The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 270

Piloting a low-speed West View Pork motorboat was thrill enough in the '30s. Jock Weisser of Westwood, who owns these vintage photos, is in the first boat. The Old Thrills swings back and forth with bow and stern alternately rising 65 feet intheair. (E-E-E-E-E-K!) The Laser Loop is back in operation, twirling passengers bottom side up in a fast and furious ride. Four wooden coasters whip them over precipitous tracks, and a water coaster cools sunburnt brows.

There's a Loop-O-Plane and a Roll-O-Plane. And when visitors decide they've had enough thrills for the day, there are tamer rides and old favorite haunts such as Noah's Ark, where the floors rattle and shake, and spooky scenes give patrons delicious shivers. There's live entertainment, 14 food facilities, a picnic area, children's rides. Price for general admission is 1.50. One-price days ($9 and $6) are Thursdays and Fridays during July and August, plus a few extra days in August and September.

New Rides For '82 White Swan Park, on the Parkway West (2 miles from the airport), has eight major rides, seven children's rides, 12 games, an arcade and miniature golf, a refreshment stand and picnic facilities. Parking is free. Rides are paid for singly. Hersheypark at Hershey (Dauphin County) has seven theme areas, 24 major rides and 13 children's rides. New for the '82 season are: a swing ride with an oscillating motion, called the Wave Swinger, Cinema Vision, a domed theater with continuous showings of panoramic films on a 180-degree floor-to-ceiling screen; paddle boats, and for children, a simulated hot-air Continued balloon ride.

Other attractions: the Giant Wheel, spinning riders 130 feet skyward on two rotating wheels; the Sooperdooperlooper, and two other coaster rides a 330-foot-high tower ride; the Pirat (similar to Kennywood's Pirate); six live shows daily in five theaters, a marine-life show, an environmental park with North American plants and animals, nine themed restaurants and 47 refreshment stands. Gate admission is $12.95 for those 5 and up; $7.95 after 5 p.m.; group rates. Free parking. Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, opened its newest scream machine this year White Water Landing, a water flume ride that ends with a four-story plunge over the falls. New this year a children's participation area, Kid Arthur's Court, resembling a medieval castle.

Other attractions: a triple-looping roller coaster a 136-foot-high Ferris wheel, a double racing-style coaster, a 285-foot-high observation ride, three more adult coasters; Oceana, a stadium with dolphin and sea lion acts; IMAX Theater with a space shuttle movie; Jungle Larry's African Safari (animal acts); five theaters with live shows; pioneer crafts demonstrations; an Americana museum; hotel, RV campground, marina, restaurants and food stands, games, arcades and gift shops. Admission: an all-day ticket for those 5 and up is senior citizens pay $8.50 and a $7.95 ticket is good for all rides after 5 p.m. Geauga Lake in Aurora, Ohio, has corkscrew and double loop book Forest, a walk-through theme park for children. There's a restaurant and 11 refreshment stands, and special events throughout the season. Admission is $2 a car.

You can pay singly for rides, or take advantage of many one-price days ($6.75 for rides only, $7.50 for rides and zoo, $9 for rides, zoo and Storybook Forest). Parks To The North Conneant Lake Park (Crawford County), celebrating its 90th season, is a turn-of-the-century theme park with 27 major rides, 13 children's rides, 26 games, a beach, boats, miniature golf, resort hotel and convention hall, marina, across from Fairyland Forest (storybook land and petting zoo). coasters a wooden coaster, a 200-foot-tall sky tower, a centrifuge ride that pins riders to their seats, and an old-fashioned carrousel with hand-carved horses; a '50s-style musical review and live entertainment in five theaters; Cinema 180 with a wide-angle screen; three restaurants and 35 food and refreshment stands; gift shops. Those over 3 pay discount plans for senior citizens and groups. Idlewild Park (Westmoreland County), 3 miles west of Ligonier on Route 30, has 17 major rides, 14 children's rides, 11 games, and new this year, the Black Widow Spider ride a circular ride with bucket seats on the ends of "arms" that go up and down Other attractions include the Timberlink Golf Course (par 55), an arcade, pool, athletic field, miniature golf, zoo, live entertainment on Sundays.

Park is next to Story- There are also two ballrooms. Dreamland, built in 1909, brings back the big band sound at dances July 31 and Aug. 21. Admission is $5.50 a person. New this year the Rampage a water coaster.

You can pay by the ride, or get an all-day pass for $7.25. Evenings and Wednesdays, the pass is $5.50. Waldameer Park (Erie County) in Erie has 14 major rides, six kiddie rides, and a new attraction this year Ball Crawl, a pool of 107,000 plastic balls for children, with one section for accompanying parents. Other attractions are a ballroom, games, gift shop, arcade, refreshment stand, seven picnic groves. Patrons pay by the ride or buy an all-day ticket for $6 or $4.50 for a half day.

Parking is free. Park is closed on Monday. A concert in the bond shell at West View Park in 1909, its opening year, drew a dignified-looking adult audience in coats and hats. Today's parks must strive harder to please the younger set or face extinction. THE PITTSBURGH PRESS ROTO 7.2582.