to adjust our operation of the pool before the large crowds came,”
said Gorman. “Once July hit, it was non-stop until Labor Day.”
Not wanting to rely solely on the success of the wave pool,
Waldameer plans on continuing to add new attractions to Water World in the coming years. Already, construction has begun on the second phase of Water World’s expansion, which
includes a children’s slide area and spray pad.
These new attractions will be located next to the wave pool
and will cover approximately ½ an acre. The slide area will feature eight slides from ProSlide Technology that will range from
seven to ten feet high in a variety of shapes and colors. The
splash pool will be 18” deep at its deepest point and feature a
“beach style” entry into the pool.
Directly in front of the children’s slides will be a 4,000 square
foot spray pad, designed by Rain Drop Products, and will feature over 30 interactive spray attractions. This new children’s
area will cost over $1.5 million and is planned to open in May
of 2016. Plans for new attractions in the following years also
include a RideHOUSE play structure from ProSlide, and a CannonBOWL slide from ProSlide as well. “Our goal is to grow our waterpark over the next few years
into an attraction all its own, instead of as an add-on to our
amusement park,” said Gorman.
And with the seemingly endless new attractions and features
that the booming waterpark industry is creating, the possibilities seem endless. •
Brian Gorman is Vice President of Operations for Waldameer
& Water World. He grew up working at the park before
attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, graduating
with a B.A. in marketing.
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World Waterpark Magazine december 2015