Idlewild and Soak Zone, also known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is an amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about east of Pittsburgh. It has won several awards, including from industry publication Amusement Today, as the best children's park in the world.
Founded in 1878 as a campground along the Ligonier Valley Railroad by Thomas Mellon, Idlewild is the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania and the third oldest operating amusement park in the United States behind Lake Compounce and Cedar Point.
The prominent Mellon family established the park in 1878, and it remained family-owned for over 100 years. It expanded greatly throughout the first half of the 20th century, adding several rides, including Rollo Coaster in 1938.
In 1983, the park was purchased by Kennywood Entertainment Company, which oversaw additional expansion, including an attraction designed and voiced by Fred Rogers based on his television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. In early 2025, the park was sold to Herschend.
History
Ligonier Valley Railroad and Mellon family: 1878–1952 The park is situated alongside U.S. Route 30, also historically known in Pennsylvania as the Lincoln Highway, the first U.S. transcontinental highway. The region surrounding the park is the Laurel Highlands, and the park sits in the foothills of the Laurel Ridge.
The region was prominent in the French and Indian War, with Fort Ligonier located just away. On November 12, 1758, volunteers led by George Washington marched from Ligonier to aid George Mercer and his troops. At night in heavy fog, the two units mistook one another for the enemy and exchanged fire. Thirteen soldiers and one lieutenant were killed. Realizing the mistake, Washington ran amongst both groups, shouting and raising the men's rifles. Washington later wrote of the incident that he had never felt in more danger in his life. Though the location had never been entirely verified, in Images of America: Idlewild, author Jeffrey S. Croushore acknowledges the opinion that the event took place in a section of Idlewild that was previously a wooded area known as the Woodlands.Croushore, p. 10.
On April 15, 1853, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted a charter for a railroad to haul coal and timber between the towns of Ligonier and Latrobe. Latrobe and Ligonier Rail Road Company performed no work on the railroad for nearly twenty years, and renewed their charter in 1866 and 1869. Following an additional renewal in 1871, the company changed its name to the Ligonier Valley Railroad and acquired a stretch of land. Land grading and bridge construction for the narrow gauge line was mostly completed by 1873.Croushore, p. 7.
In 1875, the partially constructed railway was sold at a sheriff's sale after the Latrobe terminus of the Pennsylvania Railroad declined to assume financial responsibility. Thomas Mellon, a retired Court of Common Pleas judge from Allegheny County, purchased the Ligonier Valley Railroad at auction. Mellon had previously founded the T. Mellon & Sons' Bank, and was invested in many railroad ventures. To attract new passengers, Mellon implemented recreational grounds along the route.
On May 1, 1878, William Darlington, landowner and namesake of the nearby village of Darlington, responded to Mellon's request to use his land:
The first structure, built that year, was a train depot measuring by . The depot was the smallest full-service station in the United States.Futrell, p. 52. Initial land development included campsites, an artificial lake for fishing and boating, picnic tables, and a large hall. The railroad provided easy access to the site, attracting visitors from away, notably from Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas, for a getaway in the country. The Ligonier Echo noted that on July 4, 1890, the trains to the park were so crowded that the "tops of the coaches were covered with boys."Futrell, p. 54.
While the initial lease with Darlington confined the park between the railroad and the north bank of the Loyalhanna Creek, permission was later granted to construct a bridge across the river, allowing expansion to the south in the mid-1880s.Croushore, p. 18. Three lakes—Woodland, St. Clair, and Bouquet—were dug between 1880 and 1896. In 1896, the park added a T.M. Harton Company steam carousel in the park's center. By the end of the 19th century, attractions at the park included a bicycle track around Lake Bouquet, a hiking trail on Lake Boquet's island, fishing in Loyalhanna Creek, rowboating, and many walks and gardens. The park also featured dining halls, auditoriums, pavilions, a boathouse, an amphitheater, a bandstand, and athletic facilities.
In 1931, Mellon's son Richard B. Mellon, alongside C. C. Macdonald, acquired the park under a partnership known as the Idlewild Management Company. The first season under the financial support of Mellon and the management of Macdonald and his family brought electricity to the park, allowing for later operating hours and electric-powered rides, including a three-row Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel. The park also debuted a caged group of black bears that year. Located near the bears was a cage of monkeys, who notably escaped their enclosure in 1932. Park management offered a reward of $3 each ($ each in ) for the return of the seven monkeys, believing that they had been purposefully set loose. R. Z. Macdonald later said that his father, C. C., was always amused with and pleased by the escape's publicity.Croushore, p. 37.
In 1913, the Lincoln Highway was established as the first cross-country autoroute, and it passed directly by Idlewild on what is now U.S. Route 30. As automobile traffic to the park increased, several parking lots and a Gulf Oil gas station were added to the park in the 1930s.
