Clementon Park Review, New Jersey Amusement & Water Park | Should this Park Have Been Saved?

Clementon Park is one of the oldest  amusement parks in the world.   Opening way back in 1907, this New  Jersey park is rich in history,   but it has had a tumultuous past decade,  seemingly closing forever after the 2019 season.   However, the park was saved by Gene  Staples and reopened for the 2021 season.   But is this historic park worth visiting?  Find out in this review of Clementon Park.   This park was founded by the  Gibbs family and opened in 1907.   The park found early success because of a trolley  that ran from Camden, New Jersey to the park.   And Clementon is one of the last  remaining trolley parks out there.   Arguably the best feature of the park is its  setting. The park is located on Clementon Lake.   You can’t quite see the water from the amusement  park’s midways, but you get a nice view from all   the taller rides. And the park has an impressive  skyline from the roadways around the park.   In 1977, the park was sold to the  Baker family. The park continued   to be family-owned until 2007 when it was  purchased by Adrenaline Family Entertainment.   These owners made some nice additions  to both the amusement and water park.   Just 4 years later in 2011, Premier  Parks purchased the property.   Ride offerings remained relatively stagnant  during this period while costs continued to rise.   In late 2019, Clementon Park suddenly and quietly  closed. Guests arrived for customer appreciation   day to find the park closed. There was no mention  on the park’s website and the social media   accounts had been deactivated. The park seemed  doomed, especially after the covid-19 pandemic   in 2020, but Gene Staples purchased the park at  an auction in early 2021 for nearly $2.4 million.   Staples had formed IB Parks after saving  Indiana Beach in 2020. Much like that property,   Clementon Park had the infrastructure and rides  in place. It just needed TLC and a new owner.   The park reopened in 2021, but not all the rides  were available. The park reopened fully in 2022.   Work is still underway. During my visit in  mid-August, there were additional family rides   being installed. Then the park’s lone adult roller  coaster in Hellcat has had spotty operations in   2022 to say the least. While it got some trackwork  prior to reopening, it has been closed repeatedly   for work this season. Shortly after its reopening  in June, people often found it closed on weekdays.   Most recently, I know people who missed  out on the coaster on Labor Day weekend.   Prior to my visit in mid-August, the ride was  listed as temporarily closed on the website for   additional trackwork. I was planning on skipping  the park with Hellcat closed, but when I called   the park, I was told Hellcat would reopen  later that day. Maintenance was working on   the ride’s drop for a large chunk of the day,  but it did open for the final three hours.   To be blunt, this coaster is rough. It’s so shaky  that the park will not allow anyone to sit in the   back two cars at this time. I really hope more  trackwork is planned because this coaster needs   it. Hellcat has an amazing layout designed by  Alan Schilke and those who experienced it in   its opening year without the trim brake gave it  rave reviews, praising its airtime and laterals.   But now it’s a sluggish mess mostly free of  forces…unless you count the jackhammering.   Check out my review if you want to hear more. The only other coaster at this park is a relocated   kiddie coaster from Bowcraft in the Dragon  Coaster. Over half the rows were unavailable   during my visit, but it is an above average kiddie  coaster with some strong laterals on the helixes.   A retracked Hellcat would give  this park a signature coaster,   but they still could use another supporting  coaster or two. They especially could use a   family coaster since there’s nothing bridging  the gap between Dragon Coaster and Hellcat.   The park doesn’t have too many flat rides,  but they have a well-rounded lineup.   You have a few spinning rides and a few  pendulum rides. Then you have two rides   that offer great views. The Giant Ferris Wheel  lets you leisurely take in your surroundings   while Thunder Drop offers a far more intense  experience. This is one of those Larson / ARM drop   towers. It may stand just 8 stories tall, but that  drop is absolutely gut-wrenching. It mixes airtime   and that glorious stomach-dropping sensation. It’s  easily the park’s best attraction in my opinion.   The park’s King Neptune’s Revenge log  flume is located entirely on the lake,   which is a cool setting. The drops aren’t too  thrilling on this one though and the transitions   into them are surprisingly bumpy for this  type of ride, but you will come off quite wet.   