Escape the hustle of the city — old-fashioned style

Old Fashioned Days

July 25-29

Idlewild Park and Soak Zone, Ligonier, Pa.

If… Old Fashioned Days

July 25-29

Idlewild Park and Soak Zone, Ligonier, Pa.

If you’ve been to Kennywood or Sandcastle one time too many this summer or you aren’t one for the thrill rides of a larger amusement park, visit Idlewild Park and Soak Zone. Tucked away along Route 30 in Ligonier, Pa., Idlewild is the third oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania.

From July 25-29, a canned-food donation will get you a $6 discount on the normal $22.95 admission during WPXI’s Old Fashioned Days. Enjoy crafts, an antique car show, and even a parade during the event.

Idlewild boasts a mix of traditional amusement park rides, water rides and a myriad of unconventional attractions in seven different park areas.

Though many of the regions of the park, such as Story Book Forest and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe are geared toward a much younger audience, it is easy to lose yourself and “become a kid again” while visiting Idlewild. Where else can you ride Mr. Rogers’ trolley through the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to see King Friday and Henrietta Pussycat?

If Mr. Rogers just isn’t your thing (or if the Neighborhood of Make-Believe freaked you out as a child), you can visit Story Book Forest or Jumpin’ Jungle. The Forest is filled with shady trees and props from the stories we all read about as children. Snow White and her Seven Dwarfs hang out in the Forest, along with the Old Woman who lived in a shoe.

Jumpin’ Jungle is the place to compete with your friends, or the other children in the park on the Tarzan Swing and the Net Climb, which, as I found out each year as a child, is not for people afraid of heights.

The heart of Idlewild resides in Hootin’ Holler and Olde Idlewild. The latter is where you’ll find traditional amusement park rides: the giant Ferris Wheel, Tilt-A-Whirl, the Spider, the Mad Scrambler, the Round Up and the Rollo Coaster, a creaky, scary, out-and-back roller coaster that, despite its smaller size, will still make you scream.

Hootin’ Holler holds the quirkiest attraction in the entire park, Confusion Hill. Though the Hill is not a thrill ride that turns you upside down or spins you out of control, you’ll find hoards of people waiting in line to walk through what is affectionately known as the “Crooked House.” The entire house rests on a slant, allowing for illusions and general oddities that will confuse any college student. If you are brave, you can volunteer to sit on a chair balanced only by the back rungs on a small wooden ledge. Figure that one out, engineers!

If rides don’t thrill you, Idlewild’s charm will. Old Fashioned Days will relax you and remove you from the often-frantic hustle of Pittsburgh.