Review: Idlewild

GPS: 40.262589, -79.276311
Address: Idlewild & SoakZone, 2574 U.S. 30, Ligonier, PA 15658
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Meet and Greet with Daniel Tiger

Pros

• Little kids can join parents on most rides
• Lots of spaces for preschool age kids
• Plenty of active play areas
• Seem to be play spaces with limited entrance and exits to make it easier to keep track of your kids
• Variety of food onsite
• Refillable drink cup options
• Crowds seem manageable (when we have been there especially on the extra bring a buddy days)

Cons

• Park is pretty old and some areas really show their age
• Sometimes their staff is limited causing rides or booths to be closed (especially when the local schools go back in late august)  
• Food onsite is pretty pricey (combat this by bringing your own or getting the season meal pass)

Cleanliness

• Its pretty clean but older so some areas seem dingy even though there is not trash littered around

Adult Info

• The younger your kids are the more they will enjoy themselves
• If your older kids like water parks they will probably be happy as well 

Access

• There are gravel paths and some steeper inclines in areas so be area when we have our stroller they suggest going in via the parking area immediately to the left after the gates.
• Some of the restrooms are smaller (due to their age) and you might need to be aware of that.
• Wave pool is a zero entry pool as far as I could tell from passing by it.
• They do have wheelchair rentals available. 

Restrooms

• There are plenty of restrooms around but some are older so they are little and kind of dingy (but they free of trash)

Misc

• We enjoy this park with our toddler.  I like using the bring a buddy days to drag along friends and relatives that are not sure the park is worth it.  
• We had passes several years ago with our older daughter one year.
• We have had passes for 2017 and 2018 with our toddler.  
• I purchased one of the 2018 All Season Dining Pass on Black Friday for $69.99 I will try and report back on the value of this as the season goes on.  Comment below if you have any questions.
• There is a Chick-Fil-A about 30 minutes before you get to the park (coming from the west) and we would get sandwiches and put them in a cooler and have after we spend a couple hours in the park.  
• We tend to get to park at opening and stay until 3-5pm so we can make it a day trip (we drive about an hour and 40 minutes to get there)

Pricing

• At the gate price is $44.99 - DON'T pay that you can get it as low as $29.99 for just ordering online before you go or a 4 pack starting at $114
• Season passes start for just $59.99 (This is a great option if you are planning on going a couple times during the summer)
• If you plan to go during the week you can get the platinum or gold pass and use the buddy passes for someone in your family.  (Example family of 4 could get 2 gold passes for $74.99 each and take 2 trips (Monday - Friday) and end up paying $18.75 each for the two trips.  If you can squeeze a trip on the extra bring a buddy days you can keep bringing that price down.
• You can always pay the price difference to the next level of pass and get more buddy passes.  NOTE:  I bought a pass on Black Friday and upgraded it and they only charged me the current difference from the price of my current pass to the one I upgraded.  So don't worry if you get a great Black Friday deal you don't lose any of that discount.
• Towards the end of the season they will offer discounts to purchase a season pass for the following year and you get the rest of the current year.  I actually renewed my summer only pass at the end of august to the gold level season pass for next year and got buddy passes for the current year and next year.
• In 2017 my summer only pass was also given access to the fall leaf weekend for no additional charge (September weekend but not the Hallowboo weekends.) So make sure you follow them on Facebook and check to see if any additional bonuses have been added to your passes.
• Tickets and Passes

Review: Disney World - The Garden Grill Review

First off this was the best character meal we had during our last visit.

We had dinner with a group of 6 (including one 3 year old).  The food was great, basically all of it.  More specifically the meats were great even the french fries were amazing.  The broccoli was great too.  The mac and cheese was extremely cheesy.  Honestly all the food was good standard home cooked food.

Our waiter was amazing had been working at Disney for something like 26 years.  My family is a bunch of jokers so we had some great moments of banter.  He was funny and very attentive we never had to worry about our drinks going empty.  Additionally he confirmed that Garden Grill is one of the few places on property that brews their own sweet tea.  That's huge plus for my husband as he drinks a ton of tea and was bummed by the gold peak tea everywhere else.  So as a part of our waiter's joking my husband ended up with multiple glasses of tea at a time which was great because he drank the majority of them or filled up our portable travel bottle when we left.

