News: Williams Grove will not open thiis year

I recently e-mailed the park to find out the latest status for this season- and this is the response I received:

At this moment in time Williams Grove Amusment Park will not be opening for the 2006 season.
We will not be operational for the 2006 season. We had been in negotiations with a operations company to run the operations this season but problems occurred and that will not happen. We have not made our future plans as of yet other than not to operate the amusement park. Williams Grove Speedway will continue to run and Will Not Be Sold in conjuction with a Park Sale.
Watch for updates,.
Thank-you

A real bummer- trad parks continue to struggle....

Matt Crowther

Actually, had you heard that it WOULD be open would have been news. That it WILL NOT be open was expected... at least locally.

It's a shame. Their wooden coaster is terrible, but it's got quite a history, the park itself looks like a carnival that just settled into it's plot, and the rides were never of the highest quality... but the park had it's charm, and Dante's Inferno is significantly better now that they refurbished it, so it is a shame to see it closed... and even more of a shame that it will probably never open again.

I was wondering what about the status of the park. Thanks for letting us know.

I am glad I got that last visit when I did. :-/

-Tina

oh bummer! It was in my plans this year! I am hoping things will get better and the park would open up next year.

there is a site with POV video,http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7jc8q/id6.html it is pretty cool, but the end of the ride shows just how bouncy it really is.

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Coaster Lover said:Their wooden coaster is terrible...

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I guess to each his own. I thought Williams Grove's Cyclone was amazing. While scaring the living daylights out of me, it was a blast! Nothing quite like it I've experienced, and for that it landed in my top 10. Too bad WG is not reopening this year so more people could experience Cyclone.

See my old trip report of W. G. here:
http://WWW.coasterbuzz.com/forum.aspx?mode=thread&TopicID=9118

If you're interested in some pics of WG's most recent (hopefully not last) operating season...

http://www.pbase.com/rollergator/williams_grove_05

Add me to the list of people who really enjoyed WG Cyclone! I power-rode it for an hour, laughing hysterically each cycle.

I actually enjoyed the Coaster as long as you just went with it.

I found it best to keep arms and legs away from anything and just let the seat absorb the bouncing. It was a blast!

Chuck, who also rode it about 5 times straight in the backseat before having to wait for enough riders to go again.

dex regrets not ever going even though it was 3 hours away.

The old Cyclone was simply different. I thought the worn look actually added to the experience, and made it fun. I did two sets of POVs- stills and video - in my sole visit in June 2004. I almost didn't get to ride, because it rained that weekend. At least my friends held on, and did the other stuff. The Schwarzkopf Wildcat, which seemed similar to the one at Cedar Point, was also nice. If Williams Grove does indeed close for good, the Wildcat would make nice placement at another park.

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F5Twister said:
A real bummer- trad parks continue to struggle....

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I think the whole industry is struggling. Six Flags has seen better days, even with the optimism coming off of the Shapiro World Tour.
My home park (PKI) and its chain is for sale. They're cutting back on hours, even Nick Universe was supposedly scaled back some.

The Schwarzkopf Wildcat, which seemed similar to the one at Cedar Point, was also nice.

They're indeed similar but not identical. Cedar Point's model is a Wildcat 65m; Williams Grove's model is a Wildcat 54m.

The most obvious difference is the shape of the first helix and the transition from it to the second. On the 65m the helix ends lower and is followed by a bunny hop, visible here looking towards the second helix.

On the 54m the helix ends a little higher and the transition is it a dip, visible
here, also looking towards the second helix.

FYI, the model names [65m, 54m] refered to the length of the coaster's footprint.

*** Edited 2/14/2006 7:00:38 AM UTC by Mamoosh***

^Geek. ;-)

The Cyclone was one of those where you felt like it was going to fall apart at any minute. I enjoyed it. It had quite a little punch to it.

-Tina

I hope this is just a temporary shutdown. I just discovered this park last summer-- after practically driving right past it for over 20 years traveling to and from my brother's house. In fact, I turned my brother's family onto this place.

Cyclone is wild-- no other way to describe it. OK, maybe it's nuts too. And who needs lapbars that actually stay closed anyway?

And Twister-- what a kick! Where else would you find a ride where the operator keeps tweaking the controls to make sure every single person on the ride got spun silly?

I wonder what will become of "Bathroom Attendant Guy" (chips, pizza and all). Maybe he'll have a future with Shapiro.

Damn, That was one of the parks I was going to hit this summer on our PA, MD,VA and TN trip.

Does walking the track count as a credit? :)

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CoastersNSich said:

I think the whole industry is struggling. Six Flags ... My home park (PKI) ...

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While the Six Flags and the Paramount situation might be some sort of indicator, I don't know if I would consider Williamsgrove's closing (or should I say "failure to re-open") as a sign.

While it is an independent park, its situation was much different than Kennywood, Knoebles, Holiday World, or other LARGER independents.

Like I said, locally the only surprise about this announcement is the fact that most locals are surpurised to learn that the park was operating in 2005. Most people in the area (aside from those of us who lurk around coaster websites) thought the place closed up years ago.

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*** Edited 2/14/2006 9:56:34 PM UTC by SLFAKE***

I have a decent on-ride of Cyclone and one of their WildCat along with a bunch of footage and pictures of many of their rides if anyone would like me to dig it out and upload whatever I've got.