And it’s worth noting if you visit alone, the  flume requires at least 2 people per boat.   Speaking of wet, there also is the Splash World  water park. It’s not the biggest water park,   but that’s where most of this park’s  crowds flock to. You have a mat racer,   a super steep trapdoor slide, and some tube  slides. Then there’s also a lazy river,   a wave pool, and a water  play structure for the kids.   On the dry side, all the kids rides are  located under this giant archway wedged   between some trailers and storage sheds. It’s not  the most aesthetically pleasing area, but it’s   nice how kids can bounce from ride-to-ride while  parents relax on the benches in the middle. And   the covering offers some much appreciated shade. The rest of the park is pretty sparse on shade.   Definitely pack your sunscreen if you’re  visiting this park or you’ll be burned. But   most of the park looked to be in pretty good shape  considering it was closed just a few years ago.   From an operational standpoint, the biggest issue  in 2022 was Hellcat’s day-to-day availability.   It’s annoying when any park has a coaster  down, but it’s an especially big blow when   it’s the only major one a park has. The park  does have a ride closure board out front,   but it doesn’t always include Hellcat  even when it’s closed, which is annoying.   The other weird quirk with this park is that  Hellcat’s exit dumps you in the park’s picnic   pavilion. If that’s not weird enough, you  need to go past a security checkpoint to   re-enter the park. I can’t say I’ve  ever seen that at any other park.   The staff members I encountered in 2022 were  far superior to those in 2017. Back in 2017,   almost all of the employees were eerily quiet.  They weren’t even reading off safety spiels prior   to guests boarding. They were just silently  checking restraints and dispatching rides.   It sort of felt like a zombie apocalypse,  especially since the dry park was so quiet.   There were more employees than guests. The park felt more lively in 2022.   The employees were interacting with guests this  time and the park was a bit more crowded. Almost   every ride was still a walk-on with the exception  being the two coasters which were basically   running at half capacity due to several rows being  unavailable. I didn’t venture into the water park,   but the slides looked to have some waits, albeit  manageable ones. Despite the lack of crowds,   I was surprised how the park was routinely  open until 8 or 9 pm throughout the summer.   Tickets for adults cost $40 as of 2022. I  think that’s quite the price to pay if you’re   exclusively a coaster enthusiast, especially  since Hellcat’s operation has been so sporadic.   However, I think it’s worth considering if you  enjoy amusement and water parks as a whole,   especially since lines are so  minimal. I do appreciate how the   new owners removed the parking fee  added under Premier’s ownership.   As for how much time you’ll need, it depends  on your interests. If you only care about   the coasters, I would call the park the day of  your visit to confirm Hellcat is running. If it   isn’t, you at least have plenty of other parks  nearby. If you want to try more than just the   coasters, I think this is ultimately a half day  park given the ride offerings and low crowds.   The final thing I want to note  is this park’s food offerings.   The park has brought in some popular chains such  as Chickie’s & Pete’s and Pizza Hut. It was a mix   of multi-national chains and local chains, which  is pretty impressive for a park of this size.   So do I recommend Clementon  Park? As it currently stands,   I don’t really recommend the park for coaster  enthusiasts. Hellcat, between its roughness and   operational status, it isn’t worth a visit in  my opinion. However, that all changes if that   coaster is retracked because the ride has immense  potential if it ran smoothly. But the park as a   whole is worth considering if you want to rack  up a lot of rides and slides in short order.   The families I saw seemed to be having a blast. So those are my thoughts on Clementon Park. What   do you think about this New Jersey park? Do  you think it is faring better under the IB   Parks ownership? Let me know down in the  comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d   appreciate it if you gave this video a like and  you considered subscribing since there will be a   lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos  here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!

Channel: Canobie Coaster

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Id: DItCWSe7WnQ

Length: 9min 20sec (560 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 08 2022