Waldameer Park opens with high hopes for a return to normal

Management of Waldameer Park & Water World is rarely cautious in its expression of optimism.

Owner Paul Nelson and President Steve Gorman typically begin each season with the introduction of something new — a new ride, an improvement to the water park, some fresh landscaping.

But a worldwide pandemic and a historic labor shortage have a way of slowing down even the most exciting ride.

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"It was a big financial hit in 2020, therefore no new attractions," Gorman said. "Last year, we (Waldameer) turned 125 years old. We played it low-key because we just didn't know how it would turn out."

There are no new attractions again this year at the park, which opens for the season on Saturday, operating on a weekends-only schedule until Memorial Day Weekend. Season ticket holders got a chance last weekend to ride a handful of rides and have photo badges made.

Fans of Water World will have to wait a bit longer. Waldameer's water park opens for the season on May 28.

Gorman said there's been a lot of maintenance and behind-the-scenes work during the off-season, but nothing that will be apparent to the casual observer.

That doesn't mean Waldameer management has resigned itself to a long future of living with the status quo.

"We have nothing to announce but we have our eyes on several things (park improvements) that we will hopefully make a decision about halfway through the summer," Gorman said.

Worker shortages persist

While the pandemic and a long-delayed opening left in ruins any chance for a profitable season in 2020, a worker shortage that has vexed employers across the country, hit home at Waldameer in 2021.

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The park, one of the region's largest summer employers, fell well short of recruiting the usual number of staff members in 2021. The shortage became especially apparent during a busy weekend at the end of July that saw management forced to shut down a number of rides for a couple of hours at a time because there weren't enough employees to run them.

Ultimately, the park moved to a weekends-only schedule for the last two weeks of the season.

Gorman and Nelson said the park raised pay rates, offered bonuses and improved benefits in the hopes of finding the help needed for the park to run smoothly. Those efforts seem to be producing results. Gorman said recently that he had hired about 350 employees. By Wednesday of this week, Nelson estimated that number had topped 500.

"We would like to get a couple hundred more," Nelson said. "We are signing up some good kids as well as some older people. Having older people work with younger people is a blessing."

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Gorman said he's also hoping to see more picnics and group outings, which are normally an important part of Waldameer's summer income. There were none in 2020 and about one-fourth as many as usual in 2021.

"We are getting some good interest," Gorman said. "Some people have signed up who have not come for the last two years. We are confident we are going to have more strong group outings than we did last year."

Confident about meeting challenges

Following years of rising attendance and a record year in 2019, there's no shortage of things to worry about at Waldameer, where attendance was reduced by 77% in 2020 because of capacity reductions and a shortened season.

A delayed opening that year meant the park would be forced to pay taxes on loan income that would otherwise be written off as an expense.

Nelson said that delay continues to plague the park's finances.

Gorman said the park has addressed security concerns raised last summer by making plans for a larger security presence and by hiring more off-duty Millcreek Township Police officers.

"I think we are going to try to prevent any bad behavior that might reflect on the fun," Gorman said.

His biggest remaining concern is something over which he has little control.

"I feel pretty good about our plan," Gorman said. "What I am most concerned about is inflation and how that will affect people's spending."

Nelson raises an even weightier concern, the potential effects of a continuing war between Russia and Ukraine and what that could mean.

Nelson said he's looking forward to a good season and insists that he's hopeful about Waldameer's future. In the short-term, Nelson said he's planning about $1 million worth of improvements over the next year or so.

Nelson, who is 88, said he's ready to return to a more ambitious pace of expansion.

"I am doing a new 10-year plan and I plan on spending over $50 million in the next 10 years," he said. "I am not going to sit back. I am up at 5 every day. And I am here at work at 7 or 7:30. I am not laying down for anything."

Gorman expects good things this year.

"People are ready to get out and enjoy life again," he said.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNMartin.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie's Waldameer opens with a bigger staff, but no new rides