Waldameer & Water World is an amusement park and water park at the base of Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Waldameer is the fourth oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, the sixth oldest in the nation, and one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the country. It is home to several notable rides, including the Ravine Flyer II roller coaster.
The amusement park has free admission and features 36 rides, an arcade, and covered picnic facilities. The rides require either the scanning of a paid wristband before riding, or the use of "Wally Points" on the "Wally Card" system. The water park, Water World, operates an assortment of 13 water slides and pools, and is admission by fee only. The name "Waldameer" can be translated roughly to "woods by the sea" in German.
History Prior to 1896, the land which would hold the park was a picnic area known as Hoffman's Grove. The Erie Electric Motor Company leased the park in 1896 and renamed it "Waldameer" to appeal to the area's large German immigrant population. The trolley car company extended service to its new park, making Waldameer a terminus on the line in the hopes of increasing passenger traffic. Early draws of the park included its beaches, a dance hall that often featured live music, its 1905 carousel, and a German beer garden featuring singing waiters.
The park's first roller coaster, Figure Eight, opened in 1902. In the early 1910s, it was renovated and renamed Dip the Dips. A second roller coaster, Scenic Railway, opened in 1915 and operated until 1919. In 1922, the John A. Miller-designed Ravine Flyer coaster opened.
In the 1920s, the park was brought under the management of longtime employee Alex Moeller, after its ownership had been transferred from the Erie Electric Motor Company to a local bank when the motor company exited the trolley business as automobiles became a more common form of transportation. The Ye Mill Chutes water ride opened in the 1920s. Many other rides operated through the first half of the 1900s as well, including the Aerial Swing spinning ride, a Flying Scooters, a Whip, and a Tumble Bug.
A dance hall called Rainbow Gardens also exists on the property, having been built in 1925. It replaced the original dance hall which was destroyed in a fire in 1924. Rainbow Gardens was damaged by a fire in 1937, but was repaired. Winter storms in 1937 and 1946 destroyed the Waldameer beaches, which have not been used for beachgoing activities since. In 1937 and 1938, the Dip the Dips and Ravine Flyer roller coasters were removed, the former due to its age and the latter after a man died in an incident while riding it. This left the park without any roller coasters.
By 1945, Alex Moeller had come to own the park. The Great Depression and World War II both impacted the park economically, but it survived by means of offering free entertainment and offering space for others to host events. The park also introduced a Kiddieland section with several smaller rides intended for young children in the late 1940s to accommodate the post-war baby boom. The oldest operating ride at the park, Pony Cart, is located in Kiddieland. Following the end of World War II, Ye Mill Chutes underwent significant renovations and was renamed Mill Run.
In 1951, the Comet roller coaster opened, the first roller coaster to operate at the park since the closure of Ravine Flyer in 1938. Comet has since been designated a Coaster Classic by American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) for the preservation of its original and historic ride experience.
From the 1960s onward, many smaller rides were added. In 1962, a Flying Coaster ride unofficially known as "The Bump" opened, and it operated until 1994. In 1964, a Scrambler and a Tilt-A-Whirl were added. In 1973, a Paratrooper replaced the aging Aerial Swing, and in 1977 and 1978, the Spider ride and Sky Ride were added, respectively. Paul Nelson, a longtime park employee and family friend of the Moellers, took on ownership of the park following the deaths of Alex Moeller in 1965 and Moeller's wife in 1978.
Waldameer operates two classic dark attractions: Whacky Shack (built in 1970), a two-story tracked ride, and Pirate's Cove (built in 1972), a walkthrough funhouse. Both were designed and built by dark ride specialist Bill Tracy and his company, Amusement Display Associates, of Cape May, New Jersey.
In 1987, Waldameer opened a water park named Water World, with two large water slides (Lake Erie Dip and the first Presque Isle Plunge), a lazy river, and a children's splash play area (Tad Pool). In order to afford the expansion of Water World, Waldameer sold its 1905 carousel and its figures at auction in 1988 for more than $1 million. A 10-foot giraffe and a jumping horse from the classic carousel were reserved from the auction with plans to be used as decoration in the park.
Most of the auction's proceeds were invested in Water World. Four water slides—a speed slide, a free-fall slide, and one-man and two-man raft slides (Raging River and Wild River)—were added in 1989, all assembled on-site by the local Molded Fiber Glass Union City company. The remaining funds from the auction were used to purchase a new carousel from Chance Rides with 60 operating horses, which also opened in 1989.
Official planning for Ravine Flyer II, a new roller coaster to replace the first Ravine Flyer in roughly the same location, began in the early 1990s, but would be plagued by years of legal battles and delays. In the meantime, the 1990s saw the additions of a swinging ship ride named Sea Dragon, a new Ferris wheel, a Wipeout, and an Ali Baba. In 1996, to celebrate Waldameer's 100th operating season, Mill Run was removed, and replaced by Thunder River, a Hopkins Rides log flume with a more compact footprint.
