Lakemont Park

Definitely have to hit Lakemont again. I didn't get my LtD ride the first time I was there. Did get 4 great Skyliner rides though.

Lakemont is the more important park for coaster enthusiasts because of Leap the Dips and Skyliner. LTD is the oldest coaster in the world and a rare side friction ride. Skyliner is a good wooden coaster in its own right and has cars without headrests or seat dividers. Both of these coasters are ACE classics.

DG is a very compact but attractive park and their main coaster is a Crazy Mouse like KWs Exterminator but outside. This park plans to add a multilooping coaster next year.

I can't tell you just how much I appreciate all of the Lakemont Park "Buzz". Rollergator....please be aware that the kiddiecoaster is a new policy. It will be open for Ridefest in October. Also, if you are here on a very slow day, I would be happy to walk you down and put you on the ride so that you can add it to your credits. Jims....the Leap The Dips has been running very well this year. The only problem that we have had so far is on "school days" when three (3) little girls weighing a total of 90 pounds didn't make it all the way around! For Kirkout321, stop in the office and introduce yourself. We appreciate all of the support that we get from all of the CoasterBuzz participants and we look forward to seeing you at the park this summer.

Barry Kumpf - General Manager - Lakemont Park

I look forward to meeting you. I will be sure to stop by.

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Ensign Smith said:
It seems like a few people like to put Lakemont down as "Del Grosso's poor cousin"... LtD has all that incredible history and uniqueness, and both it and Skyliner have character that no coaster at DG can compare to.

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I've never heard of anyone refer to Lakemont as DelGrosso's poor cousin! Wish I could compare the two, but DelGrosso's remains the one PA park that I have yet to visit. One of these days I'll rectify that nagging little problem. I think much of the problem has to do with the atmosphere... or lack of it. Most of the park is barren and without trees, unlike most of the amusement parks that enthusiasts tend to favor. Of course, that's not current Lakemont's fault- that has everything to do with the Boyer people that destroyed the park years ago.

What I can say about Lakemont is that it is the finest display of wood coaster preservation. Leap the Dips is now the only one of its kind and the story of its restoration is almost as compelling as the ride itself. As for Skyliner, it's an incredible ride and going by the way it was running when I was there, the park is doing an excellent job with the thing.

Lakemont isn't perfect but it has those two coasters, and that's more than enough to keep me returning. Hopefully our patronage will help the park survive (it gets credit for that alone) and thrive in the future.

Nice to hear from you, Barry. No, Lakemont isn't a complete park (it'd need a log flume and a few more flats... besides, from what I've heard abotu DelGrosso's, that isn't a complete park either), but what you have there in Altoona is very special. Enthusiasts probably don't tell you this enough, but we appreciate your park and what makes it so unique. Please keep up the good work.

I think Im hitting the event on sunday after PPP at Lakemont, I always have a ball there, No lines, A couple good woodies and what more do you need?

Chuck, who knows a lot of the park is shut down by then but it's gotta be better than the Holiboo that had two of the three star attractions at Idlewild closed last year.

I have the kiddie coaster credit. I rode it years ago before the new policy was in place. It wasn't during an enthusiast event and all the "normal" people around us thought we were completely nuts. :) It was probably the first kiddie coaster I rode as a fully grown adult.

I'm a big fan of Leap the Dips. If I ranked coasters, I would put it near the top of my rankings. It is a lot more fun to me than many bland modern "family" coasters.

Skyliner scared the crap out of me the first time I rode it. I sat in the back seat and experienced extreme ejector air going down that first drop. It was the first time I experienced that sort of thing!

I only wish the Mad Mouse coaster was still there!

Can anybody shed some light on the story of the old Lakemont train? Last time I visited, it looked like it was being restored.

I also find Lakemont Park to be one of the friendliest parks I've visited. A few other places get more attention for this, but every employee I've ever encountered at Lakemont was really appreciative of my business. I've even been thanked for riding "their" ride!

