DelGrosso's Park

DelGrosso's Park is a family-oriented amusement park located in Tipton, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Altoona, Pennsylvania. The park was purchased by the DelGrosso family in 1946 and was named "Bland's Park" until 2000. In 2000, the DelGrosso family decided to change its name to "DelGrosso's Amusement Park." The park hosts picnics and special music events in its pavilion/picnic area.

DelGrosso's Park

Previously known as Bland's Park (1909-2000) DelGrosso's Amusement Park (2000-2019)
Location	Tipton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates	40.6358°N 78.2961°W / 40.6358; -78.2961
Opened	1909
Owner	The DelGrosso Family of Companies
Slogan	The Home of Family Fun and Famous Food!
Area	79 acres
Attractions
Total	30
Roller coasters	2
Water rides	8
Website	https://www.mydelgrossopark.com/

The park includes more than 30 rides and an adjacent Italian-themed waterpark, Laguna Splash, that opened in 1997. The park resides on both sides of Old Route 220 with Laguna Splash and parking on the southeast side of the road, while park side resides on the northwest side of the road. The two sides of the park can be easily accessed by guests via a crosswalk that was built over the road in 1989.

History

The park was opened by the Rinard brothers on the Blands' family farm in 1907 and was originally called Bland's Park. It was purchased in 1946 by Ferdinand "Fred" DelGrosso at which time the park was home to a number of rides installed by the Rinards including the current Carouselle. Since purchasing the park, the DelGrosso family has continued to invest in the park with various ride and attractions such as a waterpark addition in 1997 and expansion in 1999 and 2016. Even after the purchase of the park by the DelGrossos, the park retained the Bland's Park name until 2000 when it was finally renamed DelGrosso's Amusement Park.^[1]

The park's 1924 Herschell Spillman carousel

The DelGrosso family is also the founder of DelGrosso Foods, Inc., which produces and distributes pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, pasta, and other Italian specialty items.^[2]

Roller coasters

The first roller coaster to operate at the park was the Little Dipper, a steel children's coaster opened during the 1950s. In 1986, the Little Dipper was removed and replaced by the Zyklon, a larger steel coaster built by Italian manufacturer Pinfari the following season. Before being installed at the park, the Zyklon had operated at three other amusement parks between 1969 and 1986, originally opening as the "Super Italian Bobs" at the now-defunct Adventure Land in Illinois.

In 2003, the Zyklon was removed from DelGrosso's and sold to Blue Diamond Park in Delaware. A Reverchon Crazy Mouse spinning coaster was installed in its place in 2004. In the same year, a Fajume "Wacky Worm" kiddie coaster was added to the park.^[3]

Libertyland's Revolution in storage

In 2006, the park purchased the "Revolution," an Arrow Dynamics loop and corkscrew coaster, from Libertyland for US$55,000 at auction. The coaster was never installed at the park and after many years of sitting in storage on site at the park, the coaster was purchased by Gloria's Fantasyland in the Philippines where it now operates as the "Zimerman".^{[4][independent source needed]}

Attractions

Roller coasters

Coaster	Opened	Manufacturer	Model
Crazy Mouse	2004	Reverchon	Spinning Coaster
Wacky Worm	2004	Fajume	Wacky Worm

Thrill rides

Rides	Opened	Manufacturer	Model	Description
Rock Star	2015	ARM Rides	Rock Star	Replaced Music Express
Super Spiral	1996	Frank Hrubetz & Company	Super Round Up
X-Scream Tower	2010	ARM Rides	120-foot tall Drop tower	Replaced the Ferris Wheel. Purchased from Cypress Gardens[5]
Swing Buggy	2012	Bertazzon	Swing Buggy	Replaced the park's Chance Rides Flying Bobs
Pharaoh's Fury	2009	Chance Rides	Pharaoh's Fury	Replaced the park's Chance Rides Sea Dragon. Purchased from Cypress Gardens[5]

