Idlewild Park // 2017 Norwin Community Picnic

Every year, on the first Wednesday in August, we head to Idlewild Park & Soak Zone in Ligonier, PA for the annual Norwin Community Picnic. Growing up, I remember counting down the days & not being able to sleep the night before – the anticipation was so great! It was literally one of the highlight of my summers growing up.

That fact alone makes going and taking Braelynn still a highlight of my summer. And this year was even better because she was able to understand the anticipation part! She has been to 7 amusement parks so far this year (Idlewild makes 8!), so she definitely knows what rides are! Daniel Tiger also lives at Idlewild, so she was most excited to go see “Danny” and ride on the Trolley! She was counting down the days. So, it was super fun to wake up yesterday morning & declare: “It’s Wednesday!” and for her to be super excited!

Yesterday was the perfect day for the 85th Annual Norwin Community Picnic. The park was packed, the sunshine was out – it was a gorgeous day. Idlewild is such a fun park. It’s definitely designed with kids & families in mind as most of it’s attractions are family friendly. If you’re looking for jam-packed thrills, Idlewild is probably not going to meet your expectations (head to Kennywood or Cedar Point for that!) But if you’re looking for a relaxing day that the whole family can enjoy together – Idlewild is the place to be!

If you’re curious and want to go back & see the last few years that we’ve been to Idlewild, I’ve written highlight posts for Braelynn’s entire life! I have to admit, it’s pretty darn adorable to go back & see the chubby little baby she was in years past!
Year One & Year Two

We have been going to Idlewild for so many years, we have our routine. First stop is always Storybook Forest.

This year, there is a new attraction in Storybook: the castle! It is SO cool – definitely my new favorite part of Idlewild!

This is Braelynn’s “Uncle Cheese” – showing off his muscles.

Braelynn seems to have her Mama’s genes when it comes to meeting “characters”. The first time my parents took me to Disney World, I straight up refused to meet any of the characters (as in, buried my head in my Mom’s shoulder & refused to even look at them).

That’s alright though, because the boys weren’t too shy to meet the Princess!

After Storybook, Raccoon Lagoon is open & that means Daniel Tiger!!

We could have easily ridden the Trolley over and over and over again – Braelynn was in love!

Then, it was off to the pool!

Braelynn LOVED the Soak Zone this year!! Last year, she wasn’t too sure about the water & she was a little too small to simply let run around & play. This year, she was loving it!

Then we headed back over to the Raccoon Lagoon for the Daniel Tiger show & more rides.

Again – Braelynn wasn’t too sure about meeting her absolute favorite characters in real life! Maybe next year she’ll be brave enough to give them hugs.

This amusement park stuff is so tiring! Braelynn was a champ & went all day long though!

We met up with Auntie Amy & Nathan over in Jumpin’ Jungle – Braelynn’s face is priceless!

I have this same picture from last year (it’s in last year’s post!)

Braelynn’s hands-down favorite attraction of the entire day was the giant ball pit. I wasn’t even sure if she’d like it at all, but as soon as we got in – she was all gigantic-smiles & giggles!

(Auntie Amy & I might have had a bit too much fun too!)

6:30pm rolled around way too fast & suddenly it was time for the prize drawing!

Which simply means we sit on the hillside & eat until we burst while we listen to Grandpa call names!

Unfortunately, none of us won anything this year. Bummer. Next year!

After the prize drawing, the park was open for about 30 more minutes. So, we squeezed in one last ride on the balloons, played a game (where I beat all the boys & won Braelynn a turtle!) and caught the very last right of the night on the carousel.