In 2000, a children's coaster built by E&F Miler Industries called Ravine Flyer 3 debuted, despite the fact that Ravine Flyer II would not be completed for another 8 years. In 2004, a spinning coaster manufactured by Maurer AG named Steel Dragon opened. In 2006, the last of the legal battles regarding Ravine Flyer II was won, and the park began construction on the ride. For the 2007 season, Waldameer introduced XScream, a 140-foot-tall drop tower and the tallest ride in the park.
In 2008, the highly anticipated Ravine Flyer II coaster opened, leading to a 20% increase in attendance, and the busiest season in park history up to that point. The coaster won Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Award for "Best New Ride of 2008". The 2009 season saw the extension of the midway south to coincide with the addition of a Zamperla Mega Disk'O ride called Mega Vortex. A modern cashless pay system using "Wally Cards" and "Wally Points" was introduced in 2010. A family-oriented area called the North End opened in 2011 with three new rides: Flying Swings, SS Wally, and Wendy's Tea Party, all built by Zamperla. In 2012, another Zamperla ride, Happy Swing, was added to the park's Kiddieland section. The park also went entirely cashless in 2012.
In 2015, Waldameer began a Water World expansion project with the opening of the largest wave pool in the tri-state area. Tad Pool, the children's splash play area which was original to Water World, was removed following the 2015 season. The 2016 season saw the addition of a new splash play area and several small slides for young children, known altogether as Kidz Zone. A multi-story water playground, dubbed Battle of Lake Erie, was introduced for the 2017 season, inspired by the Battle of Lake Erie and the USS Niagara. New additions for the 2018 season included a bowl slide from ProSlide Technology called Cannon Bowl, and a Zamperla Balloon Race. In 2019, the park installed a Zamperla Discovery Revolution frisbee ride called Chaos.
Although Waldameer opened later than usual in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park still added a compact children's spinning coaster named Whirlwind, built by Italian manufacturer SBF Visa Group. It was the park's first new coaster since the addition of Ravine Flyer II in 2008. Also in 2020, Water World debuted a ProSlide Technology mat racer slide called Rally Racer. In 2023, the park added the ProSlide Technology-designed Rocket Blast water coaster slide to Water World, which later won "Best New Water Park Ride of 2023" from Amusement Today. Rocket Blast is notable for being the only water coaster in the region. On May 22, 2023, it was announced that Paul Nelson, the owner of the park for several decades, had died at the age of 89. Nelson was honored posthumously at the 2024 Golden Ticket Awards with the "Legend Award" for his service to Waldameer.
In 2024, the Spider ride was retired after 47 years of operation. It was replaced in 2025 by Time Twister, a Zamperla NebulaZ ride. Additional improvements for 2025 included a redone entrance to Water World, and the refurbishment and relocation of the Paratrooper ride, the latter of which did not operate for the 2025 season. It returned in 2026, directly south of Steel Dragon, in place of a former picnic grove, which itself was also relocated within the park. In June 2025, Waldameer announced the addition of four new water slides from ProSlide Technology, as well as a new lazy river. The first two of these four slides—Presque Isle Plunge (a TornadoWAVE named after a body slide which previously operated in Water World) and Big Water Bend (a family slide)—as well as the new lazy river, Winding Waters, opened in 2026. The latter two slides do not have confirmed names or opening years. The addition of these slides required the removal of four older slides (Lake Erie Dip, the original Presque Isle Plunge, Raging River, and Wild River) as well as the older heated pool and the original Endless River. In June 2026, the park announced the 2027 addition of Eagle's Pursuit, a launched family roller coaster that will traverse the former beachfront property.
Awards
General In 1996, the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) recognized Waldameer's 100th operating season with a special plaque and ceremony. In 2008, Paul Nelson was named "Person of the Year" by Amusement Today. In 2021, NAPHA recognized Waldameer's 125th operating season with a commemorative plaque, and ACE Western Pennsylvania recognized then-park manager Steve Gorman with the "Industry Appreciation Award".
In 2024, Nelson posthumously received the "Legend Award" in the Golden Ticket Awards.
Ravine Flyer II In 2008, Ravine Flyer II was named "Best New Ride" in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards, and was ranked the 11th best wooden coaster in the world. It has remained in Amusement Today's top 10 best wooden coasters list every year since 2009, peaking at number five in 2016.
In 2025, Ravine Flyer II was voted the title of second-best wooden coaster and fourth-best coaster overall in the United States by the USA Today 10 Best Awards. In 2026, it was voted the title of second-best wooden coaster and fifth-best coaster overall in the United States in the same awards.
Other rides Waldameer's two Bill Tracy dark rides, Whacky Shack and Pirate's Cove, have won numerous dark ride awards from Dark Attraction and Funhouse Enthusiasts (DAFE). Both attractions have consistently been ranked in DAFE's top 10 for their respective categories, Classic Dark Ride and Walkthrough. In 2023, the Rocket Blast water coaster slide won "Best New Water Park Ride" in the Golden Ticket Awards.
Current rides
Roller coasters