For our first "official" amusement park trip of the year, we joined members of the Western New York Coaster Club for the annual season kickoff, Coasterfest™. The club had challenges putting together the event this year. The first idea was to have it at Six Flags Great Escape and Legoland NY. Six Flags wanted an outrageous amount of money and Legoland never bothered responding to inquiries. The response from Six Flags was especially disheartening because the WNYCC was instrumental in helping with the reconstruction of the Comet roller coaster there when Charles Wood owned the park. So then attention turned to two venerable Pennsylvania parks, Kennywood and Idlewild. But the management there failed to follow up as well. It made me wonder whether some parks were so flush with cash that they didn't need more guests. So Geff Ford, the club's park liaison, contacted Waldameer Park in Erie, PA, and Niagara Amusement Park in Grand Island, NY. Both were happy to welcome us back. We had visited those same parks for the club's 2022 end-of-the-year event, Flying High. But Waldameer was always delightful, and I was eager to see the progress that Niagara had made. So at five in the morning, Karen and I set out for Erie. We had become intimately familiar with the NY State Thruway over the years. We had just traveled it a few weeks before on our trip to Ohio. Not surprisingly, very little progress had been made on the thruway rest stops. At least this time we were prepared for the long stretches between the functional ones. We crossed the Pennsylvania line just after noon and we paused at the Welcome Center to eat the lunch we brought. We then continued on and arrived in Erie at about 1:00. Since we couldn't check into our motel room until 3:00, we drove to Presque Isle State Park, just down the hill from Waldameer, and strolled along the shady paths there. We were thinking of getting dinner at one of the nearby eateries at the entrance to Presque Isle, but only one was open and all it served was hamburgs, hot dogs and chicken wings. So we instead decided to check in at the Motel 6 where we had reserved a room. Last year we had stayed at the Glass House Inn, which we enjoyed. But this year they had nearly tripled their price to $325 a night, which was way more than we were willing to spend. Motel 6 was a more reasonable $78 a night, and we weren't expecting much. But the room was delightful, spacious and brightly decorated. The staff there was really friendly too. After checking in, we searched for nearby restaurants. Across the street was a little Italian restaurant, Barbato's, so we took a chance on that. We were the only people in the cozy place until a family entered shortly after us. Karen got cheese breadsticks and mozzarella sticks; I ordered a personal veggie pizza and a side salad. The prices were really reasonable. I expected that, for $3.99, my side salad would be served in a cup. But when our orders arrived, we were shocked: the portions were huge! The salad alone would have been an entire meal for both of us. The food was really good, too. The pizza was especially tasty. After that filling meal we headed back to our room to rest up. Unlike last year's Coasterfest™ that found us caught in a deluge, this year the weather was perfect with cloudless skies and temperatures in the 70s. For breakfast, we headed to a restaurant we really liked, Butch's Place. I got blueberry pancakes with home fries and as before it was absolutely delicious. By then it was about 9:30, so we headed down the street to the park. Waldameer's patriarch, Paul Nelson, had passed away the previous week at the ripe old age of 89. He was still active right up to the end. Someone had placed a wreath in his honor at the park's entrance gate. Many in the Erie community viewed the people who ran Waldameer as part of their family, and there was a large outpouring of condolences. I felt fortunate to have been able to talk with him over the years and hear some amazing stories about his life in the amusement industry. We parked in the west lot and were only the second car there. The gate was already open, so we strolled along the midway (one of the few in the U.S. to still have no admission fee). The park was quiet except for employees zipping around in golf carts, checking everything to prepare for the park's opening. We walked over to the park's North End section, and I could see there was a lot of new wood on the track of the mighty Ravine Flyer II coaster. Then we headed to the nearby Lakeside Grove pavilion where we would be checking in. The pavilion was an appropriate place for us to meet, since originally the structure was the station for the Ravine Flyer coaster in the early 1900s. The park had graciously provided donuts and bagels. About 10:15, members started arriving. The turnout was less than usual this year, possibly because we all got together at these same parks several months ago. But that only meant that there'd be more coaster time for the rest of us! Steve Gorman, the park's president (and Paul Nelson's son-in-law), came by with our wrist bands. He was always extremely accommodating to the club, and the members offered him their sincere condolences. Although we didn't have a large enough enrollment this time to warrant a catered meal, he gave us "Wally Bucks" cards that we could use anywhere in the park. When all the members were accounted for, we headed over to the Comet, the park's junior PTC wooden roller coaster, for some exclusive ride time before the park opened to the public. Even though it was a "junior" coaster, it was still plenty big and always provided some enjoyable airtime. The station crew was especially friendly and talkative and everyone had a fun time. Karen even stayed on the coaster over a half-dozen times. At noon, the National Anthem played over the sound system and the park opened to the public. The club members headed over to the pavilion for an informal chat and photo op with Steve Gorman. He mentioned all the track work that had been done on the Ravine Flyer II in the