The characters were great and spent plenty of time with us and even a couple even made it around more than just once.  Which was great because we were not waiting on that last character when we really wanted to be on our way.

This was the first time we ate here but definitely will not be the last.  We already plan to stop there on our next trip.

3 Adults and 1 Child

Review: Sunset Beach Park, Claysville, PA

GPS: 40.131623, -80.371125
Address: 4185 State Route 40, Claysville, PA 15323
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Visit Day and Time: August 21, 2017 from 11:30 am -1pm Eclipse Day
Temperature at visit:  Cloudy but warmer probably low 80s.
Crowd level: Very low, about 3-4 families in the low end and a couple more in the deep end it felt very empty (school had started back at most places and other pools in the area had already cut their hours back to weekends only or limited hours in the evening).

Pros

• Very large pool
• Interesting add-in features

Cons

• The pool floor was very rough.  I always have swim shoes on my toddler but I don't generally wear them, next time we go I will have to have them for this pool.
• Some of the add-in features were closed or not functioning.  Some of this could have been to limited visitor/staff.  The water slide was closed and the dumping water bucket was not working/running.

Cleanliness

• The space was clean but dated.

Adult Info

• This is a cash only location.  They have an ATM onsite.
• There was a food concession area onsite but I never checked the prices.

Access

• The way to get into the toddler area was a couple of awkward large steps with no rail.
• There was a zero entry area on one side of the pool.
• The entire pool is gated with a main entry exit area.
• Parking is on grass with a basic gravel road down each lane.  

Restrooms

• Stalls were very tiny, clean but dated.

Misc

• This pool would have value as a day trip but for the cost of admission it would be hard to justify just stopping in for a couple hours.  The only reason we did was my daughter was in for Germany and we had planned to visit a different pool this day but it was already closed on the weekdays for the season.  My sister told me she always just packed a picnic lunch and they stayed for most of the day. 

Pricing

• This is a cash only location.  They have an ATM onsite.
• Adults $9
• Children 4-11 $7
• Children 3 and under free
• Season pass options are available more info on their website.

Review: Olgebay Outdoor Pool

GPS: 40.104540, -80.658365
Address: 465 Lodge Dr, Wheeling, WV 26003
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Visit Day and Time: Friday August 18, 2017 at 6pm until 7:30
Temperature at visit: Probably low 80s after a warm day
Crowd level: very mild

Pros

• Splash pad area (new as of 2016)
• Ramp for easy entry
• Blowup activiy are a for older kids or adults
• Wall climb area
• Large swimming area
• Lots of very nice seating

Cons

• Changing area needs updated (Men's area does not have curtains in the showers or changing stalls)

Cleanliness

• General pool area was good
• Again the changing areas could us an update and that would help with the dingy feeling

Adult Info

• Our toddler was cold and tired by about after 1.5 hours so for the first time go in the evening for their discounted entry price of $3 per adult.  Its a good test to see if you and your child will have fun.

Access

• Splash pad was zero entry
• Ramp access the main pool
• The splash pad area is fully fenced from the rest of the pool so you can feel pretty comfortable knowing you only have to watch for one exit to the main pool and one exit to leave the pool completely 

Restrooms

• Restrooms were very tiny (very difficult to squeeze a toddler and mom in, I actually let my toddler use the potty with the door open it was that small and there was no one in the area)

Misc

• There was a concession stand, it was overpriced.  A soft pretzel was priced at $3.75, when we left we went to the playground and the concession area near it a pretzel was $1.75.

Pricing

• Evenings (after 5 pm) $3 per adult $1 per child
• I cant quite remember but I think it was about $9 per adult unsure about the child rate

Zoo: Oglebay’s Good Zoo, Wheeling, WV

 Address:465 Lodge Dr, Wheeling, WV 26003
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Visit Day and Time: Monday May 29, 2017 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
Temperature at visit: 72 degree dry and sunny
Crowd level: Moderate it was memorial day and there were a good crowd of people at the zoo but it was still a very manageable crowd

