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NAPHA names Idlewild & SoakZone Best Amusement Park for Families

LIGONIER, Pennsylvania, USA /PRNewswire/ — In a national poll of its members, made up of experienced and well-traveled amusement park enthusiasts, the National Amusement Park Historical Association (N.A.P.H.A.) gave first place honors to Pennsylvania’s Idlewild & SoakZone (http://www.idlewild.com) as the World’s Best Park for Families.

“We now have another reason to celebrate during what was already shaping up to be one of our most exciting summer seasons ever,” said Park spokesperson Jeff Croushore. “It is a great honor to receive this recognition from the members of N.A.P.H.A. This is fantastic news for our loyal guests, our local community, and members of our team.”

Celebrating its silver anniversary, the N.A.P.H.A. survey is the oldest of its type. Idlewild & SoakZone has consistently placed in the top five rankings for family appeal over the past five years before claiming the top spot this year. Other family-favorite parks include Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA, which placed second, followed by Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Idlewild & SoakZone will further strengthen its appeal to families when it opens May 26th for its 134th season. Set to debut in the SoakZone is the Wowabunga Family Wave Pool and an entire new array of shows will be featured throughout the park, including Cirque Extreme Under the Big Top, which will open to guests beginning June 8.

ABOUT N.A.P.H.A. The National Amusement Park Historical Association, founded in 1978, is an international, educational and enthusiast’s organization dedicated to preserving and documenting the heritage of the amusement park industry, past, present and future. In its 25th year, the N.A.P.H.A. survey rates parks in 7 categories, such as “traditional parks,” “theme parks,” “most beautiful park,” “best new attractions,” and more.

ABOUT IDLEWILD & SOAKZONE – Founded in 1878 as a simple picnic ground along the Ligonier Valley Rail Road, Idlewild & SoakZone lays claim to being the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania and third-oldest in America. Idlewild features seven fun theme areas such as SoakZone Waterpark, Story Book Forest and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Seasonal operations run May 26 through Labor Day and “Hallowboo,” a Halloween-themed event, takes place in October. Idlewild is part of the Palace Entertainment family which hosts over 13 million visitors annually at 40 locations across the country. With 8 theme parks, 11 water parks and 21 family entertainment centers,

Judith Rubin
Judith Rubin
Judith Rubin ([email protected]) is a leading journalist, content marketing specialist and connector in the international attractions industry. She reports on design and technical design, production and project management, industry trends and company culture. From 2005-2020 she ran communications and publications for the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). In 2013, she was honored with the TEA Service Award. She was development director of IMERSA and publicist for the Large Format Cinema Association, and has contributed to the publications of PLASA, IAAPA and the International Planetarium Society. Judith joined World’s Fair magazine in 1987, which introduced her to the attractions industry. She joined InPark in 2010. Judith earned a BFA from Pratt Institute. She has lived in Detroit, New York, Oakland, and now Saint Louis, where she is active in the local arts community.

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