The Macdonalds sought to maintain the park's natural beauty, planting 10,000 shrubs in their first year of ownership, and thousands of trees throughout the 1930s. During this time, the park added a circle swing, a Whip, a miniature railroad, and a roller coaster called Rollo Coaster. World War II and the subsequent wartime rationing forced the park to close temporarily in 1943. Upon reopening in 1946, the park added a Caterpillar and a small showboat that sailed in Lake Bouquet.Croushore, p. 25.
Macdonald family: 1952–1983 The Macdonald family obtained complete ownership of the park in 1951. After leaving Idlewild, the Mellon family also abandoned the Ligonier Valley Railroad, which had been in decline following the closure of several area coal mines and decreasing passenger traffic. The railroad ceased operations entirely in 1952.
Under the Macdonalds, the park continued to expand. Kiddieland was constructed between 1954 and 1956, and featured many small rides intended for young children. Some of the rides included miniature boats, a Ferris wheel, a doodlebug, and pony rides.Croushore, p. 59–63.
Clinton "Jack" Macdonald became president of the park in 1957. In 1959, Macdonald and Lewis Davidson, a bagpipe director at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, started the Ligonier Highland Games, a Scottish highland games event held at the park. The games, held annually in early September after the park had closed for the summer, became one of the country's largest and most highly regarded Scottish athletic and cultural competitions. Macdonald said of the games, "We're not interested in becoming one of the biggest games. We just want to be one of the nicest." While initially attracting crowds of around 1,200, the festival now records average attendances near 10,000. During the same year he assumed control of the park, Macdonald was appointed the first commissioner of the Scottish Clan Donald for Pennsylvania.
The park sustained heavy damage when the remnants of Hurricane Agnes dropped of rain on the area in 24 hours in June of 1972. Lake St. Clair and Lake Bouquet merged in the resulting flood, causing significant damage to the boathouse. The flood lifted and twisted the park's Loyalhanna Limited Railroad, which required extensive repairs.Croushore, p. 83.
In 1976, Historic Village was built to celebrate the US bicentennial. It was heavily inspired by 19th century Western towns.
Kennywood Entertainment Company era: 1983–2007
On January 27, 1983, Kennywood Entertainment Company of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, bought the park from the Macdonald family for a reported price of $1.8 million. Both Kennywood and Idlewild were initially founded by the Mellon family. During the first winter in which the park was owned by Kennywood Entertainment Company, several changes occurred. Jumpin' Jungle, a children's play area, was added. Story Book Forest, which operated as a separate attraction, was merged with the rest of the park. Historic Village was relocated and renamed.
As the popularity of the park's pool increased, a designated water park called H20hhh Zone was established in 1985 with the addition of several water slides. In 1989, the park expanded across the Loyalhanna Creek by adding a trolley ride themed to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, a popular children's television show. The ride was designed and voiced by children's entertainer Fred Rogers, a native of nearby Latrobe, and was called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe. The area was expanded the following year to include Raccoon Lagoon, an area for children. A Ferris wheel, Tilt-A-Whirl, and water raft were added throughout the 1980s, along with games, food stands, and restaurants.
The 1990s saw the addition of Wild Mouse, the only wild mouse roller coaster designed by Vekoma. The roller coaster was initially built in 1985 and had previously operated at Prater in Austria and Alton Towers in England, before being relocated to Idlewild in 1993. Kennywood continued the Macdonald tradition of offering large-scale entertainment, presenting circuses, lumberjack and acrobatics shows, and stage performances at the new Hillside Theater. A large picnic area with several log pavilions and game fields was added in 1999. In the early 2000s, new additions to the waterpark doubled its previous size, and inspired a name change for the park: Idlewild and Soak Zone.
Palace Entertainment: 2007–2025 Kennywood Entertainment Company had acquired several other previously family-owned and operated parks after it purchased Idlewild in 1983, becoming an amusement park chain. On December 11, 2007, Kennywood Entertainment announced that it would sell its parks to the Madrid-based amusement company, Parques Reunidos. The ownership of Kennywood ensured that despite the transaction all of the company's parks, the parks would experience few changes, and day-to-day park operations would remain local.
In December 2009, Idlewild announced that the Royal Hanneford Circus would perform at the park during the 2010 season, for the first time since 1997. For the 2011 season, the park added a $2 million, 280,600 gallon wave pool, replacing their swimming pool that had been in operation since 1931. The project was the largest capital improvement undertaken by the park. Before the 2013 season, Idlewild removed its 1947 Caterpillar ride and the Dizzy Lizzy's Saloon Haunted Swing attraction.
During the interim time between the 2013 and 2014 seasons, it was announced that the park had permanently closed Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe. The attraction was re-themed, in coordination with Fred Rogers Productions, to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, the modern spin-off of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The re-themed attraction reopened in the 2015 season.