off-season. In fact, several of the track ties still had visible price tags on them. Since we were right next to the station, I queued up for it. I thought they were running two trains. After one was dispatched, it seemed like another would come quickly flying past the station and hit the brake run. But they only had one train; the ride was actually running that fast along the 3000 feet of track. The view from the top of the lift hill still ranked as one of the most spectacular on any coaster, looking out over the vast expanse of Lake Erie. Then the bottom dropped out and the train careened down the curving first drop. In the proverbial blink of an eye we had leapt over the highway leading to Presque Isle State Park and were on the other side, flying through the confusing twisting turnaround and then rocketing back over the highway. With unrelenting speed, we negotiated the tightly layered curves around the station and then hit the brakes with the side friction wheels still spinning wildly. The ride was extremely intense, but it was a lot smoother than in recent memory. All the track work paid off. If the lift hill had been built a bit shorter, it would have made for a pleasant family coaster. But that extra height turned it into a white-knuckle thrill ride, the equal of any marquee coaster at any major theme park. After that the club was supposed to have ITOT ("Informal Takeover Time") on the L. Ruth Express miniature railroad. But the park was still constructing a huge new waterslide along the train's route, so that was out. Instead I indulged in one of my favorite rides in the park: the classic Bill Tracy fun house Pirate's Cove. Last year the park had all the worklights turned on, which made it really easy to walk through but also dulled a bit of the fun. This time, there were only blacklights, which made all of Tracy's delightfully garish scenery pop. The tilted hallway was really effective with the lights off. The walls, floor and ceiling were all black, making it really disorienting. One of my favorite stunts was the drinking skeleton gag, mechanically very simple but really effective. And near the end was the classic stunt of the three floating skulls lamenting, "I ain't got nobody!" That fun house always made me smile. Nearby was the fresh lemonade stand. I was going to get some Bavarian nuts there, but their machine was broken. So I got a large lemonade. Karen got herself a drink and we sat at one of the cafe tables and relaxed. Then we met up with the other members for another scheduled ITOT, this time at the Sky Ride. We all boarded our ski-lift-style seats and were drifting past each other high above the midway. When we were back on solid ground, Karen and I queued up for the giant Ferris wheel for another bird's eye view of the park. By then it was about 2:00, so we decided to avail ourselves of the free lunch (using our Wally Cards). Our vegetarian options in the park were a bit limited. Karen opted for French fries and onion rings. I ordered a French bread pizza, which took a while because it was made to order. I watched as the worker prepared it. She took a handful of shredded cheese and piled on a mountain of it, then placed it on the oven conveyor belt. The cheese mountain had to be about 7 centimeters high and looked comical. After about 15 minutes, the pizza emerged remarkably flat. We went back to the pavilion where we met up with the other club members who were also having lunch. Karen loved her fried food. She said the onion rings were some of the best she'd ever had. My pizza was a bit peculiar. The result of having that much cheese piled on was that the top and bottom of the pizza were nicely cooked, but the interior was still cold. Outside of that, it was tasty. Once lunch was done, we all gathered at the park's other Bill Tracy masterpiece, the Whacky Shack dark ride (another one of my favorites) for yet another ITOT. I could ride that all day (and night) and never get tired of it. But by then it was about 4:00. Karen and I wanted to get a head start for the next day of Coasterfest™ in Grand Island, New York, about a two hour drive. So we bid farewell to the group (who would be staying for Exclusive Ride Time on the Ravine Flyer II after the park closed) and drove east. We arrived at our destination, the Anchor Motel in historic North Tonawanda, at about 6:30. The proprietor was extremely friendly and informative. Our room was nicely appointed and quiet. We strolled out to the large yard behind the office and sat on a bench overlooking the Niagara River as we watched the sun set over the Canadian skyline, with the mist from Niagara Falls just visible. It was a relaxing end to an enjoyable day. Even though we didn't do a whole lot, I've always enjoyed spending a day at Waldameer. There was plenty of shade for when we just wanted to relax. The Sky Ride and Ferris wheel (along with the train when it reopens) were nice relaxing rides as well. The terrific Thunder River flume was running and we could have gone on that. But we didn't want to spend a two hour drive in wet clothes. And as I said, I love the two Bill Tracy creations and am glad the park had kept them in such good condition.I wished there were a few more food options for us (like a veggie burger or a salad). But we could have brought our own picnic lunch if we wanted to, since the park still allowed guests to do that. The food selections they had were good, though. And unlike the big parks we had visited so far this season, Waldameer had pretty much everything up and running. So kudos to the great management team! I was sure they'd keep Paul Nelson's legacy alive. The park has continued to grow, but at a very measured and sustainable pace. They continued to offer a lot for families to do, and at a very reasonable price. And they also offered some world-class rides, including one of the best roller coasters in the U.S. The park may be small in size (currently), but it has a big heart and is still one of my favorite destinations.

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