I like both parks,but if I had to choose it would be Lakemont because of the coasters.

LTD is a prime example of a coaster that doesnt have to be the tallest or fastest(quite the opposite) to have alot of fun on.

The Kiddie coaster at Lakemont was my 100th. I would have had to wait through the other 4 coasters there to make LTD my 100th. I couldn't wait so it was number 96

Chuck, big fan of LTD and Starliner (My Favorite Allen)

I regret not getting to the park before the Mouse was removed. Any reason in particular why it left?

I suppose you could "forget" that you rode it as '96' just to make it 100, as I'm sure it was ridden more than once that visit. :-)

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Charles Nungester said:
The Kiddie coaster at Lakemont was my 100th. I would have had to wait through the other 4 coasters there to make LTD my 100th. I couldn't wait so it was number 96

Chuck, big fan of LTD and Starliner (My Favorite Allen)

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For me, the greatest thing about CoasterBuzz is that it provides to me the opportunity to give you the information that you are looking for and dispell any myths, rumors, etc. RobAscough...I agree with you regarding the lack of "atmosphere". With the exception of our antique car ride which we did a GREAT job with weaving it through the old 70' tall trees, the rest of the park lacks that same "charm" that you find at nearly every other successful park. We recognize that and we are working on that. During my tenure, we have planted several hundred trees, many of them are now approaching heights of 20' - 25'. Another twenty (20) years and I think that the "tree problem" at Lakemont Park will be resolved! With respect to the Mad Mouse, we sold it because an engineering comapny had advised us that within the next couple of years it would require a considerable amount of track work that would be very costly. Lastly Rob...thank you for your kindwords regarding our efforts. Millrace....the locomotive of the old train is restored. We continue to try to schedule the passenger cars for restoration and hope to get that project into the budget in the very near future. Also, thank you for your comments regarding our employees. Our area is know for having friendly residents in general and we believe that we have lots of them here at Lakemont Park.

Barry Kumpf GM Lakemont Park

I'm glad to hear that Lakemont's atmosphere issues are being addressed. I agree that you did a phenominal job with the antique cars- I think that is the most beautiful part of the park and I look forward to the rest of the park having nice shade trees in the future. I expect to still be dropping by to see how they're coming along!

That's too bad about the mouse, but considering what you were told, it was wise of you to make the decision that you made. Perhaps another small coaster is eventually in the plans to replace it (a little wishful thinking tossed in there, of course!)

If CLP goes there might be some opportunities for Lakemont to add sonething. How about putting either that former Erieview darkride or Devils Den there? CLP also has several flats that could get a new life here as well.

I don't want to see Conneaut go away, but I agree that Lakemont would make a nice home for many of those rides!

Since nobody has mentioned it yet, I have to ask: is the Toboggan coaster still running, and can adults ride it without getting banged up?

It was running last year, I know. It was my first Toboggan, so I didn't know when to brace myself. Got the crap knocked out of me...but I didn't mind, since it was still a new credit.

I rate the Toboggan a "2". Its rougher than the one at Trimpers, but smoother than the one at Conneaut Lake. First, the CLP one missed the chain the first try, then was a tad rough on the bunny hops.

I thought Mike Tyson was in the car with me when i got out.

As for the Mad Mouse, it was rough, but very fun. I was lucky enough to be at White Swan Park when it was auctioned, and it found a good home at Lakemont until LTD got up and running.

It made a great #2 ride.

I predict big things for Lakemont withing 5 years.

The toboggan is up & running. Also, the cars received a BRAND NEW PAINT JOB & DETAILING this year! I know my opinion on this probably doesn't count, but I'm gonna have to agree with Agent Johnson on the future of Lakemont Park. *** Edited 6/8/2007 10:30:01 PM UTC by Barry A Kumpf***

It's great to see the general manager of any park posting on here, Lakemont Park seems even more appealing because the managers and so on can come on and chat with us coaster folk and regular folk, it feels cool to interact.