Waldameer is a charming family park in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania.
Located just a short walk from Lake Erie, this park has a wonderful atmosphere and
a sneaky good ride lineup. You have 5 roller coasters including the revered Ravine Flyer II,
some interesting flat rides, a few dark rides, and a collection of water rides. I think the ride
collection here is very well-rounded and I spend much of my day accruing rerides on my favorites.
So in this video, I will rank this park’s 15 best rides and attractions.
Before starting the countdown, I want to note that this countdown will include attractions
in both the dry park and the Water World water park. The latter is an extra cost,
but it’s not too much more to tack onto the ride wristband. I do want to note that the serpentine
body slides were unfortunately closed during my visit, so you will not see them on this list.
15) Liquid Lightning- This tube slide starts with a series of enclosed turns.
They aren’t too wild, but the ride culminates in a sizable drop for this type of ride. It’s not
super steep, but you do build up considerable speed causing you to skim across the water.
14) Comet- This classic wood coaster is a slightly better version of the Woodstock
Express coasters at the Cedar Fair parks. This one oozes charm with the curved station and
trees around the attraction. The ride is still very smooth even after 70 years of operation
and while it’s not overly intense, you can get a faint pop of airtime on one or two hills.
13) Mega Vortex- This Zamperla disko is a fun flat ride. You get some good spinning that pushes you
outwards and the spikes offer some weightlessness when the ride reaches its max height.
12) Wipeout- This Chance flat ride is a lateral machine.
You get decent but sustained laterals for much of the ride while elevated,
but those lateral forces go Super Saiyan for the finale when you’re viscously pressed
against the side of the car. It’s one of the craziest moments on any flat ride.
11) CannonBowl- This ProSlide tube bowl slide features a fast and satisfying initial plunge,
followed by the cool visual of rotating around an oversized bowl. These slides are quite common
nowadays, but I’m certainly not complaining. 10) Spider- This Eyerly classic is an enjoyable
ride blending airtime and spinning. You get some solid centripetal force when your vehicle
completes a full spin and the bouncing can give some weak airtime. Í was surprised the motion was
so repetitive in the sense that I got the same rhythm of spinning and airtime with each pass,
but the forces were still fun. 9) Music Express- This Bertazzon
Himalaya runs a good program. It runs fast, so it offers great sustained laterals
and comes darn close to offering some airtime. This one also runs both forwards and backwards.
And I believe it’s manually operated. The operator encourages riders to scream. Otherwise, they won’t
bump the ride up to its max speed. 8) Pirates Cove- This classic fun
house will destroy your equilibrium. You have a series of optical illusions and crooked rooms
that will have you stumbling like a drunken pirate. Along with the usual fun house gags,
you also have a few weird displays and scenes to admire along the way. This fun
house has a lot more character than the ones you typically find at a boardwalk or carnival.
7) Steel Dragon- This Maurer spinning coaster is the familiar SC2000 clone,
but it delivers a solid ride experience. I love that initial drop if you experience it
going backwards. Then this one can produce some good spinning if you have an off-balance car. The
brakes on this one can slow you down at points, but it’s still an enjoyable family coaster.
6) Chaos- This Zamperla frisbee is the park’s lone inverting ride and it has a good cycle.
The initial swings have some nice airtime. Then the full revolutions have incredible hangtime.
It feels like you’re hanging upside-down for an eternity. And the subsequent
pullouts have very strong positive Gs to compliment the hangtime and negative Gs.
5) Bermuda Triangle- This is the park’s best water slide by far. This is a trio of body
slides. The two curved ones are fast, but this ranking reflects the middle one. It’s a single
drop into the water. It’s a super steep plunge that will have your body lift off the slide.
Then you have a disorienting splashdown into a pool at the end, as opposed to the
runoffs typically found on speed slides. 4) Thunder River- This Hopkins log flume
is excellent. The course is well-landscaped and you pass through this long, mist-filled tunnel.
Then there are two drops. The first is pretty tall for a smaller drop on a flume like this.
Then the second is even taller and better, as you even get a little pop of airtime.
And this ride causes the perfect amount of wetness to refresh you without destroying your shoes.
3) Whacky Shack- This classic Bill Tracy dark ride is such a joy.
You have some simple but effective optical illusions. Then the set design gets more
detailed as the ride progresses. The final few scenes are particularly cool such as the rat king
and the angry Wally mascot. I also like how this ride has a bit of an edge to it with the little
dip midway through the ride and the laterals on the downhill segment in the second half.
Last but not least, this ride has such a distinctive but oddly pleasing smell.
2) X-Scream- This is a 14 story tall ARM / Larson drop tower. While there are far taller drop towers
out there, few are as awesome and terrifying as this one. The views this one offers are
breathtaking, especially if you face towards Lake Erie. Then the drop occurs with barely any warning
and it’s gut-wrenching. You float the entire way down and leave your stomach atop the tower. This
ride always takes my breath away and it’s definitely the park’s most intense ride.
1) Ravine Flyer II- This Gravity Group wood coaster is spectacular. You have
great elements and a unique setting. As the name suggests, this ride is built on a ravine,
but you also cross over a highway twice and have an incredible view of Lake Erie.
The ride starts with one of the best first halves in the world. The first drop offers
fantastic airtime in the back row. The turnaround combines snappy laterals and airtime pops.
Then the bunny hills over the bridge and at the bottom of the ravine offer strong and sustained
floater airtime. The second half does lose quite a bit of steam when you climb back up the ravine,
but you still get some airtime pops and laterals. And the ride is running better
than ever thanks to all the trackwork Waldameer has put into this attraction.
I have a separate review for this coaster, but it alone is worth a visit to Waldameer.
So those are my top 15 favorite rides and attractions at Waldameer
and Water World. What are your favorite rides at this Pennsylvania amusement park?
Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d appreciate it if you gave
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more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!