Associated parks:
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Another TR for a small park…
Knowing that there was a coaster out there with in an “easy” driving distance (around 2 hrs or so), my wife and I hopped in the car and headed east on the PA Turnpike. After a somewhat harrowing drive on the Schulkill Expressway (a.k.a. the Sure-Kill Express way) and the Vine Street Expressway (after taking a wrong exit) through Philadelphia, we arrived at Clementon Amusement Park at around 3:30pm.
Lucky for us, we found some “coupons” from McDonalds stuck up on a bulletin board just in front of the gate that would take around $6 off of each admission. We both got in for a combined total of around $26 (normally would have been $40 for the two of us… a bit steep considering the size of the park).
We decided to hit the Ferris Wheel to get a good look at the park. At the top of the wheel we realized just how tiny this park really is!
After disembarking from the wheel, we walked over to the reason for our visit… the Jack Rabbit. With its track and railings painted white, and its supports painted brown, it is kind of a rundown looking coaster. Seeing that it was a wooden coaster, my wife decided to pass. Walking into the station, the older man working there said “looks like you get your choice of seats,” since I was the only one there. After the returning train was unloaded, I took my seat. I was surprised to find a fairly new train (looks like a PTC, but I am not sure). By the time it was dispatched, a few other people had boarded. The ride is fun, but nothing exceptional. There is one section where you go down a drop, under a tree limb and then up over another little hill. The tree limb adds visual that makes you want to duck.
When the train returned, I saw that there was no line, so I took a quick re-ride.
Next up, we headed to the swinging ship. The name Sea Dragon sticks in my head, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it’s one of the narrow models with two people per row (at the very max 3 if they are small). This thing was fast and had a wild arc. My wife was worried that we were going to go over the top (she always has this fear on this type of ride).
We then ventured over to the Falling Star. It’s one of those Rainbow type of rides where you are facing one side and not toward each other (like Hersheypark’s Conestoga where the riders all fact the center). Talk about some wicked laterals on this thing when it got moving!
By now we were at the front gate again (I said it was a tiny park) and another spin on the Ferris Wheel. Watching that evil Inverter, I decided to give it a try. Not so much of a Thrill Factor here as it is a Fear Factor.
By this time the Thunder Bolt (Flying Bob’s style of ride) was re opened (it was closed earlier for a wash down after someone lost their lunch) so I grabbed a quick ride. Then another turn on the Jack Rabbit.
Not wanting to get wet (we only had the clothes on our backs and nothing to change into) we of course avoided the water park (it was small, but looked fun) and saved the Log Flume for last. Built completely over the lake, this was fun and fast moving. Only thing that worried us… the dark brown color of the water (yuck!)
Heading out, I grabbed one final ride on the Jack Rabbit before we left. We were there for about an hour and a half and had done everything we wanted to, so we got back in the car and started out on the 2+ hr drive home.
The park was small, but it was clean and the ride ops seemed friendly (with the exception of the kid working the log flume… bit of an attitude!). The older guy on the Jack Rabbit was kind of funny, as was the man at the Falling Star (he scared my wife half to death when he made a comment about the ride going “up side down”… When he saw she was starting to freak at this joke, he just kept on feeding into it!).
All in all, a good little park for its size.
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"I wasn't always this cynical, but then I started kindergarden..."
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 6/10/2002. ***
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A comment about the brown water:
The color natural and is referred to as "cedar water" It's very common in the Pine Barrens region. The "tea color" is caused by a high iron content and the absorption of vegetative dyes such as tannin. It is actually some of the purest water in the state.
My wife and I were talking about that last night... "Still wondering about the brown water" I said to her. She made the comment that they probably took it right out of the lake which the flume is built over.
Never heard of "cedar water" before. In the part of PA where I live, when we think of "brown water" we think of the water in the Codorus Creek around York PA. That water is "brown"... acutally "brownish red"... and it is not some of the purist in the state... though it is the best place to catch three-headed-five-legged-catfish in the state (okay... so that's an exageration... but you get my meaning).
Getting back to Clementon Park and their flat rides. They also have some type of swings (not sure of what kind... not the "Wave Swinger" type at Hersheypark etc... single row of seats around the circumference) which we did not ride, and a Chance Chaos (which was closed down). Also, they do have a good selection of Kiddie rides... many of which are under a large pavilion type of building.
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