Date of Visit: October 25, 2019

Located along the historic Lincoln Highway, the twin parks of Idlewild and SoakZone are tucked in a wooded area outside the quaint town of Ligonier.

There’s an old-school feel to the park from the moment you pull up to the ticket windows on the drive into the park. Customers pay before parking, allowing you to return to your car as needed throughout the day.

Story Book Forest

There is nothing at the park that feels like more of a throwback than Story Book Forest. Opening an hour before the rest of the park, Story Book Forest brings to life many of the nursery rhymes and fairy tales we grew up with.

It all starts with a walk through Mother Goose’s house where she sits greeting children and adults, alike, as they start their walk.

The path meanders around a small lake as it leads visitors from one story to the next. Along the way, there were encounters with characters including Raggedy Ann, Goldilocks, and more.

Sculptures with wooden cut-out signs illustrate other stories. Little Miss Muffet sits on a tuffet staring up a large spider. Old King Cole sits on this throne. The Seven Dwarfs stand outside their cottage. And Humpty Dumpty rest precariously atop a wall.

There was a crooked man who lived in a crooked house, and his house is one of many that guests can enter for a closer look.

Along the walk are other activities, including a wooden train – the Little Engine that Could – that kids can climb aboard.

There are also several animal encounters along the way, including black sheep in their wool. It was one of my 18-month-old son’s favorite parts of the Forest.

The journey through Story Book Forest ends with a stop in the Enchanted Castle and a visit with Princess Lily. According to the sign outside, the castle was opened for the 60th anniversary of Story Book Forest, replacing King Arthur’s castle where the knight formerly greeted guests as they exited for the larger park.

Idlewild and SoakZone are mapped out into smaller, themed areas. They include Olde Idlewild, Hootin’ Holler, Jumpin’ Jungle, and Racoon Lagoon. But the most popular area with the pre-k crowd is Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

For those who aren’t familiar, Daniel Tiger is a cartoon spin-off of Mister Rogers that focuses on the next generation of characters in the Land of Make-Believe. It’s also my son’s favorite TV show and his mommy and I were excited to bring him to meet Daniel and his friends.

The signature attraction is the Neighborhood Trolley. Like this part of the park, the Trolley originally was themed around Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, a nod to the man who grew up just a short drive west in the town of Latrobe.

The Neighborhood Trolley carries visitors on a full-sized trolley on a journey into the Land of Make-Believe where they meet characters one-at-a-time on their way to a party at King Friday’s castle.

Characters are animated, two-dimensional wooden cut-outs that have been placed in three-dimensional renderings of the Neighborhood’s landmarks: the Treehouse, the Clock Factory, the Museum-Go-Round, and Daniel’s House on Jungle Beach.

Nearby, Daniel and his friends can be seen on stage, putting on a performance in front of the Tiger Family’s hut.

Idlewild Park

Next to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is Racoon Lagoon, the area for the youngest kids.

Here, the little ones can ride on motorcycles, cars, airplanes and even dinosaurs.

Crossing back over the Loyalhanna Creek into Olde Idlewild, guests will find the classic rides, including the nearly 100-year-old Merry-Go-Round. The carousel ride has been in the park since 1931 and is at the heart of the Olde Idlewild area.

While still very much a family-friendly area, many of the other rides in Olde Idlewild are a little more exciting than Racoon Lagoon. There are familiar rides like the Paratrooper and the Balloon Race. And there are two small coasters – the Wild Mouse and the Rollo Coaster, the latter of which is a wooden coaster built in 1938.

Another ride for the whole family is the Loyalhanna Limited Railroad which makes stops in both Racoon Lagoon and the Hootin’ Holler, the Old West-themed area that’s also home to the log flume ride and Confusion Hill, a walkthrough “crooked house.”

This was also where we grabbed a delicious lunch at the BBQ Pit.

SoakZone

Unfortunately, our toddler wasn’t quite up to making it through the whole park so we weren’t able to visit SoakZone. But we look forward to coming back in the future to try out the water slides (when he’s older) and the various splash pads.

But even if we didn’t get to ride all the rides or explore the entire park, we can say that it certainly was a beautiful day in the neighborhood on our visit to Idlewild.

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