Family rides

Rides	Opened	Manufacturer	Model	Description
Scrambler	1985	Eli Bridge Company	Scrambler
Tipton Creek Railroad	1988	Chance Rides	(2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway
Yo-Yo	2009	Chance Rides	Yo-Yo	Replaced Balloon Race. Purchased from Cypress Gardens[5]
Tilt-A-Whirl	1979	Sellner Manufacturing	Tilt-A-Whirl
Casino	1992	Chance Rides	Trabant	Originally located at Kings Island in Ohio where it was known as "Wheel of Fortune"[6]
Dodgem	1996	Majestic Rides	Bumper Cars	Re-built after the park's original Dodgem was destroyed during a blizzard in 1994
Carouselle	1924	Herschell Spillman Company	Carousel	36 hand-carved and painted jumping horses as well as two stationary benches
Paratrooper	1987	Reverchon	Paratrooper
Free Fall	2004	Moser Rides	5+5 Spring Ride	50-foot tall junior drop tower
Dizzy Dragons	2009	Chance Rides	Dizzy Dragons	Teacups-style ride with large dragon-shaped ride vehicles

Kids Kingdom

Rides	Opened	Manufacturer	Model
Fire Trucks	Unknown	Hampton Amusements	Children's fire truck ride
Corvettes	1980s	Hampton Amusements	Children's car ride
Boats	1957	Allan Herschell Company	Boat ride
Whales	Unknown	Eyerly Aircraft Company	Bulgy the Whale
Turtles	1990	R.E. Chambers Company	Miniature Tumble Bug
Helicopters	1980s	Allan Herschell Company	Children's helicopter ride
Kiddie Carousel	1992	W.F. Mangels	Children's carousel

Past roller coasters

Name	Manufacturer	Opened	Closed
Little Dipper	Allan Herschell Company	1950s	1986
Zyklon	Pinfari	1987	2003

Past attractions

• Little Dipper
• Sky Fighter
• Roto Whip
• Two Bumper Car Rides
• Calypso
• Roller Rink
• Pony Rides
• Flying Scooters
• Sea Dragon
• Balloon Race
• Ferris Wheel
• Red Baron
• Space Odyssey
• Flying Bobs
• Music Express
• Championship Miniature Golf
• Tipton Speedway

Laguna Splash Waterpark

The first phase of the waterpark opened in 1997 with the addition of Tipton Waterworks, a children's water play structure with three small water slides and a large bucket that fills with water before tipping over onto guests below. In 1999, the second phase of the waterpark, five full-size water slides named the Tipton Rapids opened.

After many years without any major additions, the waterpark received a $12.5 million expansion in 2016, which saw the addition of a lazy river, a wave pool, a children's activity pool, five new refreshment stands, and a brand new entrance plaza. Along with the expansion, the complex received a brand new Italian theme to reflect the DelGrosso family's Italian heritage, and was named Laguna Splash (previously, the waterpark as a whole had no official name).

Laguna Slides "red tower"

Attractions

Laguna Slides Formerly Tipton Rapids (1999–2016)

Name	Opened	Slide Tower	Description
Gravity Groove	1999	Red Tower	A tube slide where riders travel down a drop into an uphill section before dropping again.
Great White	1999	Red Tower	A wide tube slide with a steep double-dip drop.
Midnight Express	1999	Red Tower	An enclosed tube slide with many twist and turns in near darkness.
Twin Twisters	1999	Green Tower	A pair of identical mirror-image slides where two riders race each other on toboggan-style mats.

Pools

Name	Opened	Description
Bambini Cove	2016	A children's activity pool featuring a gondola slide, a small splash pad, a scale model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa which serves as the waterpark's centerpiece.
Laguna Waterworks	1997	A water-play structure showcasing interactive water features, small water slides and a tipping-bucket painted to resemble the Roman Colosseum. Formerly Tipton Waterworks (1997–2016).
River Lazio	2016	A winding lazy river attraction that surrounds Bambini Cove.
Wave Oceano	2016	14,000 ft2 wave pool.