• Pros
• Small zoo very manageable for a couple hour adventure
• Nice train ride
• Feeding goats is permitted ($.25 - quarters needed for dispenser)
• Feeding the lorikeets is permitted ($1.03 for a cup of nectar cash or card)
• Cons
• Zoo path is pretty hilly so be prepared for some hill climbing
• Range of animals are pretty limited

• Cleanliness
• There are trash cans around to use one of the liners had fallen in the can but generally the park is very clean
• There are chickens that roam the zoo and seem to have the popcorn clean up job
• Adult Info
• This is a pretty stress free zoo because its easy to keep an eye on your little one while still giving them the freedom to walk with you
• Access
• This zoo can make it hard to get around if you are pushing anything heavy because of the hills in the park
• The leg room is pretty limited on the train
• Restrooms
• There are restrooms in the main building
• There is a restroom at the barn (I have not been in this one)
• There is a single restroom at the Lorikeet landing building
• Misc
• Train runs on the hour and half hour
• There are some animal encounters available 
• They were walking the tortoise in the zoo and allowed visitors to touch the its shell
• They seem to get a different animal each year so there is some variety for year to year visitors
• The playground was very wet due to some recent rains be on the safe side if you plan to play and bring extra clothes/shoes 
• Pricing
• $9.95 for adults and $6.95 for kids 3-12 More Info
• Zoo admission is included in the Oglebay activity band ($18.95) More Info
• Membership start at $73 for the basic family pass for the year 
• The zoo also participates reciprocal zoo listing so if you are a member of another zoo check to see if you can get discounted admission

The train room is one of the first things you see if you take your stroller down the elevator

Lots to see here if you are a member use a rainy day to enjoy the train room

Some of the indoor space this area was remodeled this spring

Stuffed animal care area we are waiting for a rainy day to spend some quality time in this building

Just a pic with a fake crocodile

More inside exhibits

More inside exhibits

The tortoise taking a walk 

Barnyard area

Feeding the lorikeets

The playground was very wet due to some recent rains

Arts and Crafts: Fired Up Pottery Studio

GPS:
Address: 4151 Washington Rd, McMurray, PA 15317
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Visit Day and Time: Friday May 25th at 11 am -12:30pm
Temperature at visit: about 65 degrees cloudy
Crowd level: 3 other families with kids and two sets of adult patrons

• Pros
• Fees are all inclusive no hidden costs
• Staff was very friendly and helpful
• Lots of selection
• Cons
• Have to come back in a week to pick up what you paint
• Prices are a little higher than the Wow factory in Morgantown, WV
• Space is a little small so if it was crowded could be a little harder to enjoy
• They have their paints in small containers and they are used and reused as opposed to getting paint on tiles like at Wow Factory.  Feels like there is a greater chance fore paint "contamination" and not as easy to blend colors  
• Cleanliness
• Very clean space and well organized
• Staff made it very clear to us how to deal with dirty brushes and other supplies 
• Staff said don't worry about the mess we clean it up (nice to hear when you have a toddler) 
• Adult Info
• Definitely a good place for a day trip adventure you could spend as much time as you needed to complete a project.  
• It was a little hard to find this place as the turn is before you see the location and their sign is red on a redbrick building so it does not stick out.   Take a few extra minutes and look at the google street view before driving 
• Let the staff know your ideas and paint order and see if they recommend any changes they know what they are doing so ask for assistance and recommendation 
• Access
• Its in a shopping plaza so standard access and parking
• Restrooms
• One restroom (lock was broken) was clean and well stocked all the way in the back of the space
• Hand sink in the front of the store
• Misc
• They are open to you bringing in food if you plan to spend a long time in the shop
• They have a lot of events scheduled on their website and Facebook page prices seem very reasonable for their classes
• While we were there a little girl kept checking to see if her items were dry in the drying station (couple fans) and at one point she touched one of our items with wet painted fingers so just be aware I had to wipe it and touch up the paint.  Same little girl dropped her sisters item and the staff worked to get a new item to the sister
• Pricing
• 4x4 tile was $8
• 6x6 tile was $10
• Animal figures were $15 for 3-4 inch size 
• They had a 40% off sale when I was there until May 31st for item they were discontinuing.  They posted that on their Facebook page so keep an eye out for sales

Our creations before firing

Some of their pet options

Some of their pet options